pretty polaroid

i am here. and it is awesome.

but let us not focus on that awesomeness, and instead turn our attention to another kind of awesomeness completely. something that is rated 11 out of 10 on the Awesometer.

i am talking about... the wonder that is POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHY. is it amazing? yes. do i love it? yes. is Polaroid film no longer manufactured? yes, and i weep because of it. but do not fear! i have discovered the answer to all problems!

POLADROID.

*crickets chirp*

...don't give me that blank look! what was that? oh, you don't know what Poladroid is?! well, Poladroid is a radical application that can be downloaded free of charge riiiight here. basically, once the application is downloaded, you can turn any photo on your computer into a polaroid lookalike! be amazed, be very amazed. here are some of MY results:

the cutest puppy you ever did see... whose name i have forgotten. just how i roll.

a rainbow out the window of my sister's room at university.

my sister and her friends'... feet. good times.

a flower. dohspice.

and me.... even more dohspice. with an orange lolly. YUM.

so, there you have it, friends! Poladroid. hit it up and be old-school fabulous TODAY!

*kbye*

uhmmm.

dear blogosphere,

it's been a while, hasn't it? don't worry - i understand that you might be angry at me. after all, it's not cool to abandon you for over a month without an explanation. but so much has happened over that month and a bit, so i hope you don't mind me telling you a bit of it....

1. my USA gran and sister came home ...and we had vacation. which was fun, until it ended... if you catch my drift.

2. i went on camp ...which totally rocked the party.

3. i did community service for 10 hours at the Old Age Home in town for a school project. it was a LOT of work, but rewarding in the end.

4. my beautiful Granny Jess passed away. and i miss her very very much.

5. my school held its annual Matric Dance... the Elevensies (Grade 11s) were in charge and i was on the committee. i think we did a fantabulous job. and it was uh-MAY-zing. and my best friend looked beautiful (of course!). and i reallyreallyreally wanted to slow-dance... sucks for me!

6. i got a Tumblr account... and i'm secretly in love with my webpage. go there and tell me you aren't too...

7. i gots noo gadjits. gadjits which i LOVE. one is a purple 8GB iPod nano named melanzana. (which means "eggplant" in Italian, in case you were wondering.) the other is a black-and-orange Sony Ericsson W350i named tangerine. (when i'm feeling South African, i call it naartjie... which means the same as tangerine, but sounds way cooler.) these two gadjits are the love of my life... along with the Nikon camera i got a few months back, which i have named grapefruit for lack of other ideas :) yeah, Hanny likes her gadgets!

8. i went crazy. well, no - not really, yet. but i do have an audition for the role of a girl with MPD for a play that may or may not occur, so i don't know... sounds pretty crazy to me! not to mention the fact that i'm hurtling fast towards the end of Grade 11 and i'm terrified of the idea of next year - being in matric (Gr12) and all. yeek! on Friday this week, i have an interview with the headmaster, some teachers and some current prefects among other people regarding why i want to be a prefect next year, so that should be interesting to say the least!

how are you, blogosphere? keeping well? i hope you didn't mind my AWOL-ness too terribly much. now... i'm back.

i know my ABC's!

so... here is something for ya! i saw this on Ana's blog and had to steal it. because Alphabet-ness is the description of awesome.

fact.

*pssst! pay attention. there'll be a quiz later. in a remote area with no internet connection whatsoever.*

A is for Age: 16

B is for Bed size: single

C is for Chore you hate: washing the dishes. furr realz.

D is for Dessert you love: chocolate mousse, of course!

E is for Essential to start your day: a shower and some good music.

F is for Favourite flower: lilies, tulips, gerber daisies, roses, irises... i could keep going!

G is for Gold or Silver: definitely silver.

H is for Height: taller than your mom... or maybe not.

I is for Instruments you play(ed): piano. it's the shizz, even though i'm amateurish :)

J is for Job you had in high school: uhmm. i don't have a job. and yes, i fully expect pointed fingers and cries of "slacker!" from all of you. but seriously, doesn't high school itself constitute as a job?

K is for Kid(s): zilch! pretty sure i only want them in 10 years. at least. see A.

L is for Lunch spots: Kauai is bomb. then come Mugg&Bean and Sam Brown's *which closed at Gateway - noooo!*and, uhmm, home. (i live in a miniscule town, don't judge!)

M is for Mom's name: Loreen

N is for Newest item bought: POWER SOUR JELLY TOTS ForTheWin. just sayin'.

O is for Overnight hospital stay: i guess when i had just got born (as Su-Chin would say) ... otherwise, i haven't really done the hospital thing.

P is for Pet Peeve: laziness. and yes, it's a common trait of mine. go figure.

Q is for Quote from a movie: gah! i have a million zillon favourite quotes from movies. i guess i'll go with this one, because it makes me laugh.

Daniel: Sorry, I have a syndrome. I don't really have a filter. I don't pick up on social cues.

Holly: You mean you're rude?

Daniel: Yeah, but now it's a disease I can take medication for.

Holly: They have pills for rudeness?

Daniel: I know...and they can't figure out the Middle East. Go figure.

i heart P.S. I Love You. srsly. you should watch it if you haven't.

R is for Right or left handed: lefty loosy!

S is for Siblings: an older half-brother and an older sister.

T is for Time you wake up: usually about 5:30 AM on school days. early mornings make me want to weep.

U is for Underarm deodorant: hummm.... Lady Speed Stick. i think. why?

V is for Very surprising fact: i'm hooked on reality competitions like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. don't hate.

W is for Ways you run late: i get lost - as in, utterly and hopelessly lost. i wasn't born with a sense of direction. sad but true fact.

X is for X-rays you've had: nothing, although i really wanted to get some done on my throat a few months ago. i don't know if that's even possible, but i was really excited - and nothing came of it. boo.

Y is for Yummy food you make: microwave popcorn, of course! i make some pretty yummy mashed potatoes, though... and i learned how to cook pasta on the stove last month. no lie.

Z is for Zoo animal: i can only choose ONE? not gonna happen. let me give ya a list instead!

- Giant pandas. black and white and loved all over.

- Polar bears. they are the shizz.

- Snow leopards.

- Bengal tigers. love love love me some cats!

...and penguins, of course, zoo-permitting.

and there you have it - all about me with ABC! :)

♥

cool things.

first off - i was totally watching Catch That Kid while composing this post. it made me laugh big time. i had no idea Max Thieriot and Corbin Bleu were in it! plus, can i mention that Kristen Stewart was always awkward?

srsly.

High School Musical, Twilight and The Pacifier, all in one movie! wonder what Edward would think of the two punks hitting on his true wuv? I'd personally choose Max over Rob any day...

now, onto the cool things!

ZAC FARRO and BIRTHDAYNESS.
last Thursday, the 4th, just so happened to be my fake-fiance Zac Farro's BIRTHDAY! he is all of nineteen years old now.

yes......Zac eats garden gnomes for breakfast.

Happy Birthday for Thursday the 4th, dearest Zachary!
with love and kisses, Hanny.

...and now i move along.

HAYLEY FREAKIN' WILLIAMS.
when i was looking through the images on Google for photos of the abovementioned young man for my last blog post, i came across this darling photo. it made me want to scream because of its fabulosity. don't argue.

am i the only one in the world who wishes to be Hayley Williams?

i mean, am i?

SPRINGLEAP.
here is another cool thing.
Springleap is an idea that was started by some awesome peeps in South Africa in an attempt to recreate the way artists in this country and around the world gain recognition. the basic premise is that anyone with creative ideas can submit them as a t-shirt design; all of these designs are then voted on by the public through the website. *to find out more about this fantastic venture, go here*

this is a t-shirt design called Ice Cream Factory, by cmatos... and i love it. because it combines two of the best things in life: ice creams and penguins. i want this shirt like an emu wants ostrich feathers. yeah, i am willing to beat that sucker ostrich up if it so much as comes near me flaunting those feathers... in other words, if you own the shirt, stay FAR away. srsly. i've been training...

ETSY DRESSES.
yes - i am in love with Etsy. do you want to see why?

this is honestly one of the most beautiful dresses i have EVER seen. and yes - it's one dress. that is reversible. and that i think rocks the party. it's designed and made by audreyandgrace.

here are a few other dresses i fell for.

these two tea dresses were designed and made by Louise Hedley, and i basically adore them.

this blue tulip dress, designed and made by Jacqui Cheng, also caught my eye. i love wearing things that are blue, and i heart the design of this dress, so it was basically love at first sight :)

NEW CLOTHES...and a bag

it's true - everyone loves getting new things. don't lie to me and say you don't... or i will laugh at you. unless you mean new underwear from your gramma. then i will understand. anyway, in the past month, i have not gotten any underwear from my gramma, but i HAVE gotten 4 specifically fantasmagorical things, 3 of which where clothing items. are ya ready? :)

1st: remember how, a few posts ago, i mentioned i was desperate for a pair of red skinny jeans? well, on the 11th of May, i got out from school really late and phoned my mom to fetch me. when she arrived at the school, i opened the passenger door and nearly sat on a package. my mind right then was thinking something along the lines of WHAT.THE.FREAK? i examined the package. it had my name on it. *squee!* and it was from my sister. *double-squee!* i tore it open. the most beautiful pair of red skinny jeans lay on my lap. i swear, i came close to dying of happiness.

looky!

just more evidence that i have the best sister in the whole entire world.

2nd: a week ago, some really close friends of my family from Atlanta, Georgia came out for a visit. (they are basically the shizz nizz. true story.) with them, they brought:

- A PRINCETON HOODIE

Stephen - the son in the equation - goes to Princeton. he is awesome, and so he brought 2 Princeton hoodies - one for me, and one for Sinderella.

i'm down with being Ivy League Ghetto, yo. you should be scurred. fo' shizzle.

- A VERA BRADLEY BAG

yesss... i said "Vera Bradley". as in, only the most uh-MAY-zin' bags in the world. check out the cuteness! each design of bag has a different girl's name. d'you want to guess what mine is called?

well, of course it's the Hannah bag :)

3rd: this past Sunday was my dad's birthday. (Happy birthday, Dad!) so, to celebrate in style, we went drove 2 hours to Gateway, the Mecca of Shopping in these-here parts. and what did i spot there, but the most ridiculously fabulous hat of all time. take a look for yourself:

naturally, i had to get it. guess who shall have warm ears this winter?!

you want to know something else that is beyond cool? YOU are, if you're reading this :) kthanxbye!

my husbands.

hello! i have been sad lately. so, i thort for my return blogpost, i would post about something fun and silly. hence i reveal to you, dear readers...

MY HUSBANDS!

*TAAADAAA!*

Husband the 1st: David Cook.

hello, Mr Smouldering Gaze... of course i am in love with you.

this man will always be my first husband.

A.L.W.A.Y.S.

he is the reason i am known as Pancake... *i will tell you that story one day*
he is the reason i love American Idol.
he is the reason i twist my apple core around 4 times - for "D".

he is the reason i like pirate movies. and jokes.

he is... THE BEST. and i love him.

i am sad for him and his family right now - i hope you guys will be praying for them. hard times.

Husband the 2nd: Jamie Tworkowski.

here is a man, friends... an amazing, amazing man. someone with faith, someone with hope, and most definitely someone with love. i think you are sick of me talking about Jamie... so suffice it to say that i think he is wonderful. and the woman whom he gives his heart to will be unbelievably lucky. too bad he is 13 years older than me. dumbspice.

Husband the 3rd: Deon Rexroat.

well, hello. reasons Deon Rexroat is Husband #3:

1. the expression on his face in this photo.

2. the shirt he is wearing in this photo. (go here if you don't know what i mean.)

3. he is only the bassist for Anberlin. and bass guitars are only the coolest instruments in the history of instruments. and Anberlin is only one of my very favourite bands of all time. hence, he is basically a cool cat.

he is also very good-looking... but i don't care about that! *ahem*

Husband the 4th: Alex Pettyfer.

yessss. i love him for his face. and his body. and his accent. i'll admit it openly! he will always be my Jasper... and i think he pulls off sunglasses BETTER than the Pattz. judge for yourself!

*that's definitely me in the photo, by the way. definitely.*

and introducing... soon-to-be Husband, Zac Farro.

i am getting married to Zachary soon, thanks to Lar. she totally told him that i was in love with him when she saw Paramore the other day. he told her that he wanted to propose. *score!*

REASONS I LOVE HIM:

he's only 2 and a half years older than me.

he has an awesome eyeball. (no, really. one of his pupils looks like it's bleeding into his iris. it's fabulous.)

he's a fruitcake.

he's the first bandmember that Hayley would eat if stuck on a deserted island. i don't know why that makes him cool, but it does. and he burns his marshmallows - the way i always do.

and, he has exactly the same shirt as Deon does, only in reverse!

as though he weren't amazing enough, his name rhymes with *Captain* Jack Sparrow. i came close to dying when i discovered that.

now it's your turn! who're your fake husbands? and what did you learn about me from mine? *grins*

oh, uhmmm... before i go. i though i should mention that i am also in love with this fictional character named Walter Brownley. just sayin'.

love it.

so, when i was around 11, we went to the States for Christmas, much like our most recent trip this past December. while there, i was exposed to the wonderfulness that are otherwise known as daily comics.

WE DON'T GET DAILY COMICS IN SOUTH AFRICA. NEVER. EVER.

it is one of the saddest facts of my life.

but back on subject. seeing as it was Christmas-time, most of the comics were related to this joyous time of the year. as i devoured them *with my eyes* on the 21st of December, i came across the.best.cartoon.strip.ever. no lie. it is called Mutts and it basically rules the world... or my world, anyway. 

it is about a dog named Earl and a cat named Mooch, and their best-friendship. it is funny and ridiculous and beautiful. oftentimes, their central themes are of love, animal welfare and the protection of our environment, which i think are amazing messages - plus, the strip itself is still hilarious. and as though it wasn't cool enough... the cartoonist, Patrick McDonnell, did a whole series of Twilight-themed cartoon strips. they made me want to cry.. they were that funny. i will put them here for your enjoyment, friends. 

Moochie talksh like thish a lot. love him long time.

bwahaha! i also love the portrayal of Edward and Bella. classic.

i would be, too.

i think this one is my unofficial favourite. just sayin'.

and no wonder... he's Edward freaking Bat-Cullen!

aren't they just the awesomest?

after going back to the States in December, i decided i couldn't live without my Mutts. i now subscribe online and get them sent to me *two weeks late* by email. and now? i get a Mutts comic a day, and i couldn't be happier!

here is another one of my *million* favourites:

Moochie tells time like me :) 

in other news, happy weekend!

My Life Of Late

guess what? for much of yesterday, my room had a massive gaping hole in the side of it. and it was totally intentional. here's the story: we decided sometime last year that the room was stinky-dark. the lack of light combined with the rotting of our beds (yes, there were wood borers in our lovely beds. hah.) was making the room into a mould nest. it didn't smell nice and it was very stuffy. so we decided to be rid of the beds, and put a ha-yoooge window in the side of the room. WOOT! it has finally happened, friends. there is a lovely window now in the wall.. i will even give you evidence that i am not lying.

what it looked like before...

...what it looks like now, on the inside...

...and what it looks like now on the outside! 

in other news, last week was basically the best of my entire life... or this year, at least. it was the last week of term, which is always awesome, but even awesomer was the fact that i, along with 8 of my friends from school, got to go to the most incredible performance art festival in the history of the world (that i have been to). it was run by the Grahamstown Foundation - Grahamstown is where Sindi goes to school now, by the way, and it is pretty much the performing arts capital of South Africa, if not Africa. the KZN Schools Festival was part of a series of festivals for Grade 11 students all over the country; it was held at Hilton College, a beautiful school about 3 hours away from our abode... and it was, quite frankly, life-changing. we not only got to witness some of SA's most under-appreciated and enormously talented performers take to the stage, but we actually got to work alongside them in workshops that challenged, inspired and humiliated *ahem* grew us, both as artists and as people. if i'm sounding a little repetitive and boring at the moment, i'm sorry - but all that i've said is true. and then there was this man named Liam Magner... yah. i am basically in love with him. you would be, too, if you witnessed what i did... but we'll leave it there.

this is the main hall at Hilton, which housed the theatre. it was tea time... hence all the students on the lawns :)

this is the Eshowe gang! except for that random girl 3rd from the left in the back... i don't even know where she's from. *shrugs* no matter.

another lovely thing about the festival is i got to hang out with my cupcake, Tayla! she was my class companion, but she moved away earlier this year... i miss her :(

by far the best workshop... my one with Liam Magner, in which i was an addict, a RoboChair, a dog, an escapee, a drunk and a Zulu warrior, among other things.

Mr Magner (pictured below) is part of a comedic duo named The Neon Anthems. they performed last at the Festival, doing a stellar job in a hilarious show they wrote called "TOKOLOSHE COME AND GO". at this particular part of the stage, Liam stood right in front of me. i thought to myself, "Hanny, you must capture this man's amazingness on film, no matter how blurry the photo may turn out!" so out came my camera, and just as i was about to take the photo, Liam looked right at me and said, "Oh! You're taking a photo! Please Facebook that." pssshhh... i have never been more proud of being spoken to in my life. this was the photo that ensued, and i have not only faithfully uploaded it to Facebook... now it's on Blogger, too!

uhmmm. this is Liam playing dead while performing in "TOKOLOSHE COME AND GO". i hope you are starting to understand why i love him.

i got home from the Festival of Coolness on Thursday night, at around 9 PM. on Friday, an hour after school, i was on my way to Durban, to hang out with my bff Cathryn and her family for the weekend. it was uh-MAY-zin', let me tell you! on Friday, i went with Cathy and her sister Roanne to their youth, where we did ridiculous renditions of David and Goliath and the feeding of the 5000. after that we hung out at their house and listened to Jimmy Needham *who rocks my socks* and Relient K... yes, only the coolest band in the world. see, it was already fabulous. Saturday was Roanne's birthday, so we got to do all SORTS of cool stuff! we went to the I ♥ Market, which is a genius little market that is run the first Saturday of each month. it is beautiful... i ♥ the I ♥ Market. 

we got to eat these amazing designer cupcakes, and mine had a raspberry on it (have i mentioned that i am a fan of raspberries? oh, yes. raspberries FTW. just sayin'...) 

plus, Cathy and i purchased a 100-year-old dictionary of total superduperness. it has some of the funniest words and definitions EVAH. 

we also went to the NSA and Bean Bag Bohemia and looked at incredible artworkses! 

this was at Bean Bag Bohemia... i loved it there.

we watched Enchanted back at their house and then had a mini-party for Rosie, complete with relatives, cake, ice cream, singing, tasty food and general loveliness. YAY for parties! when everyone had departed, we watched Hairspray... and then slept. i got to go to church TWICE on Sunday - i love church! - and in between, we ate amazing food and watched Just Like Heaven. (we were going to make pancakes but there were no eggs! *sob*) my parents came to the evening service and we hung out - Cathy and her family go to this amazing church called Victory Faith that serves FOOD after evening service, can you believe?! they also have this phenomenal hot chocolate... i am seriously thinking of doing YOYL just to hang out there and drink hot chocolate all day. and to grow as a child of God... yah, that too. 

Cathy, Rosie and me... i love these girls SO SO much!

later on that evening, my sister came back from university! she's hanging out with us for this and next week... siiiick. 

now i am on vacation till next week Wednesday, and i've been watching movies. Lord Of The Rings movies, to be precise. when they came out, my godmother sent us all the movies - and not just the ordinary movies, but the Special Extended Editions. we watched them all yesterday and today. they are still the coolest. by the way, i am Éowyn.. which makes this hunk my husband. 

yesssss... i know. i scored beeg time.

look, we are so happy! aaah... warm fuzziness descends.

i found this online today, and it made me smile. (all credit to Anke Eissmann)

"He [Faramir] looked at her [Éowyn], and being a man whom pity deeply stirred, it seemed to him that her loveliness amid her grief would pierce his heart. And she looked at him and saw the grave tenderness in his eyes, and yet knew, for she was bred among men of war, that here was on whom no Rider of the Mark would outmatch in battle." 

"And so they stood on the walls of the City of Gondor, and a great wind rose and blew, and their hair, raven and golden, streamed out mingling in the air. And the Shadow departed, and the Sun was unveiled, and light leaped forth; and the waters of Anduin shone like silver, and in all the houses of the City men sang for the joy that welled up in their hearts from what source they could not tell." 

(go here for the rest of the images)

yes, i adore the love story of these two. it makes me want to cry... thanks for that, Mr Tolkien.

and that is what i have been doing lately! now? i shall go sleep :)