I won't call you for 8 years. December 24, 2004. Christmas Eve. I promise.

I have to make this quick, otherwise Christmas Eve will be over and this post will lose it's relevance.

Below is quite possibly the best LOST moment ever.  To my fellow LOST friends -- enjoy.
Others-- well it should give you reason to hop onto Netflix and watch all 6 seasons.

Merry Christmas Eve, brother.

An early Christmas gift (...only you'll still have to wait for it)

I'm always anxious about mwY (basically my fave) being on the verge of disbanding. So when I heard that they were back in the studio recording new material, you can imagine my excitement.

They recently did a live studio session which will be available on this site beginning December 14th. Oh, and did I mention that it will include 3 songs from their new album?

Merry Christmas my similar-music-minded friends!

Haha

You All Everybody

My favorite thing about hopping on the bandwagon too late is that I don't have to wait forever in order to read the next book in a series or to see the next season of a TV show.

The latest thing that I've been late on and loving is LOST.

After Patrick and I finished the one and only and awesome season of Firefly, we needed a new bandwagon that everyone else has already been over for a long time to hop on. Patrick really wanted to watch LOST, but I was thinking "Man. It took us forever to finish Firefly. What are we going to do with six whole seasons of a show that looks crazy and kind of dumb?" Plus -- I was still kind of mourning Firefly and didn't want to move on so soon. Captain Malcolm Reynolds forever.

Well now it's about three months later and we're in the middle of LOST Season 4. This just goes to show that my first judgments are always wrong. I can't believe we're more than halfway through! I don't want it to end!! :[

So -- if you are ever bored and need something to fill up your free time immediately -- start a book series that's been written in its entirety already. Steal your sister's netflix account and watch a show you have heard lots of things about but never really wanted to watch. You will most likely be pleasantly surprised. That, and you'll be able to partake in lots of really nerdy conversations aka the best kind of conversation.

Make Believe Is Much Too Fun

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special  ^_^

SUCCESS!

My thoughts exactly...

The (Not) Chosen One

Saw this on a friend's tumblr and had to repost. BTW - sorry if this turns into a HP rant blog for a while. :P

There are all kinds of courage,” said Dumbledore, smiling. “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom.”
  - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (p. 306)

Magic is Might

To Kristen, for initiating my journey with Harry. 

To Hayley, Corey, and Priya for unabashedly expressing their love for Hogwarts and the wizarding world alongside me. 

Long live Harry Potter knitting parties, sleepovers, and late night wand duels.

_____________________________________________________________________

1:30 p.m. - Patrick, Jen, and I arrive at the theater. Confused by the direction of our line, we manage to get a great spot with easy access for people to cut in front of us (which was important since we needed room for 8 more people).

1:45 p.m. - Apryl arrives, clad in a homemade (thanks to Hayley & Heather) Quidditch tee similar to mine and Patrick's.

2:00 p.m. - Wayne meets us in line. Patrick has a male friend to chat with, but insists on getting through 500 pages of the Deathly Hallows instead. So we play cards.

2:05 p.m. - Apryl spills my giant cup of water. Brilliant.

3:10 p.m. - Our beaters arrive! It's cute 'cause they're twins just like the Weasley's are twins! Hayley forces Heather to drive to Target with me. They need more sparkly yarn for an extra wand holster. I needed to not wear jeans today.

6:59 p.m. - Ana is here! And she has an owl perched upon her shoulder. (RIP Hedwig).

7:00 p.m. - Priya, where are you?!

7:45 p.m. - Ushers don't know how to handle lines for 19 different theaters. They "condense" our line by making us stand up. Priya, you better hurry.

8:15 p.m. - Hayley manages to lose her ticket. I find an usher who recognizes me and our group since we are an awesome Quidditch team and also b/c we've been there all day. He gives me a fake ticket for Hayley and I overhear an usher say "we are loading 7, NOW."

8:30 p.m. - Wayne and Patrick go play video games. Oh wait, we're also lining up to enter the theater. PATRICK WAYNE PRIYA GET HERE NOW.

8:35 p.m. - WE GOT A GOOD SECTION. WE SAVED FOUR EXTRA SEATS. AHHH. BUT THEY'RE NOT LETTING US SAVE SEATS!

9:00 p.m. - There you are, Priya! Our seeker is finally here! Let's have a quidditch team photoshoot, embarrass ourselves, the usual!

9:30 p.m. - Al and Adiel arrive. Our Harry Potter Premiere group is finally complete.

12:02 a.m. - It all ends. Tonight.

______________________________________________________________________

"The stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." - J.K. Rowling

2:30 a.m. - And with our wands held high in the air, we cried:

"Mischief, Managed."

The Life of a Blossoming Foodie

So, I'm pretty proud of this dish. Not because it's healthy, and not because it took me less than fifteen minutes to make -- but because this is composed completely out of LEFTOVERS! Shrimp tacos for the win!

HOW SCARY IS THIS GOING TO BE IN 3-D?!

The Best of Both Worlds

By chance, or the stars, or because Jesus loves me, my job brought me to a place where I actually wanted to be for once.

In California.

With Holly. <3

Mary Elizabeth

Even though I still treat her like she's 14, my baby sis turned 22 today!

Mark 8:34

Lessons I've never mastered
are haunting me.

How can I ever trust God
if I can't humiliate myself first?

Lose your life to gain it.

Father, give me the strength to try.

The weight of the cross is a scary burden to bear.

It's a beautiful day in the Hill Country.

 

You Never Know - Wilco

Playing Catsup

I've been vacant from my blog posts lately. Which is unfortunate because I constantly have these moments where I think to myself "I need to blog about this!" ... but lo-and-behold, here I am with all this information to blog about now and so few people with the attention span to actually read what I have to say. I'll go ahead and take blame for this factor since it has been obvious that I have been lazy.

So let's start.

1.  For Valentine's Day, Patrick and I made plans on the fly (just to be out of the house) so my roommate and her long distance bf could have a movie date in the living room without my constant interruption. I seriously hate making decisions and gift giving, so Valentine's Day is definitely not on my radar of celebration. I look at this day as a chore above anything else. Needless to say, I am awesome at doing chores, and got Patrick and I tix for the David Bazan living room show in ATX that's happening in April. Then Patrick made a quick dinner reservation at Maggiano's and we went to see True Grit afterward. Wooo Valentine's day. I'm sure you were dying to know what I did. So there you have it.

2.  Last week, Patrick and I got to enjoy a late Christmas gift. I've only ever been to the Majestic Theater once before to see The Lion King with Hayley, and I've been meaning to make a return to the theater ever since. This time, with far better seats and an accidental seating arrangement with even more friends, we saw WICKED. Of course you know that this production is fantastic so I need not elaborate. I already can't wait to see it again. Can you imagine having been able to see this in its original run on broadway with Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel?! One tick on my "things to do" list is definitely to get my butt over to NYC and see a real broadway show one day.

3.  I also have to share about the super fancy yummy restaurant on Austin Highway called Silo. The atmosphere here is really nice (but beware b/c it's nice in a "this is a great place for intimate conversation" sort of way, not a "hey let's go hang out at this restaurant for 3 hours" kinda way). You even get to take a little elevator to the second floor, which is where the restaurant is located. If you're ever on the lookout to lay down some ca$h or to take a friend or family member out for a fancy little dinner, this is the place to go. I ordered the beef tenderloin with a spinach salad and creme brulee for dessert. Patrick got the duck with a spinach salad and chocolate mousse for dessert (complete with edible chocolate cup). Sooo delish and nice portion control. Unless you already ate supper before you got here, I'd say that sharing a plate is not ideal. Plus, you are NOT going to want to share your plate.

4.  One thing that is not a very fun update is that I've been hanging out at the doctor's office lately. I had to get kind of scary labwork done on Tuesday that consisted of me getting my first IV ever. I was suuuuper nervous going in. I honestly make it sound worse than it was, but I was kinda freaked out since I've never really had many encounters at the hospital before.  I'm really thankful my mom was able to drive down and take care of me. We celebrated the successful procedure with a home-made Korean meal which totally made up for all the nerves and tears I started the day out with. Even Aidan came to eat supper with me!

I know that God is allowing certain things to happen for a reason, and while I might not understand it -- these things will ultimately give God glory. In the grand scheme of things, that's all that should really matter. (It's easier to type out than believe in my heart, but I just have to keep telling myself that God is shaping me in ways I will never probably understand). Please pray that everything turns out fine and that nothing too terrible is happening.

Happy Birthday And :-*

On Saturday, Patsy and I met Chris and Andrea in Gruene to belatedly celebrate And's 21st with them. Happy birthday darling.  We love you very very very very very very very much!

California Girls

Let's talk about how much I love Zooey.

La la la I love Zooey.  She is prettier than Katy Perry and classier too.  I know this because Katy Perry dated Matt Thiessen.  If Katy Perry were classy, she would still be dating Matt Thiessen.

Zooey also has this little music project with M.Ward. Their music is so freakin' cute and their videos are so freakin' OOC. 

Here is their latest vid - "Don't Look Back" from Volume II.

Enjoy!

I love the 90s

So last night Patrick, Jen Aleman, Laura Abrams, and I attended a 90s feature at Alamo Drafthouse. I've always meant to go to Alamo Drafthouse, but I had never actually been since last night. What was I thinking? It's the best place EVER!

We started by watching a million 90s commercials that we laughed and laughed at. Then we proceeded to watch about 2 hours worth of 90s music videos which only helped remind me of how awful pop music has really gotten. If you're an 80s baby like me, you have GOT to go to this. They play everything you could have ever loved ever. I already loved the 90s. But now I'm reminded of just how bad I really love the 90s.

Here's a few (of so many reasons) why:

1. Television Shows: My family seriously watched TGIF every.single.friday. Pretty sure Boy Meets World is STILL one of my all time favorite shows. And then there's Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon used to be AWESOME. For real. I mean - Doug, Salute Your Shorts, Clarissa Explains it All, Are You Afraid of the Dark, All That. I could seriously go on and on... No greater shows have been made since.

2. 90s Fashion: Because really? Who DIDN'T want to be Alicia Silverstone from Clueless? Not to mention my lust for Doc Martens. Which I was never lucky enough to own.

3. Celeb Boy Crushes: Girls, you know what I'm talking about. Watching the movie "Casper" in it's entirety just to see the last five minutes when Devon Sawa walks down those stairs to dance with Christina Ricci. Yep. Been there. JTT? Andrew Keegan? Hahaha. So ridiculous.

4. 90s Music: I'm afraid to even start a list. But I basically loved all of it. Alanis, No Doubt, Mariah, Matchbox 20, Hootie & the Blowfish. I don't even think I have to mention the best boy band to have ever graced us with their presence. My friends and I basically revolved around

justiN

chriS

joeY

lansteN

jC

Somehow I was able to salvage a couple of my VHS tapes full of recorded NSYNC material. I usually watch them after a scary movie to de-scare myself. And I can still probably quote way too many lines off of their Disney Channel Concert Special. Nsync will always hold a special place in my heart. I spent way too many years on them to throw them away so easily.

::sigh::

Thank you, 90s, for being such an awesome and awkward decade.

Saturday and life and song.

I finally got to sleep in for once! About to head out and meet with my budz Andrew Ye and Matt Martinez. Some things never change -- b/c Andrew is picking me up since Matt picked a place I've never heard of nor know how to get to.

Praying about changing the scenery a little.

Patrick will probably be embarrassed, but you should listen to this.