Morning Cuties

Why is it that your bed always feels the most comfortable when your alarm clock goes off? Why does you pillow FINALLY mold to your face just as you're lifting it off? And WHY do your animals always save the cutest most adorable faces for when you're about to leave for work?

I mean, COME ON! I don't want to leave for work either, guys! I would much prefer to stay at home and play with you but mama has gotta bring home the bacon in order to feed you the finest dog/cat food because I'm a werido like that.

Does anyone else have the problem?!?!?!

Happy 3 Year Anniversary/6 year Anniversary

As someone who lives in New Orleans it's pretty hard to forget Katrina's Anniversary. Today marks the 6 year anniversary of that bitch rolling through town. But if it wasn't for that bitch I wouldn't have met my wonderful boyfriend. That is why, as we honestly couldn't remember when we actually started dating, we decided to make the Katrina Anniversary our Anniversary as well. Why not take something really negative and make it positive?

I originally came to New Orleans to visit a friend who came to my college due to Katrina 17 months after she hit. When I came to visit I immediately fell in love with the city. I then decided that I would come down to the city for a semester and work on my own documentary/photography project. When I was down here for the semester I lucked out and started interning on film sets.

While interning on my first film set I met John. I'm not going to lie and say that it was love at first sight but I definitely remember seeing him for the first time and being ALL about him. He was quiet, friendly, and was an amazing worker. He also wasn't a hardcore flirt like most men on film sets.

John's surprise Birthday 2010

John and I were on again/off again sorta, kinda, maybe for awhile merely because I was still in college. I went to school in Virginia and only came down to visit once and awhile so it was pretty impossible to make it anything more than what it was. When I officially moved down to NOLA in May 2008 it was pretty hard for me to not just fall head over heels for this hairy beast.

Now let's be honest, ladies. We sometimes assume that we are on the same page with a boy about our relationship and then learn the hard way that we were WAY off. I've had it happen and didn't want a repeat. This is why our anniversary was picked about a year after we started dating. He thought we started dating late June 2008 and I thought we started dating November 2008. Not terribly romantic and I'm not sure if it's classy to admit in a public forum but whatever, it's a modern romance.

Seattle/gag-worthy photo op

We moved in together about a year into dating. Some may not be into the idea of living with your partner before marrying but I am a huge supporter. You will find out VERY quickly whether or not you'll work together. I figure it's alot better to discover this before you sign a wedding license but that's just my humble opinion.

Mardi Gras 2010?

Every year I feel like our relationship is getting better and better. I never in my WILDEST dreams thought I'd met such an amazing man when I was only 21 (I'm 25 now). The idea of being so young and in a committed relationship constantly freaks me out. I always assumed that when I reached 30 that's when I'd start looking for something more serious.....but you can't help when things happen differently than you'd expect and you sure as shit can't plan when you'll fall in love.

Prom photo! Hey-O!

I honestly can't see my life without John at this point. He is such an amazing human being. He has helped me through the hardest year of my life due to my mother's sudden death and didn't even bat a eye. I feel bad that he has had to deal with my sudden ups and downs but I often have to remind myself that this is what an adult relationship is. It's not always sweep you off your feet like a Meg Ryan movie. This is life and it's so much better.

In Austin for our 2 year anniversary

So John, on our 3rd Anniversary, I'd like to list some of the things that made me fall for you and sometimes even drive me crazy:

-You're an Aquarius

-You come from a big, loving family. 3 sisters and a brother. I always pictured ending up with someone who had many siblings and I lucked out.

-That you love your bicycle and I constantly catch you checking out not the females on the bikes but the bikes themselves.

-That you are ridiculously hairy. This repulses you but I absolutely love it for some reason.

-That you tolerate my random freak outs. Example: Getting to the airport freakishly early.

-That you love all our animals even though they can be super annoying at times

-You love to travel as much as me and are okay with me making list of places we should go when we take vacations (bars, museums, restaurants, etc)

-That you find me sexy even when I KNOW I have gained weight.

-That I know you will be an amazing father one day and that I would have never thought about having kids before.

-You are quiet but still friendly

-All my friends love you.

-You are amazing at your job and are what I inspire to be like when I become a Assistant Director.

-You see the best in me even when I don't see it in myself.

I love you, my Sexy Beast. I am so happy that you are part of my life. 

Pennsylvania Trip Home: Part 2

I'm pretty sure I annoyed all my friends with taking a bunch of videos but I wanted to make sure I had something to watch whenever I started to miss my home town and the girls (I mean, wait, we're WOMEN now, right?) I grew up with.
I am still it utter shock and amazement that 5 of the 6 of the core Central Pennsylvania girls managed to come back home at the same time. It seriously meant the world to me. I have some amazingly supportive friends and to be completely honest, I don't know how I would have handled the year anniversary of my mother's death had they all not come home.
                                                                   I love my besties!!!!

Pennsylvania Trip Home: Part 1

Last week I went home to Pennsylvania and I can't stop thinking about how much fun I had and how I wish I were still home. I have to keep reminding myself that I have to remember that not everyone who was in town when I was there is STILL currently in my fair home state. I feel so completely fortunate that I have such amazing friends and family who went completely out of their way to make sure they were in Central PA the same time as me.
Instead of doing one giant post on my trip home I figure I can break it down in major pictorial blocks.
                                                        First in line.....meeting Autumn!!!!

I can't believe it's taken me almost a year and a half to meet this precious little gem of a little girl! My cousin (who lives in Arizona) was visiting her parents in Buffalo, New York and drove all the way down with her little baby and 2 brothers.

Needless to say, knowing that I'd be meeting Autumn meant that I had to go shopping for her. I mean, it's a MUST! I firmly believe that if you have family or close friends who have children and you don't that it is your job to spoil them silly until you have one of your own.

Autumn took a liking to my signature red Toms shoes. What is it with little girls and loving to walk around in adult shoes? I LOVE IT! It's so freakin' cute. But then again, I feel like EVERYTHING Autumn did was cute.

Playing with Autumn totally made my uterus flutter. While I still have no plans on having children anytime soon (I still need a good 5 more years of being totally selfish) being with her definitely made me look forward to having children one day. I still can't believe that a year ago I would have never said this statement.....but life happens and things change and now I realize that one day I want what most people want as well. I'm pretty okay with this.

So happy I got to meet Ms Autumn! I can't wait to see her again!

Thanks for the Upgrade, Stupid!

I've been in Pennsylvania from Wednesday till today (more post on my wonderful trip later). I was NOT eager to fly home today. I wish my stay could have been longer but alas I must return to work. Normally when I fly I never have problems. I am the queen bee of never having a delayed/canceled plane.....this streak ended today. Everything seemed to be going fine and we were about to take off then a veeeeery loud noise and a shaking of the plane occurred. Turns out some dumb ass employee ripped off a huge chunk of the plane.
Que: Outrage and madness from everyone in the plane while we waited to de-board for 40 minutes THEN had to all figure out how to switch our flights.
Honestly, I was secretly praying I wouldn't be able to get a flight home today and would be "forced" to stay another day in Pennsylvania. Sorry work, I'm "stranded" due to a disgruntled employee who I like to pretend was drinking on the job.
Alas, this was not the case. I ended up getting booked on a flight to Detroit which then took me back to New Orleans. One perk of the airline effin' up (and me not screaming at the airline about it) is they gave me a upgrade to business class!

Did you know that you get free booze in business class? At least I think you do because I MILKED that shit.

I really enjoyed 1) the extra leg space 2) the pillow and blanket that was already set on my seat 3) feeling like a VIP even though my bank statement would tell you something very different.

Only classy broads watch "Kell on Earth" in the VIP section (but for realz, I do love *Kelly Cutrone*)

Has anyone else ever had a surprise upgrade?

*Note: Kelly Cutrone and I are birthday twins! Scorpio love!*

Life Changes in an Instant. The Ordinary Instant.

Yesterday marks a year since my Mother's passing. This year, needless to say, has been a year of much growth. While I have written a few very personal blog post on the subject matter (here, here, and here) I think I'll just make this post a simple one with a quote that has helped me get through this year:

"We are imperfect mortal beings, aware of that mortality even as we push it away, failed by our very complication, so wired that when we mourn our losses we also mourn, for better or for worse, ourselves. As we were. As we are no longer. As we will one day not be at all." 

 -Joan Didion (The Year of Magical Thinking)

Where my Mother is now......

9/18/11

9/18/10

"My mother wanted me to be her wings, to fly as she never quite had the courage to do. I love her for that. I love the fact that she wanted to give birth to her own wings." -Erica Jong

I love and miss my Mother everyday. Even with her passing, I feel the gifts of growing and learning from her.....

Imagination Movers Birthday Surprise!

This weekend John and I had to choose between two of his niece's birthday parties. It was seriously like the "Sophie's Choice" of children's parties in my mind because I love both of them equally. His niece in Shreveport just turned 2 and his niece in Baton Rouge just turned 6. We ended up staying close to home and going to Baton Rouge due to the fact that I was filming nights and didn't get off work until 6am on Saturday morning thus making a 6 hour drive to Shreveport fairly tricking for a 1pm birthday party.

Last year, I like to think I gave Katie (the niece who just turned 6) a pretty sweet birthday present.....a grand tour of the "Imagination Movers" set. I lucked out with the fact that she not only watched the show but was a fan. Last year at this time I was working on the show and arranged a little special event for her and her sister.

First they were greeted by the Warehouse Mouse.

Needless to say it was fairly hard to get a focused photo of them as they were squealing with excitement. Caroline, the younger one, could NOT stop laughing. I don't know what inside joke Warehouse Mouse and her were sharing but it HAD to be hilarious.

Then they had their "hair" and "makeup" done. VIP treatment for these girls only!

Then they went to the Think Tank and got to meet the Movers. 

This was my favorite part. The Movers played not one but FOUR songs for the girls. We had lots of young children who came to visit the show through out the season and I never saw them put such a hold on production for a guest. I still can't believe how amazing the cast and crew were with helping me put this together for the girls. Everything worked out perfectly.

I hope the girls remember visiting the set when they're older but honestly, watching these little girls squeal and have an amazing time will probably stick with John, myself, and their parents longer.

What are some of your favorite childhood birthday memories?

My Vegan Mouth

I've been eating vegan again for almost a month now and it's been amazing. 

Remember when Kate Moss said: "Nothing taste as good as skinny feels"? Well, I don't agree with THAT statement but I will edit it and say, "Nothing taste as good as vegan feels". That's not to say I'm not eating a TON of decilous food though! I just have felt an amazing difference in my energy level and have just felt happier in general. 

                                                              Tex-Mex Tofu from Eco Cafe

                                                               Dal Makhani from Nirvana           

                                                                 Cowboy Tofu Scramble

                                                 Lentil Fritters, Sesame and Lemon Broccoli, sprouts

                                                                     Mushroom and Pesto Pasta

                                      Black and White Cookie from the fundraiser for Dogs of the 9th Ward

                             Leftover Madness (aka whatever I found in my fridge plus a crap ton of curry powder)

                                            Hope this made your mouth water! Have a great weekend!

The Face of Hate

My cat Malick is kinda a bitch. I love her and would never trade her for anything but she's still a giant bitch. She likes to be in the room near me at all times but not next to me like the other two cats demand. When she does decide it's time for love she is rather aggressive. She jumps up and places one hand on my upper arm and another firmly on my nipple. She's a fat cat so when she applies pressure it feels like she is punching my tit. If I do not start petting her right away she will yell at me. When I stop petting her and try to go back to what I was originally doing she will sit very still and stare at me with the "Face of Hate". Within a minute, she will slap me in the face. HARD! Seriously, it makes a loud noise that sounds like a punch given by a angry 8 year old. She then promptly yells once more, jumps up, jumps on both my boobs, and runs away. I love Malick....but she's such a bitch.

This first week of filming has been CRAZY! I haven't had much time to think, let alone sit down and write a blog post.  So, instead of writing something I thought I'd just post some pretty pictures of what my week consisted of:

Cat paws: My favorite

Vegan Shopping Cart

Sometimes when the paparazzi gets really bad we make booty makeshift barriers

Nothing says "sexy" like dripping in sweat while at work

Feels like 108 doesn't give it justice.

Working on a period piece film (1969) has it perks. My Mom would have LOVED this car.

Ending my work week with waiting for actors in the rain.

How was everyone else's work week?

Work Attire Versus Playground Attire

I often wonder what it would be like to have a normal 9-5 job. To actually plan out what I will have time to do with my evenings. To have a job that doesn't basically consumes my life during the week where I might as well be across the country in my friends mind because I am un-contactable and have no time to do anything. I also wonder how much my wardrobe would change.
                                        Here is an example of what I normally wear everyday to work:

1) Sloppy Hair with a headband - My go-to hair mostly because I know within 15 minutes of being at work and running around that my hair will be a sweaty mess. Why bother with trying to make it cute when I can just throw it back. I'll take the extra 15-30 minutes of sleep instead of attempting to make it look nice.
2) Backpack - Purse? HA! If I walked into my trailer with a purse I would be laughed at. Also, a purse can not carry the things I bring to work everyday. These things include, but are not limited to: a rain coat, rain pants, computer, computer charger, I-Phone charger, 2 pairs of socks, extras shoes, extra t-shirt....
3) Snacks - Much like a child I bring snacks to work with me. I rarely get time to break away to grab breakfast or lunch so a much needed natural sugar boost is done via the fruit I bring from home. Lately it's been peaches and nectarines.
4) T-Shirt and Shorts - Pretty sure if I worked in a office this would not be excepted but if I wore anything else to set it would just look weird. Coming to set with a dress or a skirt would be impossible to work in. I need LOTS of pockets and lose fitting t-shirts due to mass amounts of sweat.

I'm pretty sure all my neighbors think that I'm still in college and studying something like law or medicine because of my long hours away from my apartment. Also.....I look like a little kid going to school.
What do normal people really where? More importantly, what do normal people where on hot days with the heat index at 117 (like it is today)?