Cristina's Baby Shower & Uncle John's Birthday

Last weekend, my cousin Cristina had her baby shower, and after the celebration, we celebrated my Uncle John's birthday. (Yes, we definitely know how to celebrate!) As expected, my camera was present at both occasions, and I thought I'd share several of my favorite pictures with you guys.

Click on the images below to see the entire collection.






Click on the images above to see the entire collection.

Watch This Movie: MAD HOT BALLROOM

I cannot say enough about this movie -- this is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time. The movie is a documentary about these fifth graders in New York City who learn ballroom dancing and work toward the city-wide competition. The movie is WONDERFUL. I just cannot say enough. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

The official movie website has the trailer and several clips from the movie. You will love this movie. You will fall in love with each and every one of those kids! You will smile so much, your cheeks will hurt! I promise you!

Love it! Love it! Love it!

Movie Recommendation: Crash

The movie depicts several characters and brings them together through car accidents, shootings, and carjackings. Most of the characters depicted in the film are racially prejudiced in some way, and become involved in conflicts which force them to examine their own prejudices. Through these characters' interactions, the film attempts to show that racism is common in modern America.
-- Wikipedia

This is really a great movie, folks. It's already out on DVD. Go rent it -- it's just one of those movies that really moves you. If you're still not convinced, click here to view the trailer.

The Best Concert Photo Ever!

Whoever took this picture -- ***THANK YOU*** Click on the photo below to see a larger version of the image. Great photo of U2 and the fans in Houston in 2005.

... But wait! Can you spot the familiar face(s) in the front row?!


Click on image for larger view.

A few more holes in the head

So, for the past 29 years, I admit I have been too chicken to get my ears pierced. Well, I am proud to announce that I have finally gotten my ears pierced.

Allergy shots every week ... no problem.
Donate blood ... no big deal.
Donate plasma ... piece of cake.

But getting my ears pierced was just too much for me. I think it was because every time I actually thought about doing it and made it all the way to the store to get it done, there was always some baby there getter her ears pierced, and she would scream bloody murder. I always thought to myself, Forget it. That baby won't lie to me. This is gonna hurt.

But, I finally got up the nerve and got it done. (Of course, it helped that I took Roy along with me, and he had threatened to hold me down in the chair if I tried to chicken out.) And it wasn't bad at all.

Click on the images below for a larger view.



Click on the images above for a larger view.

Kinky for President!

Err ... I mean Governor. For those of you who don't know, beloved author, musician, and sharp-witted-cowboy Kinky Friedman is the Independent candidate for governor (of Texas). Kinky's "Why the Hell Not" campaign and political Kinkytoon provide a humorous alternative for voters.

Roy has been a big fan of Kinky's fiction and music for several years, and we recently almost got a chance to meet the man himself a few weekends ago in Grapevine. I say "almost" because we arrive at the restaurant where Kinky was doing his meet & greet, and there was a really long line to meet him. So we snapped a photo of Kinky and one of his fellow musician Little Jewford, and we called it a day.


Kinky Friedman



Little Jewford

And now for something completely random...

Roy's Famous Seafood Surprise

Click on the image above to get a closer view.
Figured I'd throw something just completely random at ya. Roy has this dish (which he's lovingly named "Roy's Seafood Surprise") that of the two times I've made myself taste it actually tastes pretty good.

Don't get me wrong -- Roy's a great cook.

But this one dish ... well, just looking at it takes away any type of appetite I might have had. He gets this "seafood mix" from the grocery store every once and a while, and he mixes up a concoction of spices and juices, and you end up with squid and calamari and olives and random fish in a nice, brown sauce.

Now, I have to stress ... again ... that Roy is really a fantastic cook! He makes the absolute best scrambled eggs and omelets (among other things) in the world!!

Newest Browncoat Update

Hello all. I'm sorry for taking so long to post. Figure I'd better catch you guys up on what's been goin' on.

A couple of weekends ago, my pal Vicki finished her Firefly/Serenity quest by watching the last of disc 4 and watching the movie. Here's a picture of her holding her very own copy of Serenity. *sniff* I'm so proud!

My Sister's Australian Wedding Photos (Finally)!!

So, it was April 2005 when I first promised to upload my sister's wedding photos "soon". In my opinion, "soon" can legitimately mean 9 months. Anyway, here they are. Click on any of the photos below to see the whole collection of photos. Enjoy!

Click on any photo below to see the whole collection.









Click on any photo above to see the whole collection.

Fort Worth Brahmas

Last weekend, Roy's pal Joey had a spare ticket to the Fort Worth Brahmas game. (Roy was then able to find a ticket for a seat right beside them, so I was able to tag along, too.) We had a great time! Click on any of the pics below to see more of our hockey adventure!

Click on any of the photos below to see whole collection.







Click on any of the photos above to see whole collection.

The Newest Browncoat...

We Browncoats welcome Private Vicki C. into our ranks. Yes, Vicki and I held our very own Firefly marathon this past Saturday. Vicki had seen the movie; however, she had yet to experience the wonder of Firefly, the series.



I believe this brings my convert count to 15. I believe I'm doing pretty good. Ain't nothin' in the verse can stop me.

My Office ... with a definite holiday flavor

Howdy folks. Well, now that I have my wonderful digital camera, I finally have some photos of my office. Click here to see my pictures.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Pictures!!

Greetings everyone! We're back from our holiday trip to San Angelo, and -- as expected -- I've taken numerous pictures with my brand new digital camera!

Click here to view my favorite shots!

Santa came a little early...

All I want for Christmas is a Canon A6210 ... and guess what! I must have been a good girl this year because...

I now have in my hands my very own Canon A610 digital camera!!!!!



And so, here is my very first photo I took with my very own digital camera:


Needless to say, Roy got lots of smooches for this one!
Please pardon my messy hair -- it's hard work ripping open my wonderous Christmas present!

Go! Buy Serenity! NOW!

As probably all of you know (and why wouldn't you?) -- Serenity comes out *today*! Yes, the BDM (Big D*** Movie, as we Browncoats call it) is currently the #1 DVD top seller at Amazon.com. Mmm-hmm. Yep.

So, get your boots on out there and buy yourself a copy ... or three. Nothin' in the 'verse can stop ya!

Merry Christmas John.

I know this is a little late, but...


Imagine.

I know, I know ... but anyway...

I know, I know -- I'm a horrible person. I haven't blogged in I don't know how long, and I haven't posted my picture and stories from Dallas and Houston yet. But we'll all get over it, and I'll get them up some day.

Anyway...

So, Christmas is here, and we've bought all of our presents, except for the one for my Mom (and I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out what to get. I mean, what more can we get her -- she already has a perfect daughter! <>).

Things at work are slowly winding down and people are getting into the holiday spirit. We actually took pictures at work with ol' Santa Claus himself.


Click image for larger view


Click image for larger view

U2 Report (Initial Post)

Ok, I know this post is *way* overdue!! I'm sorry!! I came back and just was swamped with work and classes finishing up.

Anyway, the concerts were MAGNIFICENT!!!! Houston was amazing -- we were front and center (thanks to Chris) right in front of Bono!!! Dallas was wonderful, dancing like a fool in the back open area of the floor.

More details coming soon ... I promise!! For now, I've scanned in my initial set of photos of pictures of us before the concert. Below is the link. Let me know if you have any problems with the link -- I'm still trying to figure out Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20545588@N00/sets/1337786/

My musical journey is about to begin

I'm home right now getting everything ready for my big trip tomorrow, and I'm singing "Vertigo" at the top of my lungs. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"


Yep, headin' out to Houston tomorrow. I'm going to spend the day with my best bud Ja'Nate', which is great! Then, Friday, bright and early, I'll make my way to the Toyota Center to spend my day in line with hundreds of other U2 fans. Friday Night: Vertigo Houston! Saturday morning, again bright and early, I'm heading back to Dallas, and Saturday Night: Vertigo Dallas!

Woohoo!!! It's a musical journey! I cannot wait!





I'm ready
Ready for the laughing gas
I'm ready
Ready for what's next
Ready to duck
Ready to dive
Ready to say
I'm glad to be alive
I'm ready
Ready for the push

My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?

10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 Days Until Vertigo!!!





Ack!!

"I'm a leaf on the wind -- watch me soar!"

Ok, guys. If you haven't watched Serenity yet, you must go see it! It's a great movie, and you'll be thanking me afterwards! If you're still not convinced, Joss Whedon recently posted a link to a site that has the first nine minutes of the show. Go ... see for yourself! It's great!!

Watch the first nine minutes of Serenity!
http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/index.html

Teenagers, Tree-Flying Kites, and Swedish Furniture

Ok, I know this is a bit late, but I'm just now posting about my crazy weekend. Actually, I've finally recovered from those hectic days of shopping, driving, flying kites, driving, watching movies, driving, band contests, driving, furniture, and driving. And so, I begin...

WE FINALLY GET OUR NIGHTSTANDS

The weekend before last, Roy and I head out to eat lunch with pal Joey. As we leave the restaurant, I notice that there is a Stacy's Furniture just a half a block away, so we head over there on a whim, and we end up purchasing two really nice nightstands. (If you look at that link, the description is not quite right -- the photo is correct, but the nightstands do not have marble tops.) Anyway, so this past Saturday, we drive over to Grapevine and pick up our nightstands. Now, keep in mind, we live upstairs, so poor Roy ended up carrying them up the stairs. We ended up slightly rearranging our bedroom, and now the nightstands are in place.

Ah, but if only I had a lamp for my nightstand...

THE KITE-FLYING TREES

So we head to a park that's nearby, and after eating lunch and making two bathroom trips to the apartment with the kiddos, we decide to fly our kites. Roy and I have (er ... had) two kites -- a shark (which is Roy's, of course) and a dolphin (mine). While it was breezy out, the park is kind of in a valley, so we were having a hard time getting the kites to stay up. Well, nephew Russell finally gets the kite high in the air, then he accidentally lets go of the handle. The kite soars a short distance, until the handle gets snagged by a tree. Of course, at this point, the wind kicks up a notch, and the kite just will not come down. Roy attempts to get latch onto the kite's handle ... with the handle and string of my kite, and in the process, breaks the string to my kite. Eventually, the tree lets go of Roy's kite, only for its handle to get caught on the very top of an even taller tree.

Alas, it was a lost cause. For the rest of that day, and into the evening, anyone driving through Carrollton could see our shark-kite flying high above the city. You could easily see it from our apartment complex, which is several blocks away.

So, this just proves to us that trees don't eat kites, as many believe. They just want to fly them!

THE BIGGEST FURNITURE STORE I'VE EVER ... EXPERIENCED!

So ... about that lamp for my nightstand. Roy and I head out on Sunday to the new IKEA store up in Frisco. Keep in mind, there are only two of these stores in the US, so when we pull into the (huge) parking lot, and there are only a few empty spaces in the very back. We snag one, then make it inside. This is a different kind of shopping experience, which is all I'm going to say about that. We finally find my lamp, and after about 2.5 hrs, we make our way out to the completely packed lot, and head home.

Definitely a tiring, yet exciting weekend. Glad it's over.

"I aim to misbehave."

There was excitement! There was suspense! There was euphoria! A true emotional roller coaster. And that was before the movie even started!!

We arrived at the theater one hour before Serenity was to begin -- the line of people was stretched all the way around the lobby! So, we take our place at the end of the line, and quickly more people get in line behind us. Roy, Corina, and I were excited, but keeping our cool. Finally, the line starts to move forward, and we end up stopping just around 18 people from the entrance to the theater.

"The theater is full. We're waiting on some press to show up. If they don't show up, we will be able to let a few more of you in.

So, we wait some more, and they let a handful of people in. We wait again. Finally, one of the theater workers comes out, and she informs us that "this is just not going to happen". She offers to exchange our tickets for a free showing of some Gwenyth Paltrow movie next week. (?!?! -- Uh, no, but thanks.)

I just remember standing there, looking at this woman, she's looking right at me, and she just shrugs. Suddenly, "...nine, ten, eleven, and twelve. She points at Roy, who's behind us. "He is the last one. Let them in."

WOOHOO!!

So, we finally make it into the theater! We end up completely separated, but it was ok because the folks around us were really nice. The lights go out, and the crowd claps and cheers!!

The movie was great! I'm not going to tell you any details, I'm just going to say ...

GO WATCH IT!!!

You will love it. I promise you. And once you watch it, email me and let me know what you thought! And if you like it (which I know you will!!) ... tell a friend!!

A Couple Of Cool Serenity Sites For Ya:

Jayne's Hat Song
I Need A Hero

Oh right ... about that Oasis concert...

I must me losing my mind. My U2-pal Mary just emailed me the following: "So you've blogged about everything but the Oasis adventure... "
Doh! I knew I was forgetting something.

The concert last Thursday was great! And very, very, very loud. My ears have finally stopped ringing. No really, like just a couple of days ago. Next time, I'll use earplugs.

Highlights from that evening:

• $3 pretzels and $4.50 bottles of water. Not really a highlight, but definitely worth commenting on. Plus, venue policy states that they couldn't give me the lid to my water bottle. Who knows why. Maybe they don't want anyone hitting Liam in the head with a water bottle cap.

• "That wasn't Jett??!!" Mary and I didn't really know much about the band Jett, who was set to open for Oasis, other than that one popular song "Are you gonna be my girl". So the first band comes out, and we just assume it's Jett. The band finishes their set, and I turn around and comment to Mary, "Hmm, they didn't play that one big song they have." We realize a few minutes later that the first band was in fact not who we thought was. How did we come to this realization, you ask? As they are setting up for the next band, they bring out this huge banner with "JETT" spelled out in two-foot letters. The first band was actually Kasabian, who were very good.

• Jett. The real Jett took the stage, and I realized that I actually knew a few more of their songs than I'd originally thought. They were definitely good. Kind of Black Crowes-ish. But not too much.

• OASIS!! Ah, the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel. The wonderfully haughty Liam, standing at the front of the stage, treating us with that arrogant stare that only Liam himself has perfected. (It's weird in a way -- I truly appreciated the way he just stood there and looked at us. It was very Liam. Anything else would have been weird.) And quiet, contemplative Noel, who ended the show by walking up and down the stage handing out guitar picks to folks in the front row. He's definitely my favorite.

• Singing at the top of my voice. I've actually been an Oasis fan since back in college. So, it was great to hear music I've had coming out of my stereo for almost a decade.

• Random phone calls. The only thing better (I think) than getting a phone call from a pal who is a bit tipsy is getting a phone call from a friend who's at a concert. "VICKI! IF YOU'RE THERE, I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I'M AT AN OASIS CONCERT!" My victims that evening were my Vicki, my cousin Cristina, and my Dad. (Actually, I was trying to call my super-cool sis Lizzie, but she wasn't home.)

So, the concert was fun, the music was great, and Oasis was awesome! Definitely had a blast!

Ja'Nate' Update

I just realized that I haven't posted an update on my pal Ja'Nate' and her family in Houston, and how they weathered Hurricane Rita.

She and her family are fine. Luckily, Houston missed much of the severe weather that was originally set to him them straight on. The only damage they received was part of their fence blew down, but that can easily be fixed, she said.

Whoa! U2 is sneaking up on me!

With so much going on this semester, I was quite shocked to realize while looking at my calendar that my U2 concerts are a mere 4.5 weeks away. As Strongbad might say, "Holy Crap!"

31 days and counting!!!

SERENITY!!

So, I'm getting ready for work this morning, when Roy casually mentions that he read in the DMN Quick that there is a free screening of Serenity tonight. They were giving away tickets at the Movie Trading Company down on Greenville in Dallas.

Drat. Wish I'd heard about this yesterday, I think to myself.

So, I get to work, and I decide, What the heck! I'll call anyway on the off chance they still have tickets. I call, and ...

They have tickets!!!

The store opened at 10am, so my pal/co-worker Corina and I hope in my car and head out in search of these treasured tickets. (I must mention at this point that Corina is an excellent co-pilot. I had a map printed out illustrating how to get to our destination, but there was no need -- she knew a special way to get there, which worked perfectly.)

We arrive at the MTC at around 9:50am, and we wait in the (strangely) empty parking lot for the doors open. 10am rolls around, they open those doors, and we meekly approach the counter and admit that we are not there to purchase anything. We just want the free Serenity tickets.

At last!! We have the tickets! We calmly exit the building, and as we walk back to the car, I almost couldn't resist doing the Arsenio-Hall-cheer (whoomp! whoomp!). Much to Corina's delight, I'm sure, I was able to control myself.

So ... tonight ... at 7:30pm at the Loews movie theater at Spring Valley and 75 ... Roy, Corina, and I will be watching Serenity!!!!

See you later Frank!

Well, my pal Frank is probably beginning a 19hour flight to Japan right about now. I'd just like to wish him luck with his new life and new job in Shimonoseki. Ah, poor Frank -- he's leaving a land currently plagued by hurricanes and heading to a land currently experiencing numerous typhoons. Stay dry, Frank! And good luck!!

Stormy Weather

Well dang it! What is up with this weather????

First the hurricane from a few weeks ago (let’s not discuss its name, please), and now we have the horrible Hurricane Rita barreling down on Texas. This one is much more important to me because one of my best friends, Ja'Nate', is in Houston, and she and her family are probably going to be hit hard by this storm.

We here in the DFW area are going to feel the effects as well, although not nearly as dramatically. Forcasts say that by the time it passes almost directly over DFW, it will be a mere tropical storm. My little forcast plugin for my Firefox web browser currently displays "Heavy rain and a thunderstorm" for the Saturday forcast.

Well, try to keep dry, Ja'Nate' ... and anyone else in Rita's path. I sure will.

U2 Dreamin'

In honor of tonight's opening concert of leg three of U2's Elevation tour, I've loaded up all of my U2 albums in Windows Media and I've set it to random. Yep, I've got the headphones on, and I'm singing at the top of my lungs. I'm sure Roy's head will peek out from around the corner to see what is wrong with me. Ah, if only I could hear what he was saying. <>

She sings: "Some days are better than others!"

Home Sick Today

Some kind of viral infection has kept me home today. I'm all caught up with my homework (believe it or not). Not too interested in the book I checked out from the library. Nothing on the television. So I blog! Below are some interesting websites I've come across so far:

Amazing Sidewalk Art:
http://gprime.net/images/sidewalkchalkguy/

Amazing Satellite Photo-Collage of Earth at Night
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg

World Sunlight Map
http://www.die.net/earth/

Update: More sites...

A pretty cold day
http://selfdestruct.net/misc/geneve.jpg

The Matrix - In ASCII Art Animation
http://www.justbewise.net/matrix.html

Secret Worlds - The Universe Within
http://www.micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/

The Eye Of God
http://www.snopes.com/photos/space/eyeofgod.asp

The end of the internet
http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

Declaration of Revocation by John Cleese
http://www.stephaniemiller.com/declarationofrevocation.htm

Popular movies in 30 seconds, re-enacted by bunnies
http://www.angryalien.com/

Weekend Details

Roy and I did have a pleasant Labor Day weekend. Aside from a slight "glitch" that prevented us from having dinner with my folks, all went really nicely.

Weekend Highlights:

• Lunch w/ Frank and Sunny. I took Friday off to enjoy myself and ended up driving down to Arlington to have lunch with my two good friends (Sunny and Frank) on Frank's last day working for UTA. We had one last group lunch at one of our frequent haunts, King's BBQ, and each enjoyed Singapore Noodles and hot tea. (I know, it's the middle of summer. Why are we having hot tea? This place is usually frigid, so it fits.)
  
  
• Giving Lizzie her Green Day souvenirs. Friday, I went to Office Depot and laminated the Green Day concert review (which had a couple of really good photos of itty-bitty Billy Joe), and I gave them to Lizzie yesterday. She loved it.
  
  
• Listening to Lizzie play the Cure's "Love Song" on her guitar, then going through her collection of rock and roll buttons.
  
  
• Bingo with Mama Saturday night. I didn't win the $750 prize, but I had a really good time.
  
  
• Playing Putt Putt with Roy! We stopped at the Putt Putt place in Euless (?) and played a game. We had a great time!! Roy dropped his ball in the little creek running through the course, but he managed to fish it out. :)
  

So, now we're recovering from a tiring weekend, but it was nice. Welp, back to work, then on to my graphics class tonight.

Back to reality

Labor Day weekend was spent tearing myself away from the news, instead spending time with family out in good ol' west Texas. We got back home last night from the 5.5-hour trip, and news seems to be getting a little better. While the DFW area is taking in several thousands of folks from the affected areas, San Angelo is also doing its part, taking in 1,000 refugees.

Roy calls me a "junkie" when he finds me reading news reports and sneaking a peak at CNN. I don't know what it is about events like this -- morbid curiosity? -- but I find myself almost obsessed with what's going on. September 11 was bad with the visual overload of every single tv channel showing what happened. Now, we have streaming video from WFAA's website of the New Orleans tv station (which is now broadcasting out of Baton Rouge). Instant "breaking news" emails informing us of the latest updates. Video clips accessible anytime if you need a bite-size helping of tragedy.

So, the levies are being fixed. The water is being pumped out. And we wait for the numbers, a feeling that must be something like waiting to be punched in the gut.