In the Year 2000.....and 11.

If the past few days are any indication of what 2011 has in store for me, I am pretty stoked. As I reflect on 2010, I am reminded that I learned some very important life lessons, particularly revolving around "letting go". Letting go of unhealthy friendships, letting go of unrequited love, letting go of grudges and anger, and letting go of over planning my life.

I am incredibly thankful to the past year for allowing me to experience some of the toughest challenges and treasured moments of my life.

So as I enter 2011 and experience the last year of my 20s, these are the goals I have set for myself:

1.) Have my credit card and car debt paid off by my 30th birthday.
2.) Volunteer for a good cause.
3.) Travel to 3 new places outside of Austin.
4.) Participate in a "fun" or "educational" class.
5.) Create a "collection" of self-expression: a book, CD, video, etc.

I am sooo looking forward to this year! What about you??

Things I Have Learned This Month..

1.) I want to be a "page turner". I want to learn how to share appropriately and in measured doses so that I am not giving away all the characters, plot and settings too soon. This, in turn, will make me more excited to live my life more spontaneously, less concerned about having it all figured out.

2.) I do not need to "sell" myself. It sounded so harsh when my counselor first helped me realize this character trait about myself. But the truest things are often the hardest to hear. And she hit the nail on the head with that one. Why do I try so hard to show people how cool I am instead of just BEING completely relaxed in expressing myself in the moment and not being so concerned with what they think of me? It's a form of aggressive expression in a way. "Here....I want you to know ALL about me RIGHT NOW...so you can see all of these wonderful qualities about me and why you should date/befriend/buy me a drink!"

3.) I CAN flirt! Whew...what a relief. I thought I was a goner on that one...

4.) My professional career is calling me to great responsibility and action. There are amazing leadership opportunities in the horizon and I need to strongly consider and define my role as a leader in the youth development field. Again, I need to evaluate my own personal agenda/goal/judgments of myself versus the greater good of the afterschool community and my peers. This is a pivotal, exciting, courageous and truth-seeking time in my career.

5.) I have found the meaning of "calm". It has taken shape in many wonderful forms this month---listening to records on my friend's couch, writing out positive life affirmations, ignoring phone calls and messages, regular massages....I cannot tell you how long it has been since I was comfortable and capable of enjoying moments of solitude, silence, or meditation. I am creating a balance in my life between all of the super exciting fun things I like to do and the recharging, relaxing, introspective moments I need to re-energize. It's a breakthrough really.....me staying at home more, letting go of trying to juggle a ridiculous amount of friendships, sitting with myself and really focusing on making myself peaceful and healthy.

Just around the corner from my 29th birthday....I feel like I am in an incredibly exciting place in my life. The best I have been ever. I look forward to continued growth, development, and FUN as I near 30. Wow, I just never imagined that I could be where I am right now. :)

Music Gems

I have chosen to spotlight some songs I think you should all add to your current playlists.


Brazos: "Tell"--An Austin based band who has quickly infiltrated my favorites list.





Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros: "Home"--Heard this song last night at the clurb. Amazeballs.




Dead Man's Bones: "Lose Your Soul"--Um, Ryan Gosling has a band and it's actually really stellar.....as if I need any more reasons to drool over him like a 13 year old teenager.





La Roux: "Quicksand"--I heard she talks trash about Lady Gaga. I smell an awesome theatrical electro-pop fight. Also, I highly encourage you create a "La Roux" Pandora radio station.





Matt and Kim: "Daylight"--They are REALLY nice people in person to boot. I want them to be my friends soooo bad.




YACHT: "Psychic City"--OMG, Travis and I started a band (to be debuted in November) all because of watching this group perform at SXSW.





Jeremy Jay: "Just Dial My Number"





Mumford and Sons: "The Cave"





Sleigh Bells: "Ring Ring"

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag!

Hey guess what fools? I'm back at blogging with some fresh thoughts and a fresh new look.

I have not posted in months and while I could make up many excuses why, it really does not matter. What DOES matter is that I have decided to return to my faithful readers (all 7 of you I believe) and hopefully recruit a few more so that I may once again have a fun and healthy release of my regular thoughts.

Don't you wish your girlfriend had a blog like me? Dontcha.

So what to begin with.....

How about the last 5 things I did that made me smile. Awwwww, now isn't that a great place to start? I think so.

(In no particular order)

1. I won my regional qualifying round in Austin Air Guitar....which earned me $100, an awestruck crowd, and a spot in regionals TONIGHT at the Parish! Here's a video. Watch it.


2. My friend Drew and I signed up for swing classes. We had our first lesson on Tuesday. And minus a few older dudes with some bad beer breath, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

3. A good ol' friend of mine reappeared in my life after almost a year of being absent. A phone call from him almost brought me tears of joy. I am excited to see him for sushi next week!

4. I learned how to ask for what I want and (fingers crossed) possibly get it. Sweet, huh? I have discovered the key to happiness. Well, besides the other key, which gets me into my house everyday.

5. I formed a karaoke team which begins competing in the Austin Karaoke League next month! Our team is called SHY and includes a bunch of good friends and new ones who all shine in their own special ways. I can't wait to tear a new one into the competition this summer!

And so there are some rays of sunshine in my life keeping it bright. But right now, the brightness of my lamp is causing me a slight headache, so I will be signing off.

So glad to be back here. :)

Did you know?

Did you know:

.....that the longest recorded projectile vomit is 27 feet?
.....the slowest fish is the Sea Horse, which moves along at about 0.016 km/h (0.01 mph)?
.....the harmonica is the world's best-selling music instrument?
.....Leonardo da Vinci never built the inventions he designed?
.....Charlie Sheen's real names is Carlos Estevez?
.....India is the world's largest democracy with more than 600 million voters?
.....Peter the Great taxed people for growing beards? (Strangely, I'm on board with Peter.)
.....there is a bird called Antpitta avis canis Ridgely that barks?
.....the fear of clowns is called coulrophobia?

go here: www.didyouknow.org

incredibly educational and informative.

I LOVE Lists

For some reason, I have always been a fan of lists. Perhaps because I am visual person and enjoy seeing things laid out. Perhaps because it helps me bring some much needed organization into my life. It is actually the one and only way I am good at organizing. God knows one look in my bedroom, car, or office and you'll understand. Regardless, I have decided that lists are awesome because they are quick, easy to read, and are a row by row account of interesting and important details.

So here's a list I made right now to share with you:

TOP 10 SKILLS I WISH I HAD (in no particular order):

1. I wish I knew how to sew. Like I could go shop for those dorky patterns and make myself my own little costume or dress. Or hem pants, because they are never the right length for a short girl like me.

2. I wish I knew how to use a bow and arrow. I can think of so many times when it would be hilarious to bust it out.

3. I wish I could speak another language fluently. I've always wanted to be able to have secret conversations with other people who knew another language so we could say whatever we wanted and nobody else would have a clue.

4. I wish I could do a backflip. Anytime, anywhere, onto or off of anything.

5. I wish I REALLY knew how to do laundry....without having to look at the instructions inside the washer lid everytime.

6. I have always wanted to be able to play the guitar. Now an air guitar, I got on lockdown. A real guitar though.....that's a whole other ball game.

7. I wish I could lie well. I know that this is not necessarily the most virtuous skill, but it would really come in handy sometimes.

8. I wish I knew how to create and keep and budget, knew anything about investments, knew anything about finances.

9. I honestly would like to be able to say that I have mad breakdancing skills.

10. I'm not sure exactly what you call this skill---but it consists of being able to use a bit more censorship in what I say and to whom. Sometimes I have word vomit and it causes a mean hangover.

Top 5 Things I Wish I Was Doing Right Now.....

1. sky-diving
2. decorating my new house
3. hanging out with my Lubbock friends
4. cuddling with someone
5. rolling around in $100 bills

What the Psychic Said...

1.) I am highly intuitive and should really stop ignoring my gut.
2.) There has been alot of "disappointment" in my life.
3.) I march to the beat of my own drum.
4.) I will meet a potential soulmate in 3-6 months or sooner and it might scare me but I need to be open to it and trust my instincts.
5.) I struggle with intimacy. Without fully knowing it, I can do things to sabotage a relationship with someone.

This is alot of stuff to process. And I am taking a chance by revealing all of this to you, readers. But I have recently discovered excitement in vulnerability.....because displaying vulnerability is an act of courage and taking risks, something that I have shied away from in my personal life for fear of rejection. Those of you who know me, know that I have no qualms about displaying myself in public as an entertainer or at work as a teacher. But when it comes to relationships, I don't put myself out there. I'm a big fan of "secret" love. But that's not going to get me anywhere. So lately I have been just putting myself out there, and yes it has been challenging and yes, there has been some rejection....but a huge victory for me to start moving past my wall.

The psychic (Charlotte) is an awesome lady. Contact me if you want to make an appointment to see her. She even records it all and gives you a free tape afterward so you can listen to it all over again in the privacy of your car or home.

So thanks Charlotte. You've enlightened me today.

You Can Always Count On Karaoke....

Things you can always count karaoke to do:

1.) Makes you feel embarassed for that guy who chose a song he doesn't even know the words to and yet insists on singing. Oh yeah, and the song is like 6 minutes long.

2.) Helps you make friends with other karaoke goers, knowing that you are growing a strong army for the future. And takes a load off of your other friends who are "not into that". That being karaoke, the funnest thing to do ever. And now you don't have to call them and try to convince them to come anymore because you have a posse.

3.) Reminds you of old forgotten favorites as you belt along to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" or "I've Had the Time of My Life".

4.) Starts a dance party. Now exactly what kind of dancing is going on is a little confusing. But it's a beautiful mixture of swaying, thrashing, humping, and 2-stepping all at once.

5.) Causes alot of people to drink. Alot. And the performers and songs get better. Or is it that the beer and whisky just get better?

6.) Makes it perfectly acceptable for you to sing loudly in other peoples' faces. Some you know, many whom you do not. And personally, singing loudly in peoples' faces makes me happy. Takes a load off.

7.) Um, then you lose your voice.

And when all of these things happen (because you know you can count on them happening) you know, you know my friends......

That karaoke is perhaps one of the best entertainment activities ever created.

EVER.

And you can always count on the next blog post which will feature highlights from my psychic counseling session I am attending this afternoon. Ooooooo, aren't you just dying to know???? I am....