Toddlers & Tiaras - Ramblings

Today I watched a TV series called "Toddlers & Tiaras" on TLC. It was kind of like watching a train wreck. Horrifying, but at the same time, fascinating. The show is about children (mostly ages 12 and under) that compete in children's beauty pageants. I would love to say we don't have these things in Canada, but I'm fairly certain we probably do (the show is based in the U.S..)

Most of the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves, some, not so much, and others, well... not at all. For me, it's just strange - and slightly uncomprehensible - to see kids wearing more make up than most badly/overly made up women I know; being spray tanned (or in one case having it rolled on with something akin to a paint roller); wearing fake nails, fake eyelashes, fake hair, and then parading around in elaborate, garish outfits that cost more than a lot of things I wish I owned - as my one friend said when she heard what one mother commented about outfits costing "That's a lot of rent..." (We're talking this mother has invested between 65-70 THOUSAND dollars in going to pageants. Oh, and her daughter was about 5 years old.) I can understand the make up and the hairspray - my neices go through those for skating. I've done the "You've got so much hairspray/product in your hair, stay away from open flames" myself for a couple formal events (remember, the trick is that if your hair still feels like hair, you don't have enough hairspray.)

The younger kids really didn't seem to understand what was going on, they just did it, and probably had fun (though there were a lot of sad faces when they didn't get prizes.) The older kids did get it, and some were INSANE about it. The one 10 year old even had (what appeared to be a rather bitchy) alter ego named Tootie. I kid you not - they called the child by her real name, and she snapped back "I'm not *name*!! I'M TOOTIE!!!" And her bad mood lasted until she stepped on stage, and then came back as soon as she was off stage. A few of these kids seem to have "I'm better than you" attitudes. Already. Like little Miss Tootie. She constantly had this look like someone around her was smelly - the disgust, the sneer, all of it. She also didn't seem to give a damn about anything. What she won was not good enough.

A lot of the mothers were also pageant contestants when they were younger. They were more excited than the kids when they won *grimace* Seriously, your child is standing on stage with this "I have no idea what's going on, but I'll stand here and smile" look on their face, and you're standing in the audience squealing, jumping up and down for joy, waving your arms, hollering, yelling, and hugging your friends/family... meanwhile your child's expression has now become "My mother is acting insane, and I'm not sure why, or what I should be doing, but okay..."

One family had all 5 of their daughters competing. I WILL SAY THIS NOW - I'm not going to say this woman is a bad mother, or anything like that. I do not know these people, I am aware this whole thing has been edited by other people than her (or at least I would assume it has been), and all that. What I am about to say is my own observations and opinions formed by what I saw.

Anyways, continuing, this family has 5 daughters competing, two of whom are twins. Now in the beginning, it seems as though the mother is showing favouritism (and it does kind of seem that way, but at the same time, she could be just being very truthful/realistic, as one twin won more pageants than the other twin.) I will call the twin that wins more Twin #1 and the other twin Twin #2. I will say how things originally came across, and then my later thoughts on them. So, first off, Twin #2 doesn't really seem to enjoy pageants. Twin #2 also looks emotionally injured when talking about pageants. She knows her sister wins more than she does etc. She said so herself, and when speaking about pageants, looked unhappy, looked down from everyone else, or away from everyone else. Originally I was rather shocked at how the mother came across when the dress Twin #2 chose had a rip in it. It appeared a ruffle had come off a layer of the skirt, and would actually be a fairly easy fix. The mother however goes "It's RIPPED. You ripped it at the last pageant!! Do you remember how you ripped it?! You lose points for things like this!!" The child started to cry, asking if it could be fixed, or if they could get a new one. The mother replied she'd fix it if she had time, and that while there was a new dress coming, it would probably only fit Twin #1. Now this originally came off as rather cold - however, thinking on it more, 5 girls to get ready for the pageant would be a lot of work, and if the twins differed in size from when the dress was ordered, it would make sense that it would only really fit one of them. Other than this, for the most part, the mother seemed to be a very good parent. The father eventually had to make the desicion to remove Twin #1 from the pageant because of her horrible behaviour, and the mother respected this and did not fight him on it at all. The thing that stunned me most was Twin #1's behaviour at/after the pageant. Twin #1 ended up being removed before the final portion before crowning - due to her behaviour (we're talking kicking, screaming, crying, ignoring parental directions, insulting her sisters etc.) Twin #2 ended up being crowned 3rd Alternate, and Director's Choice. Twin #1 - while not participating in the talent portion, and being removed - was awarded 2nd Alternate. Both twins were then being interviewed by the camera crew, and when Twin #2 was asked what she won, Twin #1 butted in with "YOU didn't win. I did! I got 2nd Alternate!Twin #2 replied with "How would you know?! You weren't there! You were asleep!" Twin #1 continued with "I won. Ask mommy!" Twin #2 then simply sat there, staring down and away from everyone, looking at the floor, no expression on her face. Twin #1 then put her arm around her sister in a comforting/patronizing gesture, only to be shoved off by Twin #2. WAY TO GO #2!! One child has an ego issue, and the other has emotional damage issues. I hope Twin #1 smartens the fuck up, and Twin #2 grows up to be strong, and not hating and distrusting people.

Before and After photos can be seen here, (Tootie is #4) along with other stuff on the site (like lists of what they take to pageants, etc etc.) Some of them still look like children when they're all made up. Others look like Barbie dolls.

Oh, and the cost of the one girl's dresses from above? Least expensive was either $1200 or $2100. Most expensive was $3600. I think I need to be making poufy, frou frou pageant dresses that look like glitter vomit.

Now then, not sure why I'm rambling on this much... probably because this whole thing kind of disturbs me (in about the same sense as purity balls...)

A Foodie Post For The Most Part

So today there's a few things to talk about! Some sewing, a movie and some food. The last two are related in a way - Although I was going to be making these things anyways without watching the movie. So I'll leave the food until the end, so it's all tied together.

We checked out the new Fabricland location, it's pretty nice. There's more room than the others, although it feels too new lol. I picked out some cotton to make myself a tiered peasant skirt - it's a dark red with little dark yellow/gold stars on it. Mom helped me pin on the pattern pieces to make it go faster etc, and we got it cut out, so I can start sewing that soon. And hopefully get it done before I take anymore beach trips (which may or may not be until next year, we shall see.) So that's about that for now. Still plugging away at the quilts, but it was really hot and then really cold and wet (yay hurricanes!) so not much has been done recently.

Now then, ONTO THE FOOD! Today my mom and I went to the movie theatre and saw Julie & Julia. This is kind of a dual movie because part of it is the story of Julia Child, the cook, and Julie Powell, a woman who decides to blog as she cooks her way through Julia Child's cookbook. The movie is based on two TRUE stories, as there actually is a woman named Julie Powell who cooked her way through the cookbook and blogged about it, she also wrote a memoir about it and that is essentially what the movie is based off, as well as Julia Child's memoirs. I recommend this movie to everyone. It's well written, amusing, shows LOTS of yummy food. Just avoid bookstores on the way home in case you want to try cooking through the book as well hahaha. My favourite line from the movie that really sticks out was when Julia Child is taking a hot cannoli out of a pot of boiling water with her bare hands and she says, "These damn things are hotter than a stiff cock!" I think we all almost died from laughter when that one came out. This is Julie Powell's blog where she did the challenge HERE.

In other news, my friend Ezri is hosting an afternoon tea tomorrow and it's pot luck. I was originally going to take turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches, but then the date got moved and now I'm rather lazy feeling and I ended up making something "simpler" that takes more effort lol. I'm making Cherry and Pecan Cream Cheese Spread and Herbed Cheese Balls (or something similar) that I found on this website HERE.

The Cherry and Pecan Cream Cheese spread looks kinda gross... but it's yummy. It starts off looking like an herb cream cheese dip/spread before the cherries are added, and ends up looking.... a bit daunting... (read: when hacking away at the revived/stewed cherries it looked A LOT like liver... ick. And then before a REALLY good mixing, it kind of resembled stomach contents. MMMMMM STOMACH CONTENTS.) Taste-wise - YUM-De-FUCKING-MY. A bit tart, as it uses sour cherries, but very refreshing as well. I think you could use fresh cherries/non-sour instead of dried, it'd still look the same, etc (or be sweeter.)

I probably won't make the herbed cheese balls until tomorrow so they're fresher etc. I chopped up the herbs tonight though. Going to mix some of them into the cream cheese before making them into the balls, and then roll them in the remainder of the chopped herbs. Should be yummy.

Now, for the photos (I'm just going to link the sentence for most of these)
Reviving the cherries (I used dried sour cherries)

This is my hack job of mincing the cherries up instead of mixing them in as HUGE whole cherries
Ewwwww LIVER!!! + "I swear I didn't kill anyone and I'm not butchering a body!!"

And the final project...
It looks more appetizing in this photo than in real life lol. In real life it looks a bit more like peanut butter with raisins mixed in. Looks icky, tastes pretty good.

Tomorrow I shall post some pics from the tea party, and perhaps a lesson on which fabrics REALLY need to be washed BY THEMSELVES before going anywhere near others.

Checking In

So it's been a few days, I've been working on stuff for this, brainstorming ideas etc, but since my sleeping habits have once again shifted to the strange and unusual (read: I've royally fucked my bedtime and having a lot of disturbing dreams. It's rather like being jetlagged all the time.) To counter this, I have watched almost all 3 seasons of Due South, I've watched Passchendaele, and Men With Brooms. As soon as I have finished Due South I will be starting in on Slings & Arrows. 10 points and a cookie to the person who can make the connection between all of these hahaha. Also - WATCH THEM. They are AMAZING. DO IT! NOW!

Speaking of strange dreams, that's what I've been working on for this, however, it may have to be a series. It's getting longer and longer with every day that passes and the more I think of and remember.

I also broke myself again... Twisted my ankle, but then I think those of you that follow my blog already know this, so I'll skip the details for now. It's still a bit achey, depends on the shoes, the ground, and how I walk. Hurray for it being my driving and sewing foot, bleh.

Anyhoo, I'm heading to bed for now. I can feel my brain stalling as we go here. And this must be a good thing because this is over an hour earlier than I've been going to bed for the past week *sigh* Who's willing to bet I'm going to lie in bed for hours now? :p