First Week of School

Okay, as promised, here is a post with a few details from my crazy week. ;)

So, of course, the biggest thing that happened this week was getting my girlies started on a new school year...all three of them! :}  Here they are, ready for Mommy to stop taking pictures and let them actually get to school. ;)  Hmm,  I guess I should have taken the time to sweep my floor before this picture, too. :}

Oldest Gal started 4th grade this year, Middle Gal started 2nd grade, and Little Gal started Kindergarten.    

By far, this was one of the most surreal moments from Monday: watching my youngest boldly walk to her Kindergarten classroom.  She informed me that I didn't need to go with her.  I did anyway. ;)

All the girls had a great first day, and I enjoyed spending time with a family friend while they were in class. :)

The elementary school is doing things differently this year.  Because of the small class sizes, they're following more of a charter school format, where the students move around to different classrooms for each of their subjects.  There are three main elementary teachers.  One teaches all of the math and history, one teaches reading, Bible, and Spanish, and one teaches spelling and English.  Then the students have an elective period each day.  That's where I come in. ;)  I teach art on Tuesdays, and the other elective teacher does clay on Mondays, computers on Wednesdays, crafts on Thursdays, and health and nutrition on Fridays.  There is also a music teacher who comes in every afternoon to teach the kids about music.  

The moving back and forth between classrooms has been an adjustment for everyone, but so far it seems to be working really well. 

I had hoped to get some pics of my classroom on Tuesday (I even brought my camera with me).  However, I just didn't have the time at all.  I'm there from 8:30 to 12:45 and have four different classes.  The 1st graders come in first, followed by the 4th and 5th graders (they're combined because 5th grade consists of two boys).  Next is the 2nd grade class, which was the hardest one due to the crazy boys in that grade.  (I felt like a limp washrag after that class was through!)  My last class of the day is the 3rd grade.

  I got there early to prepare for my first class, had five minutes to recover and re-prepare between each period, and then had five minutes to clean up and get out after my last class before the next teacher came in to the elective room for music.  Yikes!!  I barely had the time for a bathroom break during recess and was able to eat my lunch, but honestly, I don't know how the other teachers do it!  I was exhausted after my half day! :}

Even though it was tiring, I did enjoy myself.  I've been super nervous about teaching since it's been a while (and was also dealing with feelings of inadequacy).  That first day was super helpful, though.  I had the students just draw a picture of whatever they wanted.  This not only gave me an idea of where they were at ability-wise, but also gave me some insight as to their interests and hobbies.  I also got a good idea of which children needed to be apart from each other for the productivity of the classroom. :}

So, since I didn't get any pictures of the room, I thought I'd show you my Art Binder that I put together for my class:

When I was cleaning through the art cupboards, there was this nifty pink binder that was up for grabs, so I decided to use it to hold all of my papers and things.  It had a clear plastic sleeve on the front, so I whipped up a quick cover.  It was so much fun.  I haven't done much with my drawing for a while...it was great to have an excuse to get back to it. :)

This is a cartoony self-portrait.  I developed these characters in high school and have slowly modified them through the years.  They're my "go-to" characters when I want to draw a person without getting stressed out about proportions and such. ;)

Another look at the whole thing.

And, of course, every binder needs an awesome Lisa Frank folder. ;)  This totally takes me back to my childhood. :)

I also have a Rainbow Dash spiral-bound notebook for all of my notes.

While I know that the year will present me with many challenges, after day one I'm feeling a lot more confident and excited about teaching the kiddos.  I hope that I can touch their lives in some small way, just as my third grade art teacher inspired me. (Thanks, Mr. B!) :)

After my classes were over, I had some free time before I had to pick up the girls, so I headed to my favorite place:  Goodwill. ;)  My mom and aunt ended up meeting me there, and we had a fun time browsing the selection.

I found this great Barbie-sized pink dresser (which will most likely show up in a future Belle's Bulletins post). ;)

My mom found these cute Calico Critter cats for the girls. 

I was super excited when I found some vintage G1 My Little Ponies on the 49 cent table.  This one is Glory...

...and this one is "Celebration", a Sea Pony.

Some time after I found the first two, I noticed that another lady had some vintage ponies in her cart...and I tried not to hyperventilate. ;)  I didn't follow her (lest you have visions of me in creepy stalker mode at the local Goodwill), :} but I kind of stayed aware of where she was in the store, just in case she decided to put the ponies back before leaving.  (Basically, I hung out by the toy table in the front once I saw her heading towards the registers.)  Normally, this plan isn't very successful, but in this case, it was!  At the last minute, her grown daughter deposited all three ponies onto the toy table.  I waited till she turned around and then swooped them up. :)

The first of the three was this Twinkle-eyed pony, Party Time (who coincidentally came in a set with the Sea Pony I'd already grabbed).

Next was Posey, a pony that many have compared to Fluttershy because of her color scheme.

And finally there was Sundance, Megan's pony!! :D  This is a pony I always wanted as a little girl but never had.  I'm super excited to have her now. ;)

All three ponies had condition issues.  They were all filthy and their heads had started to come unglued.  After some work with some Lysol wipes and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, they looked a lot better.  (Sorry, no pics yet!) ;)

With this influx of vintage ponies, I decided it was time to rethink my vintage toy display.  I decided to remove all of my G1 ponies and put them on a shelf together.  Then I could rearrange my other 80s and 90s toys on their shelf. 

I thought it would be a good idea to take a couple of pictures first, though, so I would remember how I'd displayed them.: 

I haven't gotten pictures of the new arrangement yet (I wanted to make sure I really liked it first).  Once I'm settled on where things are going to stay, I'll share a few more pics. :)

But now we have to get back to the rest of Tuesday afternoon!  My mom, my aunt and I still had some time after we were done with Goodwill, so we headed over to the mall.  I decided that now would be a good time to pop into Hot Topic since the girls weren't with me.  I'm not a fan of the music or some of the other things in Hot Topic, as I've mentioned before, but they are the best local place for My Little Pony and Doctor Who stuff.  And apparently, they're pretty awesome with Disney stuff, too:

There was a ton of Beauty and the Beast stuff there this time around!!  Most of it was out of my price range (or a bit too much for the worth of the product), but this reusable shopping bag was $4.95.  It features Belle on one side...

...and the Beast on the other.

The sides of the bag have the title of the movie.  It's a smaller reusable shopping bag than the big Disney Store ones, but it will still be useful.   

One of the other things I completely freaked out about was this ADORABLE Beauty and the Beast metal lunchbox.  Seriously?  How cool is this?!!? ;)  It was $14.50, which was a little more than I felt I could pay, but when Mimi offered to get it for me as an early birthday gift, I couldn't resist. :)  It helped that they were having a special promotion, so we could get 30% off our entire purchase.

The side of the lunchbox.

As you can see, the picture on the lunchbox is a raised, 3-D design.

I probably won't use this as an actual lunchbox (although that would be totally cool!).  I don't want it to get damaged or scuffed up.  It looks pretty nifty on display in my room, though! :D 

And since we had the discount, I also snagged a couple of Doctor Who things.  The "I Heart Heart the Doctor" button is for Alice, but the "Allons-y" button is now on my purse. ;)  I was thinking of putting the Doctor Whooves sticker on my truck, but I'm afraid it won't last long once the rainy season hits.  Plus, since I'll be parking my truck at the school and teaching a class, I don't want to have anything on my vehicle that might offend a parent.  Doctor Whooves might be okay, but he might not.   So maybe he just needs to be somewhere safe in my room for now. :)

Wednesday was a lazy, stay-at-home day for me, which was really nice.  I did get a chance to visit with my mother-in-law right after dropping off the kiddos, so that was fun. :)

Then came Thursday.  My mom had heard that another Goodwill was opening in a town a couple of hours away.  We figured if we headed out right after the girls were dropped off at school, we could get back to pick them up in the afternoon.  So, I dropped off the girls and Mom and I headed off on a mini road trip.  We had a great time visiting all the way down and came back with a considerable amount of goodies: 

Heh heh.  You should have seen the looks we were getting from people in the store.  We had a shopping cart FULL of dolls and ponies.  It was pretty awesome. :}  I won't be able to show you everything.  Some of the things I'm still sorting through, some will be for resale to fund future doll purchases (but don't worry, I'll start at a low starting bid). :)  We also bought a lot of Barbies for their clothing.  At 99 cents per doll, it was a great way to get some nice dresses for Belle and friends at a decent price. :)

I did find a few fun pony purchases.

This one was my favorite by far.  Fluttershy is one of my two favorite ponies, and I've always loved this bigger styling pony.  She was 99 cents as well, and she's absolutely adorable! :D

She does have a few small pink marks on her that didn't come off...

...especially these little ones on her nose.  I may eventually try an acne cream treatment on her and see if it helps.  For now, though, I love her just the way she is. :)

My other most exciting find was this "Barbie in India" doll.  As most of you know, there are several Bollywood movies I really enjoy, so it was super fun to find this doll who would fit right into one of those films.  The best part?  I got her for just $2.99.  

I haven't been able to find out a whole lot about her, except that she was actually made in India through Mattel.  There were several other dolls made in India, including the "Expressions of India" dolls that are now apparently super hard to find because they were only produced for a short time.  I'm thrilled to have this doll in my collection now. :)

I also found this loose "Dolls of the World" Barbie from India. She's from the 90s.  Unfortunately, she was obviously stored in direct sunlight for too long, as her dress has some major fading.  

She's still pretty, though. :)

Another fun find was this Madame Alexander doll (the standard size, not an 18" one).  I've never actually held one of these in person, so it was really fun to see all of her joints and how she was put together.  She's obviously missing some clothing and a shoe, but I'm sure we can find something to dress her in.  She's a Disney Sleeping Beauty/Aurora doll. :)  You can see a picture of what she looked like originally HERE.

The last thing I'll share is this.  I suppose it might surprise some of you that I picked up a Frankie Stein doll since I've made it quite clear that I'm not a fan of Monster High.  I still feel the same way, but ever since I watched THIS YouTube tutorial, I've been wanting to try to customize a Monster High doll.  (If you don't want to watch the whole thing, just fast-forward to the end and prepare to be amazed.) ;)  I've always been interested in face-ups, but don't feel confident enough with a paintbrush.  Seeing a faceup done with colored pencils got me really excited.  Since Frankie was just 99 cents, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to give it a shot.

Of course, this will be a long, drawn-out process since I don't have any of the supplies I need yet (aside from the acetone-free fingernail polish remover).  Still, finding a doll at the right price made me decide to go for it.

So now we come to last night's activity: removing face paint, neck bolts, and hair. :)  I popped in "Wreck-it Ralph" and got started.  

I used this random tool (I have no idea what it's officially called) to pinch and clip Frankie's neck bolts off.

It wasn't a completely clean cut, but it's better than it was.

I worked on Frankie's face for two hours with the nail polish remover, q-tips, and cotton balls, and this was as close as I could get to total face paint removal.  Ugh.  I wonder how awful it is to just use regular acetone fingernail polish remover?  

Note to self:  next time you do this, wear protective gloves.  I got so much of the fingernail polish remover on my thumb and two of my fingers on my right hand that they completely dried out and cracked!!  They're really sore today. :(

I decided to remove as much of Frankie's hair as I could since I wasn't interested in using her original hair.  Eventually I'll remove her head and pull the extra hair plugs through.  At this point, though, I'd had enough for one night. :}

I still have to remove the rest of her face paint and the stitches on her skin, as well as finish removing her hair.  Then she'll be ready and waiting for when I pick up my watercolor pencils...and my soft pastels...and my sealant...and...well, you get the picture. ;)  I think she'll be waiting for a while. 

So that brings us to today, which was basically full of grocery shopping.  Thrilling, I know. ;)

All in all, it was a great week.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and then getting back to school next week.  Next week is also my "get back to regular exercising" and "start officially writing my novel" week, so I'm looking forward to that. :)

And of course, tomorrow we'll find out who wins Lottie! :)  

Thanks for your patience as I babbled on in my randomness.  Kudos to you if you made it through this entire post. ;)  

There will be more fun to come on this blog in the next few weeks.  Oh, and I've been assured that you'll be hearing from Tess, Maggie and Belle soon too. :)

Talk to you again tomorrow! :)

Beast'sbelle's Playlists

As most of you know, I used to have a playlist on the blog before Mixpod.com shut their website down.  A few of my blog readers suggested doing a post with all of my playlist tracks in it, which I thought was a great idea.  I thought it would be an even better idea to link it to my pages up top so you can find it easily.  So in the future, you'll find a link to this post on the "Beast'sbelle's Favorites & Playlist" Page up top. :)

Unfortunately, I waited a little too long to do this post, so I've forgotten a lot of the tracks I had on there. :}  I figure this will be another "in progress" page.  I'll add more songs as I think of them. :)  If there's one in particular that I didn't add and you'd like to hear it again, leave me a comment.  Here are the ones I can remember for now:

Former Blog Playlist Tracks:
-Song of Hope Duet from Lord of the Rings the Musical
-The Road Goes On from Lord of the Rings the Musical
-Now and For Always from Lord of the Rings the Musical
-One Fine Day by Hayley Westenra
-The Flower Duet by Charlotte Church
-Main Aagar Kahoon from Om Shanti Om
-Aankhon Mein Teri from Om Shanti Om
-Tere Liye from Veer-Zaara
-Frank Churchill Arrives  from Emma (1996)
-The Dance from Emma (1996)
-End Titles from Emma (1996)
-Main Titles from Emma (2009)
-The Last Dance from Emma (2009)

After I started this, I thought it would be fun to share some of my other favorite songs.  The following songs are divided by category. :)

Housecleaning Music:
These are songs that are a little more upbeat that help me fold laundry, do dishes, sweep, or anything else that requires a bit of physical exertion.  Of course, sometimes I have to remind myself to focus and not get too distracted dancing to the music (in my own awkward, uncoordinated way!), especially when I'm listening to the Bollywood tracks! :}  [Note:  some of these songs come from movies that I don't necessarily completely recommend, but the songs themselves are fun and enjoyable.]

-The Medley from Mujhse Dosti Karoge
-The Cat and the Moon from Lord of the Rings the Musical
-Lodi from Veer-Zaara
-Saj Daj Ke  from Mausam
-Haule Haule from Rab Ne Bana di Jodi
-Koi Ladki Hai from Dil to Pagal Hai
-Soni Soni from Mohabbatein
-The Cowman and the Farmer Should be Friends from Oklahoma
-Comme Facette Mammeta  by Mario Frangoulis (you can't help but feel happy when you hear this song!) ;)
-Any bluegrass music :)

Story Writing Music:
These are songs I listen to while working on my books.  They are often songs I've picked because they have a message or theme that fits into different parts of the story line.  Either that, or they are chosen to help me feel specific emotions.  For example, when I'm writing a sad scene, I listen to sad music to help me feel what my characters are feeling.  [Once again, some of these songs come from movies that I either haven't seen or can't recommend, but serve their purpose for my story.]  Here are a few of my favorite story writing tracks:

-Non ti Scordar di Me  by Russell Watson (couldn't find his version, but here's Mario Frangoulis' version.  I prefer Mario's voice, but I just love the instrumental part of Russell's version!  It's much more haunting.)
-All Love Can Be  by Charlotte Church (this one is set to pictures, and some of them are an odd choice...especially the walrus towards the end!) :}
-Remember Me by Josh Groban
-My Immortal  by Evanescence  (I'm not a fan of all of their stuff, and I don't care for the version of this song with the electric guitar.  I also would not recommend listening to a sad song like this all the time, but I use it to get me in the right mindset for the sadder parts of my stories.)
-The Swedish Rhapsody by Hugo Alfven
-Dulaman by Celtic Woman
-In Her Eyes by Josh Groban
-Any instrumental Celtic music
-anything by Hayley Westenra
-The entire "Let My Life be a Light" CD  by the Wissmann family (this link has one of my favorite songs from the CD)

Christian Music:
Here are a few of my favorite more contemporary Christan songs that I enjoy (well, as contemporary as I get...my music tastes are pretty conservative). ;)

-How Deep the Father's Love for Us performed by Fernando Ortega
-In Christ Alone performed here by Keith and Kristyn Getty (my favorite version is the one done by the Wissmann family)
-Calvary's Love performed by Steve Green
-Children of the Living God performed by Fernando Ortega
--I Will Carry You by Selah
-Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman


Hymns:
I grew up (and am still attending) a very conservative church, so I've had years of listening to the great old hymns of the faith.  I love these hymns because of their depth and because of the amazing stories that are behind them.  I was able to find several of my favorites to share with you:

-It is Well With My Soul by Horatio G. Spafford
-My Savior First of All by Fanny Crosby
-Take My Life and Let it Be by Frances Ridley Havergal
-I Will Sing of My Redeemer by Philip Bliss
-Sweet Hour of Prayer  by William Walford
-Have Thine Own Way by Adelaide A. Pollard
-Just As I Am by Charlotte Elliot
-Face to Face by Fanny Crosby (couldn't find this one on YouTube)

Like I said, this is a list that will grow and change with time, so keep checking back for updates. :)

Bollywood and Indian Cuisine-What More Do You Need? ;)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Friday night was our "Bollywood Night" at Mimi's house.  We had so much fun! :)  Mimi and I dressed up in salwar kameezes (I think that's how you spell it!) that we'd found at Goodwill.  I also wore my bangle bracelets and my anklet.  We ended up watching two Bollywood movies.  It was a great night to pretend I was a teenager again with no obligations.  Just food, friends, and fun. ;)

The first movie we watched was "Dil Bole Hadippa", starring Shahid Kapoor and Rani Mukerji.  It had some great songs and some really funny parts, but it also had enough content in it that it's not one I would recommend.  Pity, too, because some of it is absolutely hilarious! 

Emma and Piper, the two Bollywood fans, joined us for the evening. ;)  In fact, you can read Emma's take on things HERE. 

Here's a look at our delicious feast.  Mimi went all out when she picked it up from her favorite restaurant!  She and I have both had Indian food before, but my friend from college, who joined us, has never had it.  I can't remember what everything was called (it's only my second time eating Indian food!), but I've labeled everything that I had. :)

The rice is just like our steamed white rice.  It goes great with the chicken tikka masala, which is basically tender chicken pieces in a creamy, spicy (but not too hot!) sauce.  Chicken tikka masala is still my very favorite Indian main dish, by the way. :)  The aloo gobi was really good too.  It has potato and cauliflower in it, both things I'm not a big fan of, but together in the amazing sauce they're delicious!   The garlic naan was awesome!  It's very similar to a tortilla, but it had garlic and other spices on it.  It was really thick and soft, too. :)  The tandoori chicken was something new I tried...not spicy at all and very tasty.  Mimi told me that she normally gets tandoori chicken for first timers because it tastes very similar to chicken the way we normally prepare it.  The mango lassi is another must!  I'm not usually a fan of mango, but these are amazing!  The mango taste is really mild, and they're basically sweet smoothies.  Then there's my favorite Indian dessert so far:  gulab janum.  Imagine a doughnut hole dipped in an incredible sweet sauce.  Yum!!  

I have to admit, I didn't exactly count Weight Watchers points this evening. ;)  It was worth it, though!!  

We finished the evening with "Rab Ne Bana di Jodi", which my friend had never seen.  I did a review for this movie in my Bollywood Reviews post, if you want to know more about it. :)

We had such a fun night!  I think we'll definitely have to schedule another one soon! ;)

I'm hoping to get one more post in before my trip, but I'll just have to see how things go with all of the packing and whatnot. ;)

Random Updates

Hi all! :)  Hope you're having a wonderful Friday.  Just wanted to give you a few quick updates. :)

First off, I've officially lost over 10 pounds with Weight Watchers!! :D  For a while there, I was pretty discouraged with my lack of progress, but things seem to finally be clicking for me.  I still need to get in a little more exercise, but my eating habits are getting better.  Every little change helps.  Like our leader keeps reminding us, it's a process. :}

Like I've shared before, I have issues with wanting to be perfect in every area:  learning how to do something and then checking it off my mental list, never having to think about it again. ;)  Unfortunately, whether it's weight, exercise, my spiritual life, or even laundry and dishes, everything is a process.  By the Lord's grace, though, I'm learning to take things one day at a time...most of the time.  I'm still human, after all! ;)

I plan on posting my "Why I'm a Stay-at-Home Mom" post tomorrow.  I was thinking about doing it today, but I'm just flat running out of time.  That, and my children have been bouncing off the walls all morning.  If I tried to write it now, my answer would probably be:  "I have NO IDEA what prompted me to choose this INSANITY!!!"

Ahem.  Moving on. :}

For those of you who are fans of "Belle's Bulletins", you might be interested in knowing that the wedding post is up. :D  Tess and Maggie most likely won't have another post up until next week.

And speaking of next week, on either Thursday or Friday, my family and I will be taking our annual trip to the coast! :D  We're really excited to spend some time together and stick our toes in the sand.  We plan to stay there for just under a week.  As you can imagine, my blogging will most likely be non-existent during that time.  I will have access to a computer, but we'll be pretty busy with vacationing.  I promise to come back with lots of great doll beach pictures, though. :)

I guess that's about it for now.  Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend, remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom.  God bless America! :)

And now I'm off to get ready for a movie night/afternoon at Mimi's! :)  One of my friends from college is coming too.  We're going to watch a couple of Bollywood movies that my friend hasn't seen yet (heh heh...we've gotten her hooked!) and eat Indian cuisine from Mimi's favorite restaurant. :D  I'll be sure to tell you all about it later. :)

Until next time...  ;)

Bollywood Songs that Make Me Happy! (or Bollywood Reviews 2...sort of!)

Okay, so here's the deal.  I procrastinated a long time on my second Bollywood Reviews post.  (Duh!)  And unfortunately, I haven't had Netflix, my major source for watching Bollywood movies, for about 6 months now.  I went back to work on my second Bollywood Reviews post and realized that it had just been too long for me to remember everything about the movies.  I didn't feel right reviewing them when it had been that long since I'd seen them.

I didn't want to leave everyone hanging, though.  So instead, I came up with an alternative:  the post you're reading now.

One of the things I love about the Bollywood films I've seen is the music.  While there are some songs that are too sensual for my taste and my conscience, there are a lot of really fun songs out there, too.  I've decided to share some of my favorites with you in this post.  Some are songs I enjoy because of the acting that takes place during the song.  Some are songs that have really fun choreography (which makes me wish I was way more coordinated!).  Others have beautiful melodies or chordal progressions.  And some just flat out make me smile! :)

You'll most likely notice that these songs feature many of the same actors.  That's partially because I tend to find the actors I like and try out their other films.  It's also because there are a lot of movies done by the same Bollywood actors in the same genre (romance, action, etc), so it's easy to find films starring the same people.  [I'd also like to take a moment to apologize to my aunt that there are no Hrithik songs featured in this post.  I know, I know, how dare I do a Bollywood Songs post without "Beautiful Man"...but hey, I've got some fun Shahid songs at least!  Sorry Mimi, you'll have to go back to my original Bollywood Reviews post and watch "Bole Chudiyan" again.] ;)

Another quick note:  I tried to find as many of these with English subtitles as I could, but for some of the songs it just wasn't possible.  So for those songs without subtitles, I'll try to give you a brief idea of what they're saying.

Oops...and one more thing:  some of these songs feature bare midriffs, and Bollywood dances involve a lot of hip action.  Just wanted to issue a warning for those of you who are offended by that.

So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite Bollywood songs for your viewing enjoyment, in no particular order:


"Aaya Re" from Chup Chup Ke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ECsSN3pHU
This film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor.  While I didn't care for the film on the whole (it was a bit too over-the-top on the humor for me...plus I have a hard time enjoying films where the main character lies throughout the entire thing, even if they come clean in the end), I really love this song.  I think it does a great job of capturing the sweetness and innocence of young love.  An interesting bit of trivia, here:  this is one of the common fantasy sequence songs often found in Bollywood films, and incidentally the only song in which Kareena "sings" (although her voice is provided by a playback singer).  In the rest of the movie, she is mute.  Oh, and the guy at the end of the song is her brother, not a love interest.  I can't remember why he looks so upset...it's been a while since I watched it!

Sorry, this is one of the ones without subtitles.  Basically, he's saying:  "Fallen, fallen, my heart has fallen for you"...and a bunch of other sweet stuff. :)

P.S.  Use caution if you do a YouTube search for "Chup Chup Ke".  Apparently there was another movie with this title that was a lot more sensual.


"Balle Balle" from Bride and Prejudice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoLtHqS_LhA
This movie starred Aishwarya Rai (I still haven't figured out how to pronounce her first name!) and Martin Henderson in the title roles.  Also featured in this video are Naveen Andrews, Namrata Shirodkar, and Indira Varma.  I don't know if this film would be considered strictly Bollywood, since it was made in Hollywood, but it definitely has the feel of a Bollywood film (it was made by the same people who did "Bend it Like Beckham", which I never saw).   It's been a while since I've seen this one...I know there was some innuendo and at least one very sensual song.  As a Jane Austen fan, though, I really enjoyed seeing a Bollywood take on Pride and Prejudice.  The differences in culture worked really well for the well-known story line.

In this song, Balraj (Mr. Bingley...the guy wearing black), William Darcy (Mr. Darcy), and Balraj's sister Kiran (Miss Bingley) are at a wedding in India.  This is the moment when Balraj and Jaya (Jane...on the balcony in the pink) see each other for the first time.  And Lalita (Lizzy) is the one in orange and pink.

Unfortunately, I had to change the link, so this one doesn't have quite all of the song.  I've included another link that has the whole song but much lower picture quality:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnZRN1XBvDY


"Saj Dhaj Ke" from Mausam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C87WJjQKLNI
Another Shahid movie! :D  I must admit, while I really enjoy Shahrukh's work, Shahid is quickly becoming my next favorite.  This guy can dance!  His leading lady this time around is Sonam Kapoor.

I can't really say much about this movie, because even though I watched it, I wasn't able to watch it with subtitles...so I had no clue what they were saying!  I will say that there were some really fun moments, but the climactic scene at the end was a little too hard to believe, in my opinion.

Once again, this one doesn't have subtitles.  I found the translation online, and it sounds like Shahid's character and his friends are basically teasing the groom (the guy in the tux) for wanting to be all fancy and "English" instead of sticking to his roots.  I really love Shahid's acting in this song. :)


"Nagada Nagada" from Jab We Met:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4lNAOlvnWk
Shahid and Kareena again.  This movie was had some really fun parts, but also had some swearing and innuendo that I did not appreciate.  Oh, and the song during the end credits was really sensual.

Anyway, this is my favorite song from this movie.  Aditya (Shahid's character) has been asked to sing on the spot for the whole crowd by mischievous Geet (Kareena's character).  I chose the clip I did because it was better quality, but for those of you who want to know what he's saying, you can see a lower quality clip with English subtitles here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkq0eh-n08c

By the way, I dare you to watch this song without having the urge to move your shoulders. ;)


"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3RlOzVeruE
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai stars Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji.  This is apparently a really well-known song, and the movie was a big hit too.  While I really enjoyed some parts of this movie and the idea of the story line, it was another one that had more swearing and innuendo than I was comfortable with.  It had some great moments, and this song is one of them.  It's just fun and lighthearted and catchy (warning, you may have it stuck in your head after watching it!).  ;)

UPDATE:  Sorry guys...this link doesn't work and I can't find another version.  For some reason, this particular song isn't available in the US.  If you ever get a chance to hear it, though, it's really fun. :}



"Aisa Des Hai Mera" from Veer-Zaara (you knew I'd get a Veer-Zaara song in here somewhere!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3e8x4NY6Hw
This one is still my all-time favorite Bollywood movie, and probably will be forever. :D  Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta play the main characters.

This song takes place early in the film, and is basically Veer (Shahrukh) introducing his country to Zaara (Preity), who is from Pakistan.

Whenever I watch this, I want to go to India! :)


"Ajab Si" from Om Shanti Om:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfGzxmLn400
This is another Shahrukh one (What can I say?  He's my favorite!).  Deepika Padukone plays the lovely Bollywood actress Shantipriya, as well as a modern character, Sandy.  I've already explained this movie in detail in my first Bollywood Reviews post, so I won't say more here.

This song happens towards the beginning of the movie (in the 70s sequence...which you could probably tell from the clothing!), when Om gets to see Shantipriya on the red carpet.

I love the beautiful melody and lyrics of this song. :)


"Haule Haule" from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwZQoqZfihU
This is one of my husband's favorite Bollywood films (and coincidentally, another film I reviewed in my first review post).  Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi stars Shahrukh and Anushka Sharma in her film debut.

I love how cute Suri (Shahrukh) is in this song (cute as in "Aww...", not "Wow!").  He's supposed to be kind of nerdy in this movie, by the way.  He wants nothing more than to win the love of his beautiful young wife.

I also like this song because it's the one Bollywood dance uncomplicated enough for me.  I can actually do this one without looking like a complete moron. ;)

Oh, and there is some very super mild sensuality in one short part of this song.  I'm probably being overly cautious, but I want to play it safe. :)


Okay, these next two are also in my first Bollywood Reviews post, but I had to include them anyway! ;)

"Hamari Shaadi Mein" from Vivah:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRJiJUwelRA
I love how fun and lighthearted this song is. :)  As I explained in the earlier post, the basic idea of this song is:  "My wedding is coming up and I'm super excited." ;)  Oh, and Shahid's character Prem is so excited that he keeps thinking he sees his fiance on the plane when she's not really there.


"Yeh Ladka Hai Allah" from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2kGpQ8_qAg
(I recently had to replace this link.  The video quality is beautiful, but there are no English subtitles...only Greek. :}  For a lower quality version with English subtitles, click HERE.)

Even though this one uses Allah's name in a way that I wouldn't want to use my God's name (for more on that, you can read my first review post, which I'm not going to link again, since I already linked it twice!!), I really love Shahrukh and Kajol's acting in this one.  They're so cute together. :)

This song always makes me want to dance...as long as no one's watching!  These dance steps are a little more complicated than "Haule Haule". ;)


And in closing, here's a great fan-made video I found set to "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun. The song recording is from the cast starring Bernadette Peters.  The video features Shahrukh Khan and Kajol Devgan, 2 of my favorite Bollywood actors, in clips from several of the films they've starred in together.   I think this YouTuber did a fantastic job...they even had Shahrukh and Kajol acting during the silences of the songs! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbGvm73XRlI


Well, that's it!  I hope it wasn't too annoying having to click all of the links. :}  Which songs were your favorites?