2010: What A Year.

I started it off by seeing Doctor Parnassus and ending it with Lord of the Rings. I saw Honor Society and the Jonas Brothers with Rhiannon. I watched Fireworks on a roof in Detroit. I got a job at Cranbrook. I became friends with my co-workers; 2 of which have become my best friends (esp MATT BENYO). I met Hugh Jackman and his amazing family. I met Johnny Knoxville. I went to a wedding with Vince. I had lunch at the Jackman's and I worked as an extra in Real Steel with Matt Benyo and Nathan Bou. I saw Lady Gaga with Matt Benyo and had the biggest crush EVER on Taris Tyler (Hugh's stand in). I went to NYC with Matt and Nate and we visited the Jackmans, played football with Hugh, and had an amazing time. I got scared by Michael Meyers and went Trick or Treating. I went to a club. I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter 7 w/Brother Chan. I went out for black friday with MB and got my 2nd tattoo compliments of Blake Bradley. On Christmas, my family played lots of Yahtzee & visited Shelby at Leo's.

I'm leaving 2010 feeling incredible. Looking back, it was a great year and I'm feeling optimistic about the future. Tonight, I will be ringing in the New Year with my bffls and I can't wait. Out with the old and in with the new. Farewell 2010, you'll be missed, but c'mon 2011. Here's to new adventures, good times, and big risks. Cheers!

Recess.

I'm on hiatus. I'll be back New Year's Day with my 2010 reflection.

Christmas: On The Real.

Christmas Eve didn't feel like Christmas Eve. The holidays snuck up on us and before we had time to prepare, they were here, and they slapped us in the face. I remember when the 25 days it took to get to Christmas, felt like a year by themselves; not anymore. My mom always said that as you get older, the days just fly by, but I really felt the weight of her words this year. I spent the past 4 nights at Matt Benyo's and I reveled in his Christmas splendor as I tried to get a grasp on time. At 11:30 last night, Matt, BC, and I sat around, enjoying a late dinner (pizza rolls) and then spent Christmas Eve watching The Polar Express, eating candy canes, and watching informercials. It was wonderful, but didn't do much for my holiday spirit; not because they did anything wrong, but because my heart just wasn't in it. We got home around 9:30 this evening (a mere 3 hours ago) and we were greeted by our family. Inside the fridge was an unbaked pizza from Dearborn Italian Bakery. I had a revelation as we sat around eating our pizza. Christmas will never be what it was to us as kids. We search incessantly for some intangible feeling that we've lost and we don't know how we'll get it back. Our expectations of Christmas are still comparable to an 8 year olds. Our lives are not the Christmas movies we watch and we aren't kids. I realized that Christmas isn't so much a thing as it is a feeling. Christmas is the togetherness of this evening and the small gift I received that I hadn't planned on receiving at all. Christmas is the roof over my head and the warm food in my belly that I hadn't counted on eating. One of Nathan's favorite sayings is "You don't always get what you want, but you get what you need". This Christmas, I learned it's not about what you want, but what you got. I've got a family that, even at our worst, still somehow makes it through and pulls together. I'm lucky to know and have so many wonderful people in my life. I have some very close friends that I wouldn't trade the world for and one of those friends I was lucky enough to spend the past few days with. I consider myself lucky to have such an amazing, thoughtful, and selfless person in my life. As I sit here and listen to Christmas music, I feel content and my heart feels light. Yeah, it's cheesy, but tis the season. Merry Christmas to you all. Here is a timely Christmas photo with Brother Chan.A Christmas tradition of mine is sharing the article "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus". It inspires me and fills me with hope. If you have read it, enjoy it again. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and read it. (Click to enlarge):

UNO!!

DOS!

Tres!

Four Days!

It's Almost Christmas!

Good Advice.

I didn't make this, but I love it. This month, be extra kind. Tis the season. PREACH!

First Christmas Card!

Today I received my first Christmas card this year from my dear friend, Jordan Mason. He is such an amazing person and his little card contributed to my holiday cheer so much. I save all of my cards. I've been saving them since I was 5. The little things mean a lot to me. P.S. That painting on the wall is a giant cat painting I've been working on for my Uncle for over a year now. It'll get finished... one day.

Holiday Homes Tour: Part 2.

We went Christmas House Hunting again and came up with some real gems in the area. I even found a house with good blue lights (you'd be proud, Matt Benyo). I have to give a shout out to Bethany Surma because her house is the 4th house in the 2nd row. The Surmas always have a great display. I enjoy finding quaintly decorated homes, extravagantly decorated homes, and homes that look like real life Ginger Bread houses. We're gonna go for a part 3 and that'll be the big bang. I'm thrilled.

Holiday Homes Tour: Part 1.

Alex and I went on a hunt for Downriver's best decorated houses of 2010, but found ourselves coming up short. Last year, we banked. This year, it was slim pickings. We're gonna go back out within the week and search for some hidden gems. The problem is that most people don't decorate or the ones that do, don't know how to decorate. This isn't rocket science, people. Take, for example, the first house I've included in the photo. It's terribly designed. What would make the people that decorated that house believe that's well thought out? It looks like they haphazardly shot strings of lights out of a bazooka. When we decide what makes a good house, we take a lot of things into consideration. What color are the lights? Do the colors mesh well? Is there cohesion? What sort of decorations are adorned on their lawn? If the bright blue lights are in use, your house will be void BY DEFAULT. The blue lights I speak of can be witnessed in the last photo (bottom right) near the left hand side on the house NEXT to the one being photographed. Those lights are horrendous and burn your eyes. Another trending light color, for whatever reason, is YELLOW. Yellow? That's almost as bad as the blues except I can bare to look at it (I just don't want to). I said it last year, I'll admit it again, I'm a Christmas House snob, but you know what, if you're gonna take the time and effort to go out there and doll your house up, do it right. Tis the season; ACT LIKE IT.In addition to the number of homes we saw, every other home had a snowman serving as primary keeper of their front yards. Most of the snowmen were adorable; some terrifying, but overall, a welcomed sight. In Dearborn, we came across this snowman that reminded me of Matt Benyo because it has a quiff on its head. Go look at his blog to see some ridiculous photos of us with Brother Chan.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Tumbled Across.

I was on a 14 year old's Tumblr and felt like I was 14 again looking at her choice imagery. I sifted through 60 pages & managed to pull these little gems that I liked.1. ANIMAL is self explanatory (not because of KESHA).
2. Lady Gaga rules & this reminds me of the 50's (my favorite).
3. You know I'm a sucker for those inspirational sayings.
4. This picture of Ron and Hermione has a lot of emotion in it.
5. I just like these fireworks (don't read into this; you especially MB).
6. HAVE HOPE.
7. This is a great line from a PINK song.
8. This made me feel like I was 14.
9. Nice LG montage!

Remember when I was in Real Steel with Matt Benyo & Nathan Bou? Mark your calendars, ladies and gents, cause it comes out October 7th, 2011! The 1st official trailer has been released and you can watch it HERE! Honestly, when we were filming the movie, I thought it looked meh, but this trailer has me really excited to it.

Sweet Sandwich.

I've perfected yet another sandwich; which is ironic because I hate sandwiches, but these don't count because they don't have gross meat(s) on them. I've perfected the grilled cheese, but my newest creation is the Sweet Sandwich. Included in this deliciousness is: nutella, honey, bananas, and italian bread. Toast the bread first, spread honey on one slice, nutella on the other, and cover both sides with bananas. Put it in the microwave for 12 seconds and you have perfection. I'm working on the name; it doesn't fit, but lemme tell you, this sandwich isn't doing ANYTHING to deflate my already inflated ego regarding my sandwich making skills. I'm a sandwich artist.My computer isn't picking up the internet in my house and it's making my heart swell with pure rage. I sat there for 40 minutes trying to get it to work, but it will not. I contemplated flipping my table over or putting my fist through the screen.

I hate to boast, but I miss the coasts; both California and New York.
Does anyone agree?

Ridiculousness.

I wish I could take photos, make videos, watch ridiculous videos, & laugh all night; every night. Previous participants in shenanigans of this nature include: Sister Shelby & Brother Chan. I can officially add Matt Benyo to the list. Night owls FTW.

Vlog Deux!

Matt Benyo and I made a vlog together! He posted a different one on his blog. His is from 4:30 am. We're dead in it. Now everyone can put a voice to the guy I talk about. Whatever, we're best friends; best friends talk about each other. We recorded a bunch of videos, but this is a 'BEST OF' video. We also took over 400 photos on photobooth and I'll post the 'best of' those tomorrow. It's basically Matt Benyo week.

Party Zone.

I spent a few days with Matt Benyo & Nathan Bou. Matt and I pulled an all nighter last night and by 9 am we were out of our minds. At one point, we were laughing so hard, I thought my lungs were going to collapse from the lack of oxygen. I'm thinking about some of the videos we watched & I'm dying (Poker Face, Boom Box feet, and the noise Rose makes at the end of Titanic). Rewind to midnight the night before, we FINALLY skyped with Brother Chan. It was impossible to get him to make time for us. Look at this ADORABLE picture Matt took; straight cheesin. What I accomplished this weekend: adding way too many jokes to the inside joke express, making my laugh lines 100x worse, and making my next vlog. It'll be up TOMORROW.

Presidents of America!

This could be the best thing I've done in 4 months; maybe longer. You know I'm not one to toot my own horn, but this took me forever. I decided to put them all in alphabetical order as if they were in a class together. I don't know why I did that. ENLARGE TO ENJOY! Who's your favorite?! I WANNA KNOW; leave a comment!

Georgie Wash.

Swell president with wooden teeth. This guy is making a cameo tomorrow too. I did this larger drawing for today & smeared a bunch of paint to make it look artistic/fine artsy. In all actuality, I was going to paint him (as per the paint on the face and hair), but then I lost all of my patience (which makes me a bad doctor; GET IT?) & instead smeared the paint with my hands like a 4 year old. It looks like he's decapitated & has a bloody neck. I don't recall if that was intentional or not. It probably was.

IT'S DECEMBER!

You know what that means? I'm RADIATING CHRISTMAS JOY! How is Christmas in a mere 24 days? Let us take advantage of it! Here is a sneak peek of what I'm posting on FRIDAY and here's the official CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN!