Internet Painting

(click on me)

Look what I made, Mom!
I've been entertaining myself with this painting website during this ice storm of the century...

If anyone wants to do a painting and send it to me, I would love it!

movie review time

Ok, anyone seen the movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas? (Chels, I know you can relate)
I saw it a few weeks ago, and I've been wanting to post something about it ever since.

Every now and then I'll see a movie that just sticks in my brain. You know when the credits have rolled and the theatre is almost empty, but you're still sitting speechless in your seat? I had that reaction. I just had to sit for a while trying to turn what I just saw into some sort of organized thought.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Sounds like a cute little film right? WRONG. Well, some parts were cute, I guess.
But it shocked me.
Even after I was back home in completely comfortable surroundings, I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

I usually have a limit to how much I allow myself to get into the characters and stories because I know that if I get too involved I'll end up crying in the theatre and embarrassing myself. But this time I let my emotions get swept up, and yes, I practically flooded the place at the end. (I think part of the reason is because I didn't really know what it was going to be about, so my guard was down).

The movie is about a little boy growing up in Nazi Germany who befriends a little Jewish boy in a concentration camp. I should have known that any film based in that time period cannot possibly be anything but devastatingly sad. However, some of my favorite movies are WWII based. Life is Beautiful, Schindler's List, The Pianist, etc. But watching the inhuman brutality of what happened as seen through the eyes of little children really hit me hard.

Anyways, although I can't say I would see it again, I don't regret it and would recommend everyone seeing it once if you get the chance.

(click here to watch the trailer)

BANGS

Guess what? I got bangs! Yes, I've overcome my bang prejudice of 20 years and finally stepped into a new bang-filled world.

I've gotten some requests for posting some pictures of my new bangs on here, which I am happy to provide. However I feel slightly uncomfortable with posting pictures of just me. Not to mention I think it's totally lame to take a picture of yourself and obviously try to look good. (You know, the pose that shows your arms holding the camera while trying to look like you don't know you're picture is being taken shot...that's what I'd like to avoid.)

Seeing as how I live by myself and have no one but me to take pictures of me for me, that would no doubt be the pitiful case. So, behold my dilemma.

My solution? GOOFY PICTURES!! Yes, I find that as long as the picture is obviously goofy and in no way an attempt to look good/sexy/provocative it is acceptable to post.

Therefore I present to you, my loyal blog readers...(Mom and Dad)....BANGS:

1) "The Gomer Pyle"

2) "The Chandler from Friends"

3) "The Angry Elvis"

4) "The Confused Drunkard"

5) "The Duck Face"

6) My version of the "Sexy Touching-your-Mouth Pose"

7) Nothing wrong with this one, you say?

8) Psych! Surprise Duck Face side view...

So, there they are. Bangs.

PS. I do realize that I'm 23 years old and should have reached a higher level of maturity by now, but once I get started with goofy pictures, it's hard to stop. You should try it sometime.

Austin Weekend

Howdy ya'll!! (I'm feeling very Texan right now because I just had myself a wonderful weekend in Austin!!!)

One of my best buds, Kelli, and her new husband and also one of my best buds, Jeffrey, live in Austin. I have been trying to find a good time to visit them for a while now. Jeffrey is in grad-school @ UT and Kelli is a nurse. She has to work late hours/weekends so it is difficult to schedule a weekend that works out.

BUT what do you know? Our (mine & Kelli's) former roommate, Sarah, and her husband and long-time ACU buddy, Luke, happened to be planning a weekend trip to Austin this weekend!

So, I hitched a ride with Luke and Sarah and we had ourselves a rootin' tootin', rip roarin' good ol' time. (I'm aware of the cheesy-ness of those terms, it is meant to be annoying to those who think of Austin as "too cool for the rest of Texas")

In all seriousness, I had a blast. I love Austin and all it's bike-riding/Lance Armstrong-obsessed/folk musicy-ness. Jeff & Kelli showed me around their home in style. We ate a lot of good food, heard some good music, had some good laughs, and squeezed in some late-night coffee and chatting just like old times :)

As it turns out, Kelli got a new SLR camera for Christmas as well and we were both eager to practice our newly found passion for photography. We went to the Austin Botanical Gardens, which was beautiful, even though it's winter and nothing was really blooming. We had great weather all weekend and it was perfect for being outside :)

I thought this was such a beautiful little bridge.

Jeff & Kelli patiently posing for me.

Me & Kelli

The cute couple.

This fish kept staring at me, it was creepy...and beautiful.

Kelli voluntarily posing for a Sr. picture. (not)

We also went up to this lookout over Austin where we attempted to photograph the sunset but were thwarted by heavy cloud cover...

This is a semi-ok picture that I took of Lake Austin close to sunset.

What a great weekend, I'm so glad I got to see so many old friends and have a chance to see Jeff & Kelli's home. They always are so welcoming and never make me feel like a third wheel :) Hopefully I wont have to wait so long to see them again! I could really get used to the Austin lifestyle. Guess it's back to work for me though. Hope everyone enjoyed their MLK Day!

It's a Wonderful Life

I got the best Christmas gift this year!
My parents gave me a new Canon camera and I love it! Thanks Mom & Dad :)
This Christmas was indeed Wonderful. I feel like when you're older, Christmas sort of looses the magic and wonder that it held when you were a kid. However, it is replaced by something much better. A deep and meaningful realization of all the blessings that we take for granted, and the ability to appreciate the relationships that we have with family and friends. I'm so happy that I got to go home and spend time with my family. I love you!

We all went in together and gave my Dad 10 laps around Texas Motor Speedway in a race car!


My pretty Moma :)

And the 21 yr. old little bro got a Star Wars light saber....not sure if that's really what they're called. I gave him those awesome gloves.


Romo the dog was my favorite little picture poser.


Moma with the pillow that I made her...


Wii!!! We had such a good time playing Wii Tennis, Bowling, Baseball, Golf, and most of all, the Hula Hoop game on Wii Fit, which is pretty much the funniest thing I've ever seen my family do. I was sore from laughing.


Moma showing off her bowling skills...


I love my Mamaw! She is turning 96 in a few days, but she's still the sharpest and wittiest lady I know.


My sweet parents...

The girl cousins at Christmas at Grandma's house.

The boys...

The siblings...

Daddy working in his newly cleaned up work shop...


His new spinny chair..........dangerously spinny.

More pictures to come! I can't put my new camera down for long :)

What I learned in 2008:

Where did 2008 go????
It seems like just the other day that I was thinking and wondering what in the world this year would hold for me. Now I'm looking back on 2008, and looking towards 2009 with the same wonder and hope for the future.
I'm not really into New Years Resolutions, but I am into learning from past experiences, and growing from them.
Here are just a few things that I took out of my 2008 about myself, God, and life in general.

1) Family Matters. It's not just a hilarious early 90's TV show, folks.

2) You get what you give.

3) I am mildly allergic to jalapenos, but not enough to keep me from eating them.

4) I think God really does care about the little things like leaving good tips, being nice to people who serve you, smiling, and letting people get in front of you in traffic.

5) I cannot pull off the black nail polish look, and I'm kinda OK with that.

6) Living alone is not for the faint of heart, or the easily bored.

7) God's timing is perfect. Mine is not. And trying to force His to align with mine only makes things much much worse.

8) I liked the movie "Iron Man" a lot more than I originally thought I would.

9) I spend entirely too much time thinking about myself.

10) God exists and reigns, weather I or anyone else believes in Him or not. Ain't that a comforting thought?

11) Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself and move on.

12) I think everyone needs children in their lives in some way. (Not that everyone needs to have kids, I don't think that.) But they are such little life brighteners, you can't help but be blessed by interacting with them in some way.