Justice Pirate

Snow! Ding Dong Merrily on High + Fundraiser for Love146

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:17:00 +0000

I'm doing a fundraiser for Love146, which is an organization that has safe houses for child victims saved from light districts, massage parlors, brothels, etc. Some of these kids are as young as 5 years old and were forced into prostitution and were heavily sexually exploited. I'm trying to raise $500, but I'm getting so near to the goal, that I'm probably going to raise it a bit soon! This coming Valentine's Day, give a gift of love to someone who only ever knew of abuse. These children who were exploited into sexual slavery have never known of love. They don't even know if it truly exists. Their hearts have been severely broken and many suffer from great trauma that is unimaginable. Through your donation, they will be able to have medical attention, therapy through art, dance, music, etc, the ability to gain an education, and a chance to integrate back into society without being put back into the modern-day slavery they escaped.

More Info: Love146; My Fundraiser: Justice Pirate's Broken Heart

In case you wanted to see a close-up of the hairstyle, there are a few angles for you below!

My husband Rob will be 29 tomorrow, so Happy birthday to the man I've been in love with for 12 years, been my man for 11 years, and married to for 7.5 years! I love the relationship we share together. God truly blessed me with a husband who is a hard worker & provider for our family (and such an amazing father too), who is careful to obey the Lord, who is sensitive, a great listener, honest, understanding, silly, fun, and so much more.

So didn't know these last two pictures were taken of me until after they were taken (I was picking up on it in the last one so I am so confused in the shot).

OUTFIT DETAILS:
Dress & Blouse: Modcloth (the huge 70% off sale they had)
Gloves & Stockings: Target (from two years ago)
Out Coats: American Eagle (his is circa 2002)
Shoes: Paprika (over a year ago)

Movie Suggestion Post #56

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:31:00 +0000

Movie Ratings are on a scale of 1-5. Anything rated over 3 stars and is in bold, is totally worth seeing! - I rate pretty harshly.

The Help 2011 (w/ Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer) - 4 stars - A young woman named Eugenia is single and lives in Jackson, Mississippi where all her friends are starting to marry and have babies. She herself was practically raised by a woman of African descent who was her family's housekeeper. She starts to take an interest in the lives of the housekeepers who work for her friends and other people in Jackson. She starts to write a book with them about what they've gone through living as maids raising white children. It was a very good story and had excellent costumes, hairstyles, and had me laughing and nearly crying at various times throughout the film. content: profanities and racial remarks, smoking, a couple immodest outfits (cleavage showing), a slight kiss, talk about going to the bathroom.

Strike Up the Band 1940 (w/ Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland) - 3 stars - Another cute movie with one of my favorite movie duos. This one is about Jimmy and Mary trying to put on a show with a band they put together so that they can live out their dream and go to Chicago. Cute story with lots of singing and dancing and fun. content: a couple costumes that might be immodest, otherwise nothing I can recall

Mr. Popper's Penguins 2011 (w/ Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Madeline Carroll, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond) - 3 stars - I remember reading this book in grammar school and this movie was quite a bit different, but it did hold a similar ideal. A boy with an adventurous father eventually grows up feeling unimportant to his dad. He himself is now a father and receives an inheritance of penguins which just drive him nutty but make his kids so happy. content: a lot of penguin poop, kissing, reference to penguins reproducing, champagne shown, one use of God's name in vain (no other language)

The Last Emperor 1987 (w/ John Lone, Peter O'Toole, Victor Wong, Ying Roucheng, Joan Chen) - 3.25 stars - A long movie that I put off watching for a really long time. What gorgeous costumes and cinematography! This focuses on the life of the last emperor of China, Pu Yi. Although he was Emporer for a time, as he got older he realized how he wasn't in power for his country as he had always believed. This also focuses on some of his wives and his relationship with them (which they forgot a few, but got his first two). We get to see the struggle he had with his title, wanting freedom, and being controlled by people around him in both China and Japan. I would have rated this higher if it weren't for all the things they didn't have to include in this! content: the Emperor's wet nurse's breast is shown, the Empress' body is visible through her nightgown, although a sheet is covering them - there is a scene where you can see arms reaching around when the Emperor is in bed with his two wives, a woman licks the toes of another woman, smoking, drinking, opium, clips from an old film of footage of the Nagasaki bombing shows violence in murder and graphic dead bodies, a man is shown being shot in the head, another man is shown shooting himself in the head with much blood dripping, a man attempts suicide by cutting his wrists but is rescued from it, kissing, some language use, a naked toddler is shown running around (front and back), an infant is killed (not shown)
[screenshot provided to you by me!]

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules 2011 (w/ Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Rachel Harris, Robert Capron, Steve Zahn) - 3 stars - I thought this sequel was cute and really funny. It is about two brothers trying to get to know one another so they can get along even though they usually never get along. content: boy runs around with underwear on, an Indian boy gets ignored by his whole school, kids get teased, some name calling, kids disobeying their parents

Christmas Lodge 2011 (w/ Peter Benson, Michelle Creber, Michael Shanks) - 3 stars - It was a bit of a corny Christian Christmas movie (but really cute and I enjoyed it) about a woman who finds an old lodge where her family spent many Christmases. She decides to restore it with the permission of the man who owned it. content: maybe a kiss, but really there is nothing at all in this that is bad.

The Conspirator 2010 (w/ James McAvoy, Robin Wright Penn, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood) - 3.5 stars - A young Civil War Union veteran, who was a lawyer became the defendant of Mary Surratt who was charged with conspiring to kill president Abraham Lincoln. This was a great story and I adore historical biopics. It was a really sad movie though. content: someone gets stabbed repeatedly, blood is shown, a couple profanities are used, small amount of kissing

The Spy Next Door 2009 (w/ Jackie Chan, Amber Valletta, Madeline Carroll, George Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus) - 2.5 stars - It was a funny story about a spy who was in love with a woman who had a few children from her late husband. The kids weren't so fond of him, but he wanted to get to know them and watch over them. He didn't realize how much trouble it would get him into with their mom and with his job. content: kissing, pre-teen and woman in immodest clothes, name calling, a boy talks about watching porn

South Pacific 1958 (w/ Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Juanita Hall) - 3 stars - I would have liked this more but the color usage and the focus drove me crazy. I haven't seen this film since I was a child. The songs were really nice, and the storyline was sweet, but the film bored me here and there (far too long). The story focuses on two couples during WWII set in the South Seas. One is of a Frenchman who is in love with an American woman, but is keeping something from her. The other is a young American soldier who is falling for an Island girl. This is a depressing movie with a sad and happy ending combined. content: kissing, immodest outfits, racism

A Hard Day's Night 1964 (w/ Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison) - 3.25 stars - Obviously a Beatles movie. I've always loved this movie and still do. The direction and humor in it cracks me up and of course I love the music. I saw it was on instant play so I decided to watch it for probably the 40th time. content: pretend cocaine gestures, smoking, drinking, a couple sexual references such as an orgy mentioned, one word of language used, man in a bath (though he has trousers on, but is topless), women chasing and crying over men
[screenshot provided by me!]

Bundle Up! It's Getting Colder in NJ!

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:40:00 +0000

For the past few months of wearing my coat which I bought only a little over a year ago, I was starting to hear a lot of complaints from loved ones because of how broken my coat was. I am one who is known for wearing beat up and ripped coats.

I had my eye on one from American Eagle for a month, but when I went to purchase it online it was not available in my size (probably gone in general now). I happened to go to the mall a couple of weeks ago with my best friend Lynsie (who spoiled me to some new make-up as a Christmas present) and decided to see if the coat I loved was in the store. It was and on sale! I got this coat for $30 when it was about $95 originally. Score. It's so comfortable.

Okay, so this isn't an actual outfit post, but I have one planned coming soon!

Everything Put Together

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:43:00 +0000

I haven't actually posted anything of my family since before Thanksgiving time, I believe. So sorry for that. Oh, hello internet! I forgot you existed and that I had a blog that I posted more often on once upon a time. Here I am.

So Let's catch up!! Hopefully you won't be all, "This is outdated already, no thanks". . pfft!

Here are the boys from when we picked out a Christmas tree!

Micah turned 3 on the 22nd of December. He loved his birthday big time!

We got him a stuffed mouse named Mortimer (Leto has one named Simon from last year) from Hazel Village. I wish I got a shot of him smiling and hugging it tightly but I missed it. He also has a remote-controlled Lightning McQueen.

The boys have been really funny about constantly wanting their photos taken.

The day after Christmas I had to visit one of my brothers and his family. That's my sister-in-law and my niece/God-daughter Meiha. She's 6 months old now!!
I gave Micah a new haircut and hairstyle too.

I love when little boys have proof of being little boys in their pictures. . Leto with chocolate on his face. aw.

Snailin' It Penpal Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:40:00 +0000

In case you're wondering how Snailin' It has been going, I can say that my two pen-pals from this project (one from Texas, another from Australia) have written me twice each (as have I, well one I've written three times). I've received quite a bit of positive feedback from a few people who were matched up! However, I have heard that some are still waiting for letters to arrive and are sad to not hear back from them.

There have been a few who signed up recently who need matches (and haven't heard anything from me explaining who their pen-pals are). If you want to sign up and haven't yet, all you have to do is fill out this form here. (make sure you include zip codes, as I've had to search for a few when making matches). I will match you best I can! There were 22 people who signed up, some of them want multiple pen-pals (and have only been given one, one who hasn't been matched at all after about 3 weeks).

Click here for letter writing tips & the original post with more info!

You can live in ANY country and sign up! Many people specifically would prefer to write to people around the world rather than whatever country they are living in. We had people from 3 countries involved (multiple people from each country). Women who are teenagers through their 40s have signed up! It's been great fun!

[survey provided by Powered by 123ContactForm ]

Yearly Book Review #4

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:34:00 +0000

I read 27 books in the first year (deleted that entry though long ago, whoops), 36 books two years ago, and 51 books last year. My goal for this year was 52 books (which is a book a week) To keep updated on what I'm reading throughout the year, add me on GoodReads (read my fuller reviews there)!
Let's see if I made my goal! Anything rated between 4 and 5 stars are in bold.

2011 Reads
1. Farmer Boy (Little House on the Prairie #2) by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 4 stars
2. Little House on the Prairie (Little House on the Prairie #3) by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 3 stars
3. On the Banks of Plum Creek (Little House on the Prairie #4) by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 4 stars
4. By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House on the Prairie #5)by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 3 stars
5. The Long Winter (Little House on the Prairie #6) by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 3.25 stars
6. Little Town on the Prairie (Little House on the Prairie #7) by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 3 stars
7. These Happy Golden Years (Little House on the Prairie #8) by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 4 stars
8. The First Four Years (Little House on the Prairie #9) by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 2.75 stars
9. Tortured For Christ by Richard Wurmbrand - 4 stars
10. The Hunger Games (Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins -4 stars
11. Hearts West: True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier by Chris Enss - 3 stars
12. Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery by Jesse Sage - 3 stars
13. Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart - 3 stars
14. Religio-cide: A Primer on Deconstructing the Current Religious Structure For the Sake of True Relationship by Tommy Green III - 3.75 stars
15. Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy by John Bowe - 1.75 stars
16. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren - 3 stars
17. Selling Olga: Stories of Human Trafficking and Resistance by Louisa Waugh - 3 stars
18. Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins - 3 stars
19. Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins - 5 stars!!!
20. The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Projects for the Modern Girl by Jennifer Worick - 3.75 stars
21. Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie - 4 stars
22. So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood, and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids by Diane E. Levine - 3 stars
23. Beyond the Soiled Curtain: Project Rescue's Fight for the Victims of the Sex-Slave Industry by David & Beth Grant - 4.25 stars
24. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - 3 stars
25. The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson & The Olympians #2) by Rick Riordan - 2.75 stars
26. Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will by Kevin DeYoung - 3 stars
27. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt - 5 stars!!!
28. The Christian Athiest by Craig Groeshel - 3.5 stars
29. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis - 2.5 stars
30. Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe by Mark Driscoll - 4 stars
31. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - 4 stars
32. From Congress to the Brothel by Linda Smith - 3 stars
33. Renting Lacy by Linda Smith - 3.75 stars
34. More Than Rice: A Journey Through the Underworld of Human Trafficking by Pamala Chestnut - 3 stars
35. This Immoral Trade: Slavery in the 21st Centurey by Caroline Cox - 3.25 stars
36. Escaping the Devil's Bedroom: Sex Trafficking, Global Prostitution and the Gospel's Transforming Power by Dawn Herzog Jewel - 3 stars
37. Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James C. Dobson - 3.25 stars
38. The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson & The Olympians #3) by Rick Riordan - 3 stars
39. Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God by David Platt - 3.75 stars
40. Weird: Because Normal Isn't Working by Craig Groeshel - 4 stars
41. Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media by Susan J. Douglas - 2 stars
42. Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Connor Grennan - 3 stars
43. The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson & The Olympians #4) by Rick Riordan - 3.5 stars
44. Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin - 4.25 stars
45. The Ballet Companion: A Dancer's Guide to Technique, Traditions, and Joys of Ballet by Eliza Gaynor Minden - 3 stars
46. Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls are Not For Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself by Rachel Lloyd - 4 stars
47. The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & The Olympians #5) by Rick Riordan - 3 stars
48. Evermore (The Immortals #1) by Alyson Noel - 2 Stars
49. Blue Moon (The Immortals #2) by Alyson Noel - 2 stars
50. The Joffrey's Ballet School's Ballet-Fit by Allison Kyle Leopold - 3 stars
51. Every Heart Restored: A Wife's Guide to Healing in the Wake of a Husband's Sexual Sin by Fred & Brenda Stoeker - 3.75 stars
52. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry - 2.5 stars
53. Passport Through Darkness: A True Story of Adventure, Danger, and Second Chances by Kimberly Smith - 4 Stars
54. The Love Dare Day by Day: A Year of Devotions for Couples by Stephen Kendrick - 2.5 stars

55. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt - 3 stars

56. Shadowland (The Immortals #3) by Alyson Noel - 1 star

57. Bruchko by Bruce Olsen - 5 stars!!!

58. Dark Flame (The Immortals #4) by Alyson Noel - 1 star

59. Night Star (The Immortals #5) by Alyson Noel - 1 star

60. Everlasting (The Immortals #6) by Alyson Noel - 2.5 stars

61. The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf - 3 stars

62. Knowing God by J.I. Packer - 3 stars

63. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells - 3 stars

64. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien - 3 stars

65. West From Home: Letters from Laura Ingalls Wilder , San Francisco, 1915 by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 2.75 stars
66. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom - 4.25 stars
67. Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie - 3.25 stars
68. Vicki and the Black Horse by Sam Savitt - 2.75 stars
69. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables #1) - 4.5 stars
70. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables #2) - 3 stars
71. One Year Book of Devotions for Preschoolers by Crystal Bowman
72. A Log Cabin Christmas: 9 Romances of American Pioneer Christmases by Various authors - 3 stars
73. Quest Study Bible (NIV) by Various authors - 5 stars!!!

Wow. Looks like I exceeded my goal quite a bit.

Covers of the best (I read) of the year

Oh, The Things I Do! #3

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:24:00 +0000

1. Me and Rachel
2. My boys being Naruto Ninjas
3. Rizzo. . since I felt badly that he wasn't in the new Muppet movie
4. My sweet husband

1. A car accident outside of my home
2. a drawing Leto did for a girl in India (her name is Rajiya)
3. Micah the night before his 3rd birthday

4. The boys built a double track and told me to take a quick shot of it

1. Me (with my bangs down)
2. Micah pretending to sleep as we cuddled together (with his new Ugly Doll he loves)
3. My boys helping my mom peel Potatoes a couple weeks ago
4. Me and Cristina after we felt full from our IHOP food

Movie Suggestion Post #55

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:25:00 +0000

Movie Ratings are on a scale of 1-5. Anything rated over 3 stars and is in bold, is totally worth seeing! - I rate pretty harshly.

See my list of favorite Christmas movies here (a post I made last year)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows 2011 (w/ Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace) - 4.25 stars - This is the 66th RDJ movie I've seen. It was amazing. I've been so sad to hear that a bunch of critics rated it so low. It is as good as the first movie (though I think I like the first more, but this is seriously on the same level). We get to meet Moriarty in this one (the nemesis throughout the stories). It is very interesting, sad, and funny throughout the film. I think the reason why maybe people don't like it as much is because it is missing the romance that was involved in the first one. Mr. Holmes is trying to find a way to destroy Professor Moriarty. He's been following all his crimes and needs to figure out what he's hiding and how he continually gets away with destruction. Of course Dr. Watson is going to get married and ends up becoming involved. I cracked up laughing so hard for one scene in particular that I cried and couldn't stop laughing (I tried to calm down for the sake of the surrounding viewers). content: kissing, man in women's clothing, a man's chest seen, a man is naked but not visibly so - you see part of his bum's crack and he turns around but is covered by a pile of books, a nude statue, women in tights for an acrobatic scene, women not wearing as much for that time (though they are relatively modest), drinking, smoking, a couple instances of language, murder, fighting, violence

Dance, Girl, Dance 1940 (w/ Maureen O'Hara, Lucille Ball, Louis Hayward, Ralph Bellamy) - 2 stars - a group of girls who had gone to a dance school all look for a job as a troupe. While one girl seems to be willing to do whatever she can to make some money, another wants her ballet to be appreciated and used. It was a nice story and I didn't know that Maureen O'Hara danced (though I know that Lucille Ball did). content: immodestly dressed women (doing hula dances and such), death, slapping faces

The Muppets 2011 (w/ Jason Segel, Amy Adams) - 3.75 - My boys loved it (mainly the older one). Considering how often I've immersed myself into watching the very original muppet films since childhood (The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppets Take Manhattan) - You can truly see SO many clues, props, set-ups, outfits, etc throughout the film! I thought that was cool because I picked up on a lot of throwbacks. I have seen a lot of The Muppet Show as well, but not as much as I have watched, memorized, and rewatched those three films. I've seen all the other films, too (and in theatres) but those are just classic! This story is about Walter and his brother. They have always been so close and Walter has adored The Muppets his whole life. When his brother Gary plans on having a ten year anniversary with his girlfriend, they end up getting involved with the actual Muppets! I liked the storyline. It was sweet. I didn't like all the violence and punching (though I excuse it when it involves Miss Piggy because she's just "hog wild"). I was sad that they didn't have more original songs in it (Loved the "Muppet Man" song). They played songs from the past (like "Rainbow Connection" and "The Muppet Show"), and maybe about 3 original songs, but I was hoping for a great soundtrack like The Great Muppet Caper has (which I have on vinyl). I'm a really huge muppet fan so I guess most of my expectations were satisfied, while some were not. I did like it though! content: kidnapping, punching, tackling, kicking, worst word was the use of "idiot", two muppets kiss, muppet imagines people in underwear (mostly people in well-covered slips and such), a comment about not being "done" with his balls (on his costume), women in dancing outfit that resemble the late 70s/early 80s dance costumes (legs are showing, rest is modest), . . they are kept in a closet though which is a little cruel to me, a brief showing of a woman walking by in a two-piece on a beach (she's not centered and part of the focus though), a building gets blown up by its' owner, gunshots heard, a joke of burning another muppet, punching a teacher for a show they talk about on T.V. (which gets canceled and is spoken of as wrong)

Take Me Home Tonight 2011 (w/ Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer) - 1.5 stars - The best part of the movie was the Michael Ian Black cameo. This movie COULD have been great. It was pretty funny. However, with the great amount of content it was quite terrible and I hated it!!! Back in high school in the 80s, Matt was an amazing student, a geek, and he didn't get the girl of his dreams. He never got over her. When he comes across her again 4 years later, his heart goes all a flutter and he wants her in his life but lies to her a bit to try to make her like him. His best friend and his twin sister are by his side cheering him on and have their own issues on the side too. content: there is sex in the movie (I assume, I skipped a bunch) because a guy wanted to watch his wife/gf have sex with someone to be able to get turned on and she was getting naked when I skipped the scene (though according to netflix's details, she was indeed naked and sex was in it). another couple is seen taking off clothes (underwear seen) but nothing further shown. Lots of kissing, touching, far too many innuendos and perversity, loads of language.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II 2011 (w/ Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham-Carter) - 3.25 stars - I know, you're thinking this is rated too low. I liked Part one much better than part two. I know I should probably rate them together, but I had rated the first one after seeing it in theatres and hadn't a chance to see this part in theatres. I just feel they left out a few things that were important in the story from the book, though they did get the majority. It was wonderful to see. This part is about finding the last of the horcruxes and settling things with Voldemort once and for all. content: kissing, violence & death, scary images (not recommend for children to see).

Safe Harbor 2009 (w/ Treat Williams, Nancy Travis) - 2 stars - At first this film was really cheesy. The music was so lame-movie-from-the-early-1990s sounding. The acting at times was so bad. A married couple wanted to go around the world to sail here and there. They come across a few teenagers who have been in and out of Juvie. They have some hardships in the process but they truly learn so much about these boys that they've taken under their wing. It is based off of a true story. content: punching, attempted suicide, saying words like "stupid"

Green Lantern 2011 (w/ Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong) - 3.5 stars - A show-off test pilot who seems a bit full of himself, though who really truly wants to protect people and live up to his hero (his father) who died when he was a boy gets chosen by an alien to become a Green Lantern and protect the earth from destruction. He receives new abilities and adjusts to his new life, all while trying to impress the girl he likes and the other Green Lanterns who just laugh at him as a measly human. This was very well done. I was impressed and thought it was great! content: man and woman in bed together (not married) to imply they had sex the night before, man in underwear, kissing, The Lord's name in vain, some language (sadly more than necessary), scary imagery of people being killed and souls being taken, punching and fighting, social drinking (not drunkenness)

Kindred Spirits

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:27:00 +0000

I started reading the Anne of Green Gables book series a couple of weeks ago. I have read the first two so far but am taking a break to read a Christmas book. I used to have so much of the T.V. mini-series memorized, and the book was way better! If you know anything about the story, Anne talks about finding bosom friends in which she can pour her heart out to and have them do the same for her. She often finds people who spark with personality in which she feels a connection to (or those who have a "scope of imagination"). She calls these people "kindred spirits".

My friend Rachel is a kindred spirit to me. I've known her since 2nd grade, and although we didn't have classes together each year or hang out on a regular basis (though we did keep in touch and see one another throughout the years), I've always felt connected through our personalities, interests, and our love and desire for God (ultimately). OH! Also we both got married on the same day but in different years (that's pretty kindred spirited). She was my first friend and always accepted me even when people mocked me when we were children. She's filled with encouragement and has a great heart. Make sure you visit and read her amazing blog: Even One Sparrow

When Rachel and her wonderfully-matched husband Elliott along with their sweet daughter came to visit what was once Rachel's home; they also visited our home for a few hours for dinner. A couple days later I had the opportunity to photograph her family and admirable parents. When I arrived I thought it was cute that we were both wearing outfits that were in a bit "prairie inspired" as well as oxford styled shoes. It was unplanned. I asked her husband to take a few photos of us together (Thanks Elliott). [Photos of Rachel alone were taken by me.]

[For additional Anne of Green Gable love, Rachel starred as Anne Shirley in a play in high school. She did an amazing job (I watched the performance - she's extremely talented in acting and singing on stage).]
Rachel is wearing her mother's dress (from the 1970s) and lovely oxfords she's had since high school (for the play). I love this outfit!!! Looks great!

I'm sorry for the lack of updates lately. I will be posting a movie review post later in the week (sorry for such a long delay)!!!!

I'm Thankful for Life

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:09:00 +0000

Vintage Dress: Cake Vintage | Shoes: Modcloth | Hairclip: Lila-Jo | Belt: Delia*s

Thanksgiving is quickly jumping to my favorite holiday ever simply because I recently read Washington's Thanksgiving Day proclamation explaining why the day was created (which is so beautiful). And here I was raised thinking it was just because of the Pilgrims wanting to establish their own church and be missionaries to the Native Americans and sharing a large meal together with them. It had nothing to do with that story at all! I do love Thanksgiving also because there is no created magical turkey or people deceiving their children with stories that eventually disappoint them. I don't talk very openly on my blog about my distaste for seeing the minds of children played around with, but it hurts me to see parents thinking it is fun.

Now about this outfit. . I don't have a lot of really colorful clothing, and this outfit was so pretty! I could honestly wear prairie dresses and outfits forever. I've posted myself wearing them often here, and have been asked before what style I love the most (since I wear so many different ones) and this is what wins. As for the shoes, my dad somehow inherited a pair of very old shoes (see them here) from the late 1800s/early 1900s that are a size 5 (I'm a size 9) and I used to always want to wear them. When I saw modcloth had a modern pair that looked so similar to my dad's pair, I was so excited!

Rob had to show off his teefury tee of a mash-up of Portal & Doctor Who.

No I didn't pee this puddle, though we joked about it

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Oh, The Things I Do! #2

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:53:00 +0000

This is the first week in a while where I haven't any plans on all the days of the week! It has been really rough on me some days but I survived! The boys had a lot of fun as did I.

1. My friend Nicole and I hung out for a couple hours around Thanksgiving time

2. Hebrews 10

3. leg warmer season while doing ballet. I've had the pair of leg warmers since '04 or '05

4. another shot of the boys with their pine cone animal craft

1. More Whoopie Pies
2. a turkey craft that Leto did all by himself, which he was really proud about.
3. Micah being smiley
4. my friend Laura and I

1. Part of a story that Leto had to read to me for his phonics/reading/writing portion of his curriculum. There were three pages total for this story.
2. One of my brothers and his daughter (my God-daughter) Meiha. His wife's grandmother passed away and we went to the service for her.
3. I was being like Jack Nicholson from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
4. Leto counting and writing by 5s as part of his curriculum in math.

The Reunion Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:58:00 +0000

Oh goodness, I haven't posted an outfit that I actually bought in so long. I hadn't bought anything since early April. I got this dress for my husband's high school reunion (he was a graduate in 2001). I went to high school with him (I graduated the following year since I missed the cut-off date by a few days) so it was interesting to see what people have been up to or how they've changed or even stayed the same. We weren't there very long though because it was pretty much just an open bar and we don't drink or really like being around that environment (so when many started getting drunk is when we left). Now I'm kind of excited about mine coming hopefully in less than a year.

I thought this dress was going to be more pink. I didn't think I was so pale that I'd match it! >.< I also straightened my hair for the first time in about a year.
Dress, Necklace, & Shoes: Modcloth | Hair accessory: Lila-Jo

Human Trafficking news for the week:
A couple girls that were aged 12 and 13 (as well as many others too over the last while) were runaways and forced into prostitution when they were picked up off the streets. This went on for about a year in Brooklyn (which is about 20-30 minutes from where I live). 4 people were caught and charged for doing this to many girls. These young girls were made to work in strip clubs and bachelor parties as well as being prostitutes. This is really great news that the pimps/traffickers were caught and hopefully justice will be served and they'll receive long-term prison sentences. I am sure the girls are being taken care of and helped out in either Restore NYC or GEMS which I've mentioned are restorative places in NYC for this specific situation.

The Additional Chaos

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:57:00 +0000

I don't think I've had so much on my schedule as I have in the past few weeks. Here are more photos of what's been happening!
A lot of you miss my outfit posts. I have one coming at the end of the week! Rejoice!!!

Me and Lynsie were kinda making fun of the posters. We read the Twilight books and she has seen the movies dozens of times. Breaking Dawn was my second favorite of the book series, but I won't be seeing it until it is on DVD. I still think Robert Pattinson is really ugly. haha.

Lynsie and Noah are Micah's God-parents

On my birthday (Nov. 3rd) we went to Rainforest Cafe and they had a large Red-Eyed Tree Frog there which I loved because that's my favorite animal (I'm a huge frog lover in general).

Random shot that we weren't really ready for that Rob took of us when we were at the park way back on the 31st of October (my sister-in-law's birthday).

I do crafts with my little guys at the end of some of the homeschool days. They each chose a pinecone animal they wanted to make. Micah chose the turkey and Leto chose the owl. The glue I had originally had them used didn't hold anything together (though they put them together so nicely) so I hot glued them afterwards.

They play with them a lot. The turkey is named "Gobble-Gobble" and the owl is "Who-Who".

I know some of you commented or liked my instagram of the whoopie pies I made for my family. These taste NOTHING like the amazing Amish-made ones, but they were good. My boys adored them especially.

Micah all sweaty but so cute.

The boys.
Oh, the reason behind the camouflaged stuff they often wear is because my dad was in the Army Special Forces, so it's just a habit that my family, since we were children (my brothers and I), always tend to get camo-wear and I guess that's been passed along. My grandfathers, great-uncles, etc. . were in the Army too as well as Rob's uncle and cousin and one of my second cousins. Of course my husband Rob has Navy on his side from his grandfathers (and I think the Navy is most fascinating of the branches). I do have a cousin who was in the Navy. One of my uncles was a Marine. I'm sure I've missed a lot but that list might be too long. These photos were taken all around Veteran's Day! We know a lot of Veterans as well as had many in the family!

Leto having fun

What he was looking at while he was on the ground

Movie Suggestion Post #54

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:39:00 +0000

Movie Ratings are on a scale of 1-5. Anything rated over 3 stars and is in bold, is totally worth seeing! - I rate pretty harshly.

Swing Time 1936 (w/ Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers) - 3.25 stars - "Lucky" likes to gamble. He ends up missing his own wedding and disappointing a lot of people. He needs to make loads of money so he can be able to get married for certain. One problem is that he just met a dance instructor who is changing his heart. I haven't always been too fond of Astaire movies, but this one was really cute and very funny. If you are to ever see a Astaire/Rogers film, this is the one to choose (and I've seen a few of theirs). content: kissing, revealing clothing/immodesty, gambling, drinking.

The Tree of Life 2011 (w/ Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken) - 2.75 stars - So many people have highly rated this, and that's great and all but I was so bored out of my mind most of the time in viewing it. THe imagery is GORGEOUS and probably the best I've EVER seen. The storyline is too slow and I didn't completely understand it at times. This focuses on a family, particularly life for one man who gets a view of his whole life - the joys, the sorrows, etc. content: a scene with a boy and lingerie, though we don't exactly get told what is happening, one can figure it out easily enough. Also some violence and boys being boys in learning things regarding violence. literal showing of sperm and egg joining together (but no pornographic sexual imagery shown around it, which is very good). a scene of some light immodesty

Yogi Bear 2010 (w/ Tom Cavanagh, Anna Faris, voices of Dan Aykroyd & Justin Timberlake) - 2.25 stars - My boys liked this movie. It didn't remind me enough of the cartoon which I adored as a child. The voices were perfect though! Ranger Smith wants to bring more people into Jellystone Park. He's always had problems with Yogi and Boo-Boo, but now they want to help save the park. Of course a woman comes around trying to help and a mayor is out to own the land. It was okay. A bit too mediocre. content: name calling, kissing, talk of marking a girl with pee (ahh!)

Jane Eyre 2011 (w/ Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench) - 2.5 stars - I've reviewed a different version of this before not too long ago and had been interested in seeing the new one. It was pretty interesting and kept my attention ikn the first bits of it. It was when the actress who played Jane was in it more that she just seemed bored and uninterested in her role. I loved the dialogue and the expressions quite a bit, but this was so slow and boring. It is also just a strange story about a troubled orphan girl who was raised in a girls' home and becomes a governess for a strange man with a strange history. Gorgeous hair and costumes! content: kissing, girl and woman shown in a modest petticoat (but they are undergarments so that's why I mention it), a painting of a nude woman is focused on a couple times, violence)

Something in the Wind 1947 (w/ Deanna Durbin, Donald O'Connor, John Dall) - 3.25 stars - This was a very sweet movie about a young woman trying to get into the singing business so she can survive and support her aunt who has been so helpful over the years to her (and she was named after her). A rich son learns that his deceased father was sending money to the young woman's aunt, but instead mistakes the young woman of being in an affair with his father. Lots of miscommunication and misunderstanding, while also playing along to receive more money takes place in the movie. Perhaps instead love is being created in some odd fashion. This was actually a very cute movie. I really enjoyed it and I have always adored Deanna Durbin's singing. I had always heard her opera sounding voice but not her swing type of voice that comes through a couple times in the movie. That was pretty interesting and so pretty. There were some funny instances to make you chuckle too. content: ideas of affair, idea of a child created through affair, kissing, kidnapping

Captain America: The First Avenger 2011 (w/ Chris Evans, Natalie Dormer, Sebastian Stan, Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving) - 3 stars - A young man has been bullied his whole life for being short and scrawny. It is the 1940s and he wants to fight in the war, but they continually reject him. He has a heart for bringing justice to those who want to harm others and gets chosen to be involved in an experiment in the secret military tests. An evil man known as Red Skull is out to destroy the world. Can he be defeated? This movie was good and I enjoyed the storyline, but some of it was a little cheesy and made me laugh. I felt badly not enjoying it more being a Marvel fan. The good part is that the ending is different than what is common in these stories. content: bullying, fighting, kissing, drinking, violence (a few graphic scenes), immodest outfits, some foul language

Waiting for Forever 2010 (w/ Rachel Bilson, Tom Sturridge) - 2.5 stars - This is one strange story, but at times it is really sweet and other times a bit surprising. A young man has grown up with the memories of Emma, the girl he has loved since he was a child. They have so many memories together, but he hasn't talked to her in many years. He wants to marry her. He's struggled since the death of his parents and is ready to face the love of his life again and hopes she won't reject him. She has problems of her own though. The storyline was just a little too out there for me. I love romantic stories though. content: kissing, cleavage, noting female anatomy, violence, one bad word mentioned, alcohol (but I don't recall anyone actually drinking)

Oh, The Things I Do!

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

For my birthday (on Nov. 3rd), my husband bought me an iPhone because mine was awful (people would call and I'd never know unless they left a message). I have been having fun with the instagram - I'm justicepirate if you want to follow me on there. I use my own camera MUCH more than my phone by the way. It is fun to just take quick shots with the phone too.

1. Me and my best friend Lynsie (she treated me to birthday dinner).

2. While the power was out we were at home for a while with the blinds open. The boys were playing with their shadows on the walls.

3. My husband and our sons during the power outage playing.

4. The snow melting

1. Baked cookies with the boys
2. We spent a few days painting the rooms in our home (after living here three years). The boys' room was "Surfer Wave" blue.
3. Micah was falling asleep and smiling in the car
4. And Leto was just smiling

1. Craft time at home (yey for sales on things that are out of season)
2. Micah is bug-eyed
3. the aquarium at the place we went to eat for my birthday
4. While painting our bedroom, my husband wrote this behind my back on a wall. I turned around and swooned.

1. I don't ever take my boys out to eat during the week. I decided to take them to Panera this week though.
2. With one of my dearest friend Brienne
3. We were SO tired (Rob and I)
4. Some of the books I have ready to read/currently reading. One of them I have since finished though. Yeah. . .I didn't pay for ANY of these books. I love paperbackswap.com (and three books I am borrowing from people, and my Bible was a gift to me a few years ago). I read a lot.

Rob took this of me with his Droid. This is our bedroom's wall color now and I looked like a gnome while painting it. as you see I was just painting over his graffiti.

Delayed Pumpkin Post

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:35:00 +0000

I am slowly catching up on posts here (and on reading blog entries, still behind quite a bit). In case some of you are wondering where my outfit posts have been, don't fear, There are some in the works in my head now that will be coming. I appreciate your patience and that you don't mind looking at my family photos a bit in the mean time! It has been over 7 months since I bought outfits! In case you missed the Pen-Pal exchange I've begun called "Snailin' It", we have 16 people signed up so far and could use even more (no matter which country you live in)! You'll be paired up with people on Monday if you did sign up or choose to now! This is so exciting!

I meant to post this entry last week! We've been very busy here and unfortunately the usual Movie post expected every other Thursday will be delayed another week since I haven't had time to watch more than maybe two films in the past two weeks! I don't know if you remember I mentioned that my husband accidentally lost a bunch of photos. . .he took a few nice ones of me when we went pumpkin picking, and some of me with the boys. . .but they're gone. I'm glad we have some though from this day!

Snowy Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:39:00 +0000

In the last days of October, we received about a foot of snow on the ground. The problem was that since there were so many leaves on the trees, the snow on top of the leaves weighed the branches down. Branches (large ones at that) were everywhere. This caused many power lines to go down. We were without power for a day ourselves. My one brother was without power for about 5 days. There were detours all over the place and we saw many lines in the road, and one was actually sparking (and cops came to fix it). The snow melted since. I just think it is very odd to find leaves and snow together. We went to a park and I got a few shots.

Small Glimpse Into My Daily Life

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:40:00 +0000

In the early morning I feed the boys breakfast and immediately afterwards Leto begins his school work. Here he is doing his phonics/reading/writing assignments. Leto's in kindergarten (he's 4.5 years old). He has learned a lot and I get to work on things longer with him one on one in a way he wouldn't receive if he were in a classroom setting. When he has a struggle with an area, I get to help him understand it. Really his only issue is that he sometimes confuses reading a b for a d (he writes them fine). All I have to do is say, "no" and he quickly corrects himself saying, "I mean [word]". I have been asked by a couple people what I do with Micah while I teach Leto. Most of the time he is right there next to his brother, just observing (and learning too). He tends to color for a long time (and in the lines, which is impressive for a near-3 year old, I think). Other times he enjoys being alone and building things (since he doesn't get a lot of alone time other than at that time). You'll see he built a parking lot one morning. Sometimes he'll sit on my lap or I'll hold him as I teach his brother (he's not antsy while I do these things, he just is a mush who likes affection).

After lunch they have nap-time which lasts any time between an hour to four hours (which is when I do ballet and watch a movie - sometimes at the same time)! They are pretty used to being on a set schedule. Some days they don't nap in which they are put into bed earlier than on the days they'd nap.

When they wake from their nap (depending on the time) we'll have a snack. Our favorite is to have popcorn together (which I make from an air-popper). While the popcorn is waiting to be popped they spin around and around on the floor as the air popper spins. They imitate the machine every time I put it on.

I melt some butter

And put it on the delicious popcorn

And we all sit down to eat it.

In case you are wondering what goes on the rest of the day, they play a LOT with one another. They have tons of fun and are really creative and imiginative. We don't have any T.V. channels which seems very weird to many people. When I was a child I sat for hours in front of a Television and stopped watching completely once I was about 9 years old. It is nice to not have that extra distraction. I've found that a lot of parents seem to try to keep their kids calm by putting on a T.V. in front of their child so they don't really have to "deal with them" as much. I think that is ridiculous and they're missing out on teaching and learning with their children. I do let my boys watch something once in a while (yesterday Leto asked to watch Toy Story, so I put it on for them when they woke from their nap, and that was all they watched all day). They have gone through full weeks without watching anything at all. I have fun talking and playing with these two guys, and sure sometimes it gets frustrating, but really they're pretty obedient and well behaved and extremely happy kids. I think it's because their mom and dad pay attention to them and they know they are loved because we give them so much of our time.

Snailin' It - Join the project!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:40:00 +0000

I decided to start a project and I truly hope you are all interested in joining in on the fun!!

A lot of people call mail that arrives in a mailbox "Snail Mail" since it arrives slowly. We live in a-fast responding social networking world. We expect things so immediately that sometimes we forget how to relax and take our time. There is a beauty in letter writing; a sort of romanticism that I love in learning about other people and seeing their handwriting and being able to connect personally with them.

If you want to be matched up with a penpal (from either your own country or another), please do the following things:

1. Sign up only if you are dedicated to writing to someone. Don't sign up and never write to the other person. Please be dedicated to writing your pen-match more than once as well. I understand you have a lot that you do, but don't let a letter response go unwritten for over 3 or 4 weeks at a time. A letter should never be delayed for more than 6 weeks (if you don't hear from your pen-pal the first time after 3 weeks, please let me know and I will match you with another person).

2. Fill this out (it is information I will need to match you with someone, and some information will be given to your pen-pal/s. It will not be shared anywhere else.)

3. Please either tweet, re-link this post on your facebook (or other social networking areas) or link one of the following images on your page with a link back to this entry! (you can do both if you want). This will help spread the news and give you a better chance of being matched faster with someone else. Tell your friends too!

4. Common letter writing rules (though you don't HAVE to do it): write a date on it, write a term of endearment such as "Dear Victoria," and always end your letter signing your own name. Ask questions. Respond to questions. Don't be brief. Letters should paint a picture to the reader of what you are going through or what your life is like. Be descriptive (don't just write a 3-sentenced opening letter or response to someone). Talk about yourself as much as you want, but again, also show an interest in the person you're writing to! This is common courtesy in letter-writing! People who do these things will be able to continue their letter writing to the same person for a few months to a few years!

5. Be aware that postage costs differently in each country (if you want a pen-pal in another country, be sure to find out the rate for that area)! Make sure you have your letters sealed properly and that your addresses are legible so they don't get lost so easily in the mail! (I like to tape letters going out of country up pretty good and write "air mail" on it).

-------------------------------
When do we begin?
We have had 20 people involved in the exchange (updated as of November 17, 2011). A few people are waiting for even more penpals! You can sign up today! Give about 2 weeks' time before you receive a response about your match as I match based on and age group (and I try to match by interests as well)!
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MY OWN LETTER WRITING EXPERIENCE
My love for letter writing began when I came home from my first time away at camp (I was 11, it was the weekend of her 12th birthday). I made a friend who was so much like me (and I didn't have any friends so a bond was created) that I exchanged my mailing address with her. She was my first pen-pal even though she only lived 4 hours away. We wrote each other constantly. We would meet up a few years later at camp again (which happened for a few years in a row). Eventually I would see her outside of camp a few times (most recent was earlier this year). After all these years she is 28 and I am nearly 28 and we still write one another, though not as often.

When I was 13, I enjoyed writing to my pen-pal so often, that I was excited when my 7th grade Language Arts teacher introduced to us a program where we would receive a pen-pal outside of the US. We each had to choose one and it cost us $7 to do! I loved writing so often that I received 3: one from Korea, one from England, and one from Ireland (who never responded and was replaced by one from British Colombia, Canada). I wrote them until I stopped hearing from them (which lasted a few years)! During that time I collected many more pen-pals from camp and one from a girl I went to school with who had moved. By the time I was 15 I had 64 pen-pals. It was so fun for me! Keep in mind I didn't have friends, so these people were my closest friends. In time they all stopped writing me. Up to date I've probably had over 200 pen-pals (most were short-lived). I have always responded to every letter I've received.

Currently I have about six pen-pals. Some have been writing to me for a few years. It is really fun to receive a letter in the mail, read it, and have the chance to sit down and write a hand-written response! I truly encourage you ladies to be a part of my new project "Snailin' It".

Nature Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Last week I did two photoshoots which you can see at my new photography blog called Shine Like Stars (please follow it through bloglovin or E-mail subscription at the bottom of the blog over there)
We got to the location of the shoot early and as a family went on a little nature walk that we noticed was sort-of hidden (but had a specific path for and a sign stating it was a nature walk area). We had a really nice time and I got some great shots of our little guys. Unfortunately a bunch of lovely photos my husband took were all accidentally deleted off of his memory card (including cute ones of me with the boys). At least we have the memory in our heads of it and that I was able to get shots we could keep!

Micah's got the forest reflecting off of his eyes here (his eyes are usually bright blue with yellow around the pupil). strange.

Movie Suggestion Post #53

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:39:00 +0000

Movie Ratings are on a scale of 1-5. Anything rated over 3 stars and is in bold, is totally worth seeing! - I rate pretty harshly.

Where the Boys Are 1960 (w/ Dolores Hart, Barbara Nichols, Paula Prentiss, Connie Francis, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, George Hamilton) - 3.25 stars - A group of fresh college girls decide to go to FL for their winter break (maybe spring since they were in a colder environment) in hopes of meeting guys. It starts out where one of the main characters speaks up for sex with whomever she wants. Throughout the movie you see people's minds being changed or sticking to their moral. It was an intense story at times, other times it was very cheesy. I laughed a couple times. Beautiful outfits worn throughout it. Although I don't agree with all the things mentioned in it (although some of the things I disagreed with was said by an actress who later became a nun, so I suppose she disagreed too!), I thought it was an enjoyable movie. I really enjoyed the character who was "the tall girl". The most hilarious person was Connie Francis who also has a dynamite singing voice, she sang a couple songs in this (go listen to her music). content: kissing, drinking, smoking, people being flirtatious, hints of sex, talk about sex, girls in bathing suits & getting dressed (being in slips for a few seconds).

The Yellow Handkerchief 2008 (w/ William Hurt, Kristen Stewart, Eddit Redmayne, Maria Bello) - 2 stars - This is a remake of a 70s Japanese movie (which was based off of a book). This movie kept making me wonder what was going on with the main character. He was in prison for six years and as soon as he gets out he meets a couple of young people who take him along for a ride. Throughout it you get to learn about the characters (mainly the ex-convict). Little by little, you learn about his story. It was too slow at times (boring!) but things got pretty good nearer to the end. content: kissing, couple taking their clothes off in a shower - though you can't really see much, you see the outline and slight view of a woman's breast (briefly). man trying to get sexual with a woman by grabbing parts of her body (she stops him), language, people being bullies and fighting, brief violence

Since You Went Away 1944 (w/ Claudette Colbert, Shirley Temple (teen), Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten) - 3.25 stars - This to me was like a WWII version of Little Women (but with some differences and less girls and without too much of them growing up). It was very long and I think they could have made it shorter (it's close to 3 hours or so). We get to see what life is like for a wife/mother and her two daughters while they wait for her husband to return from war. They try to take care of themselves best they can and open their home to have people rent out rooms. There were lovely outfits throughout it (and hairstyles). It was a bit dramatic and sad. content: kissing, smoking, drinking

The Flame and the Arrow 1950 (w/ Burt Lancaster, Robert Douglas, Virginia Mayo) - 3 stars - This movie was in very nicely remastered color. A mercenary goes against a Hessian leader because he doesn't like his ways. This causes the leader to kidnap the rebel's son to live with his mother who is now wife to the leader. The rebel will do anything to get his son back. In the process he meets a lady of title who he kidnaps as well so that they each have someone in their hold worth exchanging. It was filled with adventure and was a fun tale. content: little boy's bum hangs out a bit from an outfit he is wearing, cleavage, kissing, kidnapping, sword-fight battles

My Louisiana Sky 2001 (w/ Kelsey Keel, Juliette Lewis, Shirley Knight, Michael Cera) - 3 stars - A very sweet movie about a young girl who is reaching her teen years in the 1950s living with her grandmother and her mentally handicapped parents. When a big change happens for their family, her aunt comes to help out. She has so much going on around her from wanting to have friends who are girls, keeping her guy friend's attention, and dealing with her parents. I liked it! content: kissing, talk about menstruation, mockery of the mental handicapped characters

Three Smart Girls 1936 (w/ Deanna Durbin, Charles Winninger, Nan Grey, Barbara Read) - 3.25 stars - [screenshot by me. . the only one I remembered to make one of] What a cute movie! Three sisters find out that their father is getting remarried (their parents had divorced). They set out to see their father and try to stop him from marrying someone since their mother still loves him. It is filled with fun and comedy and love. Deanna Durbin sings about 3 or 4 songs in this (how lovely). The outfits and hairstyles are so great! content: kissing, girls in short sailor shorts

Oh October, You're so Busy!

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:45:00 +0000

A few of you who read my blog know that I homeschool my older son Leto who is in Kindergarten at the moment (next year my younger son Micah will have pre-school at home). I am a part of two homeschool groups that have co-op classes, clubs, music lessons, and various activities. There isn't a whole lot available to my sons' age groups at all, so what I can get to, I will. There will be a lot more available once they reach second grade. The first thing I was able to go to was a picnic within the first few days of October. After all the kids ate they gathered around to hear a man talk about various animals. He would walk around so that every kid could touch the animal (unless it was poisonous like the scorpion, a certain type of turtle and toad he had, etc). My boys both loved these three animals the most to touch. Two types of snakes and a chinchilla. They had a lot of fun! There were probably 35 kids gathered around.

One of my dear friends (She's made a few appearances on my blog) Brienne, had a birthday party for her younger son Gavin, who turned 1 year old. The birthday boy seemed to enjoy his cake a lot too!

I am also a youth group leader at my church for two age groups (one 6th-8th graders, another 9th-12th graders, though some stuck around to be with friends even though they graduated high school). With the younger group, a few of the kids came and played mini-golf (not too big of a group). They all had fun and afterwards the girls ran around like crazy and dragged me around to take photos of them doing odd things. These are only a few out of many.

And on Saturday Rob and I took our long-time friend Cristina out for dinner for her 29th birthday (she's also made a few appearances on my blog). She has instagram, so this is from her camera.

If you're still reading this, it's because you actually read my blog. Thank you! I have run out of outfits to wear, and wanted to share with you that I will still be posting on my blog, but it might be some time before you see more outfit entries (though you will see them again, I promise). I haven't bought vintage clothes for six months (only bought a couple shirts from some of my favorite anti-human trafficking organizations, and that's all).

Posts you'll see: outfit posts every so often (not every week, possibly once a month, though maybe one every two months). I am not borrowing outfits any longer from people because the last one I wore ripped (getting it fixed) and I don't want to damage anyone else's beautiful clothes. I will still post human trafficking stuff with my outfit entries! I know this might cause many people to stop following the blog, and that's your choice. I hope you'll stick around! The Movie Suggestion posts WILL still be posted! I've always loved doing them! I know it isn't a very popular entry, but I also know a few people who enjoy them.

Posts I rid of: Modesty features (too much of a hassle, though once in a while I will still post on the tumblr a few outfits I like that I see while reading blogs). As you see I have a lot going on and haven't time to go through loads of blogs to find modest inspiration. I am pretty behind in my blog reading as it is. I apologize to you, because I know it was a hit.

Also my husband and I have a photography blog (mainly in the works), and temporarily we have this one up until we get a new layout worked up. Please follow it, because you'll see a lot of lovely photos!!! We are in the process of changing the 5-year run "Marvelous Things" name to "Shine Like Stars" too.

A Formal Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:05:00 +0000

Here are the rest of the photos I wanted to post from the wedding I attended (my cousin Matt and his wife Jessica). I didn't really take much of their actual wedding and of them since they had a load of photographers around them and I always had people's heads in front of me!

Here's my husband Rob (I believe he looks quite dashing, but I'm a little obsessed with him)

Here's a photo of the Bride and Groom coming out of the church after they were wed. There's a shot of me and Rob and on the right you see my parents (who have been married for 40 years!!!)

I don't have many shots of me and my parents at all (probably the last time I got one taken was when I got married over seven years ago). My dad has never dyed his hair before and still has a lot of it. Pretty good for a 64 year old.

My youngest cousin (there are 25 of us born from my mom and her siblings, I'm the third youngest of my cousins and siblings on this side of the family). She did a huge transformation and never looked so glamorous ever! She's 21 (and is the sister of the groom). On the bottom left is one of my aunts (mother of the groom) with my mom. On the right is one of my aunts holding her granddaughter.

My cousin again on the left and the groom (also my cousin) with his mama dancing together. This was a tough day for them all since a year and a half ago my uncle passed away.

I leave you with another shot of my parents because they're just so cute!!

Sea Foam and Make-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:35:00 +0000

- Outfit #21 to stand up against modern-day slavery/human trafficking & promote modesty! -
This is the last vintage dress borrowed from Lauren of Sparrow & Urchin. It was lovely (and probably the hardest dress I've ever had to iron since it's two layers, one thin and one thick so i had to constantly change the settings). I wore it to my cousin's wedding. I'll be posting more photos from the event a little later on. You'll be able to see how goofy I am sometimes. There were two long pieces on the back of this dress that I didn't know exactly the use of them, so I kept doing silly things with them. I want to thank Lauren for sending me all these amazing dresses. Now to get ready to send them all back!

Reason Why I'm Doing This #21:
A couple weeks ago I was informed about Radiant Cosmetics which is a make-up company having "Beauty with a purpose". Every time you buy from them, they send 20% of their profits to Free the Captives, who works in helping victims of human trafficking in Houston, TX (mainly girls who are 12-18 years old). The founder of Radiant Cosmetics worked with The World Race after she got out of college and during her missions work befriended a prostitute in Thailand, who was a victim of sex trafficking. The founder of this make-up saw all the brothels in Thailand firsthand and worked in helping victims and families out there. On her return and through her love for make-up, she decided her "dream is to set the captives free, one lipstick at a time".

Magic Light Gonna Take You For a Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Victoria / Justice Pirate) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:54:00 +0000

I dyed my hair (and it is too dark for my liking, so I look forward to it fading) and also this is not a human trafficking awareness entry today because this is an actual vintage dress I own, though I didn't buy it. I won it from Fancy Treehouse's blog through When Decades Collide in July. It was really difficult for me to pick out a dress that would be long enough for my tall body in my size, but still this one is a little short for my taste (hello, scrawny legs). It's cute though. Today marks six months since I bought a dress or anything that doesn't go to a cause (though my mom bought me a pair of jeans since she noticed I wear one pair).

When I was a little girl in the 1980s, I really loved Rainbow Brite. This outfit totally reminds me of her and the color kids. I actually own the only 13 episodes +movies that were ever aired and still have my Rainbow Brite, Patty O'Green, and Twink the Sprite doll (should have used them as props, but didn't think about it). I had a few other things as a child (like sheets). . I even still have a toddler nighty that I kept for a future daughter with Rainbow Brite on it (but no daughters for me. I'll be giving it to my niece when she's older since my brother and his wife have all the episodes too . .she'll get my dolls if she likes it enough too). I am not sentimental when it comes to my possessions and got rid of the majority of things I used to own (I'm a bit of a minimalist), but those I kept.

Tomorrow will mark the 11th anniversary from when my husband Rob and I first became a couple!! We haven't any plans or anything (we're simplistic), but it is just crazy to think we've been a couple for OVER a decade already. It is so cool to be able to say that I have memories with my husband from when we were teenagers. We are starting to take note of how we're each aging (I'm aging more than he is) and it is nice to know that even though we're starting to look older, we are more in love (and more obsessed) with one another, and I believe it is because of our dedication to following God's will for our lives individually and together, since God is the center core of our relationship.

Here are my favorite three males!!