Women's soccer in the Middle East!

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/28/world/middleeast/1247465410812/playing-soccer-for-more-than-a-win.html

Check out this video--it's about the first woman's soccer game in Palestine! Wish I could embed, but NY Times won't let me :(. Really worth a look.

SO EXCITED!!!

I am so TOTALLY excited for this!!! And this promo is way cute...I know watching the episode will make me cry :)

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Chi Alpha Video

I made this video for Chi Alpha's kick off TNW at the start of the semester. Check it out! I had lots of fun and I'm excited to make more!

Watching Movies with Mom

Today I did something I never thought I'd do in college. I watched a movie with my mom. Yes, she is still in Las Vegas and I am still in Denver, but the wonders of technology (really just phones) allowed us to watch an almost 3 hour movie "together." It all came about because in my Hazard Mitigation & Vulnerability Assessment class we were given an assignment to view a disaster movie and see if it perpetuates myths about disasters along with some other questions. Well, my mother happens to be the biggest disaster movie fan I know, so when I told her about the assignment, she immediately started suggesting movies for me to watch. When I settled on The Towering Inferno, an epic made in 1974, she came up with the idea of us watching it together. While I was a bit skeptical at first, actually watching it and trying to get each of our DVDs at the same spot at the same time was a lot of fun! It is definitely the most ridiculous thing I've done in a while, but it was a lot of fun and not as crazy as it might sound. So what if I spent three straight hours on the phone with my mom today...it was fun, and productive! All in the name of school :)

Sweet Video!

This is a really cool video for a She&Him song made by the peeps from (500) Days of Summer! (awesome movie btw!)

Hey Jude x13,500

So I think we've all seen the way cool T-Mobile dance when the huge group of people started dancing during rush hour in Liverpool. Well, this is another video they made in Trafalgar Square in London, but this time instead of dancing, over 13,000 people sang the Beatles song, "Hey Jude" together...it's a pretty cool video, watching some of the people gave me goosebumps!

Enjoy!

Best Wedding Procession Ever

You may have already seen this, but just in case, here it is. Man, what a fun time!

Look what I found!

I recently read that AU's new website won an award on eduStyle.com for its Interactivity Tour! Here's a link to its Award Page.

So I decided to check it out. I found myself on the interactive campus map, clicking on MGC. As I clicked through the pictures, I found the following one.


And I felt like it was one of those "serendipitous moments" because who could it be in TDR but Miss Allison Doolittle (who by the way, was very rarely in TDR) so it was all the more serendipitous.

Check it out for yourself here. You'll have to search through MGC photos to find her!

Jubilee

Me, Marjie, Uncle Bill and our cousins Corey, Shae and Max

Last month, my great uncle Bill celebrated his 50th anniversary of being a priest. Crazy, I know! It's called a "Jubilee." The weekend turned into a fun family reunion and celebration of Uncle Bill's ministry. He's still going-- giving several masses each weekend, including one in Spanish. Random fact: my grandmother dated Uncle Bill before she married his brother Larry, my grandfather.

Visual Thesaurus

Pretty cool

Roller Babies

Haircut!

So Good to Me

Loving this song right now!

I [can't] see you!

My vision is getting worse. Naturally, this involves a fashion dilemma. Vote: a, b, c, or d and why?


(A)




(B)

(C)

(D)

Purl

A while back, Tanya introduced me to a lovely yarn and fabric shop in New York called Purl. Lately, I've been looking for design/color/etc. inspiration for decorating my apartment. What fun! I recently ran into photos of the Brooklyn apartment where Purl's owner, Joelle Hoverson, lives. Random, I know, but the pics are quite inspiring.

LeftRightLeftRightLeft

I'm not sure if you all have heard about this yet, but just in case you haven't, I thought I'd let you know that if you go to Coldplay's website (coldplay.com), and give them your email address, you can download this free album of live songs! I remembered that Tanya and Allison went to see them in October and told me how great they were live, and I know its not the same, but these versions are really good and I've enjoyed them quite a bit!!! Yay for free music!!!

Speaking of Healthy...

My brother introduced me to this amazing brand of yogurt. He says its like the yogurt they have in France. And we all know that the French know a thing or two about good food. It's not like the normal yogurty stuff you find in the supermarket for 79 cents. This is 1.29 a cup but delightfully creamy and deliciously sweet. Active cultures never tasted so good. My favorite flavors are the blackberry and this peach and passion fruit.

Sparkpeople

I joined this website called Sparkpeople. You can set health, fitness, and/or nutrition goals and it helps you to meet them by connecting you with a community and (best of all) helping you keep track of what you eat and how much you are exercising. I've been tracking what I eat each day and it's been so helpful! I discovered I wasn't eating enough fat or protein and that I was eating too many carbs because I eat a lot of fruit and fruit has lots of carbs! I went to the beach yesterday and ate a bunch of raisins thinking Oh, raisins are healthy. 500 calories on raisins alone! I would have never guessed...it shocks me to this very moment, in fact.

Check out my page. You can see what I eat each day, which is kind of fun, and even set up your own page with your own goals!

Photographic Evidence

I've been learning about photo retouching through an online course. It's amazing how much you can do to a photograph with the right tools. Check out the photographs below.


But wait, there's more...


Crazy! Amazing even! Ha, nothing is what it seems.

Drinking coffee from my favorite cup

I love having coffee in this cup. My mom got it for me for my birthday from a place in New York called Serendipity 3. I love this cup for a few reasons 1: it's colorful. 2: the lampshades pop out, giving it texture. 3: I think the word "serendipity" is lots of fun to say. And 4: it's got a little something something on the inside (see below)



It's like every sip is serendipitous.

Stir

I have made a summer goal to become more well-read.

I used to be a book lover, but somewhere between Project Runway marathons and twelve page papers I lost that passion. So I am re-igniting it. Sometimes you think you've lost something - but really, it's only become inaccessible because it's settled somewhere real deep in your heart. Picture heavy sands at the bottom of an ocean... you just need to stir it up to get it swirling again.

Some passions might have been for a season. But some passions need re-stirring, I reckon.

Here's my reading list for the summer:

• The Alchemist (check)


• The Catcher in the Rye (check)


• Love's Executioner


• The Screwtape Letters


• The Great Gatsby


• The Count of Monte Cristo


• The Life of Pi


• To Kill a Mockingbird


• Pride and Prejudice


• A Wrinkle in Time

[Stir it up.]

"How He Loves"

I don't know if you've ever heard this, but it is a very powerful song I heard for the first time last year, but I just heard the story behind it today and it makes it even more powerful...

How He Loves

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight
Of His wind and mercy
All of a sudden I am unaware of
These afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so
Yeah He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean we’re all sinking
And heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
That He loves us

Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves
Yeah He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves

Written by: John Mark McMillan

Socially Responsible Businesses

You've probably seen the above commercial before. I'm still trying to make my way to an actual retailer in NJ to give these shoes a try before I purchase them, but I've been incredibly interested in socially responsible businesses these days.



I'm also doing work for Nomi Network -- a non-profit that works to use the marketplace to combat sexual slavery in Cambodia by providing women there with jobs in the manufacturing of fashion goods. What a joy it is to work for a company that does good.

I'm interested in doing more research on socially responsible businesses but I don't really know where to start. Do any of you know any companies worth checking out?

I don't know what my research will culminate in right now, but if you have any ideas I'm interested in hearing from you. I'm considering blogging about it but I want it to be a platform where consumers can learn about and support these companies. Without the AT&T commercial, I probably wouldn't have ever known about TOMS shoes. And without my connection to Nomi Network founder, I probably wouldn't have known what I can do about trafficking in Cambodia.

Charities exist, yes this is true. But I am not in the position to donate money. However if I need a pair of shoes, why not get a pair while giving one too?

I don't know right now I'm just kind of mulling this over in my mind. I'm really interested in your opinions though. Even if it's a company name or a website to check out. Any direction for my research is good too!

Thanks!

Vote Elie Tahari

My Dad works for Elie Tahari who is up for The Popular Vote Award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America! There are lots of designers featured, check out Elie Tahari's line here. And vote for him on the CFDA website!

Soon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EBSvFlBoIs&feature=related

Soon and very soon
My King is coming
Robed in righteousness
And crowned with love
When I see Him
I shall be made like Him
Soon and very soon

Soon and very soon
I'll be going
To the place
He has prepared for me
There my sin erased
My shame forgotten
Soon and very soon

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul will be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Soon and very soon
See the procession
The angels and the elders
'Round the throne
At His feet I'll lay my crowns
My worship
Soon and very soon

Though I have not seen Him
My heart knows Him well
Jesus Christ the Lamb
The Lord of heaven

Picnic

Photo of a picnic similar to ours from the Library of Congress Archives

Yesterday, we had a picnic at Meridian Hill Park in D.C. It was a fun afternoon, despite the rain that forced us to relocate to Love Cafe. We shared sandwiches, cookies, watermelon, potato salad and even cheesecake cupcakes. The park was beautiful and we even caught the rhythms of an African drumming circle on our way home.

Wait

Packing

Yep, that's what I've been doing. I tried to ship the boxes yesterday, but after a long frustrating day of phone calls with UPS, it didn't work out. Arghhh. I hope to ship the boxes today.

Sharin' the Pasta Love

Kelsey prepping the gnocchi

Christina stirring the sauce

Christina shared her easiest pasta sauce recipe with me this week. Let me tell you- it was delicious. She adds ingredients like lemon zest and crushed chili pepper to give it a zesty and complex flavor. She, Kelsey and I prepared gnocchi to go with the sauce (thick soft noodles made using mashed potatoes). I can't wait to make this awesome dish for people in Austin!

On the radio...Thought provoking

"God doesn't call me to be successful, He calls me to be faithful"
-- Mother Theresa

Twitter Madness

You know honestly I don't know how I stumbled upon this woman's blog, but I was so amused I had to post it. It seems somewhat similar to something Allison posted a while ago. This woman lists 20 alternative things to do when Twitter is down... surprisingly, a lot of them have to do with thinking about Twitter, complaining about Twitter and thinking about life before Twitter. The illustration was cool.

My brother makes the argument that Twitter is for the self-obsessed and self-absorbed. I always found that idea amusing (no offense to twitter-ers) not necessarily true, though...thoughts?

Cupcake Heaven in G-town

Right after this pic was taken, my face/hands/arms/shirt got covered in the chocolatey goodness of a chocolate hazelnut cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake. This place is crazy good (see the line out the door). The cupcakes are heavenly.

Greetings from America's Oven

Hello all, I thought I'd say hello from my lovely, thankfully air-conditioned house in Las Vegas! It has been spectacularly hot since I've been home, its so wonderful to hear the weatherman say that we're experiencing record highs for this time of year. Anywho, despite the heat, home is lovely! As you know, I am currently in training for a sprint triathalon, and since it gets so hot so early, I've been getting up no later than 7 (we'll be up at 5 on Wednesday to go riding) so that the training can be done before it hits 90 :)

Oh and a little tidbit, no matter what anyone tells you , you NEVER, ever get used to it being this hot. Anything over 90 is hot, I mean really hot!

Yay for A/C!!!

Adventure to a Monastery

You wouldn't expect a tranquil monastery to be smack dab in the middle of Northeast D.C. But, it's there. A lovely Franciscan Monastery right near Catholic University (of course) has been in the city since 1899. It's a neat place to check out, complete with replicas of famous sites from the Holy Land and rose gardens.

Homemade Sushi

Ashley and I prepared scrumptious sushi rolls last week. We used crab, avocado and cucumber for these makizushi rolls. The tricky part was preparing the sushi rice- which needed to be fanned and gently mixed as we sprinkled it with vinegar. Then we used a bamboo mat to wrap the rice in nori. The result was delicious!

Beatiful Big Bear Cafe

Top five reasons to go to Big Bear Cafe:

1) They serve Counter Culture Coffee- my favorite!
2) The entrance is funky (see above)
3) The people are cool
4) There's a farmer's market there on Sundays
5) The patio is sunny and lovely

Cathedral Afternoon

There's nothing like a gorgeous afternoon at the National Cathedral. The garden is a perfect place to bask in the sunlight and enjoy time with God.

When I was there last week, I read this psalm:

Shout with joy to God all the earth! Sing to the glory of His name; make His praise glorious! Say to God, 'How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name!' Come and see what God has done, how awesome are His works in man's behalf.

- Psalm 66: 1-5 NIV

Ashley doin' the cha cha

Ashley's friend Micah also visited her for graduation. Lo and behold he is also a dance instructor! Here they are adding a little cha cha to the family party at 7012 this past Friday. (The whistling courtesy of Ashley's adorable younger siblings hehe)

Surprise DC visit

Ok, so I arrived back in the States April 20th but I led Ashley to believe that I was still in Italy and wouldn't be able to see her graduate... all of my scheming culminated in the following video.

For the love of Bondi

I'm slammed with papers and finals, but I just can't stop thinking about Australia. Right now, I wish I was relaxing at Bondi Beach in Sydney. It's hard not to think about Bondi... it seems to be everywhere. On Friday, I ordered "the bondi" salad at Sweet Green. Today, I saw that Sart posted a cool photo of a girl at Bondi.
Ok, back to paper-writing...

Goodbye to Honest Tea

Yesterday was my last day at Honest Tea. I'll especially miss the people, getting to tweet for Honest Tea, and sipping organic Peach White tea all day long. I'm excited though, because ending this chapter means beginning a new chapter in Austin!

Photo by Patrick Jammett of Honest Tea

Knitting is Bliss

I thought of something that I do other than schoolwork! I love to knit! The blanket I'm working on now is my second this year. When finished it will be Allison's. Odds are I'll be finishing in the hottest time of year, but come winter it will be a nice and warm companion :) Knitting these blankets are such a nice relaxing thing to do when I have down time, plus they make fun gifts!

Blogging Slacker

Well I haven't posted on this blog in I don't even know how long, but it is definitely not because I don't want to, it's mostly because I haven't had anything of particular interest to say. Unfortunately school is pretty much my life at the moment...but I am starting my training for the triathalon on Tuesday so I'll be sure to keep you all posted! (that is if I survive the first week...haha)

Morozzi

The two apartments in my building that were occupied by SACI students were labeled with the name Morozzi. The seven of us came from different backgrounds but after four months in a foreign country, homecooking Sunday night dinners, travelling and living together... we've become a little Morozzi family.

These are the people I spend time with doing random things - walking around Florence, going to soccer games (where Italians curse out the opponents and make obscene gestures), go on hikes in the countryside, oh yeah and eat lots and lots of gelato. My roommates and I also discovered one of our favorite drinks here - Spumante - sweet champagne or in this video -- our first tastes of the dry version.

Do Re Mi

Debbie Downer

Debbie Downer @ Yahoo! Video

I had a co-worker that was definitely a Debbie Downer. She was nice, but always ready with worst-case-scenarios and local news stories. I almost called her "Deb" or "Debbie" several times. This clip made me laugh and think of her. Enjoy!

Nerdily I go along

Sometimes I can really be a nerd-- even accidentally. One evening last week, I color-coordinated my snacks, notes, and coffee mug. Here's a pic of the quirky/nerdy study table.

Co Co. Sala

This weekend, my dear friend Carly came to visit and we explored/enjoyed/experienced some of my fave spots in D.C. One of the best was Co Co. Sala, a bar designed with chocoholics in mind. Carly and I ordered the sample platter: five kinds of chocolate, each in three different states (solid, semi-solid, liquid... no, not D.C., Virginia and Maryland). Amazing.

GE is short for genius

Just saw this on Bravo. Had to share.

Freezing with the Gathering

Tonight, we had the Gathering in the amphitheater by Leonard Hall. Sounds nice. But, at 40 degrees not so much. Weather.com said it feels like 34 degrees. I say it feels like 12. Still, the service rocked and Stephanie M. lent me these great mittens and hat. I'm still thawing...

Cute Kids in Peru

During the trip, I visited a small village called Pisac. I met this gang of rowdy and adorable kids as I was walking through the town. They were delightful and eager to show me their pig, chickens, toys and soccer skills. Spending time with them was incredibly fun and refreshing- a real blessing!

Machu Picchu

This spring break, I had the opportunity to travel to Peru with my class. What an incredible trip! Here's my fave photo of Machu Picchu. Our trek through the Incan ruins was breathtaking. Literally. At 8,000 feet, there's quite a bit less oxygen. In spite of the altitude sickness, I loved seeing one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Paris

I was in Paris this weekend being a tourist, visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees, Montmartre (the art section of Paris where Amelie was filmed), Sacre Coeur - the basilica in Montmartre, the Louvre and Notre Dame. It was fabulous!

Here's a video of my time climbing the Eiffel Tower. The very, very top floor was closed for renovations for a week.. so I couldn't go up that high, bummer but my legs are certainly thankful

Venetian Carnivale

Here's a short video... mainly a slideshow of the coolest costumes I saw in Venice for Carnivale. Piazza San Marco is another one of the most famous places in Venice. The cathedral is so beautiful!

The Schedule

In times of lots of work, I have been known to write out very specific schedules for myself to ensure that all of it gets done, and the next two weeks are a time that warranted such a document. So, taped to the corner of my desk is the above schedule. The best part by far, is being able to cross off completed tasks with a thick black marker, such a release! What are ways that you handle a heavy workload? (Is this just completely ridiculous?)

Venice, oh Venice

Misheard Lyrics

I love that part in 27 Dresses where they sing "Benny and the Jets" with all the wrong words. I'm notoriously bad at singing the right lyrics. Here are a few of the songs I've messed up (over and over again before realizing it!):

Lyrics: "I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing. Roman cavalry choirs are singing"
What I sang: "I hear terrorists and their bells are ringing. Roman Catholic choirs a singing"
(from Viva la Vida by Coldplay)

Lyrics: "In my hometown, memories are fresh"
What I sang: "In my hometown, me and Maureen are friends"
(from Hometown Glory by Adele)

Lyrics: "Don't go chasin' waterfalls"
What I sang: "Go go Jason Waterfalls!"
(from Waterfalls by TLC)

Lyrics: "Woke up, wished that I was dead with an aching in my head"
What I sang: "Woke up, wish that I was dead, lay naked in my bed"
(from The World Spins Madly On by the Weepies)

Has anyone else done this? What were your best/worst misheard lyrics?

addition 3/31:
Lyrics: "This year's love had better last"
What I sang: "This is love in Italy"
(from This Year's Love by David Gray)

Winter Wonderland

Not sure if you can tell in this pic, but we got 7ish inches of snow last night. Amazing. Sadly, I still had to go to work. Still, it was delightful to see the whole neighborhood covered in a blanket of fresh snow.

Fiddleheads

before

after

O is for Orchid

When I moved in, there were two plants. I quickly killed one. The other is on its last legs. So, I decided to get an orchid. The orchid is still thriving after a month! Right now, there are 12 blooms. Turns out that orchids are pretty easy to care for:)

CA dog + snow = smile on my face :)

So over Christmas break, it snowed a couple times at my house, which was kind of incredible because it snows maybe every 15 years in Vegas, and we got a couple inches at our house!!! Anyway, we (or I should say I, because I hijacked my brother's camera) obviously took a gazillion pictures of the patio furniture and us in the snow, and also of our dogs outside experiencing the snow. Well, they'd never seen it before and while Madison wouldn't go off the concrete porch, Jackson (who is almost 11!!! eek!) went out without fear and ran around for a little bit before practically sprinting back into the house to get warm. It was one of the best moments of my time at home and I finally got the pictures, so I had to share this one :)

Old people have the best stories

The week after next, I'm heading to Peru for spring break. My mom sent me this 94 year old's amazing story to prepare me for my trip. It just takes a minute and I know y'all will love it.

photo from zoagli on flickr used with a creative commons license