Sam and Nia: The Vloggers under fire for faking a pregnancy/ miscarriage?!?

As someone starting out on YouTube I make it a point to watch as many different vloggers as I can find. And when I do find a channel I just don’t watch the popular videos, I try and watch as many as I possibly can.

So when I heard about the viral video on Sam and Nia’s channel I had to check out their channel.

For those who don’t know, Sam and Nia went viral a short while ago with a surprise pregnancy announcement video. Sam took a dropper of urine from the toilet and it tested positive for pregnancy. Only a few short days later they took to YouTube to announce that they miscarried.

And the internet was broken.

Everyone came out of the wood work to label the videos as a fake. Looking for fame, looking for success, pushing their religious agendas (they are devout Christians and very open about it).

I have to admit I was even skeptical at first. The videos both seemed very over dramatic and the one about the miscarriage seemed less emotional than I would expect.

But then I took a step back.

This is YouTube. No matter how hard you try, when that camera comes on, you are acting. Even if you are trying to act natural, you are still “acting natural”. With that camera on there is no way for things to just be as they would be. It’s not possible.

Don’t believe me? Turn on a camera and talk to it. Does your voice change? Do your mannerisms change? Are you more aware of everything you do? I thought so.

After thinking about this I realized that there are some pretty good reasons why this video may have seemed fake to me. Because it was a video. I am not experiencing real life as it is happening regardless how it may appear.

So my wish is that everyone would stop speculating and creating this negativity around the situation. There is a very good chance this is a real occurrence in two people’s lives and spewing negativity is not helping anyone.

I will be the first to admit I am not religious. I do not watch their channel for their chats about the bible or for their preaching. I watch their channel because they have a sweet family and I enjoy getting away from my own life for a while to watch something else. I appreciate the editing and hard work that is put into the channel and I appreciate the openness they have about their life and their family. It is not easy to put everything out there for the world to dissect and they have done it beautifully and taken the negativity with such grace.

For that reason I will continue to watch their channel and believe in them as good people.

I will admit some of the ads they are adding to the channel and some of the products they are getting sponsored by does raise some flags. I mean Clue a fertility app was just sponsored this week. Thing was they didn’t mention it was a sponsor in the video. They acted like it was just something they found. But at the end of the description there was a note about it. That rubbed me the wrong way.

So it makes me question intentions and now I turn to you…

For those of you who have seen their channel, what are your thoughts on their pregnancy announcement video followed by their miscarriage video?

Tattooed weddings are beautiful too!

So I do not even remember what post it was or what it was about but awhile back a loyal blogging friend of mine sparked an idea for a blog topic. Bijoux, we may disagree but I thank you for inspiring a blog topic.

I dont remember what was said, but I wrote a note to myself to do a blog on why tattoos and white wedding dresses go together. Because darling they do! I am not yet married but as many girls do, I fantasize about my wedding day all the time!

I have heard plenty of people tell me that the location of my only tattoo might become a regret on my wedding day because “tattoos and white wedding dresses don’t go together.” But those people could not be more wrong.

To start here is my tattoo:

This tattoo means a lot to me. It says “C’est La Vie”. As a worrier it is a constant reminder that I should not stress what I can’t change. Whatever will be will be. And let me tell you. On my wedding day I will want to be reminded of that in any way possible!

Plus, black and white is one of my favorite color schemes. So for the doubters out there I got some of my favorite wedding pictures with gorgeous tattooed girls. As a note none of these photos are my own.

If even one person sees this and has a change of heart before they judge the next tattooed bride I will feel I accomplished something. We all have our own preferences but I think love is beautiful in all forms!

Love Actually vs Walking Dead

One thing I love when I watch movies and tv shows is seeing an actor that has characters from two separate works that have an odd little connection. I did a post like this once when I talked about Doc from Back to the Future and Uncle Fester. I find comparisons like this fascinating.

This post is about Andrew Lincoln in his Walking Dead/ Love Actually parts. I know many memes have been written about what he would have said on the posters if he did his Love Actually posters Zombie style (I know because that was originally where this post was going). But what I haven’t seen is the connection between the two characters, or should I say opposite agendas.

I should start by saying this post contains spoilers from both Love Actually and the Walking Dead. But really the spoilers are season one Walking Dead and who hasn’t seen Love Actually? If you are raising your hand right now just stop reading this post and go watch the movie. You will thank me later.

In Love Actually Lincoln’s character is in love with his best friend’s bride. He goes as far as to announce his love to her through posters and they actually end up kissing. Lincoln’s character stole the girl. And the audience went wild for it. AWW what a story. Right?

But then why did the audience still side with Lincoln when his best friend stole his wife? Mind you in the Walking Dead his best friend thought he was dead! They were also dealing with a bit of a catastophe. A zombie apocalypse! And yes I will admit his best friend went a little bonkers. But I wouldn’t say he is the most stable character on the show…

A love triangle is a love triangle and in my opinion, Shane on the Walking Dead actually was more justified in his actions. At least he wasn’t stealing his best friend’s wife literally at their own home while he was in the other room (like Lincoln did in Love Actually). Why this is considered romantic is baffling to me.

Either way the audience seems to have some kind of adoration for Lincoln regardless what side of the Love Triangle he is on and I find the connection humorous.

And since the internet already stole it I wanted to share one poster I did make for the original intent of this post…

Country vs Rap.

One thing I don’t think I mention to much on here is my love for country music. I could listen to country music all day long and never get bored. If I am sad I listen to a slow song. If I am feeling up beat I will listen to a jovial tune. If I am feeling angry I will pick a strong willed woman song. Whatever my mood country music has something that will fit.

Now generally when I mention my love for country music I get laughter. For those who don’t know I am from Massachusetts. About an hour out from Boston. Country music isn’t exactly a Boston girl’s jam. However, I definitely fit the bill for a Boston girl. I am a tiny girl with a huge attitude. I am not afraid to say what is on my mind. But the country side of my has a large heart and I really can connect with country music above all other music….especially rap.

This brings me to my point. Many people who make fun of my love of country, are those who adore rap music. I don’t know how many times I have heard the “what do you get when you play a country song backwards…truck back, wife back, blah blah.” Do you know where that little diddy came from?! A country song! Yup pretty funny that your insult to country music is a country song. Song in question is here:

But it got me to thinking. Rap music is known to follow their own trends that are ALWAYS the same. So I thought what do you get when you play a rap song backwards. Here is what I came up with:

You get out of jail, clean and sober, pass anger management, pull your pants up, gun in the safe, relationship back, dignity back, brains back, class back….

I could go on forever.

We all have our own preference in music. But one thing is for sure, if you look for it you can find the negative in any genre of music. So why don’t we all just enjoy the music we choose to enjoy and try not to dig on others for their choices? Otherwise this post will be made into a song!

That is a promise!

Children are not props for feminism! There must be a better way!

I have mentioned this before on this blog and I will mention it again, I am a feminist. Not in the way the media tries to portray them though. I am not a man hater. I do no go days without a shower and I don’t eat a strange diet. I just strongly believe in equal rights and I feel we have a long way to go in achieving that goal. That being said when I come across something that attempts to enlighten people about the feminist agenda I need to check it out.

So this past week I came across a video where little girls were dropping the F-bomb to raise awareness for Feminism. It definitely had a buzz about it so I had to check it out.

The one thing I will say for sure is it got attention. Not all positive attention but it got attention. I realize the shock factor is a major component of raising awareness and that they did. However, I am not sure I agree with the tactic.

I don’t think swearing is a huge deal. I would not wash my kids mouth out with soap for saying something I say quite often. However, I do not think using children for a cause and making them spout out things they do not understand is a good tactic. These are children not products you can use however you please. There had to be a better way.

Even doing a dub over of animals giving the speeches might have had a better effect. This would still draw in an audience who were looking for the “cute” element and it would still have that shock factor since the swears are still coming from an unlikely place. The difference is the animals will not actually be required to say anything they don’t understand. They will simply be filmed being cute and the rest will be animation.

Anyone remember Duke?

To me that is a better way to promote the cause. I however am not exactly creative in things like this but I do believe in the cause, so I turn to you.

How would you make this ad better? Tell me in the comments below!

Why Can’t We Enjoy A Little Fantasy?

This post topic is likely to make me very unpopular because of one fact, I am a skinny girl. But I feel like this needs to be said. The amount of energy that is spent trying to tell girls all bodies are perfect (well if they are curvy) is what is wrong with this world. Maybe if we didn’t spend so much time obsessing over body types then our little girls wouldn’t spend time obsessing over them either.

Case in point.

The “normal barbie”. This barbie comes to you with a more “realistic” body figure, stretch marks, acne and more. Am I the only one who doesn’t want my barbie to look this way? As a kid I never looked at my barbie and thought hmm I wanna look just like her. I thought hmm she is a toy and I want to play with her. And I assure you all the other girls my age thought the same way.

Yes there are people out there like the real life barbie who take things to the extreme. There will always be that person. But catering to that person only hurts the majority, it does not help it.

And now the new Cinderella trailer. Which might I add looks amazing! People are now complaining that her waist line is completely unrealistic. The waist line of the actual girl in the movie…apparently her real waist is not real enough. Yes it is small and yes her skirt is full so it makes it appear smaller but the fact is, it is the actresses actual waist. Should she be made to feel self conscious because it is not curvy?

Maybe instead of trying to be political correct and making curvy girls feel good about themselves we should stop talking about body types altogether. Why don’t we focus on the positive? Like that new Cinderella movie looks amazing and I want to see it. And those barbie dolls gave me hours upon hours of joy in my childhood just the way they were. Can’t we be grateful for those things rather than trying to put a political agenda behind them?

What do you bloggers think? Has the focus on body type gone too far?

The Fascinating Case of Dennis Rodman

After election week it is obvious that many people are really scrutinizing the work our politicians have done for us in their term. But, when you can look back on the past year and see more notable achievements from a oddball NBA player it is obvious why voters would get a little uneasy.

Dennis Rodman has been taking the credit for convincing North Korea to release Kenneth Bae. And to be honest he seems to have some valid points. He did send Kim Jong-un a letter asking for his release. Also he did visit North Korea and it the fangirling Jong-un did was undeniable. Was Rodman the reason for the release? Really only North Korea can answer that.

However, for voters it is hard to look at a scenario like this and be on the politicians side. Whatever impact Rodman did or didn’t have something worked. I don’t see a letter McCain sent over or a visit that had as much of an impact that we can point to there.

So this leads to the question, if Rodman did impact the release of Bae why was he so powerful?

Let’s face it, Rodman is not exactly the guy you would want showing up on your doorstep. He dresses outrageously, his hair is generally multiple colors and he is a tall dude. That being said he worked hard to get where he is and he is pretty down to earth. He is someone the world can look up to. He is not like celebrities who seem to be untouchable but rather another strange guy with an amazing talent. This is makes him relate-able across the countries.

Maybe politicians should use more Dennis Rodmans. Maybe there is something to be said for his success.

So here is my suggestion McCain. Instead of denying his involvement maybe you should research what worked and use it for future success. Isn’t that your job as a politician. Look for answers to the world’s problems not justify why you didn’t fix the last problem?

Just my two cents. What are your thoughts on Rodman’s involvement in North Korea?

iBullshit!

I will be the first to admit that I grew up in the technology age. My dad was a computer programmer so I was blessed to have all the latest technology as it came out. One of my oldest memories is being only a few years old, sitting on my dad’s lap playing with Paint on the computer. I was a tech kid. And I am proud of it.

As I grew up my obsession extended to phones and even iPod. I wanted the latest and greatest tech device to keep up with the times. But the thing was, technology was advancing with me. Cell phones really didn’t become huge until I was a teenager. The iPod really didn’t make a huge splash on the scene until I was in my late teens. These were all acceptable ages to have these devices.

Children growing up now are faced with a hard problem. Technology is everywhere and whether they are ready for it or not they will come in to contact with it. The problem is, the manufacturers are really taking advantage of this fact and they are coming up with ridiculous inventions that should just not exist.

The one that got me on this rant is the iPotty. Basically it is a potty with a spot to allow an iPod to be used while on the potty. I think the idea here is to make going potty fun. But seriously?! Kids need to learn this skill whether it is fun or not. We all have done it just fine without the high tech potty’s. I think we need to keep the electronics out of the bathroom!

Then there is the apptivity seat. Basically it is a bouncy chair made to be used with…you guessed it…an ipad. The bouncy seat was meant to keep kids entertained and in one spot. Now adding an iPad makes it so kids will never be able to entertain themselves. They will always be reliant on electronic devices. This to me is absurd and really needs to be nipped in the bud.

The article that really lays these absurd toys out can be found here.

The last electronic device I want to gripe about is the Hapifork. Basically it nags you while you eat. So basically we can’t go potty, entertain ourselves or eat without the help of electronic devices.

Will we soon get an electronic device to wipe our bums for us too?

All I think when I hear about these devices is iBullshit! What about you? Do you think these gadgets are good ideas or complete iBullshit?

Women can love sports the same way as men!

I don’t know how much I have talked about this on my blog, but I am a Female sports fan. My favorite sport to watch is baseball but I also follow Football pretty closely and I am learning to love Hockey ( since the boyfriend is into it).

I have been into sports since probably middle school or early high school. I was the girl with all guy friends so it kind of came with the territory. I would stay up nights on the phone with one of my guy friends watching a game, complaining about the players and complaining about the penalties. I learned to love the sports. I learned everything about the sports just as well as the boys. In fact I became the person people turned to for their updates. And by people I mean the guys.

But this never carried over to new men I would meet. If I went on a new date and offered to watch a game with a guy they would usually laugh at me and say “I dont want to bore you.” If I tried to strike up a conversation about a particular player most men would say “oh how cute, did you do your research for me?” This ALWAYS infuriated me. But I always told myself I love the game for myself and not for anyone else so who cares what they think.

The funny part is, in every relationship I have ever been in, I have been the sports lover. I have had to beg and plead with the guys in my life to watch a full sports game. They just never had the passion for it that I did. And yet girl’s just don’t get sports, or at least accord to Men’s Health Magazine.

Now I can’t point you to the article because Men’s Health (wisely) deleted it. But this rant came up because they posted an article titled “How to talk to Women about sports.” The premise was basically that women don’t care about stats and instead need story lines.

Now, I will admit I am not a math person. But I do actually like to hear the stats of the game. Do I want to figure them out myself? No. But it does not mean I am not interested in hearing them. And I need story lines? Excuse me? Just because I enjoy a good chick flick doesn’t mean I can’t also enjoy a good game, stats and all.

The article is offensive because it lumps all women in as basically incapable of enjoying sports. Yet I am a girl who enjoys sports (without being talked to in a different way about it) and for the most part I know more than many guys do. To learn more about this article and the fall-out click here.

So Men’s Health Magazine please remember, women can be women and enjoy a good sports game.

What do you bloggers think about the Men’s Health article?

Park you car THEN walk in. Please and Thank You!

So every once in awhile, a status I post on Facebook sparks a little bit of a debate. Well a few weeks ago this happened to me. The status I posted was this:

“Alright ladies please explain this. Why do you need to be dropped off at the door of your destination and your beau has to catch up with you after parking???”

The inspiration for this was basically every trip to the grocery store ever! I always end up stuck behind some car waiting at the front of the store to let the woman out. I have to sit there and wait for her to collect her things, cross in front of the car, and the car to begin moving again before I can park. Almost every time the woman who gets out is middle aged at most, no disabilities and seemingly perfectly capable of walking from a parking spot into the grocery store. But it still happens time and time again.

The responses on the status started off pretty affirmative. Other women felt this was absurd. I felt validated. But then the generation gap reared its ugly head. Women that were closer to my parent’s age and up felt this was “chivalrous” or “polite”.

The logic basically was that a man should offer this to a woman because it is the right thing to do. I was told “why should two people get wet?”. I mulled these words over and over in my head but still I am not on board.

My feeling is this: If you are elderly or have a disability of course you should get special treatment in this regard (handicap parking anyone?). However, women are always begging for equal rights yet expect a man to drop them at the door of the store instead of walking with them from a parking spot? How is that equal?

I have two legs and I am perfectly capable of walking the same distance as my boyfriend. In fact I would rather walk in with in rather than worrying about how we will meet up once in the store. Plus unless I also send him out to retrieve the car while I wait for the chariot to pick me up in front, my little legs will need to make the walk back from the store so what is the difference?!

I am realizing that this is a generation gap issue. So I turn to you bloggers of all ages. What are your feelings on this? Should a woman expect a man to drop her at the door of a store instead of walking with him from the parking spot? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!