Must Be a Guy Thing

So Luis and I went to see Tron last night. I will admit, from the previews, it did look like a good movie and one that I wanted to see. So when he invited me on a date last night, I was all about it.


After actually seeing it though, I was a tad disappointed. The best part for me was the music. A little trance, a little techno, a little hypnotic at times. It was really excellent. Secondly, I enjoyed the graphics and special effects. The little glowing lights that flashed out of the motorcycles (I don't remember what they were called in the movie) and the way the whole tron city glowed was cool.  And Quora's black hair. That was awesome. And.....that's about it.  In all honesty, I thought the movie sucked overall. I kept waiting for the scene that would pull me in and make me forget I was in a theater, but that never happened. The fact that it was in 3D was part of the problem; I kept fidgeting with my glasses the whole time, and bits of light kept reflecting off the plastic lenses and I could never get a clear view without having to constantly adjust and tilt my head certain ways. Why it was in 3D to begin with, I have no idea; I don't remember a single 3D effect. I think the whole thing would have been better if they left it in 2D. Luis actually agreed with me on this one. Also, I thought the acting was terrible. Whoever that kid was that played Sam was ridiculous. Especially at the beginning pulling all his shenanigans. The plot itself was really hard to follow and I felt like I had no idea what was going on. How did Sam's dad get into the....what was it? A computer? Where, exactly, were they? How did that laser thing transport him there, and what was that laser thing? And why did that disk thing have all his information from before he entered that world? Wouldn't it only have info that he learned while in that world and not in our world? What would have happened if CLU and the other "programs" got into our world? Would they exist as programs and computer viruses or would they take a human form? WHY WASN'T ANY OF THIS EXPLAINED?!? Ugh I just can't stand that. Luis couldn't even explain it to me after the movie was over. He eventually had to admit that it wasn't a movie to understand but one to appreciate the graphics and special effects. Fine. Whatever.

I need something more than just flashing lights and a good beat though. On the drive home I started grasping for anything I could get my head around to make this movie have some kind of impact or meaning in my life. I finally decided on the parallels it could have drawn between God and man. God created man in his own image and gave him the world to crate a utopia; just as Flynn created CLU in his image and asked him to create the perfect world. Human nature sets in and corrupts CLU though, just as it corrupted man, and he becomes self-righteous and evil, committing genocide on an entire "population" of iso-....iso-...I don't remember. Iso-somethings. He kills them all because he considered them imperfect and unworthy. And that's about as far as I got. I almost tried to relate Sam to Jesus, as the son of God (Flynn) who comes to Earth (Tron) to save the world....but that got a little complicated so I had to stop.

I guess some movies aren't meant to have a deeper meaning. Some movies really are created just to show off flashes of light and loud noises and cool costumes and fast motorcycle-thingys and other special effects and video games. And they are "TOTALLY AWESOME"!

Must be a guy thing.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

the stockings are hung


o Christmas tree


Christmas dog


Christmas dog is tired of his antlers


handmade present - mug rug


other side


winter wonderland


snow-bowl


keystone


handmade present - doggie ornament




rudolphs

Thankful

A Few Things I am Thankful for:

• Loving and supportive parents
• An amazing and inspiring brother
  
• A wonderful boyfriend
• The best of friends, through thick and thin
• My precious Didgerdoo who is the best dog ever
  
• Puppies in general
• Freedom
  
• Mexican food
• The Dallas Cowboys
• Classic rock
  
• Rainbows
• The Rocky Mountains
• and much more....
  

Weekend Warriors

McDade Fight Team:
Danielle the Destroyer, Sarah the Slayer, Lou the Luchador , Brian the Battler




Luchador: "What did you just say to me?"
Slayer: "I will cuuuuuuuut you."

Fabric Fun!

I've officially caught the Christmas bug. Me and my mom went shopping this weekend and I got lots of awesome holiday fabric. I then spent much of my Saturday sewing up some Christmas-y goodness! Here is a little sneak peak:







This last one is a picture of a little potholder I made for part of my momma's birthday gift. I LOVE these fabrics! They are from the Paradise collection by Patricia Bravo in the Sunset palette. I think I am going to have to get the Sunrise palette also. I also recently bought a ton of Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

More people like Gray

The following are excerpts from an email conversation I was privy to earlier this morning:

All;

This morning on the way to work, out in the country, Gray happened upon a car that had left the road, and was upside down in a swampy area a few miles from his (Gray's) house; the water was deep enough that all he could see were the back tires of the car sticking out of the water. A few other cars had stopped, but the emergency vehicles had not yet arrived. the man who had been driving the submerged car was on the road, frantic, and bloody from trying to beat open the windshield of the car to rescue his 2-3 year old daughter who was strapped in her car seat; now upside down and under water. It was 40 degrees this morning here in Dallas at 6:00 and at least that cold there in Raleigh. After dunking into the brackish and black water, trying, and determining that all of the car doors were jammed, Gray convinced a few of the spectator men to help to try to turn the car over, right side up. It took several tries, and they were able to do so just as the emergency vehicles arrived.

It is unclear yet if the toddler has survived or not. From what he knows, Gray estimates she was under water for most of 30 minutes. Gray remembered to throw his cell phone into the car before going into the water, but his wallet and insulin pump are waterlogged and not working, respectively. Gray went home to shower and change afterwords, and he is in the office now. I have asked him to call his doctor, not only about the insulin pump, but to also see about a general antibiotic from whatever might be living in that nasty water, and for any potential lagging body ache and aftershock.

Please keep all involved in your thoughts and prayers.

We are proud of you Gray!

______________________________________________________________________

Wow. How scary and heroic….I wonder what happened to the girl….will he be able to find out?

­______________________________________________________________________

He said he would find out later today.

Gray's dad was a firefighter, and Gray was a volunteer one while in college.

He says he was mostly shocked and appalled by the number of people unwilling to do anything except stand there and watch, or just drive by.......

_____________________________________________________________________

Gray is awesome! And you wonder why we love him!!!

A true hero to that family for sure! Duke is a really great hospital and praying for them both to recover.

Hope you get your pump dried out/replaced!!

______________________________________________________________________

You are the Man, Gray! Hope all are OK and words don’t even say enough.

______________________________________________________________________

Gray,

You are my Hero!!

______________________________________________________________________

Thanks, I'm clearly Hero for sure. To a point I felt so helpless. But I couldn't just pass by and not help...it could have easily been my family.

The little girl was under very long. The girl and dad were taken to Duke... Please pray for that family...

-Gray

______________________________________________________________________

Gray is awesome! And you wonder why we love him!!!

A true hero to that family for sure! Duke is a really great hospital and praying for them both to recover.

Hope you get your pump dried out/replaced!!

______________________________________________________________________

Not Awesome enough…

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8576281/

-Gray

_____________________________________________________________________

Gray

I am proud to know you. You did what you could to save the child; most folks would not have taken the initiative that you took to get her out of the water. You are a brave man. You are in my prayers for peace as is the family you tried to help. Rest easy my friend, I understand you’re hurt.

______________________________________________________________________

Excellent words, Carl. Thank you and I think you speak for all of us.

One of the things Gray told me was that the majority of bystanders either just kept on driving, or would only stand and watch. He had to cajole the few who finally did go into the water with him to try to turn the car over.

It takes a very strong person to be willing to try to help others at their own expense.

You did good gray, and we are all so sorry for the tragic ending....

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

....

I don't know about you, but I've had all day to reflect on this, and it has just made me sick to my stomach. A sweet little girl died because not enough people would help her frantic, bloody father to try to get her out of the upturned car. If the world had more people like Gray, there may have been a happier ending to this story. Please remember this the next time you see someone who needs help. You could save a life. We all owe it to each other as human beings.

Eating My Words (Go Rangers!)

For my loyal followers, you may remember this post from last year where I pretty much bashed the Texas Rangers organization and called them a bunch of "losers" and went on about how I couldn't enjoy baseball because our team sucks and how I would never experience the exciting feeling of watching my team play in the World Series.

Until now.

Yes, I am currently eating my own words. To an extent.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I was wrong or that I take back all my ranting (it did take them 39 years to get here), but I will admit that they've had a great season and they really have been very exciting to watch. All day I've been catching myself thinking about the game tonight and noticing a growing butterfly feeling in my stomach at the thought that the RANGERS could be in the World Series!!!!! The buzz seems to be everywhere; everyone is talking about them around here. There are status posts galore on Facebook, along with a rather interesting rendition of the Lord's Prayer (Our Rangers, who art in Texas, winners be thy name....). I've also heard many "loyal" Ranger fans complain about the "fair-weather" fans who were once, like me, bashing the Rangers but are now kissing the ground they walk on. While I am excited about the Rangers season and their potential World Series berth, I currently do not consider myself a "loyal fan"; I haven't even gone out and bought a t-shirt. I am not running around rewriting prayers or proclaiming that "my team" is God's gift to baseball and whatnot. While I will cheer for the Rangers tonight and (hopefully) in the Series, don't expect this "fan" to be converted to Ranger-dom so easily as the rest of this fair-weather city. If these guys can continue to make the playoffs and win championships and prove that they are indeed a good ball club and not just a once-every-thirty-nine-year fluke, then yes, I will buy my red and blue t-shirt and become a die hard fan. Until that day though, I would keep your "holier-than-thou" attitudes about the Rangers to yourself....I would hate for you to have to eat your own words next year.


Oh! Also. What, exactly, do claws and antlers have to do with Rangers or baseball? I just don't get that one.....

Freedom to Read

“Everything I know about life, I’ve learned by reading banned books.” This is a quote on a pin my mom has in her kitchen. I love it because it’s so true!

This week (Sept 26 - Oct2) is National Banned Books Week, sponsored in part by the American Library Association, which celebrates the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. The movement started in 1982 because of the sudden increase in the number of challenges of books being reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom. Since 1982 alone, more than one thousand books have been challenged. Books are challenged because of many reasons including: sexual content; violence; profanity and slang; offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups; positive portrayals of homosexuals; etc. The range of challenged books includes new novels examining contemporary issues to beloved American classics. While many ideas in these books may be unorthodox or unpopular, it is important in our free society to ensure their availability for all who wish to read and access them.

Some people may think challenging or banning books was a thing of the past and doesn’t affect our literature today. However, in 2009, two of the most challenged titles included the Twilight series, by Stephanie Meyer (for being sexually explicit and its religious viewpoint) and My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult (for sexism, homosexuality, offensive language, drugs, suicide, and violence)

In support of this week, I started reading 1984 because I haven't read it yet, and I plan to reread The Catcher in the Rye. This is a list of 74 of the most popular challenged and/or banned classics. I’ve highlighted the ones I’ve read (23). I've seen movies for 9 others, but I don't think that counts, does it?! How many have you read?

1984, by George Orwell
A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle
All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Blubber, by Judy Blume
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
Canterbury Tales, by Chaucer
Carrie, by Stephen King
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
Christine, by Stephen King
Confessions, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Cujo, by Stephen King
Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Peck
Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller
Decameron, by Boccaccio
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
Forever, by Judy Blume
Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
Grendel, by John Champlin Gardner
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
How to Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Impressions, edited by Jack Booth
In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman
Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
My Friend Flicka, by Mary O'Hara
Native Son, by Richard Wright
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
On My Honor, by Marion Dane Bauer
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Ordinary People, by Judith Guest
Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy
Silas Marner, by George Eliot
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
The Living Bible, by William C. Bower
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare
The Pigman, by Paul Zindel
The Shining, by Stephen King
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
Then Again, Maybe I Won't, by Judy Blume
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare
Ulysses, by James Joyce

Sunday Evening Diddies

I'm supposed to be studying right now but I decided instead to write. I don't really have alot to write about as far as an opinion on some important topic or anything....just some more updates and random thoughts.

Lou and I went camping last weekend and it was so much fun! I haven't camped in forever, and while I don't doubt my ability to survive the wilderness, I was a little concerned about certain things, like how many people would be around, and how many eight-legged creatures would be stalking me, and how many psycho killers would be lurking in the woods... The first and third issues weren't issues at all. The second, however, was almost a deal breaker. They were everywhere! Especially on our hike. They were scampering all over the place, running out in front of me and looking at me with their beady little eyes and then scurrying back under a rock to laugh as I screamed and ran by with my head in my hands. Stupid arachnids. I hate them. Other than that, it was a great trip, and one I hope we take more frequently (preferably to an arachnid-free zone).

Our tent was awesome!


Beautiful sunset over Lake Texoma.


Makin s'mores over the campfire.


After our 5 mile arachnid-infested hike.

As Lauren has already posted, our ten year high school reunion is coming up in October and I have to say, I am actually looking forward to it. As much as I loathe most of my high school years, there were some good times had and great memories made, and I really am excited to see some people. Most of them I could really care less about though, but I'm sure that's how it is with everyone. I can't honestly think that people change so much as to give a rats ass now about someone they didn't give a rats ass about 10 years ago... I'm more interested in just seeing what happened to people; not so much to make fun of them, but just to see how life's ironies played out. Did the popular kids marry each other and have beautiful children and buy a mansion? Is the nerdy kid still nerdy or is he a smoking hot business man? Is the girl who tried to beat me up in middle school still a bully? These are things I wish to find out. I know that alot of it is going to be, "Oh my gosh! HOW ARE YOU!" kind of bullshit and people will pretend to care for the few hours we're together, but the reality is that once its over, these people will return to real life and forget how, for just a few hours, we were "besties" again. That might be a little cynical of me but hey, I'm a realist. I do think it will be fun though. And I really AM excited to see some people. The plan is to go to our homecoming football game and then have drinks at the Fox and Hound afterwords; Saturday will be more formal with dinner and dancing at the Branding Iron at Firewheel. I hope they play Far East Movement "Like a G6" as I walk in. That would be my theme song of choice. HAH.

In other news, my brother, Eric, left a couple of weeks ago for his Peace Corps assignment in Morocco. He'll be there a total of 27 months; the first three of which involve training in Casablanca, I think. After that he'll be assigned to a smaller town or village where he'll be in charge of youth development and business development. He is really excited about it and I know he'll be making a huge difference in those peoples' lives. He is supposed to be documenting his adventures on his own blog; as soon as he gets that together I'll post a link to it here. Before he left, I had some pictures taken of us to give to our parents and family, etc. I think they came out pretty good :-) (Thanks Mindy!) Here's a sneak peak:


Big sister, little brother.





P.S. GO COWBOYS!!!!

Changes and Updates

Loving this crazy weather we're having! It's a nice change from the constant warm sunniness we've had the last part of this summer. Change is good. Freshens things up a bit. So I hope it pours s'more over the next couple of days so I can wash all this stale funkiness off of me and start the fall nice and freshhhhh. So fresh and so clean, clean. ;-)

Speaking of change, there are lots of changes happening lately. To name a few:

• changes at work....hopefully for the good, but we'll see how it works out
  
• new classes in school! looking forward to finance...ironically
• graduated to "high blue belt" in taekwondo...only 4 more to black!
• Bubba leaves for Morocco in 5 days for his 27 month Peace Corps assigment :-(
• starting a 28 day "detox" beginning next week...need to cleanse my system
  
• started working out/running in the mornings (eww)...its been interesting....

In other news, I've been a busy little bee going here and going there and doing this and doing that. We took a family vacation to Cedar Creek Lake and it was ah-mazing and very relaxing. We rented a boat one day and went tubing and water skiing, and that pretty much made the entire vacation for me. That and the awesome volleyball game we had the last evening.

my silly daddy


lou going fishing


total relaxation


everyone!

Took another sewing class at City Craft with momma. We learned how to make decorative pillows with cording and invisible zippers. We had a great time and our pillows came out very nicely! I like hers better!!! So fall!


Flew out to Ooooodessa a few weekends ago to visit my friend Angela. We pretty much did everything there is to do in Odessa in a few short days: saw Ratliff stadium; ate at a BYOB italian restaurant; went to Music City Mall; ate at Jum Burrito; wore cowboy boots; saw dust blow; drank the best milkshakes (bring all the boys to the yard) at Texas Burger; ate the best pizza at Patrino's; saw about 100 exotic animals including elephants, giraffes, buffalo, cheetahs, a skunk..... It was a great time!!!!

cowboy boots


chocolate malt


brunch


RICH.

Dallas Heart Walk 2010

It's that time again!

On September 11th I'm going to once again participate in the Heart Walk sponsored by the American Heart Association to raise money and awareness for heart disease and stroke. This disease has not only affected my family, but hundreds of others as well. My personal goal is to raise $400 for the cause. By making a donation, you can help increase funds for research and education to stop heart disease. Please visit my webpage to make a donation and learn more about heart disease.

Thank you for your support!!

Let's Hygge

My brother has been involved for the past 2 years with an organization called Children’s International Summer Village (CISV). They are a global group of volunteers who create cultural diversity experiences through educational programs. They operate on the belief that peace is possible through friendship and that the real difference can be made by starting with children. The organization was created after World War II by Dr. Doris Allen as an initiative to build and maintain peace. The first summer village took place in 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio with delegates from 8 countries. Today they have chapters in over 60 countries around the world and host around 180 programs a year. Since its inception, more than 190,000 people have participated in over 5,000 international activities. The Summer Village program is the cornerstone of the organization’s education philosophy and is reserved for 11 year olds. It is a unique 4 week international camp where children (delegates) from 10 to 12 other countries participate in educational, cultural, and sporting activities with emphasis on “cooperative global and intercultural living.” Each delegation is made up of 2 boys and 2 girls with an adult leader and is coordinated by a staff of Junior Counselors ages 16-17 years. (cisv.org) The USA chapter's website is here: http://www.cisvusa.org/

Last year Eric took 4 kids to Prague. This year, he is in Denmark with 4 new kids. He absolutely loves it, maybe more so than the kids! The camp this year has a blog site where they are posting pictures and accounts of their daily activities, so I have added it to my blog roll and will post it here in case any of you are curious. It sounds like a really fun opportunity and I am considering applying for next year!

This is the camp’s blog: http://letshyggevillage.blogspot.com/

And in case you're wondering what the heck "hygge" means:

Hygge -
One of the fundamental aspects of Danish culture is "hygge", which, although translated as "coziness" is more akin to "tranquility". Hygge is a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating, or emotionally overwhelming, and the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle, and soothing things. Hygge is often associated with family and close friends. (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Denmark )

So yes, let's hygge. :-)

Save Our Coast

This post was borrowed from my friend Danielle's blog, "Doggerel and Prose". Thanks Danielle for showing us an awesome way that we can help out the folks in the Gulf!

Here in Austin, we truly have an amazing community that genuinely cares about others. There is a company here in Austin (also has stores in Baton Rouge and New Orleans) called Storyville; they sell unique locally designed T-shirts. They have started a new line and will give $5 of the profits for each T-shirt sold to the gulf coast fisherman and their families that have been affected by the BP oil spill. You can purchase these T-shirts at the store or order them online!

Product Description

For years to come, the Gulf Coast will be feeling the effects of the BP Oil Spill. Giving to charities such as the Greater New Orleans Foundation can, in a small way, help speed up the Gulf Coast's recovery and, in the meanwhile, provide aide to victims of the oil spill.
For every "Save Our Coast" shirt sold, Storyville will make a donation to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. One hundred percent of all donations to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund will be granted to organizations working tirelessly in the effected areas. The Oil Spill Fund's focus is to help fishermen and their families in the following Louisiana parishes: Plaquemines, St. Bernard, lower Jefferson, Terrebonne and Lafourche.

"Save Our Coast Burnout" is printed on a dirty water-colored, 50% polyester, 50% rayon Alternative Apparel Topango Heather Burnout Crew top with black ink. The top is made of a burnout material, which means that it is a super sheer fabric that has been put through an extensive process to reveal years of weathering. Therefore, no two tops are exactly the same. This top is only available in the unisex cut. If you'd like to see an Alternative Apparel sizing chart, click here and refer to the "women's size chart." This Storyville Original was created by Natalie Naquin Harvey and is modeled by Alicia Schulz and Fredy Garcia. To see more Storyville Originals, click here.

"Save Our Coast Tee" is printed on a 100% cotton, American Apparel blue tee shirt printed with white, navy and dark red ink. This Storyville Original was created by Sara Silvestri and is modeled by Alicia Schulz and Fredy Garcia. The t-shirt is available in both the unisex and female-specific cut (go here for sizing charts). To see more Storyville Originals, click here.

Recent Adventures in Sewing

Made these for my Goddaughter (Addisyn) and psuedo-niece (Riley).




I played around a little with the backs; my envelope technique needs work....



So cute!



This was last year at her 1 year birthday party.



Her 2nd birthday is in July; thinking of doing a matching baby quilt.....

Woohoo for sewing!

Happy Mother's Day...

to all the special ladies in my life:


My beautiful momma



My Grandma Mary-Ellen



My Grandma Irma



My Cindy