7.28.2011

Les Mis Mesmerized



This summer it has been a goal of mine to put a dent in my movie list. Recently, I've been able to check off two of those movies: Singin' in the Rain and Les Miserables. 
I have to say, I am truly amazed at the restoration that has been done on older films. The color quality for Singin' in the Rain was incredible. I always enjoy seeing the original plots that have been redone over and over again. To think about what the writers at the time were thinking, I'm simply amazed. I can only imagine making a film that is considered a classic today. 
As for Les Miserables, I am completely mesmerized. There is no other word that fits my current fascination. After reading several reviews, I under the choice to cast Nick Jonas was risky. However, the bashing that he has endured is definitely not called for. I have not yet had the chance to read the novel, but I am certainly glad I was finally able to see it. Well worth it! Now, I just have to keep putting a dent in this never ending list. 

7.03.2011

Just take your time, it's only life.

7.01.2011

the review

Several days later having found the time to finish it, I am done with One Day. My review? Well, I will try my best not to provide spoilers.
The writing was wonderful. I enjoyed that the language captured the atmosphere of the placing in which it was portraying. The characters were well developed. I enjoyed learning the new facets of them. I think that seeing the characters through the eyes of each other may have given them more depth, but that is just my opinion. 
I was most certainly thrown for a loop. David Nicholls added a twist I was not ready for. I'm extremely interested to see how this translates to the big screen. Overall? I recommend it. There is profanity, but it isn't as though you are reading the stall in a bathroom. It's neat and not used in means to make up for a lack of a vocabulary. I enjoyed the literally references. It was definitely a good choice.

6.27.2011

On the night stand.

I'll admit it. I'm a movie critic. What is even worse? I'm THAT girl. The one who reads the book first, and the proceeds to look for the smallest detail in the movie. I will admit that several film classes and a very persuasive professor later has allowed me to spread my wings a bit more.
Being that I behave in such a way, I picked up the David Nicholls novel One Day. Thus far, I'm in love with it. It took me a bit to pick up on the same day, yearly concept, but now I'm keyed in and loving it! Stay tuned for the review. 

Currently Playing:
9 Crimes

6.01.2011

Strawberry and Mozzarella Salad


Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 heart romaine lettuce, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces (3 cups lightly packed)
  • 1 8-ounce container of strawberries, hulled and sliced
  • 3 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, diced (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Directions

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar salt and pepper. Place the lettuce in a large bowl and toss with half the dressing. Place the lettuce onto 4 salad plates.
Toss the strawberries with the remaining dressing and place 1/4 of the berries on top of each mound of lettuce. Top each with cheeseand sprinkle with the basil.
Calories 150; Total Fat 12 g; (Sat Fat 3.5 g, Mono Fat 5 g, Poly Fat 1 g) ; Protein 6 g; Carb 7 g; Fiber 2 g; Cholesterol 15 mg; Sodium 320 mg
Excellent source of: Vitamin A, Vitamin C
Good source of: Protein, Vitamin K, Calcium, Manganese


(I found this today. It's on my to be made list. Yum!)

5.31.2011

R.E.A.D.


This summer I have become a woman of many talents. Among my weekly schedule: classes, internship and several jobs. However, I'm loving every moment of it all. Tomorrow starts our summer sessions of class so lots of prayer need there.
But today I wanted to share another experience in my life: teaching a child to read. I'm an avid reader. On a good day or even bad, provided the book is good, I can spend the day curled up with a book forgetting the world should even exist outside. I try to read a little bit of everything. Sometimes I am more successful with the task than others but I make the effort to borrow from my best friend since he is more diverse than my typical tastes.
In my adventures though I found myself presented with a task I've never done before. Today I was able to help a child read. Now, I've been the typically babysitter who pops in a movie, chases a child outside or colors until I can't see straight but I have never gotten to teach someone to read before. It was such an incredible experience. There is that moment when the child understands that the world sounds like and the excitement is pure joy. 
I have quite a few things that I want to do in my life some day but I do hope that a piece of that is teaching because that moment was beyond incredible. 



5.26.2011

Barre?


Boredom. It can be a frequent identifier of my view of my workout. I just get bored. Videos? I can turn those off. Running? I can just stop. I am the queen of finding an excuse to JUST NOT DO IT. Nike wouldn't appreciate that I imagine. 
Well today I decided to check out Grand Jeté, a locally owned barre fitness facility in Mountain Brook. I loved it! Granted it kicked my butt and as my roommate pointed out the jello legs will only be worse tomorrow, however, I still loved every moment of it. I was entertained, which is important for the queen of excuses and boredom.
Now, I know everyone can't afford to but if you have time give the class a try. Most places offer a free trial class. Scope out the website, grab a friend and a find a time that works for you. Some places even off a student discount (what will I ever do when I'm not in school). 
But whatever you decide to do, try something that works for you. If you love to run, run on! Swim? Be the next Michael Phelps. You can do it. Me? Well I may just have to try a bit of everything to keep entertained. =)

5.11.2011

Baked Zucchini

One of my new favorite dishes. =)

Baked Zucchini Sticks
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 3 • Serving Size: 1 zucchini  Old Points: 1.5 pts (sauce extra) • Points+:3 pts
Calories: 121.9 • Fat: 2.4 • Carbs: 21.0 g • Fiber: 6.0 • Protein: 6.7 g 
  • 3 medium zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1/3 cup seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs
  • 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • cooking spray
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • salt
  • fresh pepper

Quick Marinara Sauce
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/2 cup • Old Points: 1 pt • Points+: 1 pt
Calories: 51.5 • Fat: 0.8 • Carbs: 9.0 g • Fiber: 1.1 • Protein: 0.1 g  
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (I like Tuttorosso)
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • salt and fresh pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425°.

In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and bay leaf. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 20 minutes.


In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag,place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.Serve with 1/2 cup marinara sauce for dipping.


5.10.2011

Sweet melody

It's finals week so life is a bit crazy but I wanted to share a few musical choices that have been getting me through it this week.
1. Poison & Wine - EP
I keep hearing them in movies and television shows. If you haven't yet check them out.
2. Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers
Always a good up beat tune. Plus I've been listening to their version of Rolling in the Deep. Love!
3.Carry On Wayward Son
This album features my favorite classic rock song: Carry On Wayward Son. 
4. Chasing Cars
Always a calming album.
5. Rumours
Thank you Glee for reminding me of this album.

Enjoy the music. =)

4.29.2011

Cinderella got it right.


Shoes. Just one of the many ways to a girl's heart. These, featured in Burlesque, for example, brought gasps to the entire room of sorority girls watching the film. Ladies love shoes. 
Now if only I could figure out where to get these?






Current Album: 
Burlesque - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

4.27.2011

Do I wake or do I sleep?

Ode to a Nightingale
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
    My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
    One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
    But being too happy in thine happiness,--
        That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees
            In some melodious plot
    Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
        Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
    Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
    Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
    Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
        With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
            And purple-stained mouth;
    That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
        And with thee fade away into the forest dim:
Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
    What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
    Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
    Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
        Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
            And leaden-eyed despairs,
    Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
        Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
    Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
    Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
Already with thee! tender is the night,
    And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
        Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays;
            But here there is no light,
    Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
        Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.
I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
    Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
    Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
    White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;
        Fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves;
            And mid-May's eldest child,
    The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
        The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
    I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
    To take into the air my quiet breath;
        Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
    To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
        While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
            In such an ecstasy!
    Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain--
          To thy high requiem become a sod.
Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
    No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
    In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
    Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
        She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
            The same that oft-times hath
    Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam
        Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.
Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
    To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
    As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
    Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
        Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep
            In the next valley-glades:
    Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
        Fled is that music:--Do I wake or sleep?

- Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats

4.24.2011

Rigatoni with Sweet Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella

1 firm ripe pink, black, or white eggplant
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Two 14-ounce cans good-quality plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 fresh or dried chilies, chopped or crumbled, optional
Bunch fresh basil, leaves ripped and stalks sliced
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 pound rigatoni or penne
7 ounces cow’s-milk mozzarella
1 piece Parmesan cheese, for grating

Directions
1. Remove both ends of the eggplant and slice it into 1/2 inch slices, then slice these across and finely dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Some people prefer to season their eggplant with salt and let it sit for a while in a colander to draw out the bitterness, but I don’t really do this unless I’m dealing with a seedy, bitter eggplant. This dish is really best made using a firm silky one.
2. Now, put a large saucepan on the heat and drizzle in 4 to 5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. When it’s hot, add the cubes of eggplant, and as soon as they hit the pan stir them around with a spoon so they are delicately coated with the oil and not soaked on one side only. Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes on a medium heat.
3. Then add the garlic and onion. When they have a little color, add the canned tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Stir around and season carefully with salt and pepper. At this point, if you wanted to give the dish a little heat you could add some chopped fresh or crumbled dried chilli, but that’s up to you. Add the basil stalks, and simmer the sauce nice and gently for around 15 minutes, then add the cream.
4. While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta, cook according to the package instructions until it is soft but still holding its shape, then drain it, saving a little of the cooking water. I like to put the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in with a tiny bit of the cooking water and a drizzle of olive oil and move it around so it becomes almost dressed with the water and oil.
5. At this point add the lovely tomato sauce to the pasta. By now the eggplant will have cooked into a creamy tomatoey pulp, which is just yum yum yum! Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper. When all my guests are sitting round the table, I take the pan to the table, tear up the mozzarella and the fresh basil, and fold these in nicely for 30 seconds. Then very quickly serve into bowls. By the time your guests start to eat, the mozzarella will have started to melt and will be stringy and gorgeous and really milky-tasting. Just lovely with the tomatoes and eggplant. Serve at the table with a block of Parmesan cheese and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.

Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver

4.23.2011

I am a nation

1 Adios, Carenage

In idle August, while the sea soft,
and leaves of brown islands stick to the rim
of this Carribean, I blow out the light
by the dreamless face of Maria Concepcion
to ship as a seaman on the schooner Flight.
Out in the yard turning gray in the dawn,
I stood like a stone and nothing else move
but the cold sea rippling like galvanize
and the nail holes of stars in the sky roof,
till a wind start to interfere with the trees.
I pass me dry neighbor sweeping she yard
as I went downhill, and I nearly said:
"Sweep soft, you witch, 'cause she don't sleep hard,"
but the bitch look through me like I was dead.
A route taxi pull up, park-lights still on.
The driver size up my bags with a grin:
"This time, Shabine, like you really gone!"
I ain't answer the ass, I simply pile in
the back seat and watch the sky burn
above Laventille pink as the gown
in which the woman I left was sleeping,
and I look in the rearview and see a man
exactly like me, and the man was weeping
for the houses, the street, that whole fucking island.

Christ have mercy on all sleeping things!
>From that dog rotting down Wrightson Road
to when I was a dog on these streets;
if loving these islands must be my load.
out of corruption my soul takes wings,
But they had started to poison my soul
with their big house, big car, big time bohbohl,
coolie, nigger, Syrian and French Creole,
so I leave it for them and their carnival -
I taking a sea bath, I gone down the road.
I know these islands from Monos to Nassau,
a rusty head sailor with sea-green eyes
that they nickname Shabine, the patois for
any red nigger, and I, Shabine, saw
when these slums of empire was paradise.
I'm just a red nigger who love the sea,
I had a sound colonial education,
I have Dutch, nigger, and English in me,
and either I'm nobody, or I'm a nation,

But Maria Concepcion was all my thought
watching the sea heaving up and down
as the port side of dories, schooners, and yachts
was painted afresh by the strokes of the sun
signing her name with every reflection;
I knew when dark-haired evening put on
her bright silk at sunset, and, folding the sea,
sidled under the sheet with her starry laugh,
that there'd be no rest, there'd be no forgetting.
Is like telling mourners round the graveside
about resurrection, they want the dead back,
so I smile to myself as the bow rope untied
and the Flight swing seaward:"Is no use repeating
that the sea have more fish. I ain't want her
dressed in the sexless light of a seraph,
I want those round brown eyes like a marmoset, and
till the day when I can lean back and laugh,
those claws that tickled my back on sweating
Sunday afternoons, like a crab on wet sand."

As I worked, watching the rotting waves come
past the bow that scissor the sea like milk,
I swear to you all, by my mother's milk,
by the stars that shall fly from tonight's furnace,
that I loved them, my children, my wife, my home;
I loved them as poets love the poetry
that kills them, as drowned sailors the sea.

You ever look up from some lonely beach
and see a far schooner? Well, when I write
this poem, each phrase go be soaked in salt;
I go draw and knot every line as tight
as ropes in this rigging; in simple speech
my common language go be the wind,
my pages the sails of the schooner Flight.
But let me tell you how this business begin.

- The Schooner 'Flight' by Derek Walcott

Hope



"Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of us." - One Tree Hill










Album of the week:
Barton Hollow



4.20.2011

My Bucket List


Ah, the bucket list. Everyone has one. Whether or not we actually write it down is another story. Mine has been accumulating for years. But it seems recently to have acquired a few more items so I've decided to share a few. 
1. Go to Italy
2. Go to Comic-Con
3. Go to Coachella
4. Go to Lollapalooza
4. Go to Bonaroo
5. Go to Sasquatch
6. Write a novel
7. Visit New York City
8. Go to the Tribeca Film Festival
I've been collecting and trying to jot them down lately. But there is no harm in dreaming. =) What is on your bucket list?

4.19.2011

Fast Five


I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for this movie!

4.18.2011

Another bucket list item.


photo courtesy of wired.com

Coachella. A three day music festival attracting people from all over. Celebrities, music junkies, and other randoms come out to witness this glorious event.
I WILL GO NEXT YEAR!!!
This is a bucket list item for me and the planning has begun. I cannot even begin to express how completely excited I am about this event. Let's hope it lives up to all the hype.

4.16.2011

Dorm Suite Dorm

A few days ago a friend asked me to checkout a website for her and see what I thought. Being the technology reliant generation we are she posted the link on my facebook wall and off I went on my way.
Dorm Suite Dorm is the name of the site as well as the title of today's entry. The company is target towards college age girls looking to make their dorm rooms not look like a dorm room. From bedding to wall decor to accesorized tools that would make Lorelai Gilmore proud, Dorm Suite Dorm offers a bit of everything to make even the most drab college dorm room look marvelous. They've left out no detail in what they offer boasting stylish tumblers for the on-the-go college girl, hanging photo holders for the budding photographer and even an organizer for hanging scarfs for the accessory obsessed girl in us all. 
But boys need not feel left out because there is an entire line for them as well. The company offers sports targeted lounging pants, go-green friendly accessories such as picture frames and pen holders as well as an organizer for baseball caps. 
Duvets price for $225 with reversible fabric choices for both the guys and girls. The accessories range any where from the teens to the low hundreds. However, everything comes in a variety of looks and has multiple uses helping to maximize the limited dorm room space. 
Since I'm moving off campus soon I only wish that I had known about this several years ago but I encourage you young college kids to check them out. Before you know it YOUR room will be the one every stops to check out on tours. =)

4.13.2011

Lost in the lines...

It's been far too long since I've posted anything. Somewhere between being swept into the Greek abyss, being a student and working I've neglected something I love. Therefore, this may be more of a babbling than anything else...
In just a few short weeks I move into my very first apartment. Wow. That blows my mind. I've planned out the rest of my undergraduate career and I'm preparing to apply to graduate school. WHEN DID I GET HERE?!
Every step forward is completely exciting and absolutely terrifying. Some days I wish life had an e-brake that I could pull. Or maybe I should be on one of those medical dramas that always seem to have emotional breakdowns in the elevator so they use the emergency stop. That would be rather convenient. 
However, here I sit with no e-brake or television drama providing any help. 
So today instead of making some grand suggestion of things to do or how to help I leave you with a quote pasted on my wall, 
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
Guess I just have to live and get lost in the lines of life. =)

Current Album:
Glee: The Music, Volume 5
New take on classics

3.08.2011

It's all Greek to me

Last night ABC Family premiered its finale of Greek. The show aired July 9, 2007. A show portraying Greek life not only for what it is commonly known but for the factors that may be hard to see outside the walls of a house. Every good moment and bad brought the characters on a journey to be that which we saw last night. For me and I'm sure a lot of others it was an emotional ending to say the least. 
But along the lines of Greek, I'm spending this week interviewing girls who desire to be Recruitment Counselors for the fall. I've heard answers from all areas on why girls wanted to be Greek and what it has been like for them but the one question that has hit the forefront of my mind: would I do it again?
College is such an incredible time in your life. There are so many firsts and so many things to do. There will never be another time like this in your life. But being Greek is just one of the ways you can get involved on campus.
Watching the finale of this beloved show and reflecting on my own experience has gotten me to thinking on a lot. I know that my college experience would be tremendously different had I not participated in recruitment. I cannot even being to imagine life without my big or little sisters. Greek life for me has been an incredible experience filled with challenges and opportunities. I would not be the person I am today without it. 
So to answer my own question I would do it again. But being Greek isn't for everyone. College has a place for everyone if you look hard enough. Somewhere out there someone has a passion similar to yours. It may not be so organizied as to have a few Greek letters attached to it but it is somewhere. College is a time of discovery. It's the time to ask questions and learn something about life and yourself. But as best said by the writers of Greek,
"Our purpose is to find our purpose."

2.20.2011

The beauty's in the story.

History. It can define us, encourage us or be something we completely neglect to acknowledge but it exists.  Rare paintings, sculptures and pieces of jewelry aren't purchased merely because of their beauty but their story. You have a story.
Somedays, I think we get so caught up in the idea of the "some day" that we neglect the today (yes, cliche I know). The point is, we read the stories that make up our history, we share the stories that make up others but do we ever stop to think we have a hand in making our own history? If I only think of the diploma someone will hand me over a year from now what am I going to look back on and regret?
We have an incredible opportunity to experience life. Every morning we wake up is a new slate. Every second we breathe is a new moment to try something. We have an incredible freedom. 
My thoughts for the day summed up, don't just study history, make some. It doesn't come back around. 

Current Listen:
 Everything

1.18.2011

Pray. Release. Go.

Ah, the end of break. What an inevitable thing to face. It has a joyous and apprehensive feeling with a little bit of stress mixed into it. It's the time to remember where I put every item I brought home, which is not so easy since I rearranged. It's also the time to squeeze in those last minute coffee dates that keep getting pushed back. But it is also the time to buy books (insert many mixed feelings here).
Thus far my iCal has declared life to be a busy state once my feel hit the Alabama soil. So what have I spent the last few days doing: reading for fun and praying. 
This semester is full of promise and challenges. I have been given the incredible opportunity to serve as president of the Panhellenic Council for Samford University. I have also been given the opportunity to intern in Los Angeles, CA this summer (decision pending...). But with every opportunity comes another prayer. 
We have so many opportunities in our lives and blessings but the worry and stress that comes with them doesn't change anything. I have quite a journey ahead but for now all I can do is pray, release and go. 


Current Listen:
Gasoline Rainbows 

1.15.2011

Observe. Cherish. Remember.

Today my best friend and I decided to go for a walk on the beach. Surprising, it wasn't cold. It was beautiful and not windy. But most important it was an adventure. 
I think life is full of little adventures. On ours we found a jellyfish. We spent a good 20 minutes playing chicken with the rising tide trying to maneuver it so we could actually get a good look at it. Granted, we could have gone on with life and been okay not taking a second look at the creature but that wasn't the point. It was a small adventure in our day full of laughs. It's something we can look back on fondly and remember. It is a happy moment in between all the ones that seems so bad in the world. 
I see my friends and all the troubles they seem to be facing lately; deep, emotional pains that words can never reach to heal. But I can give them these moments. Moments when we fight the waves with fits of laughter and verbal banter or moments in the car screaming lyrics to ridiculous songs at the top of our lungs. 
There are so many days where I wish I could talk the pain away. As a writer, I wish that I knew the words that would chase the shadows away. But I'm only human. So I do what I can. I find the ways to put a smile on their face and I listen when they need to talk. You may not have the words to fix it but some day they'll look back and remember. They will cherish that moment of laughter and to me that is so much more than words can ever do.

Current listen:
Speak Now
(my tastes in music are vast)

1.12.2011

A little insomnia...

Ah, the joys of Christmas break and the sleep thief known as insomnia. I always seem to mess up my sleeping schedule during break. So tonight I thought I might share a few random things. Or rather plug a few random items of current into your thoughts...

Top Played Album:
This charitable indie album has been a nice change in my car stereo. Created by Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols to raise money after the horrid oil spills this past summer, it is well worth the money. I've loved every moment of it.

Current Read:
William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls
I'm not quite sure what I expected to find with this novel but I'm loving it. You come to respect people more when you learn the things they over come. I must say it has been mind-opening.

In my DVD player:
Sweet Home Alabama
Well, it will be after this post at least. To say I love this movie would be an understatement. I could probably quote most of it to you. Reese Witherspoon does an amazing job capturing your heart in the southern romantic-comedy. It's light-hearted enough that you don't feel like you've just tried to solve the world's problems after watching it. However, it isn't so shallow you feel as though you've lost IQ points in the time it took you to watch it. If you haven't seen this movie it is my recommendation that you get some popcorn, curl up in a chair and lose yourself in another world. Where else have you got to be? This snow has everyone in PANIC. =)







1.11.2011

That Moment

One of my favorite scenes in One Tree Hill comes early in the shows history. It's a rather scandalous scene featuring Lucas, Brooke and an obvious lack of clothing but the conversation surprising stands out strongly. Brooke wants to know if Lucas is aware this is the moment he can look back at and know that was when it all changed. He will be able to pinpoint that moment. 
Being able to find that one moment, that choice or thought that changed it all, is great. But what happens when we stop trying to find the reason to learn from it and become obsessed with it. The new year tends to bring about a time of reflection. We want to know what we liked about it all and what we should have done different. Both tactics are great for learning. But dwelling on them doesn't make it better either.
We have this thirst for knowledge as humans. I will most certainly attest to it. I'm reading the biography of two princes out of my own curiosity. But sometimes I think we get so caught up in the mess of it all that we miss out on the life part. We want to analyze or learn so much that we forget to live.
You can spend the rest of your life trying to figure out "that moment" for yourself but is it worth it if you miss out of the rest of your life. Some times the best thing to do with that moment is be glad it's gone. Life has many more accidental discoveries ahead.


Current Listen:
Kaleidoscope Heart
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1.07.2011

A little rearranging

For the past six years my room has look exactly the same. Every piece of furniture has held it's same position. In my boredom and desire for change I decided to rearrange the entire thing last night. It turned out to be a hilarious family affair but it provoked some thinking. What do things look like when you take a moment to view a different perspective?
I've been sifting through ideas for graduate school and it has got my mind stirring. I think so often we limited ourselves and our minds only to what we think is achievable. We won't risk anything so that we don't have to worry about losing anything. But how can we ever gain anything if we don't risk something. We spend so long looking at the world in our narrow mindedness that we miss out on what could be incredible.  
So what happens when we rearrange things? There is a potential far beyond our ability to comprehend for our lives. But you have to be willing to have faith in what God can do and not what you can do. I don't want to be someone who has a list longer of what could have been verses what did happen. If that means taking some risks, well I guess it's time to rearrange.

1.03.2011

Sweet Beginnings

 Here we are again. It's the start of a new year. Resolutions have been made, and hopefully kept. We've evaluated and are ready to reevaluate things. It's what my calendar calls "sweet beginnings".
Mine this year, well they start with this blog. I spent the day, on and off, revamping my thought bank with a friend trying to create a space that felt more like home. We went through more colors, backgrounds and titles than I think we did when I originally created this. Eventually, we came to what you see before you: Miss Serendipity.
I can tell you I spent a good deal of time today using the thesaurus website trying to find that word that sums it all up for me. In the end, serendipity seemed to be it. I never knew the definition until today: accidental discovery. It only seemed appropriate to me that this be my title. I've learned a small bit in my short time here on this earth but I can admit most of it was the hard way and accidentally.
So, tonight we start new. We go from this place. All my old posts will be here but I have a new focus now. I'm expanding as a person, it only seems right that the place in which I publicly display my thoughts do the same. Life right now is all about the serendipitous moments and sweet beginnings.
Current Listen:
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals