Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Cover art:



Entire Jacket Cover:

Sex and the City

It's official!!! The girls signed their contracts today and finalized their deals to be in a Sex and the City full length feature film!! And Kim Cattrall will be in it!!

Yay!!!!!!!

Attention All Plant Eaters!

Several of my friends have recently decided to give up meat and become vegetarian. I am very proud of them and have a lot of respect for anyone who investigates the issues and decides that the vegetarian lifestyle is best for them. It is definitely not for me. Not because I don't like animals or anything, but just because I eat chicken and turkey and eggs and milk and fish and occasionally a steak or burger and I just don't see the benefits outweighing the effort for me personally. But I can understand why other people would want to do it and I really admire their discipline and dedication to that. I won't buy anything but cage-free eggs, though and I do my best to only buy meat from farms and places that use humane treatment of their animals.

My friend Janine just posted this blog that has tips for people who are interested in possibly become vegetarian and I think that if anyone is interested in checking out being a vegetarian, they should read it! It's got great advice and as she said, it's very helpful, but not forceful.

Check out her blog here!

Guilty Pleasure

I have a small obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Me & my brother & my dad used to watch it all the time when I was in high school.

My brother has most of the seasons on DVD.

I want to watch them all again.

It is my guilty pleasure because it's the only show that I really can't explain exactly why I like it, I just really do. And it was such a cult classic kind of thing. People were obsessed with that show. It's really funny all the sites and videos and stuff you can find about it. It's amazing. Is anybody else a fan? Anyway, here are some pictures:

First Buffy loved Angel.

Later, she loved Spike.

And she kinda kicked butt.
But I couldn't find a good picture of that.

Anyway, that show was hot.

Lust

So I gave up chocolate for Lent. It's been 36 days. I have 11 days left.

I'm not crazy about chocolate. It's not that big of a deal to me. I mean, I love it as much as the next guy and I knew I would notice if I gave it up. That was the point, to have something that I would want to eat, so I would remember Easter and think about Christ.

Well, I'm started to have dreams about chocolate.

I come home at night and I just crave chocolate.

I'm lusting after the chocolate.

It's the strangest thing...

Favorite Tea!

This is my favorite kind of tea:
With honey.

Yay!

Pictures

How I choose my pictures:

I have a ton of pictures on my computer saved in different folders. When I decide I need a picture of someone, unless I have a really specific one in mind, I begin with the first folder (they're in alphabetical order) and I go through each picture. I then pick the first one that causes me to have some sort of response. If I just look at the picture and I'm like, "eh, whatever, that's just a picture of Lewis" or something like that, then I move on to the next one. But if I'm like, "Awww!!" or "HAHA!" or "Oh my gosh I forgot about that!" or something like that, then that picture goes immediately into the blog.

With Ian's picture, one of the first folders is titled "At Shows" and of course, there was Ian, bleeding, and I was like, "OH MY GOSH!" And now, it is permanently in my blog.

Here are some examples:

Lewis (This one is in my "Hanging Out 2005" folder and I'm still laughing out loud):
Hannah (This one is in my "Hanging Out 2006" folder and we were on the see-saw):
Me (This was in my "Florida 2006" folder and it was when the bugs in Florida decided I was the tastiest dish they've ever encountered and decided to eat my whole body. This looks bad, but it doesn't compare to everywhere else.):

Ian is fantastic!!

AND about my day...

Ian made a blog!

Someday you should ask me how I pick these pictures.
It's really funny.
Probably just funny to me, though.

Sorry if this picture grosses you out.
There is an excellent story behind it!

The girls are back

Today was a good day.
(This picture is of last summer, not today)

And Brooke should be here in the place of Chandra.
No offense to Chandra, she just wasn't involved in my day.
But I couldn't find a picture of all of us.
But this is my favorite picture ever of Brooke...

Sweet! Good Day!

PostSecret 3-25-2007

PostSecrets were amazing this week! I'm posting a lot because I'm in the mood.
They are in no particular order.

I want to forget your face. Please...

Women need to join together to demand a more realistic view of beauty.
See this former post for some beautiful girls.

This doesn't remind me of me, but it reminds me of someone I care about.

Now, this one reminds me of me!
And Brooke. I think that's why we get along.

This is beautiful.

This is very true.
Unless YOU are the ex and it's YOUR stupid haircut.

Don't we all?

They're not.

I never stopped believing.
Belief has never been my problem.
Other things are my problems.

Little Moments

[Disclaimer about this specific post]

This post is mainly for Brooke, Hannah, Ciaara, Ian, Josh, Jon, Adam, Max, Courtney, Chelsea, etc. If you aren't a personal friend of mine and have no idea what I'm talking about or what my life has looked like for the last year, this post and the one before this one don't really apply to you and you probably won't find it interesting, but you are more than welcome to read anyway. But if you are one of those people, please read it. If only to hear my heart and maybe that's it. I love you all.

My night tonight was strange.

There is a certain way I want to be, a certain way I want to be seen.

And I'm not there yet. But I know what direction I need to be facing to get there.

We sang a song tonight at 608 that kinda wrapped up my life over the past year. It wasn't the whole song, not even half of it, just one part.

God in my laughing... God in my weeping...
God in my hurting... God in my healing...

That's been my year. It began with laughter, some of the most amazing friends. A community of people who supported each other. And we fought a lot sometimes and butted heads on a lot of things. But when I think about it, I don't really fight with people I don't care about, with people who don't really know me. Because people who don't know you, their concerns are just silly because they don't know enough about you to even be able to interpret the way you act. But friends, real friends, friends like the ones I had, they knew me. They saw me at my lowest and they had every right to be mad usually when they were mad. The bad times were pretty bad, but the good times. Wow. Life was good for a little while. A group of people you could call when life fell apart. And maybe they didn't make it all better, but at least you weren't alone. Laughter.

It turned into weeping when Lewis and I were forced out of our lifestyle that we had for the past 4 years. People didn't understand, I don't even think we fully understood. But we knew that God needed us somewhere else and the things that happened to us and some people in our families immediately after proved that God needed us at home and not in the band. And we lost some friends. It wasn't our intention. It actually was not what we thought would happen. And we were shocked that it did, and we were humbled and we were heartbroken. And now we're realizing, so was everyone else. Not that we didn't realize it at the time, but in a different way than how we see it now. Weeping.

The last few months have been hurting. It's been growing pains in a way - trying to learn how to deal and how to grieve and how to forgive and how to be real with a group of people who knew you at your core, whether we realized it or not. It's not easy to be real with people. We all know that we have too much we could hide. It's not easy watching people who used to be your family pretty much, just go on without you. And it was our decisions that got us there. It didn't stop the hurting. How do you say to someone, "please call," "please ask," "please push past the wall I've put up." How do you do that? I couldn't find a way. So instead I left the wall there. And I moved on, broken. Hurting.

This weekend, we started healing. And it will be baby steps. And I know that. But it's a direction, it's a goal, it's seeing the future and knowing you want to be there, even if the future looks like the past. I'm not sure if that makes sense. But it makes sense to me. They probably didn't even know it meant anything to me, but a couple of people came into 608 tonight actually with something to say to me, actually seemed excited to talk to me. And it was different, considering the last few months I've felt like I'm not enough for anybody. Like when they see me, they're talking to me out of courtesy, but they have walls too. And then these people tonight made a little crack in the wall we had put up and they sat next to us at 608. And I had to fight back just to keep from weeping. Healing.



This may be cheesy and stupid and dorky, but I'm putting it out there, possibly to be shot down. But I have wanted people who Lewis and I shut out, who we changed things for, to push down a wall that I put up, that they had nothing to do with. It wasn't their responsibility to push down that wall, but it was what I wanted anyway. And I've made mistakes, HUGE mistakes in my life, in my relationships. I lose my temper sometimes, I say the wrong thing, I push my way into business I don't belong in, I am not enough. But I know who I want to be and I would like the opportunity to become that person, despite my past and possibly the past I have had with some of you. I wasn't always the friend you needed and I'm truly sorry about it. And I would like some people beside me who meant so much in the past, who still mean so much now, even though things are different.

Maybe it's too much to ask. Maybe it's too late.

But if it's not, I have an idea. Maybe an idea that will help all of us find some peace in the middle of a world that is fighting day in and day out for us to have everything but peace.

If you're interested, email me. Click here for email.

We'll talk. Maybe mend something that wasn't ever meant to be broken in the first place.

And p.s. my idea mainly has to do with the girls.

I remember what was so great about our "family" and I think it can still be salvaged.




Also, I deleted my myspace. But I'm starting a new Ingenue Perspective myspace, just because. If I add you, that's why.

T95T, Ichthus, Etc.

What I've discovered today after a long weekend of unwanted drama is this:

The whole thing, what made it great, was the relationships.

The relationships between those members of the band,

the relationships between the members and those that loved the band,

and the relationships between those that loved the band and each other.

That was what was important. It wasn't anything else.
It wasn't what happened to whom or who got to play what or what show they played or what they got offered, it was the relationships that was the electricity between all of it. That was what carried the whole thing. Without the relationships, it's over.

And if the relationships are lost and broken now, as it seems many of them have been the last few months, it's as if it was all for nothing. But I don't believe it was all for nothing. And I believe those relationships can be saved. I believe we can remember what drew us all together to begin with.


So things are looking up. At least from where I'm sitting they are. And I cried tonight because a relationship was mended that I've prayed to be mended for months. And it was mended because of drama. And if that was the whole purpose for the drama, then I don't care what happens from here. Because I've already seen a purpose behind it that made it worth it. Because what happened as a result of them even being asked to play, sparked a conversation that mended a relationship that was the definition of brotherhood. And maybe that's cheesy, and maybe it won't ever be exactly the same again, but it's at least closer than it has been the last few months. And I know two people who feel a little better in the midst of conflict.

God is good.

P.S. I'm such a freaking girl.
And Lewis & Ian are going to kill me
because of that picture.
But I like it.
And it's my blog.

Almost Famous

I remember now.

Thank you.

Shooter

It's good.

You should see it.

Shooter
Starring Mark Wahlberg

New Links!

I am obsessed with quotes. I collect them. I have tons of books of quotes and I also write them down on napkins and random scraps of paper when I hear one in a movie or someone says something insightful. I keep them all in this huge notebook that I really need to organize. I've started a links list of quotes pages. And actually I can't believe I didn't do it before.

Anyway, it's on the side.


"Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that what HAVE you had?"
-Henry James

Goodbye, Tubby!

Tubby Smith is leaving UK to go coach in Minnesota. I know some crazy Wildcat fans are happy, but I think UK fans are getting pretty ridiculous. But whatever. Best of luck, Tubby!

October Road

I really like this new show. If you haven't watched it, you should. And I have the first 2 episodes on my DVR. Come watch them with me!

It is on ABC right after Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights.

Kristen & David

They are the cutest!!!

Wedding date is May 26, 2007!!

Check out her photographer's website here!

Brooke Davis, whoops I mean Showalter

Okay so the title of this blog was supposed to be a joke that now is just screaming at me that it is not funny. But I think that's funny, so I'm leaving it.

Anyway.

TEA.

Green tea may help to lower your cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart attack and help with blood vessel function. Tea may help the immune system fight viral and bacterial infections. It can be an effective weapon in the fight against diabetes and may help strengthen bones. For more information, check here.

You can also go here for some great teas you can buy and also for some interesting facts and tips!

Also, Brooke bought a book and it says that tea (esp green tea) is full of antioxidants that help prevent cancer, aid in digestion, and its an appetite suppressant-- all good things.


I also added some more Eco-Friendly links to my sidebar! My favorites are:

EatWellGuide, which is a site that tells you where you can find a local farm or food market that only sells food that came from a farm that is healthy, does not harm the environment, respects workers, is humane to animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports farming communities. Characteristics of this type of agriculture include: conservation and preservation, biodiversity, animal welfare, economic viability and socially just. It has farms who are humane to animals (cage free chickens, etc) for those of you who eat meat and also farms that have the best environmentally friendly and organic produce for those of you who don't eat meat!

BeGreenNow, which educates you about your carbon footprint and how you can help reduce it. It also gives you lists and links of different products and companies who are eco-friendly.

GreenGOP is a site for Republican environmentalists - yes they DO exist! Haha, that was a joke. Love it. Anyway, it's just interesting.



SO, check out the links and drink some tea!!

And P.S. - to post a comment on my blog if you aren't a member, you just go to "Comment" and then when it comes up and you type in your comment, you just choose "other" for your name and then you can type in whatever name you want to show up.

But you don't have to comment! You can email me or message me on myspace!

John Edwards - Carbon Neutral

John Edwards issued a statement saying that his Presidential Campaign will be carbon-neutral. I don't have any strong opinions for or against John Edwards right now, but I do think the carbon-neutral campaign is awesome.

Here is a link to the statement.

Also check this out for more commentary on the statement.

Bob

I found a new blog.

I've been reading this blog and all the links today. You should check it out. I think most of you would like it.

Real Beauty

All women have at some point fallen victim to it. Not necessarily an eating disorder, but the comparison between ourselves and other women. It is an ongoing struggle. One that the media does not help to solve.

This video made me really emotional. It's a very real issue for a huge amount of people. And it's not enough just to say, "you're beautiful."

But it's a start.

Young & Stupid

I'm not sure I can even point out all the things wrong with this.
God bless this man, but he's got the wrong idea.

You don't really have to watch the whole thing, the beginning is good enough.
But the whole thing is interesting.

And the wheels keep turning in my head

So let's talk about being inappropriate.

I talk about poop and I talk about sex and I talk about stupid things I've done and stupid things I've said. I talk about things I like in movies, I talk about things I don't like in movies. I'll tell you exactly what I think of a movie or a book or a song or a tv show or (fill in the blank), because I'm honest about what I think. And the thing is, it's taken me a long time to get that way. It's taken me a long time to not be afraid to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing or wear the wrong thing. My heart is full of Christ and my mind is full of life. You can trust that. I may say something that just blows you away, but at the end of the day, you should know that my heart is in the right place. And honestly, I'm probably just saying something that you were thinking and were just too "appropriate" to say. I talk about life. And let's face it, life is not always appropriate. As a matter of fact, life is rarely appropriate.


Sex
Poop
Farts
Boogers
Toenails
Earlobes
Armpits
Areas
Waxing
Shaving
Stinkiness
Hypocrisy
Deceit
Bad hygiene
Body Odor
Boobies
Pee-pees


If you want to talk about any of these things, I'm your girl. Evidently I need to learn not to talk about some of those things in front of my in-laws or some people at work. But for those of you who are still interested in an inappropriate friend, let's keep in touch. Because I embrace my inappropriateness. And I encourage you to embrace yours.

Because, seriously, what is life without a little boobies, butt-cracks, sex, poops, farts conversation every once in a while?



P.S. If I just offended you, you need a vacation day. Take a day off and chill out.

Thoughts for the Day

For some reason, this picture is how I feel today. It is called "Summer Fling" and it is by Kiston Rose, a 13 year old. Found at http://www.kinderart.com/fridge/fridge5.shtml

I started the day out with tea. I've decided I'm going to become a tea drinker. I wish Brooke was around now because I really want some of her green tea with honey that everybody loves!!

And then I had a fish sandwich for lunch. YUM. If you have not been to Charlie's Fish Market for the special, you need to go. It's only $6 for the biggest fish sandwich you will ever have in your life and a ton of fries and really amazing hush-puppies. Yep, GO.

And finally I remembered what Jon Weece said at 608 last night. He was talking to a Muslim family about what turns them off the most about Christians. One man said:

Their arrogance
Their hypocrisy
Their lack of hospitality

I don't want to be those things. And I also want to be appropriate. If you know me, you know I can be very inappropriate. I'm trying to learn not to be. It will be an uphill struggle.

PostSecret 3-18-2007

These are my favorites this week. Go to PostSecret for more.

(On PostSecret, someone posted a comment to this one that says "Your parents are afraid to cry in front of you, too."

One of them actually made me cry this week. I don't think you would ever guess which one.

New 7 Wonders - My Votes

My votes:

Stonehenge
Pyramids of Giza
Petra
Machu Picchu
Great Wall of China
Easter Island Statues
Colosseum

What are your votes???

Also, check out this blog because it is just plain awesome and it is where I found out about the new 7 wonders!

7 Wonders of the World

The commonly known Seven Ancient Wonders of the World were all man-made monuments, selected by Philon of Byzantium in 200 B.C. Today, only the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt remain.

His selection of wonders was essentially a travel guide for fellow Athenians, and the stunning sites were all located around the Mediterranean basin, the then-known world.

The monuments he chose, to be remembered in perpetuity, were:

* The Lighthouse of Alexandria
* The Temple of Artemis
* The Statue of Zeus
* The Colossus of Rhodes
* The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
* The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
* The Pyramids of Egypt

All had been built between 2,500 B.C. and 200 B.C.
-Info from New7wonders.com

You can now vote for the New 7 Wonders of the World which are being chosen by vote and announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07.


These are the options:

Koranic Sankore in Timbuktu

Taj Mahal in Agra, India

Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia

Stonehenge in Amesbury, United Kingdom

Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA

Pyramids of Giza in Egypt

Petra in Jordan

Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany

Machu Picchu in Peru

Kremlin / St. Basil's Cathedral / Red Square in Moscow, Russia

Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, Japan

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey

Great Wall of China in China

Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

Easter Island Statues on Easter Island, Chile

Roman Colosseum in Rome, Italy

Christ Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Chichen Itza in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Angkor in Cambodia

Alhambra in Granada, Spain

Acropolis of Athens in Athens, Greece

GO TO NEW7WONDERS TO VOTE!!