Why We Love Wonder Woman

I have had a really interesting year that some would say wasn't the best. I have experienced a lot and learned a lot and I'm still not a hundred percent. The new Wonder Woman movie really made me happy. There is just so much I took away from it and here's what I did.

She is a Beacon of HOPE

She STRONG and Strong Willed

She STANDS UP for What she Believes in

She's KIND to EVERYONE

She Feels LOVE will Save the World

This is a movie I really needed to see and a message I really needed to hear. I don't know about you but I definitely want to be more like Wonder Woman and I will certainly try.

A Word with Liu Miao

So this week I made a new friend on the blogging circuit. Her name is Liu Miao and she is the owner of the blog A Word with Liu Miao.

I learned a lot about Liu Miao through a virtual interview we shared with each other. Take a look at what inspires her to blog and more:

Moonie-Mag Malan: Why did you start blogging?
A Word with Liu Miao: I wanted a creative outlet when I started college.  I also love helping people by giving advice.

MM: What inspires your posts?
LM: College inspires a lot of my posts. Being a spoonie and adoption are other topics that I love to write about.

MM: What are some of your goals for the future? (This can be for your blog or just in life or both)
LM: I want to be a child life specialist. they help children cope with being in the hospital. I would love to be published in an academic journal or have a book published

MM: What advice would you give a blogger whose starting out?
LM: Write about something you are passionate about. If you don't like something, you won't be motivated to write about it.

MM: What are some of your favorite things to do for fun?
LM: I love to hangout with friends, write, hand lettering, eat, and watch YouTube/Netflix.

MM: What places would you like to visit?
LM: New Zealand, China, and Australia are some places that I want to visit.

MM: Who do you look up to?
LM: My parents are people that I look up to.

MM: What is your biggest accomplishment?
LM: Making Dean’s list ¾ semesters of college.

Liu Miao's blog is very insightful to things that everyone should know. Down below I have linked a few of my favorite posts of hers:

A Time for Everything - Inspiring

Things Not do When you Meet and Adoptee - Informative

5 Quick Hairstyles for Busy Mornings - Beautiful

Go take a look at A Word with Liu Miao! She's a great blogger and it was so fun getting to know her! Thanks for reading!

Make Your Own Mini-Pizzas

Tiny Pizzas are childhood favorites of mine and my brothers. we love these easy to make baby pizzas. So here's what you need:

• Mozzarella - one bag
• English Muffins - one pack
• Pizza Sauce - one jar
• Pepperoni (optional)

Step 1:

Cut the English muffins in half and lay them out on a cookie sheet.

Step 2:

Spoon the pizza sauce evenly on each of the English muffin halves.

Step 3:

Sprinkle mozzarella on the sauce until it covers the English muffin.

Step 4:

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them for the cheese to melt.

Let cool and serve to kids of all ages. I hope you enjoy this little treat and thank you for reading!

Boater's Etiquette

This post is for those of you that own a boat or want to own a boat. Boating is not just something you can say “Hey! I live on a lake I’ll get a boat!” I mean you can of course, but if you are going to then there are some things that you need to know.

1.       There are Written Rules- There is a boating manual with actual boating rules that need to be followed just as there are laws of the road when you are in a car.

2.       Port and Starboard- The Red and Green buoys that you see, as well as the red and green headlights at the front of your boat, have a meaning. Green means Right or Starboard. You can remember that because all those words have more than four letters. Red means Left or Port. All of those have four letters or less.

3.      Red Right Return- Pass red buoys on the right of them when you are going upstream.

4.       Port-to-Port- Whether or not you are going upstream or downstream, you always pass other boats “Port-to-Port”. This means that you stay on the right. This is like driving a car.

5.       Right of Way- Sorry to all you John Candy fans, but little boats do not have the right of way. Boats that are to the right of you have the right of way. In other words, if a boat to your right is starting to get in front of you, you have to let them, they have the right of way. If the person to the left of you does it, then they don’t know the rules of boating.

6.      No Wake- It is clear that when you see the white and red buoys that read “No Wake”, it means no wake. You see these in marinas and at bridges usually. However, this also applies to areas that are smaller with a lot of residents around. It is common courtesy to avoid making wake when you are near other peoples' docks because wake makes waves and the waves can rock other peoples' boats and cause damage. It’s just not polite.

7.       Right Beside You- It is also not polite to keep the same speed when right next to another boat. This can be dangerous for one of you. If a quick reaction needs to be made a boater can’t be trapped, which is essentially what this does.

8.       Too Close- Never get too close to another boat. You have no idea what nature is going to do and that is a really big factor with boats. One wrong wave or even a gust of wind and affect the way a boat floats.

9.       No Breaks- Remember that boats are NOT cars. They don’t have breaks, which makes them even more dangerous and you have to be extremely aware of the waters around you.

Always be aware of who is around you. Never just assume you are the only one out and about, that is rude and dangerous.
I am a boater. My dad has had boats around me and my three brothers since we were kids. He has taught me everything I know and he knows the rules well. If you only knew how cautious my dad is you would understand why these are so important. I currently live on a lake and it is very common for us to take our boat out on the weekends. But it isn’t fun when there are people around you who don’t know what they are doing. Boats can be dangerous too and I don’t think people realize that. Always watch what’s in front of you and to the side of you. Don’t cut anyone off and remember to be considerate of other water goers.

These are just some basics I have picked up over the years. If you want to know how to be a true boater, the boaters’ manual is the best way to do that. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!

Wonder Woman: Review

June 2, 2017. That was the day that the first movie to portray a female superhero as the main subject premiered in theaters around the world. Wonder Woman is a DC comic book hero. She's had her own comics, she's helped Superman and Batman save the world, and finally, she has her own movie.

Wonder Woman the movie tells us about the upbringing of the Amazonian princess on the island of Themyscira. Her name is Diana. We know her from the comics as Diana Prince. She grows up learning how to fight alongside other female Amazonian warriors in order to protect the world when the time comes that the humans need it most. One day, however, when Diana is grown, she saves a World War II pilot who crashed into the waters that surround the island. This is not only her first encounter with a man but this is also when she learns of the trouble the world is in outside of the protected island. Diana is determined to help so she accompanies the young soldier known as Steve Trevor on an adventure to the front lines of Germany and "No Mans Land". You'll have to go and see the film to know what happens next, but it is worth it.

Wonder Woman is played by an Israeli actress named Gal Gadot-Varsano. She portrays the tall, strong warrior perfectly in her portrayal of the superheroine who is introduced to this world for the first time. Chris Pine is the male lead and is a very convincing and charming WWII pilot just trying to stop the war and save the world with or without Wonder Woman. This cast also includes Robin Wright, David Thewlis, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Connie Nielsen, Ewen Bremmer, Said Taghmaoui, and more. It was an all-star cast. The film's creators include director Patty Jenkins, screenplay by Allan Heinberg, and story by Zack Snyder, Allan Heiberg, and Jason Fuchs. And you can't forget Warner Brothers and the creator of Wonder Woman William Moulton Marston.

So the creation of this movie was impeccable. Unfortunately, no amount of training can let a human lift a war tank over their head but don't fear the CGI in the film. It was tasteful and was only used when absolutely necessary. And you can tell that any CGI that was done, was created using Gadot as the base as opposed to using a generic human avatar on the computer.
Now what I really want to talk about, is the music. Wonder Woman does indeed have a theme song and it is awesome. It isn't some frilly little piece because she is a woman, it is what sounds like an electric guitar and drums primarily. It is definitely strong enough to match the heroine it supports. I will link it HERE.

This movie is incredibly impressive, empowering for not only women but the world. It is a story of hope for the world that we face today. This is a summer must-see for sure. Now for the stars:
Casting gets a full star. Story gets a full star. Creative support gets a full star. Safe to say the Public gave it a full star. And I had no complaints at all. Total of 5 out of 5 stars and if you haven't yet, go see Wonder Woman. You won't be dissappointed. You'll be inspired.

How-to Cut a Watermelon

So I have tried many times to cut a watermelon and all the pieces end up looking very odd. So, this time I had a plan going in and the pieces turned out pretty decent. I took pictures along the way just in case I felt it was good enough for all of you to see and I think you'll at least get the idea of how to cut a watermelon. So here we go!

Cut it in Halves Long Ways

Cut One-Half in Halves again Long Ways

Cut about 1-inch slices Short Ways

Cut those right down the Middle

Here's my plate. This was only One-Half, so I put tin foil over the rest of the watermelon and put that back in the fridge for later. For any bits you didn't want to waste but aren't really the classic triangle, I would cut them into squares and throw them in the middle of your plate.