smile

so. earlier today, i wrote my first blog on here. put a lot of thought into it, had just enough time to write it while my son was sleeping...and then the computer froze. i lost everything. grrr. needless to say, i hadn't cooled off until just now. so, i shall try it again!

alejandro, my 8 week old son, smiles all the time now. i was watching him today and wondering how he could be so happy. he smiles when he sees me first thing in the morning, when his dad gets home from work/school, any toy that lights up or makes noise, & (definitely) his bottle. such simple things. i realized i hadn't been smiling that much lately. that made me kind of sad. why shouldn't i smile. i am married to a great guy, i have a beautiful son, i love my church, i have the best "first apartment", i am very close (in proximity & relationally) to my family...the list goes on. there is so much i am truly thankful for. i can't stop smiling just thinking about it.

and trust me, my marriage is not perfect (by far), it is sometimes very overwhelming having a little baby all day, i am really not where i want to be in my walk with christ, i can't wait to move out of this town, and the fam sometimes drives me nuts...why is it so easy to focus on all of that instead of the things that make me smile? my life may not be perfect in general terms, but it's perfect to me. anyone feel the same?

This is Halloween

Nothing says Halloween like getting bitten by a Vampire. My sister being the culprit in this case. I look like a doof, staring off into nothing. I made her into a Vampire for Makeup Class. I even made her some custom Vampire Teeth. The shirt is mine and the jewelry is provided by Lia Sophia.
Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love orange and black and fall is my favorite season. Halloween is dark, creepy, evil, and awesome. Changing Leaves, Moonlit Nights, Carving Pumpkins, Haunted Houses, Corn Mazes, Bobbing for Apples, Trick-or-Treating and Candy, Candy, Candy, Candy. I like the things that have been tied to Halloween, things such as Werewolves, Frankenstein, Vampires, Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), Zombies, Ghosts, Goblins, Black Cats, Witches, Mummies, Skeletons, Spiders and spiderwebs, Crows, Owls, Magic and Spells.
My Harry Potter Pumpkin was the coolest.

Something Ironic about my love of Halloween is that I do not like Horror/Scary Movies. Sure I like blood and guts, but I don't like to be freaked out or scared. However, I always thought it would be cool to get some ghost hunting gear and go out to search for ghosts, but I would get freaked out, or rather I would psych myself out. Think things that were not there, see things that were not there. Still I wouldn't mind trying it as long as I had something to fend off the ghosties.

I think the coolest part of Halloween is the opportunity to dress up as whatever one wishes and go out in public. Almost every year I dress up for Halloween. I usually make my own costumes or purchase things at Thrifts stores to create a costume. I usually spend alot, the most I have spent was around $300. Once Halloween is over, I instantly think of what I am going to be the next year. Yeah, I know I am a freak.

Things that I have dressed up as and can remember include...
In Elementary School: Tiger, Cougar

In Junior High: Pauly Shore from Encino Man, Wayne from Wayne's World

In High School: Witch, Hippie

In College: A Black Cat, Rogue from X-Men, Tomb Raider, Legolas from LOTR, Shinigami from the Bleach Anime series.
Shinigami from Bleach anime. Legolas from Lord of the Rings...yeah, I know it is a guy character, so what! This wasn't for Halloween,but me and my buddies from Film Production Class filmed a spoof cop film.

I was told from my friend Travis McFarland (aka. Von) that I looked like Robin from the Witch Hunter Robin anime series, so I thought I would be her for Halloween one year. I started to make the costume, but I still have yet to complete it. This is what it would look a bit like...This year I will attempt to be steampunk. If you do not know what that is...look it up. Think Van Helsing and Wild Wild West.
I will try to find more pics of my past costumes and post them on here.

I wish there was some sort of Masquerade Ball at the Capitol or somewhere that was for 21 and older, where they would play classical music and everyone would ballroom dance. Where you had to wear 18th and 19th Century gowns and tuxedos and a mask or you would not be admitted. Think of the scene on the movie Van Helsing where Kate Beckinsale is at Dracula's Place and everyone is dancing. Now that would be cool!

Update - New Comic-Con Photos

Check out my San Diego Comic-Con Post for new photos.

My Bucket List

A "Bucket List" or a list of things you want to do before you have to leave this world.
My sister did this on her page and I thought I would do the same.

1. Go back to Scotland to see where my ancestors lived.
2. Fly an F-14 or F-16 Fighter Jet.
3. Go Car Drifting.
4. Sail on a Pirate ship and search for real treasure.
5. Get a moped and drive around Europe.
6. Get a children's book published.
7. Work as a Camera Operator on a big budget live-action film.
8. Do special FX makeup for a big budget live-action film.
9. Go on a zip line in the jungle.
10. Go cliff Jumping.
11. Learn to surf.
12. Learn to play the guitar again.
13. Learn to play the fiddle.
14. Sky dive.
15. Bungee Jump off a bridge.
16. Live in Japan for a year, get a moped and explore.
17. Learn how to read and speak Japanese fluently.
18. Spend a weekend in a beach house.
19. Get a tattoo.
20. Ride a gondola in Venice.
21. Go to a red carpet event.
22. Be the voice of a cartoon character.
23. Meet some of my favorite Actors and Filmmakers.
24. Start my own t-shirt business (officially).
25. Get an old school Harley motorcycle and go on a road trip.
26. Get a Jeep again and go off-roading in the wilderness.
27. Take the Lord of the Rings Tour through Europe and New Zealand.
28. Take the Harry Potter Tour in Europe.
29. Work a few months at The Magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
30. Get one of my stories made into an anime, animated movie/series or live-action film.
31. Learn a style of martial arts really well.
32. Go camping or stay at a cabin where there is a lake and a dock with boats.
33. Film my own movie and have it be Oscar Worthy.
34. Get a Camero that looks just like Bumble Bee from Transformers.
35. Get a comic book and art book published and sell them at Comic-Con.
36. Go to a Masquerade Ball, with all the victorian costumes and what-not.
37. Go to fancy event where people dress formal and dance and have drinks.
38. Be happy knowing that I lived my life to its fullest.

LA Makeup Trip - March 2008

Pantages Theater where we saw the play Wicked.
Outside the theater.

With an awesome guy that does celebrities makeup.
Holy crap! That is a lot of material.
More Material. Just think of the costumes you can make.
With the dude from Ben Nye Makeup.
Harry Potter shop.

"Harry Potter Sir!" Oh, shut up Dobby.
More Wizarding stuff.
More.
The dude doing a makeup demonstration.
Mmm....nothing says LA like a Big Ass can a beer that you can wear.

The FX Makeup place.
FX place.
Sculpt.
Pushing Daisies Makeup.
Skeletons. Sweet!

Werewolf statue.
Seven of 9. Star Trek.
Cool cafe/shop.
Buddha.
Mayan Jaguars.

Prosthetics.
A cool shirt in Japantown that I wanted to buy.
Another cool shirt in Japantown. "Japan sells beer to kids." Love it!
Boats off the coast.
More Boats.Ug. I got some speck on my camera and I cleaned it and it still won't go away. I am going to have to take it in and get it cleaned.

LA MAKEUP TRIP - 2007

It was fun. I learned a ton about makeup and special FX makeup. It was cool to see Wicked. The music to that show is great. We talked with a guy that does makeup for celebrities like Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Jennifer Lopez and others. And he gave us a makeup demonstration. We stopped off at Santee Alley which is like a huge swap meet of cheap stuff. We went to an outdoor theater that showed us all the behind the scenes stuff. "Paintings in Motion." The hotel we stayed at was in Santa Monica. It was a little po-dunk and creepy, but cool. It seemed like it was haunted. I really liked the FX shops we went to. They had tons of great prosthetics. Too bad my eyesite wasn't that great. I just got PRK lasik surgery a week prior to the trip so my vision was a bit blurry.

Study Abroad Japan - 2007

All the guys.
At the Festival. It was so quiet. No one cheered, everyone just watched.
Hawks preying on our food.
Kiyomizudera.

Fountain at Kiyomizudera.
Prayer Boards.
Kiyomizudera.
Pagoda.
Buildings at Kiyomizudera.

Priest.
In Kyoto.
Building in Kyoto.
Dorm. Small, but nice.
Diamond City Mall.

Vending Machines. Vendi. Jidohanbaiki.
The Anime/Manga store. Beau in amazement at the artbook section.
Our favorite restaurant.
Karaoke.
Osaka. Shitennoji Temple.

Osaka. Shitennoji.
Osaka Temple. Shitennoji.
I call him "stubby."
Osaka Temple.
Koi Fish.

Tea Ceremony.
School Lunch. $3.00 for a ton of delicious food.
Okonomiyaki Restaurant.
Mmm...breads in Japan are sooo delicious. Oishii desu yo!
Himeji Castle.

Inside Himeji.
Ninjas doing flips in the street! Beau fighting off the Ninjas!
Buddhist Idol on the way up to Engyoji Temple.
Kid at the Engyoji Temple.
Buddha at Engyoji.

"I'm Tom Cruise!" Well that is what Beau would say. This is where they filmed The Last Samurai. Engyoji Temple at Mt. Shosha.
"Gero, Gero." Watch out for the frog.
Kinkaku-ji Temple. The Golden Pavilion "I love gold........!!!"
Hey, what's up Colonel?
Mmmm....$1.00 Sushi.

On the train.
In Namba.
At a Spencer Gift like store.
Kyoto. Fushimi Inari.
Where they filmed Memoirs of a Geisha. Many Torii gates lined the trail.

Fushimi Inari.
Nara. Todai-Ji Temple.
Huge statue guardian in Todai-ji Temple.
Lantern at the traditional house.
Traditional Japanese house.

Posing with the crew from DGS (Delicious Graphic Store).
Sad that the buddies are not there. Starbucks was there to comfort us. It is so much better in Japan.
Lawson's! Just like 7.11 but in Japan.
Inside the Hiroshima Prince Hotel where we stayed. I swear it was a wedding hotel.
Floating Torii gate at Miyajima Island.

Miyajima pagoda.
Our Hotel. The Hiroshima Prince Hotel.
At night across the bay.
Hiroshima Dome. A-Bomb Dome. It was a sad day to be somewhere where so many people died in a second. To be right were the bomb detonated. It was an eerie feeling.
Peace park in Hiroshima.

Virginia and Yuuko.
Beau, Virginia, Kenta, Ryu, Chiaki, Taka, Me.
Hanging out by Kenta's awesome ride. The Indiana Jones Mobile.
Last night there. Everybody was getting crazy. "It's sexy time." Watch out for Ryu!
At the airport.

STUDY ABROAD TRIP - JAPAN - 2007
What a life changing trip. I made a ton of new friends and experiences a lot in Japan. We went a lot of places, ate a lot of food, and had a lot of fun. Kenta was so nice to drive us around town. We sung "Domo Arigatou Mr. Roboto" at Karaoke. Beau and Virginia became my best buds and I will never forget our adventures there. The students of the International Buddhist University(IBU) showed us around. On our trip we visited Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, Namba, Hiroshima, Miyajima, and more. This was my first plane trip anywhere. The flight was long, but it was worth it. It was sad having to come back. It was so clean there and the people were so nice. You come back to America and realize that America is dirty and people are rude. I just wanted to go back to Japan. (This is the short version, if you would like a detailed version of the trip I can email you. Also, this is only a few pictures from the thousands that I took.)