PS. summer review: book/music/movie.

ok, there are 3 little ditties that caught my eyes and ears recently and i would like to share them with you:

1. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran: i read it this weekend and loved it. my friend robbie recommended it to me and let me borrow his...but after i read it i had to buy a copy of my own. there are so many beautiful passages, here's just one...

"Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, then let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips."

fell in love with the whole book.

2. Jason DeRulo, Whatcha Say: so we're all just having a good time, dancing at Cretias last night...digging the DJ...when all of the sudden this song comes on. it was a sick beat infused with Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek. and it blew my mind. click on that link and listen to it. right now.

3. 500 Days of Summer: ok, i saw this movie a while ago, but let it be known that it is one of the best movies i've seen in years. it ranks up there with amelie, it's that good. the reason i'm bringing it up now is because aaron only gave it a B+, and i must dispel the rumor that it is a B+ film. this was a movie that caused me to continue thinking and reflecting on it long after i walked out of the theater: it was real, raw, heartbreaking and hopeful. it's a movie that speaks to the cynic AND the romantic...both of which i consider myself to be...it just depends on the day. joseph gordon-levitt was adorable (not in a sissy way...more of an irresistible way) and zooey deschanel. was. amazing. goseeit.

love/miss/namaste.

august end update

i am shocked at how quickly this summer has flown by. it has truly been a whirlwind. i started out going to london and spain, celebrated my one-year at fossil, watched my best friend get married (and all the other events that surrounded the big day) and have grown to really appreciate Dallas and the wonderful friendships, new and old, that i have both here and around the world. now it's about to be september and even though it'll still be scorching hot here...we're moving into fall. can you believe i STILL have yet to lay by the pool at my apartment...or any pool for that matter? too busy.

i did, luckily, get a chance to go to the lake with kristy and her family. we had a blast just laying on the boat, doing a little wakeboarding and watching her nephews swim. those kiddos are a couple of cuties! i really hope that i have a few boys of my own someday :)

cason and bryson...diggin the lake

i also had a bit of an action-packed week, what with dinner parties, kickball practice, happy hours and all that jazz. my mema was in town from florida so i got to have lunch with her and my daddy one afternoon and then dinner at my aunt and uncle's house one evening.

mema!

so by friday (after happy hour with joshulyn), i was exhausted. so i just took it easy on the couch with a book and then called it a night early. this was also due to the fact that i had to be at the kickball fields at 7:45AM on saturday morning for the corporate challenge kickball tournament. we spent ALL day out there and after 5 games, Fossil took home the bronze. it was good times.

today was lovely too! joshulyn, aaron and i went to the village this morning (dallas campus...yay!) - it was SO nice to drive 15 minutes to church as opposed to the 40 it was taking me to get to the highland village campus. and when kristy and i move at the end of the month...i'll be even closer. score.

after church, J and i went to cafe express and sat on the patio for lunch, it was a perfect afternoon. i also went to half price books and bought a couple shorties. i came home and sat on the couch with bos for the rest of the day and read A Grief Observed by CS Lewis. i really liked it...very haunting yet comforting. i will definitely re-read it throughout my life.

so that's it for the catch-up.

love/miss/namaste.

morning love.

back when i lived alone, i used to go to bed fairly early and wake up around 6:30 (which is remarkable because i don't leave for work until 8:15 and it takes me 20 minutes to get ready). i'd get up, make some coffee, read a bit, reflect, walk boston and just get the morning started off with myself. it put me in a happy mood and i generally had better days because of it. 

well, now all that has changed. i actually have more than 2 friends in dallas(!) and therefore more plans. i am not able to control my sleeping patters, so i revert back to my natural night owl/groggy morning person tendencies. but this week, i've managed to get up before 6:30 2 out of the 5 days this week. it's been beautiful. this morning i was woken up by a lovely thunderstorm around 5:30. bos and i laid in the bed and snuggled until i started the day around 6. magic. my new goal is to try and get up early enough to at least have a half hour to myself every morning before work (not including get-ready time). we'll see how i do...

something else i have noticed about myself recently is the fact that i am not the same person i was in high school...in fact...i'm quite the opposite. i'm sure this happens to a lot of people, but i'm just now noticing specifics:

- athleticism: all i DID was play sports/work out in high school it seems. volleyball, softball & golf were my extracurricular activities as well as my free time hobbies. now, i work out once in a blue moon (and drink more of those), and i am usually more sore than i am hungover after nights out because of dancing. this is pathetic. what's worse? i'm "trying out" for the fossil kickball team for corporate challenge. my good friend austin is the captain...and i'm probably cutsies. no lie, i will most likely be cut from kickball. i am just not as hardcore as i used to be.

- learning: i was a great student in high school, but it was always because i felt like i HAD to be...not because i wanted to be. i basically did what i needed to do to get out of there and what i learned didn't really make an impact on me because i didn't care for it to. i enjoyed science alright...i wanted to be a DOCTOR (a gyno for that matter. can you imagine, ME, in medical school? hell to the NO). but i don't feel like there was a lot of passion for me there. now, i feel like i'm a sponge. there are so many things i want to learn, read, experience. i enjoy learning things because they are interesting to me, not because i will be tested on it later. one regret i have is not reading more in high school (and even college) and turning to cliffs notes to get by. MISTAKE. i really should have appreciated it more then...like i do now.

- taste buds...things i hated in HS that now i love: sushi, honey mustard (and many other condiments), coffee, jalapenos (that are stuffed), meatloaf, soups, cottage cheese, diet coke...the list goes on. 

everyone changes. i think it's pretty important to recognize ways that you've evolved as a person over the course of you're life. and just think, in 5 years, you'll be different than you are today! that's kind of exciting :)

one last thing...i got this new app on my iphone called colorsplash - you can make your photos black and white, but leave parts of it in color. it's really cool and very addicting. here are some i think are cute:

sleeping in the car with her pink collar on

kristy and i in london

my pup with her tongue out.

love/miss/namaste.

affirmation

i've been wanting a tattoo for a really long time. and if you're close to me, you know that because of the fact that i am an over-committer, i always go all out. the desire for a tattoo started out being something small that could not be seen (when i was a senior in high school)...then i moved on to something small that was in plain sight but not entirely noticeable (college)...to now. now, i have the mentality: "why would i get a tattoo that no one could see?" why?

the actual tattoo art has never changed. i've always wanted a lily because they are my favorite flower (it also reminds me of 'lovely' which is my favorite word)...i also love that they are mentioned in the new testament in similes describing beauty (song of solomon), then again in the old testament to illustrate the fact that God always provides (matt 6:28/luke 12:27).

i want this lily on my left shoulder...not so much on my back, but up on the shoulder/almost arm. in my head, i am thinking that i will eventually want to add on to this to have sort of a pretty floral design with a bird or a butterfly...something very feminine and inspired by nature. many people are trying to talk me out of this. "but what about when you're old?" well...i won't be wearing tube tops when i'm a saggy old hag. and i bet i'd be a badass grandma anyway. "but what about you're wedding?" well...i want my wedding outside and i WANT it to be visible on my body in my wedding dress. "but what if guys don't like it?" i will not be marrying anyone who isn't 100% in love with all that i am.

so the logical solution was to get a henna tattoo just to see what a design would look like on my skin. if it looks silly...then there you go: no tat. i really was expecting to get the henna and realize that it will look ridiculous and back out. but then joshulyn told me that she knew of a place, so after work today we went and got tatted up (henna, that is):

i'm getting my camera ready to take a photo of joshulyn: "ok, i'm going to make a face like it hurts so it looks like i'm getting a real tat."

they do not hurt one bit. actually, it is kind of nice.

joshulyn workin' it after she got her wrist-tat. loving it.

i didn't really care about the actual design that was on me. what i really wanted was something along those same lines in the location that i wanted so i could just see what it looked like on my body.

and i'm digging it.

i didn't so much like what she did...but i liked where it was...what it could be...

when i scrapped off the goop that had dried, the henna paint that was left over was so faint that i could barely see it. it was like it was never there. i became very sad and decided that the real thing must happen very soon. but don't be scared, no no. i'm not getting a sleeve or anything, people. i'm not getting color. i'll be starting out with my simple lily and see what happens.

(ps. the lily image on my blog title is the actual design).

and that's what's going on in my world. riveting, isn't it?

love/miss/namaste.

blog suckage.

people have started to call me out for neglecting my blog. i have been unbelievably busy lately but now i'm back in action and you all can suck it.

i just posted 4 in a row, all centered around ivy's wedding and the events leading up to it (because it has been a HUGE part of my summer and i've loved every bit of it). but when i got home from houston on sunday last week, i must admit that i was sad. i had the post-bestfriend's-wedding blues. spending 4 days with those girls was such a tease. i really do love living in dallas, but i miss them. unfortunately, a lot of my friends live in cities spread across the globe. going back to work on monday, realizing that it would be a very long time until a reunion like that happened again put me in a funk. it's so weird when change is happening all around...people are getting married, graduating and starting new lives, having beautiful babies, traveling the world...and here i am, snuggled up with my chihuahua writing about my stupid hairstyle or my quest to read 52 books this year. i should probably do something interesting with my life ASAP. either that or distract myself.

luckily, the week was packed with fun things to do and even though i was still in recovery mode from the wedding week, i managed to survive work and even a retreat this weekend! the village church put on a singles road trip, so after work on friday i hopped in a van with some folks i didn't know and headed north on 35. aaron went on the trip too, and we were able to meet a lot of other people who go to the village. the group went up to oklahoma city, where we stayed at camp grounds, chilled by the lake, played some games and hung out. it went really well despite the fact that i'm socially retarded in large groups. i'm not shy, but i'm introverted - which are two very different things. all in all, i'm really glad i went :)

also excited for a relaxing week ahead. not a whole lot going on...seeing paper heart tomorrow night with my movie buddy, reeds (also known as austin). kickball tryouts for the Fossil corporate challenge team on thursday and Cibus for HH. totally diggin this place right now, i'm pretty sure it's going to be a weekly event...if you live in dallas, you are invited.

i think i'm slowly but surely getting over the blues. my next trip isn't until october for ACL (weee!) so i have lots of time to take it easy and do my thing. list as follows:

- really slacking on my reading and it's making me sad. i'm not quite on track to get to 52 in a year...so if i could get to 40 by new years i can start again :)

- super excited about my guitar learning...aaron hooked me up with a tuner (because i suck at that part) and i'm working on learning some tunes. starting with some simple stuff...

- tattoo: this has been in the works for years now and i am finally doing it. phase 1: lily.

- KH and i are moving to our new digs at the end of september, get excited.

it's 2:14 and i'm still awake on a sunday night. what the hell? why can't i sleep at NIGHT? i am not cut out for normal person hours.

love/miss/namaste.

ps. i got the new iphone 3gs and it is blowing my mind. boom.

the wedding.

the day of.

after sharing a bed with ivy for her last night as a singelton...complete with prayer, tears and ivy almost pushing me off the bed in the middle of the night...we have arrived at the big day.

the bridal suite is swank: there's champagne, strawberries, an official beauty chair, a flatscreen and tons of mirror space. we had a blast getting ready...

trisha and i pre-makeup

hair and makeup for all the girls ends up taking way longer than expected, so things go a bit awry on the schedule. instead of being at the church in time to take some photos, trisha, whit and i roll up to the church 10 minutes before the ceremony, run up to the bride room in our robes and throw on our dresses. and then it's go time.

ivy and her matron and maid of honor (that's me!)

walking down that aisle to stand next to my best friends was surreal. i can't even describe the feeling i had when i watched ivy walk toward us, it was so intense...so heavy. we are adults, doing adult things. ivy and troy are making a commitment that will last for the rest of their lives and forever. seeing her walk down the aisle with her father toward the man of her dreams made my heart burst. i have really never been so happy for someone...for two people. you bet i cried. and it was not a pretty cry - it was an embarrassing cry.

but we all regained composure and watched as our best friend wedded her prince charming. they were so great! the ceremony was absolutely perfect, and now they are husband and wife.

the TEXAS maids

now complete...and with one married lady!

weird.

but a good wierd.

after the ceremony, the 4 texas maids and travis made our way to the reception. here's whit and trish getting excited for the party :)

the reception was a blast. it was like everything was coming to the crescendo. i can't imagine how amazing it was for ivy and troy. i mean, the 4 of us had been in houston living and breathing this wedding for a little under a week and we were beat! ivy worked so hard to put together such a personalized and unforgettable wedding...we'll be talking about it for years to come for sure. and not to mention ivy's helping me plan mine whenever i get around to it.

once the dj made the announcement that we could make requests, you better believe that we were the first ones in line to make sure MJ was gonna play. dirty diana (patricia), PYT and billie jean got the party started...in our opinion. ivy's bro was awesome, he had the moves down and stole the show :)

we danced like maniacs. we found the basketball boys. we made some interesting decisions.

after the reception we head to our hotel (troy's friends were staying at the same place...i wish we could say that this was a coincidence). we go to baker st. pub, which is next door to our hotel. after a long, crazy ride (with travis as our chauffer), we get out and whitney realizes that she's left her bag.

whitney: "it's not here. SHIT. what am i gonna do??"

trisha: "don't panic. when was the last time you had it?"

whitney: "i set it down when i went to pet the donkey."

....

laura takes off her sandals and begins putting them on whitney's feet: "here, just wear these...we don't have much time, we NEED to go." (exchanges a glance at trisha who is equally desperate to get to the pub and out of the car, while putting on moccasins).

we are still in our bridesmaid dresses. we go inside and trisha buys a round of [drinks]. i become brave. we spend the next morning at starbucks laughing at ourselves and the afternoon sending text messages that say, "we really are nice girls, i promise."

but that's what happens when you get us together and one gets married :)

i didn't come to college to find my husband. i came to find my bridesmaids.

mission accomplished.

(because ivy met hers in high school and we're all still single, HEY HEY!)

so many emotions packed into just a few days. it's hard to believe we were leaving austin over a year ago and now watch as our ivy marries her true love :) i can remember her talking on the phone with him, crying because she missed him, and seeing them together and knowing that they were going to make it. and it's only the beginning :)

love/miss/namaste.

the preparation: post 2

the day before THE day.

ivy has planned a beautiful bridal luncheon for the bridesmaids, mothers and aunts. we meet for lunch and ivy gives us gifts! she's the best bride. we all got matching monogrammed robes that we wore on the day-of. it was cutesie for sure :)

the girls.

after the luncheon, we went to get mani/pedis together. it was so strange, one minute it was scorching hot and then next it was a torrential downpour. anyways, we got through it and primp for the rehearsal dinner. this particular rehearsal dinner is a toast & roast for troy & ivy, so we prepared a skit to perform at the hooptie-la. hence the empty drinks below...we were nervous.

we have a blast at the rehearsal dinner. the 4 of us sit at a table together and reminisce. troy and ivy have such a unique story, we were just in awe. 6 years together and they are still so in love, so passionate...that certainly doesn't happen every day. i always say that i have a virtually unattainable view of love for 3 reasons:

1. my parents.

2. the twilight books. yep, you read that right.

3. troy & ivy.

after hearing heartfelt speeches, seeing hilarious videos and power point presentations and performing our own skit...we are emotional. i'm talking, we're huddled together like cold puppies who don't have a mother. crying (a little).

we are also beginning to think that ivy lied about troy having basketball boys come to this wedding. she has been talking them up for months. luckily, trisha makes a sighting near the bar and this actually happened:

trisha orders wine. she turns and sees a very tall drink of water behind her. she assumes he is one of troy's teammates (correctly) and makes small talk for about 8 seconds before turning and walking away saying, "well, tomorrow night...try to keep up."

she scurries back to our table, tells us this story and we all die laughing. we are smooth.

the preparation: post 1

words truly can NOT describe the events that took place between August 4-9, 2009...but i'm going to try. here goes.

i left work on tuesday (8/4) and arrive at ivy's house around 10PM to be greeted by a tidal wave of excitement that is shivonne glenn and ivy ikpeme (then). we hug it out and are very happy because i haven't seen shivonne since...oh...DECEMBER 08. can't be mad at her though, she's been in the outback :)

wedensday consists of picking up the wedding dress (!!!) she inspects it, loves it, and we take it home. it looks like a dead body in a pink tarp.

back at wedding headquarters, the bride and groom have a dance lesson with rosemary, who is teaching them a little jig to do for their first dance. it was awesome :) boy can move!

then on thursday, titi sandra hosts a kitchen shower for ivy. by far the best shower i've ever been to. there were tons of ladies, GREAT food and lots of laughter. then i caught these two in the kitchen...

that, they are pouring, is some really nice tequila. we have margaritas during the shower (tequila is added to the cup)...but little did everyone know...the punch was already spiked (sandra later told me). ivy got some awesome gifts from many people who adore her.

we finished up the shower with a few rounds of tequila shots and we are feeling good.

then it's bbq time at the ikpeme's. ivy's been talking up troy's friends for months (seriously, months) and we are stoked. but apparently not all of them arrive until friday. we become sad.

but...we learn some salsa and meringue moves and have tons of fun with the girls and ivy's family. it's so nice to be together again.

the bach.

although ivy has been married for over a week now, i am going to write a little post about her bachelorette weekend. it went as follows:

friday night, we roll into town and begin the festivities at trisha's condo. michael jackson is dead and we are sad. but we're reunited, so we're happy too! at this point, it is ivy, haley, whit, trisha (april for a bit), and me. we have a little champagne and the crew walks to this awesome little house-turned-bar. we had some beers and played ping pong, hula hooped and monopolized the juke box. a little later, a guy comes over to our table with a flyer for a michael jackson tribute event. we all look at each other and know what we have to do: call a cab and go.

we arrive in east austin (shady) at a warehouse that has MJ videos being projected on a huge white wall. they only serve tecate and patron.

we dance.

after we exit the warehouse, we realize that we are in east austin. we must get a cab and we must get it fast because shady dudes are approaching us. trisha is yelling, "DON'T MAKE EYE CONTACT!" as 2 guys are headed toward us saying inappropriate things. suddenly, a cab comes screeching around the corner in front of us and we all jump in quickly and yell, "DRIVE."

we go home and sleep very well.

saturday, we wake up and the entire entourage meet up at austin's pizza on the drag. there's about 15 of us. we give ivy her photo scavenger hung list and begin the quest...

that evening, we have her lingerie shower and troy gets tons of cute (i mean sexy) stuff. for each item she received, we came up with a corresponding dessert... so when troy orders strawberry shortcake, he's gonna GET strawberry shortcake (if you know what i mean)

we had reservations at cuba libre for dinner, where we ate some fantastic tapas and drank some martinis. super chic. ivy and i were giggly by the end of dinner.

afterwards, we visited our old friend: 6th street. he greeted us with open arms and we hit up all some of our old spots and some new ones too. we watched this cover band at speakeasy called The Space Rockers - middle aged dudes in spandex jumpsuits and helmets singing 80's and early 90's classics. we stayed there for a while.

of course, we hit up blind pig.

then over to cheers for some special shotties. april insisted that we all had orgasm (shots) and ivy needed a blow job shot:

as you can see, it was well documented. check out that form.

we wrapped up the weekend with brunch at taverna. it was SO great to hang with all the girls, celebrate ivy's final days of debauchery...and the facebook photos are pretty sweet.

plus, we get to reunite for the WEDDING!

isn't she the loveliest of lovelies?

love/miss/namaste.