Things I Look Forward To (Part 2)

In 2003, I was a senior at Louisiana Tech University. At the beginning of that school year, the Visual Arts Center decided to offer a new program for it's students called the French Quarter. With the discontinuation of Tech's "Tech Rome" program, this would be the replacement. When I found out that it was to be offered I begged and begged and begged (literally, for weeks) my parents to let me go. They were always hesitant about me traveling (anywhere) after 9/11. I said 'Mom, I cannot live my life in a 'What if?' mode, and please please please let me go.' So, after MUCH thought and prayer, they finally caved and let me go. Woot!

So, I was to spend 3.5 weeks in Paris. I was pumped. The only other people that I knew were two girls from the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry). So, we get to Paris and lo and behold, what did I do? I ventured out of that shy comfort zone of mine and made some new friends. Specifically, these three:

At the Louvre

Dara, Hillary and Aarin were all photography majors and that would be the reason why I had never met them... until now!!! We had the best time venturing all across the city together seeing sights, trying new food and most of all, enjoying wine (they are the ones who introduced me to it, after all). I will let you readers get to know these girls better via pictures so that you can see for yourselves why I love them so much:

On a 'Photo Safari' at Notre Dame and the Seine River.

At the Arc du Triomphe

In the Hotel Elevator

At Versailles

With Colin's Hats

At Versailles (again)

In Les Halles (outside of a public restroom)

Wine Night in the Lobby

Wine Night in the Lobby (Part 57)

At the Paris Zoo

At Aarin and Ray's wedding

At Dara's Bachelorette Party (with tiaras)

Dara's Bachelorette Party (Again)

The girls are the main reason why I finally came out of my shell. I opened up to meeting new people and making new friends. I truly believe that they helped shape me into the person that I am today. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have made some of the best decisions of my life. Thanks girls!

Anyway, on Friday afternoon (after I cut out of here early) I am going to Ruston to Aarin's new home for a weekend visit. Hillary is travelling in from Arkansas and Dara is coming from College Station. I cannot wait. No one is pregnant, so we can all enjoy our old mutual friend wine and take silly pictures together. We are all going to bring along our sketchbooks and photo albums to go through and reminisce. It sounds like it should be super girly, yet extremely nostalgic weekend. I cannot wait to get away and semi-travel back in time and pick up right where we left off!

Seven Albums That Changed My Life (This Might Get Long)

Since yesterday at approximately 11AM, Pandora has decided that I have reached my 40 hour a month free listening capacity, which is SO LAME!!! I could listen to that in one week at work. How do they expect me to get by without them for three working weeks a month? I had to come up with some sort of strategy. I am not an Ituneser because I don't really know how to work my IPOD that well and also, I think that I would spend a ton of money on really bad music that I would regret later. So if I want to listen to something really specific, I either go to http://www.songza.com/ or I save up my dollars and go purchase the album. And that leads me to the more important part of this post.

Since Pandora is now an ass, I now choose a CD from my car, burn it to my work computer and listen to it on repeat all day. I have no other choice, I suppose. I'm cheap like that. Therefore, I've decided to discuss the albums that have meant the most to me throughout my life. These albums have helped me through either a breakup, college, a trip to France, or a road trip to Little Rock by myself. These albums are not necessarily from my favorite artists or bands, but they have a special place in my heart (and CD case) for one reason or another. So here we go in no particular order... actually, I think I'll do chronological order, just for my own organizational sake...

#1: Alanis Morrisette and "Jagged Little Pill"

I'm not sure of any person within 3 +/- years of my age that hasn't listened to this album. So, really it speaks for itself. Also, there is a 'hidden track' at the very end that I got super excited about the first time I heard it. I would borrow this album from Jennifer Herron VERY frequently in the 8th grade. I would keep it longer than she liked by saying 'Oh, I forgot it at home, I'll bring it to you tomorrow.' I'm sorry Jennifer, but I was lying. I eventually gave it back, though. This album made me realize that there is more to music than country. For that, I will be forever indebted to you, Alanis.

#2: Dido and "No Angel"

I guess we will skip directly past high school because I don't remember a single album that I owned and listened religiously to, so teleport yourselves mentally to my college days. In my very first drawing class that I took, we would listen to music while we drew (not nudes, this time). This album was one of my teacher's favorites. I never listened to music like Dido's (with the exception of Enya on the radio, which was horrible) and found that I really liked it. I liked this album so much that I raved about it to a boy who I really, really liked at the time. He went off and surprised me by giving it to me for my birthday (what a sweetheart) and I got to listen to it while driving home in the rain for the weekend. So there is the secret reason why there is a special place for Dido in my heart....

#3: Nelly Furtado and "Folklore"

These next two albums are a tie. When I lived in Paris for that glorious month in 2004, I had two roommates that were super interesting. They had brilliant senses of humor and I NEVER would have placed myself rooming with them, but obviously the room assignment person did. I remember being a little upset about it at first, but after I got adjusted to the situation (and was introduced to wine and started loosening up) it turned out that I got to know them and really liked them a lot. Rebecca, the really artsy one, would wake Catherine and I up every morning with one of three albums. "Folklore", "I Am Sam", or "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones. Now, I am not one to want to wake up, but when Nelly's "One Trick Pony" would start up, I would jump out of bed and look forward to the day like I hadn't even been asleep.

I didn't really care for Nelly before (the 'I'm Like a Bird' song), however, this album was less pop and more of a rock sound with an acoustic approach. This album wasn't considered commercially successful, but I like it better than her other two. It seems to me as though she put a lot more of herself into it, instead of being a music industry puppet.

#4: "I Am Sam" Soundtrack

This is the other of Rebecca's morning wake up albums that I love. I'll be perfectly honest with you here. I did not grow up listening to the Beatles. My parents didn't listen to them (at least while I was around) and I only knew that they were a huge successful 60's band. So, when I listened to 'I Am Sam' and I heard all of the artists (The Wallflowers, Sarah Machlachlan, Ben Harper, Ben Folds, The Black Crowes, Eddie Vedder, Rufus Wainwright, etc.) singing these songs, I had no idea that they were ALL Beatles songs. I just thought that these artists were doing a great covers album. Well, after examining the CD case, I realized what was really going on here. Anyway, I love the album. It is comforting. Like going home. Or eating a doughnut. (This album has gone missing from my collection, so if you have it, could you please give it back. Thanks.)

#5: Better Than Ezra and "Closer"

I don't know when this album was originally released, but in 2006, I attended my very first Better Than Ezra concert. Sure, I knew a couple of their songs ("Desperately Wanting", "Good", etc.) but wasn't sure what to expect from a full-blown show. My friend Jamie (who is an intense BTE fan) said, "Don't worry about it, it will be fun and you will know some of the songs." So, I went. I LOVED THEM. Absolutely LOVED them. I might have known like 5 songs total, but after the concert I went out and purchased this album via Ebay because I couldn't find it in stores anywhere. After it arrived in my mailbox, I drove around and listened to the album. My absolute favorite song is "Get You In." I like the first line in the song the best: "I sit and watch your flowers wilting in the kitchen. I felt like I was one of them gasping for air." How many times have we felt like that because of other people? Love this album!!!

#5: Ryan Adams and "Demolition"

During that same year when I found BTE, I also found Ryan Adams. (Side rant: If you don't know who Ryan Adams is (NOT BRYAN ADAMS), I urge you to purchase one of his albums. It doesn't matter which one, they are all amazing. This is your chance to learn what good music is and should be.) When my dear friend Eric Covington introduced me to Ryan, my music taste (and life) changed drastically. Thank you Eric, I will always be indebted to you as far as my hearing goes.

So, anyway, the summer of 2006 was really great, and yet at the same time really hard for me for many undisclosed reasons. I decided to take some vacation days and drove to Arkansas solo to visit some friends. While there, my favorite college friend Libby and I visited the local Best Buy. When I got there, I decided to go and see which Ryan Adams albums they had. They had 'Demolition' and 'Gold.' If I had the money, I would have bought both but decided on a coin flip to purchase 'Demolition.' On the drive back, I decided to listen. Wow. Amazing. I'm not sure what all Ryan has gone through in his life to make his music so powerful, but I applaud him and at the same time sympathize with him (even though he decided to marry that tramp, Mandy Moore) because he must have gone through some bad, bad times. My favorite track on this album is "Dear Chicago." If you are an Ituneser, spend 99 cents wisely and purchase it. I guarantee that you will relate.

#7 and Finally: Ray Lamontagne "Till The Sun Turns Black"

I would again, like to thank Eric Covington (who has amazing music taste) for gifting me with Ray Lamontagne's first full-length release "Trouble." I loved that album so much that I was given his sophomore release, "Till The Sun Turns Black" as a birthday gift the following year. This is actually the album of the day that I happened to grab from my car. So, it's currently playing on repeat. Ray's music is probably the most soothing music that I have ever listened to (with the exception of Damien Rice). He has a soft-spoken voice that can lull me into any sort of calm state. I love to play this album when getting ready in the mornings. Ray's music makes me want to behave. And to also be a better person. I can't say that about many things these days.

There you have it readers, I apologize for the length, but hope that the 5 minutes that you took to read my faves, has inspired you to share yours as well!

Guess What Question My Team Got? (Plus Bonus Recipe)

John and I had a blast at game night on Saturday. The A Team dominated (as predicted) over the B Team (although the B Team was twice as large), and took the game of Trivial Pursuit with a blaze of glory. You guys will NEVER guess which question came up during the game... I will give you a hint, it involved this little beauty:

That's right. My team got a question about the Guggenheim Bilbao and everyone was shocked that I knew the answer. Oh well, they should have read the blog, then they would have been prepared. Also, I provided the snacks for the event. I made a lemon pie, the Turkey Pinwheel things and this:
I apologize for the crappy photo quality, but I forgot to take a photo of mine and Campbell's likes to have super tiny photos with their recipes. So let me just tell you how good this Double Cheese Crab Dip turned out to be. Sass ate more than half of it. So it really was good. Here is how to make it:

You'll Need:
1 Cup Pace Salsa (Campbell's has to push Pace since I think they're the same company)
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened, i.e. heat in microwave for 15 seconds)
1 Can (8 oz) refrigerated crab meat (although I used the crab sticks from the Upscale Brookshire's and it was just as good and fresh)
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sliced pitted ripe olives (although I left this out because, let's face it, some people are picky and won't eat them)
Pita triangles/tortilla chips/fresh vegetables for dipping

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine and stir salsa and chili pepper in a small bowl. Spread cream cheese on bottom of 9 inch pie pan. Top with salsa mixture, crab meat (if you get the sticks, you should shred them with a fork and knife first), cheddar cheese and olives. Bake for 15 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Top with additional salsa (whatever's left in the jar after your take out your cup full). Serve with pita triangles, tortilla chips or fresh vegetables for dipping. I used tortilla chips.

After we played Trivial Pursuit, we whipped out Loaded Questions and all had some good laughs. The best question of the night would definitely have to be: "What are three words that you would use to describe the word black?" I feel like after that question that the group really loosened up. I also learned some new vocabulary words. Happy Monday!

New Poll of the Week!

Well, well, well. There are apparently more art lovers that read my blog than I thought. I am so proud that there was an overwhelming vote to visit the Louvre first after you arrive on your trips to Paris! And why wouldn't you, when you can see 'The Big Three' that the Louvre is famous for housing. These include:

Ah, the beautiful Mona Lisa. Which, by the way, is not as large as you would think. She is actually around the size of an 11x14 inch painting. Which is TINY considering the rest of Leonardo DaVinci's work is GIGANTIC!!! Sigh.

The enchanting 'Venus de Milo' (some know her as the 'Aphrodite of Milos') who was made around 120 BC and was found by some peasant rooting around in Greece in 1820. Turns out that, the French had to return their former most beautiful statue in the world (Medici Venus) to Italy after Napolean went and stole it from them. What an ass! Anyway, when the Venus de Milo was found, Parisian art critics promoted it to be the most beautiful statue in the world, thus gaining her (and France) worldwide fame. It's up to her viewers to make that call. However, she is absolutely breathtaking (I mean, if you like art and stuff).

The last of the "Big Three" is what I call the 'Wings of Victory' but her actual name is 'Winged Victory of Samothrace' also called the 'Nike of Samothrace'. To me, Wings of Victory is just easier to say and remember. According to research, she was made to celebrate a naval victory in the city of Rhodes. She is famous due to her naturalistic pose as well as the rendering of her drapery to depict a strong sea breeze. According to Wikipedia, the wings were included to illustrate her descent from the skies to the prow of a triumphant fleet. She was made around 250BC and is considered to be one of the great surviving sculptural masterpieces from the Hellenistic Period. This sculpture probably has the best spot in the Louvre. She sits between two major corridors. One leads to the crown jewels and the other leads to the Mona Lisa. Can't get much better than that!

You are welcome for the art history lesson.

Not that you were wondering, but the first place that I went when I arrived in Paris 5 years ago (seriously, has it been that long?) was the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral (which if you weren't aware means Our Lady of Paris in French.) Literally, we got off the plane, dropped off our luggage at the hotel and walked over immediately to Notre Dame (we had to stay awake to properly adjust to the jet lag). Notre Dame is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever had the pleasure to set foot in (it is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture.) It's treasury, which costs 5 euro to see, was definitely Top 5 of the things I saw while there. I will leave you with two of my personal photos from Notre Dame de Paris.

PS. Take the new poll on Britney! She is coming to Shreveport on September 19th!!!! My hopes are to be front row.

Things That I'm Proud Of (Even If It Ends Up Sucking)

Once upon a time (over a year ago) I worked on a little movie that I like to call 'My Baby.' I refer to it the way I do because this was the first project where I was in charge of EVERY background actor. Big responsibility. Well I just learned that 'My Baby' will be released in September 2009 and there is now a trailer available. Please watch and take note of how wonderful the extras look. (And before you ask, YES, I met Jesse Metcalfe, Michael Douglas and Amber Tamblyn. Yes, they were all nice. And no I don't have photos with them. I try to seem cool and uninterested on set, when really I'm about to have heart failure.)





This is a photo of myself on set the first day of filming. I was very excited!

Warning: Semi-Serious Post

If you told me a year ago that I would still be dating this man, I would have laughed in your face:



John Belushi and I have been in an on-again, off-again relationship for 10+ years. Hard to believe, but yes, we finally got together and surprisingly we haven't killed each other. All jokes aside, he's precious and I wouldn't trade this past year for the world. I love you, honey!