Birthday & Christmas & Birthday 2011

Hello, family :)

How was your Christmas? That's good. Ours was spent with family watching the Mavs get their asses handed to them by the Miami Heat... as disappointed I was, I remembered the lovely Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy sitting pretty in the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX and I felt much better.

Let's backtrack, shall we?

Friday the 23rd I went out for dinner with Katy, Liz(ard), Nick, and Jesse. We ate at La Mex (of course) and went out for drinks afterwards. Jesse brought two of his friends with him for dinner and they were really nice. Dinner was a veritable smörgåsbord of fajitas and afterwards, Jesse told the waiters that they were celebrating my birthday and I was surprised with a delicious cheesecake and a giant sombrero. No pictures of the hat, unfortunately. Following the dinner, Katy, Liz, Nick, Jesse and I headed over to a nearby bar for drinks. Considering the outward appearance, the inside of the Marquis II was rather beautiful. When we arrived, we immediately noticed the girls from Three Olives vodka dressed like birthday cakes. They offered us shots that were supposed to taste like different cakes. They got pictures of me with my shot in honor of my first one ever. Nick was hesitant to believe me when I said I had never had a shot before, but I wasn't kidding. I've just never been a 'shots' kind of person. I much prefer beer or wine. Anyways, we all took the shots and sure enough, they tasted like actual cake. It was delicious.

SHOTS! (I only did two... so, not as hardcore as I seem.)

Me & Nick... it had been too long :)

CHEERS!

Ally & Jesse: Crown Buddies

Drink up, KT :)

More Shots!

Delicious :)

Christmas weekend was a good (and rainy) one. On the 24th we went to 10pm mass at Memorial Park. It was lovely and quiet and as we walked back out into the rain the bells played "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". We came home to open presents and we each got plenty of awesome gifts:

Daddy
1) Doctor Who 11th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver Replica/Pen
2) Rapid Beverage Chiller

Mommy
1) DVD of "The Help"
2) Copy of "Catcher in the Rye"
3) Copy of a second book I don't know the title of

Me
1) Lotions & Body Spray from either Bath & Body Works or Victoria's Secret... I didn't pay attention
2) Hello Kitty pajama set

On the 25th we watched the Mavs/Heat matchup. During breaks, I helped Mommy make the Christmas dinner. After the game, Daddy went to pick up his Aunt Maria from her place down the street. We ate, Skyped with family members far away, and then we took a tour of the lights in River Oaks and Post Oak. We took Aunt Maria back to her place then came home to watch some television.

On the 26th was my actual birthday. I turned 23 years old! In the morning, Becky came over to drop off her gifts and we watched an episode of Say Yes to the Dress while eating a cake-breakfast. She brought me a pink Hello Kitty from Build-A-Bear and a DVD of "Kung Fu Panda 2". My parents also got me a bath set with a pink leopard shower dress, a pink loofah, and a pink hair wrap. They also got me a $15 gift card to Starbucks. They were awesome gifts. At the party that Friday, Lizard got me two beautiful tops from Forever 21... they were so lovely! One was a Mavs-blue top that I look forward to wearing at a game this season.

This Saturday is New Years Eve and we're spending it at a (ugh) Rockets game against ATL. We've been having a hard time deciphering the tickets. We either have court-side or in a club box. I'll let you know how that goes later. Until then, have a good rest-of-2011!

Ally :)

Call Your Girlfriend. It's Time You Had The Talk...

Ever hear one of those songs and you're like "YES" and you just HAVE to sing along and dance... like, it's IMPERATIVE that you sing and dance along? Well, for me that song is "Call Your Girlfriend" by Robyn. She was famous for about the length of the blink of an eye in the 90s with a song called "Show Me Love"... a song Jesse requested I sing to him in the car to jog his memory. A request I downright refused. Well, Robyn's back with a great trio of cd's called "Body Talk" (Body Talk I, Body Talk II, & Body Talk). On the final cd, "Body Talk", she has this great song called "Call Your Girlfriend" and it's her plea to her new man to dissolve his relationship with his current girlfriend and how he should go about doing so politely.

"Call your girlfriend. It's time you had the talk. Give your reasons. Say it's not her fault,

but you just met somebody new..."

Lyrical content aside, the beat is infectious. The moment I hear the opening notes, I'm ready to go.

With this amazing song comes the even more amazing music video. It's just Robyn in an abandoned warehouse with a mat and well-hidden strobe lights. She stands there singing the opening lines, then bursts into this non-stop dance that is so amazingly choreographed... I can't even stand it. To be honest, I hate working out in the traditional sense. That being said, I recently learned all the choreography for this video as exercise. The most impressive thing about this video, however, is that it's all shot in one take. There is absolutely no editing, cutting or pasting... it's just one shot of Robyn letting it all out. It's phenomenal.

I just thought y'all should know about this song, if you don't already, and give you a teeny tiny glimpse into my eclectic iTunes library. With that, I leave you with Robyn and an empty warehouse. G'bye!

Ally

CREDITS:
Music video by Robyn performing Call Your Girlfriend.
(C) 2011 Konichiwa Records, under exclusive license to Universal Island Records,
a division of Universal Music Operations Limited

Merry Christmas!

Today was spent applying to grad schools... fun...

Tonight will be spent in church & opening presents... really fun!

Last night we went out again for my birthday, but I'll update y'all on that later. For now, I'll leave you with this:

Look at their sweaters... how cute!

Aaaaaanyways... Merry Christmas :)
-Ally

Steam of Consciousness...

I'm totally in my room jamming to Christmas music and the Beach Boys song "Little Saint Nick" came on. It made me think of my last boyfriend who really hated all Christmas music except for that one. He was from California, so that was his excuse. We were out for dinner at Grand Luxe around Christmastime and the song came on and he actually got excited about it... every other song he scoffed at. What a mean ol' GRINCH!

Speaking of Christmas music, the movie Home Alone totally has some classic songs all up in it. Last Saturday, Becky, Jesse, and I huddled together on the couch, eating pizza and watching Home Alone. We got to talking about how many opportunities the kid has to tell an adult that he's about to be robbed and/or murdered by thieves, but instead resorts to fighting them off himself. Now... I know the kid's self-reliance is part of what makes this such an endearing movie, but C'MON!!! Then we talked about how many of those traps he sets up, that can ACTUALLY KILL SOMEONE. The iron to the face could definitely break Marv's nose. The constant slipping on ice and landing on the head... concussion for sure. The paint cans to the face and falling down the stairs, I'm quite confident that would leave someone passed out long enough for the cops to get there. Finally, Jesse pointed out that Marv whacking Harry on the chest REALLY HARD with a crowbar definitely left Harry with a broken sternum. Biological and common sensical inadequacies aside, the movie really left us in a good mood... except for Becky. Party pooper :P

Following the movie, we met up with Katy and James at Pete's Dueling Pianos. Apparently the theme for that night was 'being as dirty as possible'. It was amusing and appalling. There were fun times and we had drinks, sang along to classic rock, laughed at the poor bachelorettes being forced to do horrible things on stage, then went back home to drink beers, eat pizza, and indulge in desserts. The party kept going until 4am when James left. Becky left at a respectable 2am. Katy and Jesse stayed over and the following morning, we felt like death, had some pick-me-ups then Jesse left. Katy and I watched SNL on Hulu then she left and I fell asleep.

Perhaps some pictures? Sure...

Whelp, that's all for now :)

Ally

Oh My Goodness, Y'all...

...I got serious uninterrupted sleep last night. It was amazing.

When you're sick, it's the little miracles that make you the happiest.

This is one of those little miracles. Woohoo for sleeping all night!



That's all I had to say.

Ally

I'm on the edge of glory and I'm hanging on a moment of truth...

If you're a little monster like I am, you LOVE the song Edge of Glory. Fun fact:


"Gaga wrote this song about her grandfather while he was dying. In her 2011 Thanksgiving special, she revealed that it was a specific moment shared between her grandparents that provided the inspiration for the song. Said Gaga: 'They had been married for 60 years, and my grandma used to tell me about my grandpa sleeping in a car on the street just so he could be near her - they were Italian and very strict so there was no way grandpa was going to be sleeping over at grandma's house when she was a kid. When I saw her say goodbye to him, I realized that in that moment, they both acknowledged that they had won at life because they had won at love with each other.'"


That brings me to my favorite photo. EVER. When I heard Lady Gaga explain the song she wrote for her grandparents, it honestly made me weep for a long time. You see, there's a picture I have of my grandparents and it really conveys everything she wanted to in her song. The picture is of them dancing together and they are literally the only things in focus in this picture. It just really gets me every time I see it and now when I hear Edge of Glory, it's what I think about. Let's see if we can find the picture... or at least a picture of the picture.

Isn't it a great photo? I love it so much... that's all I wanted to say today. I'm sick so I think I'll take a nap now. Goodbye :)


Ally

"It seems Thanksgiving Day is upon us."

"I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED EATING ALL MY HALLOWEEN CANDY!"

I feel you, Sally.

Well, by this time Thanksgiving has already come and gone. We travelled to San Antonio to celebrate with Daddy's family. Once we got there, we gathered Grandma and went to visit Aunt Janie and her family before heading out to Uncle Robert's house for dinner. Aunt Cindy and Mimi made a delicious meal with turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, and different kinds of stuffing. We brought three pies over from Houston for dessert. Chris and Meggan were there with Mia and Jackson. It had been maybe a year since I had last seen Mia. She's gotten so big! Jackson was as cute as I remembered him. At least he didn't throw up on me this time... Even elusive cousin Robert was there from Atanta, and I was most surprised to see him.

SANTA HATS, BEEKS!

IMPOSTOR TOWER! EVERYONE SHAKE YOUR FISTS!
BOOOOO HISSSSSS...

G'bye, baby teeth :D

Mia took my photo... SO flattering ;)

"No. No. No. WE coordinated the feast while YOU were
out getting your hair and your nail did." - Jersey Shore**

After Uncle Robert's, we headed back into San Antonio to Aunt Yoli's house. Everyone was gathered in the living room watching tv. We all played a spirited round of Apples to Apples... a game Mommy enjoyed so much, she wants me to go buy it. I do have to buy her Christmas present, so maybe while I'm out sometime... Then they served more pie and Sweet Mother of GOD they were delicious. There was this pumpkin cheesecake... gahhhhhhhhhhh

The following day... wait. I have to tell you about the start of Black Friday.

When we got home from Aunt Yoli's it was around 10? I don't remember. But a block from her house is a new shopping complex with a HUGE Super Target. There were lines and police cars everywhere. I fell asleep on the couch and at midnight, I awoke to the sound of screams and cheers because Target was open... it was insane. I resisted the urge to sneak out and across the street to watch.

South Texas was exactly like I remembered it. Plenty of smokestacks and tiny houses. I fell asleep in the car, though, so not many photos were taken. I was worn out from being sick the night before.

When we arrived to the hotel, we each took a shower... oh. We got a double room suite with two bedrooms, 3 beds, two bathrooms (one MUCH LARGER than the other), and a balcony for us to look out. It was an incredible place. Then we got dressed and off to the church we went. There was an adorable vintage car outside waiting to take the newly married couple to the reception. Did I mention whose wedding this was? If not, then I apologize. My godbrother Hondo was marrying his long-time girlfriend Lina. I recall having posted a congratulatory message after they were engaged.

Mommy and Daddy ended up being in the wedding party as the people responsible for the kneeling pillows... "Padrinos de Cojines". They were surprised to be in it. They did do a good job, though.

Charlie stole the show with his
"pick up after the flower girls" stunt.
How adorable!

"But they're making a mess!"

I especially love this photo. This was his
expression upon seeing Lina for the first time...

Lina looked absolutely
stunning :)

The rings were made to be Charlie-Proof.
Poor Xavi had a hard time undoing the binding.

Bringing up the pillows...

After the vows, they lit a candle to signify that they were one. It was a beautiful close to the ceremony. All in all, it was very short but it was most beautiful.

KISS THE BRIDE!

Charlie wasn't done stealing the show, so when it was time to take photos, he brought the silly.

We then headed to the reception hall. It was BEAUTIFUL! Then we ate, and danced the night away... it was a great evening :)

Grabbin a Bud Light

Good game, Hondo!

I usually don't have a date to bring to weddings, so I just play with the children. And that's exactly what I did. Charlie & I had a good time playing with the camera.

 The party really got started once the band started playing. It was much fun!

In this picture, Beth is carrying away a "Wet Floor"
sign that Charlie dragged onto the dance floor.

The following day, we were visited by my cousins from Mexico and my aunt. I was so excited because I was thinking I wouldn't see them at all this year. My aunt I had seen recently when we went to see the Backstreet Boys, but I hadn't seen my other cousins since the year before. It was a good time for catching up with one another... and shopping. :)

After dinner, we went swimming at the hotel pool. The next day, we ate breakfast and gave each other a fond farewell and headed back to Houston. On our way, we stopped by Daddy's hometown of Sinton, TX and visited my grandparent's old house. It was a quick trip down memory lane and it brought back many precious memories... like the time I put my hand on Grandma's still-hot iron and burned my hand...

Ouch. That was a dumb moment for me. But hey, I was little.

Well, I'm sorry this post took so long to put up. I had SO MANY PHOTOS that it took an overnight upload to get all of them on. Time to drink some tea to get rid of this damn cough. Talk to y'all later!

Ally

** - I do not condone the watching of Jersey Shore... unless it's performed by the cast of The Importance of Being Earnest. Seriously. YouTube it :)