Benadryl Cucumberpatch and why you're awesome for knowing what that means.

                           
I want to get his piece right. 
I have been writing a bit and then leaving it and coming back to it again.
It might be the only chance I get to explain why. 
Why Benedict is so important to me. But I can't find the right works. 
Why out of all the other actors on the planet, he's the one that produces the most "I can't evens...", makes me jump around hysterically when I come across a re-run of one of his episodes on the Graham Norton show and when my best friend brings me a poster from The Fifth Estate from her work I'm too nervous to hang it in case it gets ripped and then. That would make me die a little on the inside.

Benedict Cumberbatch is, in my opinion, the most talented actor of our time, and I will not be swayed by the haters. 

His looks don't enter the equation here. His looks aren't what matters.  

I'll spare you all of my emotional mumbling about how I can't even handle how glorious he is as Khan in Star Trek into Darkness, how I was rooting for him the whole time even though he was the bad guy! Damn it he was fantastic. 

Did you even see his guns in that movie? I am not talking about his phasers either peoples! (Psst, I'm talking about his muscles in case you missed the gag.)

Photo credit in the pic :) 

C'mon Khan't you see it? See what I did there? Oh never mind. 

I think my Husband is secure with my choice, I mean Ben is totally unreachable that's obvious to me. 
The thing is I don't know anyone that see's him like I do.

I mean have you even seen Sherlock? It's 9 episodes people, don't be lazy. 

                    

Sherlock was what sealed the deal.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock is the single most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Perfection in it's rawest form. 

As the high functioning Sociopath he is brilliant. 
Being a part of the Sherlock fandom is incredible exciting, the anticipation that is created by a 2 year hiatus is like nothing else you could imagine. The wait can literally put your mind in the strangest of places and we are know as the fandom that can't quiet hold it all together. Quiet literally "all mad around here". 
But all the best people are.

The "Cumbercollective" or the "Cumbercookies" who when in numbers are called the "Cumberbatch" are basically the fans that follow Ben, we are all his number 1 fans and we all love him and his quirky ways. Whether banding together on Pinterest, Tumblr or Facebook we are a powerful source and together there really isn't much we don't know about Ben. Doing so in a respectful way and those lucky enough to meet him know that as a collective we have vowed to respect his privacy and only a few rogue fans misbehave. 

I could go on and I probably will at some stage to the dismay of my friends and family and that strange guy at the bus stop that one time and my hairdresser and the girl who scans my groceries and even the self serve checkout has heard about our (totally one sided and completely fanatical) love. 

I'm not saying it's healthy. 

I don't even care. 

I'm still freaking out about the absolutely mind blowing performance he put into creating Smaug, oh my dragons it was brilliant. "I am fire, I am death!" As if Benedict himself had indeed transformed himself into a dragon. I believed it. Hell I'd have thrown myself into his fiery breath just to see it in real life. 
Unfortunately we are still limited to what we can create with CGI and a real life conjuring of Cumberbatch in dragon form is many years away, we can but wait.

I can only briefly touch on these few characters that have been so wonderfully and artfully brought to life by this incredible actor. 
So many others are worth time and deep thought and I have so much to say about each and every other. 
Another time. 
That is my last vow to you. 
You have not heard the last of my Cumberbabble. 

Cumbercookie for life.
Stacey. 

How to buy books without your husband knowing.

                       

I did it again, only this time I forgot to cover my tracks. I "bought a book I didn't need". Those were the words he used. 

Oh boy, I thought I was in big trouble for a minute there. Sitting on the table was the book Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I had bought it the day before Husband flew in from work and I hadn't remembered to put it away so there it was, sitting right in the middle of the table almost flashing like a beacon. 

Look at me! Look at me!
I had failed myself. 
You see I have special ways of buying books so they go unnoticed.
I do my research, like who has it cheapest, obviously because I can buy more books that way, does my local book store have any deals going on? Like 3 for the price of 2. How many points do I have on my booklovers card and how does that correlate into $$$ off?

The first way is to always wherever possible pay in cash. 
Know what book you want, where you'll buy it from and how much it is and draw out that much extra when you do your grocery shopping, when you buy something from Target or Kmart get out extra cash while you are there.

Always think ahead. 
Don't go running to the bookstore without a plan.
For starters do you really need that complete works of Arthur Conan Doyle work $130 when the power bill is due? Probably not.
I try to never go into the  book store to just take a look, because i will come out with that beautifully illustrated Hard cover copy of the Hobbit that I just NEED and that my "kids" aka myself will love. 
You have a copy of the Hobbit you do not need another. That is to be coveted until you can make your Husband believe it was his idea to by it for you as an off the cuff gift with a brand new TARDIS mug because you accidentally broke your other one. 
It's the fastest way to get busted and be put on another eBay ban. (those are not fun.)

Next up, never ever ever use your Husbands Paypal account to buy books online.
Those tattle tales over at Paypal will immediately send your husband a receipt and through modern technology he will receive said email in seconds and you will be getting busted before you even have the book in your hands.
This also applies to buying books off of eBay. If you share an account with your Hubby then steer clear, unless you have permission.

Now if you are sensible and only buy books in moderation and not every other day then you will be fine and won't have to worry about where your next book are coming from. 
It's an extreme case around here. For those of you like me, make sure you hide your purchases. You've gone to all this effort don't be a fool and leave it laying around for all to see.


                                

So while I'm sending us all broke, giving a tree another life and sharpening my mind with reading I have a Husband who is only mildly agitated by my quirky habit and totally knows what I'm up to. So it's all for naught.
I guess I'll see you at the book store. 

If you'd like to hear how I liked Fangirl throw me a comment and I'll let you know.

Laters!! 

Why Frozen isn't doing it for me anymore.

"I can't live like this anymore!" Princess Anna of Arendelle neither can I!

I can't sit and watch Frozen for the 155 thousandth time! I will go insane and jump out of my kitchen window! The effort that will take will be phenomenal considering the shark caging on the windows and that fact that I will need many tools, including a hammer and the fall is only about 7 feet so the whole exercise will be futile! 

But just the same I would rather go though all of that than sit down and watch the story of the Ice Queen told so magically by the good people at Disney. 

I'm sorry but I just have to put this out there..... What kind of parents would suppress their children in such a way that would make them feel so terrified? 

What were you guys thinking? 

How were you even qualified to be King and Queen? Certainly not based on how clever you were. Lucky for you it's a next in line type of gig.

"Fear will be your enemy." did you hear that? He basically told you not to scare the shit outta your kid! 

Geez! I know, I know there would not have been a movie had they nurtured her and taught her not to be afraid of it. But it still gets my goat! 

How's about a real role model for Elsa? I have the perfect one in mind......

What?! You don't think Loki would be perfect?
 http://legendary-fangirl.tumblr.com/post/75890585909/saebyeok913

                                                    

Then there is Anna, get that kid a play date guys! She didn't do anything wrong to be kept cooped up in that big castle with no one to play with. No wonder she was so bloody socially awkward. That poor kid was left to her own devices for so long, she just threw herself at the first guy that looked at her. 

Okay, okay there are some things that make it all bearable.

Sven and Kristoff are seriously the cutest couple of the entire movie. Like who doesn't want a reindeer now? I know I do! 

Olaf we'll he's in a league of his own as far as Disney characters go. By far the best character developed by the crew at old Disney studios like EVER! 

"Oh look at that! I've been impaled! he he he" ZOMG! Best line in the whole movie.

                                            

So although I have been the one to feed Monster and Beetle the Frozen movie, the Frozen soundtrack (which may or not be on my Ipod), Queen Elsa tshirts, Anna and Elsa dolls (of which Monster lost Anna on the first day), I am the one that has taken most of it away. 

I can't watch it again because it would be too hard to throw myself out of the kitchen window.

No! I can't let it go. For the first time in forever Disney, I'm breaking up with you.

I'm giving Beetle and Monster a huge shove in the direction of..... well anything else and Frozen is being put up on a high shelf where it can be given the chance to rest and recoup.

Maybe in another month or so we'll dust it off and watch it again. 

Maybe I'll enjoy it again like I once did and just maybe I won't try to toss myself from the kitchen window.

http://briannacherrygarcia.deviantart.com/art/Thunder-and-Frost-435055468

                 

When they make this movie Call me!

Laters!

Imaginary babies.......

We are done busting out babies. 

The thing is I don't think you can every be fully ready to never have a baby in your arms ever again. We always said If we could guarantee a baby boy we'd probably do it. 

Don't start freaking out! It's not happening. It's just not! 

It's actually all Prince George's fault. He's just so cute.
Damn you Royal tour!!! 

I started to cluck.

You know you see a baby and you hear the ticking of that clock. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Well mine has stopped so now I just fluff up and get all clucky and giddy and I wanna squeeze their little faces and goo goo until I make everyone green and my husband positively anxious. I get the "don't even think about it look".

Then I think about baby names, what would I call my baby boy. 

I decided on Augustus Grayson Clark. 

Then I hear a "Hell NO!" from father duck and my bubble is burst and I  come back to reality. Monster is in school next year so we'll be free and clear.

But I put a lot of thought into my name selection. I would want to choose names from my favourite books. 

You wanna be a bit more creative than Edward Cullen (I'm not saying twilight is my favourite book, I'm not saying I didn't like it either) and a little bit more conservative Heathcliff. 

Which gets me thinking, why aren't people a little more creative with their baby names? Look at Benedict Cumberbatch's parents, that is bravery my friends, they chose that name and gave him 2 middle names Timothy Carlton and he likes it! 

I had Beetles name chosen when I was very young and she's actually name after a Monster off Sesame Street, back when my fangirling was pretty much all Jim Henson's The Muppets and Fraggle Rock! 

Monster was named after a long and tedious "discussion" with Husband who is much more conservative than me when it comes to names. Her name turned out to be the number 1 baby name of 2010! If I could go back now I'd probably call her something like Hazel Grace or Khaleesi.   

Had they been boys Beetle would have been Charlie and Monster would have been Ringo. I have a feeling Husband would have backed out of that at the last minute and our baby name feud would have gone on for eternity! 

It's not like you can name your child The Doctor or The Master or even Stormageddon with out some scrutiny from the public. 

So if I had another chance I would be brave and my child would be named from books. 

Augustus Grayson you will probably never been born, but I thought about you alot. 

You would have played guitar like your Daddy and you'd be very cool like mummy and wear black t-shirts with the Targaryen house sygil emblazoned on the front because Dragons are cool. 

You'd believe that Gallifrey falls no more and you would cheer for Froddo when he casts the ring of Power into mount doom. I would read Harry Potter to you just like I do with Beetle and Monster and we'd discuss what type of Patronus you would have. I'd also have someone on my side when it's time to watch a family movie and I want to watch How to Train Your Dragon and the girls want to watch Frozen AGAIN!

I guess it's true that you will always want a little more than you have.

Happiness come in many forms and in my case it's in a Husband, a Beetle a Monster and stack of young adult novels I haven't had time to read yet.  

Do I feel happy with the choices I've made?

I do Augustus, I do.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman, ANOTHER book to movie adaption.

I ordered this book a while ago and finally it came in the post yesterday, along with a long awaited Elsa dress and some pretty ugly looking bills.
Monster was working on a masterpiece in her sisters Frozen colouring book so I busted my way into the package and was immediately disappointed with the size of this book?
Seriously it's only 220 pages max. A snack as far as books go. But they say don't judge a book by it's cover and so I tried really hard not to and got to reading.

I finished it today, without much effort really and you know what? I'm not sure if I really liked it.
I thought it was written well, quite cleverly actually. 
I should probably read it again before I force my opinions onto you. But I won't wait, it's not my style. 

We are quickly introduced to Mia a 17 year old Cellist and her family of "punk rockers" as they call themselves. They are a musical family, this point is driven in repetitively but, it's not done annoyingly. 
We meet Mia's Mum, a terrible cook and her Father, an ex punk band drummer turned hipster teacher and her little Brother Teddy, a sweet little blonde haired four year old.
Mia is into classical music and is basically the rebel of the family, you know because they all love rock music. Okay I get it, it would be like Beetle growing up and telling me she doesn't like Doctor Who and Bow Ties are in fact NOT cool! That would be heartbreaking. But you know at the same time Mia is a fantastic Cello player and is being considered for Julliard, so you know you can forgive your daughter for not liking the same music as you. (Not so much around here with Beetle loving One Direction and not really going for Metallica like my dear Husband that might just be unforgivable). 
  
So anyway...
You quickly (I mean quickly) fall in love with the family, they are sweet and loving and Mia actually likes spending time with them. It's established early on that Mia is not the regular type of rebellious teenager and really does not think that a day trip to see her Grandparents is a terrible idea.
So again at this stage they are fighting over music. They of course decide to listen to Classical music because it's not like it's 3 against 1 in the deciding factor on that one. Okay, i'm being a little harsh and the author is obviously a great music lover or she has done her research.
We are just getting into the momentum of the story, we are on a road trip and we really love our family. But, then.....

15 pages in they are in a horrific car accident and the only survivor is Mia. 
The story then takes a turn and Mia is having an out of body experience and looking down on the dead bodies of her parents and every worse on her own banged up body. 

But don't be scared yet, at this stage the author has done a brilliant job of having Mia describe the events as though they were happening to someone else, because as she is out of her body she has no feeling, she can't feel the emotional or physical pain. 
At this stage you won't really feel it. It's very cleverly written. 

We follow Mia through her experience through the surgeries, the visits from her loved ones in the ICU but most important we go through it with her. We wait for her boyfriend Adam to visit, we wait for him to find a way to see her, we wait for him. Throughout we get a glimpse of her life before the accident, we meet her best friend Kim and her parents oldest friends and we go to the gorgeous rocker boyfriends gigs and we live it and remember it with her.

The entire book is about the decision of whether or not Mia should die and be with her family or stay with the living. Death is easy, is stay alive an option?
Her friends an family tell her to fight to stay and also that it's okay if she can't (Basically this is when you start to feel it and the tears aka in true fangirling terms "the feels" start. This is where you cry).
If only we all had this choice.  

If I Stay is not my favourite book. (Don't worry John Green, you can still stake that claim) Will I read it again? Probably, I won't be able to help myself. 
When I stumbled across this trailer, I immediately wanted to read the book. I waited patiently for it to be shipped to me (well not that patiently, I was elbow deep in the Vampire Academy books swooning over Dimitri and cursing Rose for breaking Adrian's heart) and I happily devoured it and I am glad I did. I got to escape into another world and isn't that why we all read? 

Now we'll wait for August for the film patiently with many distractions. I mean I can't be the only one waiting for the final Mortal Instruments Book to hit the shelves on the 20th can I?! I've had my preorder in for AGES!
                          
I will just leave this trailer here for you, Jamie Blackley is H.O.T. as Adam by the way and Chloe looks like she will make the perfect Mia. I can tell they have changed it up a bit but that's okay by me.
As long as they don't create a main character out of thin air like they did in the Hobbit aka Tauriel! Are you listening Peter Jackson? While I'm on it shouldn't that White Orc be dead by now? 

Anywhoo, reeling myself back in here, I can't wait to see the movie and the book is worth reading. I liked Mia and Adam (I will ship them and call them Madam), I wish I could follow their story on further. If you want to borrow the book you know where I am.
I have to go and trawl Pinterest for pictures of Miles Teller now, it could be a long night. 

Stay Golden 
Stacey 

Too old to be a fangirl?!

Hi, my name is not whatever that says in Gallifreyan, it's Stacey. Just plain old Stacey, emphasis on the old. Well okay so i'm only 31 and a quarter years old and age is just a number but as far as "fangirling" goes, I'm a fossil.

I love to read, I love to binge watch my favourite shows and I wait impatiently when Sherlock is on ANOTHER 2 year hiatus. 
I talk to my friends incessantly about Benedict Cumberbatch, the latest episode of Game of Thrones and demand answers to hard-hitting questions like "Where the hell is Benjen Stark?" and "Why haven't you read 'The Fault in Our Stars' yet?".

I'm also a Stay at home mum to 2 little girls. Miss 5, my Zoe Beetle and Miss 3, Lily Monster now and forevermore to be referred to as Beetle and Monster. I also have my fur babies Mr senior citizen, my big boy Dosca who in his old age does not appreciate the wild tumble bumble ways of our newest edition our 6 month old King Charles Cavalier X Loki, who is still in his "I'm going to chew and pee on anything left on the lounge room floor" stage. Living up to his namesakes catch phrase "I do what I want!"
I'm a wife too. My husband, well he's the "smile and nod" type of guy who sits through my "can't evens.." and my sobbing through book after book and never questions me when I decide to read the book again. 
The complete opposite to me, chalk and cheese. He loves being outside, fishing and camping and generally doing all that gross boy stuff that makes you sweaty and stinky, nature is what they call it, so I've heard. 
Me,go outside? Well only if I have to and you know what?! I'm bringing a book or my iPhone so I can go on YouTube and watch the latest vlog from John Green.

I mean I do have some sort of a social life, kind of. I mean I have to do the school run just like any other mum and I do like coffee mornings with my friend. 
Hey! It's not friend as in "singular" just one friend! I have others. Actually I have 2 others that are among the greatest loves of my life and I have a wonderful family and that's enough for me. Having a tonne of friends is overrated. The few I have are the perfect balance of "Girl, you need to get your head out of that book, away from that TV and stop obsessing about Miles Teller!" and "Lets go to the book store/ movies".

I don't have a filter between what goes through my mind and what comes out of my mouth. So I have created this blog as a way to give the "normal" people in my life a break from my "not so normal" ways. it doesn't matter if people don't read it.
I'm going to write my feelings about every book that breaks my heart, how I have AGES to wait until Sherlock starts again and WHERE THE HELL IS BENJEN STARK?!

So if you want to continue to listen to me droll on about how my kids can spot Doctor Who merchandise a mile away and how proud I am that my monster wants to sit and watch The Avengers with me AGAIN. Then please feel free to follow along.
I have alot to say about a lot of things and a lot of it doesn't matter to many people, so here I stand and here I stay.... No! Wait! That's Elsa's line, but you catch my drift.

Live long and Prosper. 
Old and almost certainly crazy Stacey.