Love Actually

“It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion… Love Actually is all around.”

Christmas Tradition

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are always spent at my grandparents' house. On Christmas Eve we usually go up around 1pm so that we can go to an early church service. Once the Arbuckle, Murdock and Rooney clan all arrive, we are then allowed to eat the wonderful spread made by Nanny which consists of plenty of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and desserts. Once our tummy's are filled we usually play a game of catch up and ask how finals went for everyone, and what we have to look forward to in the new year. Sometimes the grandkids play Disney SceneIt (if I remember to bring it) or watch a movie. Then it's presents time. Everyone use to go to my grandparents on Christmas Day as well so we would just open one present on Christmas Eve and the rest the following day. Now that everyone is older, the Arbuckle's and Murdock's stay at home on Christmas Day so we just open all of the presents when we are all together. Nanny and Poppy always give the same gift to everyone. One year it was puffy vests in our favorite color, then it was sweatshirts with our sorority/fraternity letters or the school of our dreams (for those still in middle and high school). This year it was the year of the umbrella and poncho. Because we usually go to a USC football game around this time of the year and it always seems to rain so now we will be prepared. After Nanny and Poppy's we go to an early service at King's Harbor Church and then come home to watch a holiday movie, curled up on the coach with tea or hot cocoa. This year's movie was Love Actually, my personal favorite.

Christmas morning is spent at our house. We open presents and wait for Nanny and Poppy to come over so we can show them what we got. After my sister, brother and I share all of our goodies, then my mom serves breakfast- bagels with or without lox and Bloody Mary's or plain V8 juice. The rest of the morning and afternoon is filled with more Christmas movies, music, getting ready for dinner, and....laundry? Well that was the case for this Christmas. My friend Eric wasn't able to go home for Christmas so I invited him to ours. He brought with him a couple of loads of laundry to do since at his apartment he has to pay the washer and dryer machine with quarters. Once laundry was folded and put away, we made our way up to Nanny and Poppy's for dinner. The dinner menu consists of pear and gorgonzola salad, prime rib, mashed potatoes with gravy, peas, corn souffle, Yorkshire pudding and for dessert we had trifle. Nanny only makes it twice a year, on Christmas and on February 5th (mine and my dad's birthday, it's our favorite). After dinner we sit by the fire before heading home.

Winter Festivities

My winter break started with a trip to Disneyland. Kelsey (Sarah's little in her sorority) works for ABC casting and therefore gets free tickets to Disneyland. She had never been before because she is from Kentucky and I had never been at Christmas time so we both cleared our schedule and went on a Sunday. Both of us agreed before that we didn't want to be there all day, but I wanted to make sure we were there for the fireworks. So we went a little bit later in the afternoon (2 pm) and met princesses, went on rides, and watched the fireworks show.

A few days later my mom, my brother and his girlfriend, my cousins Cody and Kylee, and I went to the USC vs. Georgia men's basketball game. My cousin Kylee just finished her first semester at Georgia and with me being a new Trojan, my mom thought it would be fun to go to the game. It was except, USC lost in the final few seconds. Bummer for me, but a "Yay!" for Kylee.

a lesson in kindness

A lesson in kindness. living somewhere as stimulating as New York City can admittedly cause desensitization. You begin to see people as objects you pass on your commute - the humanness begins to fade away. The other night after work, I was riding the R train. As I squeezed into the subway car I saw the only vacant seat was beside a young woman. She appeared to be homeless and was ‘bobbing’ her head to nonexistent music. I opted to stand in the aisle to avoid sitting beside her. Why? …When did I start to see people like this young woman as a threat, instead of seeing her as a sister? At the next stop, a middle-aged, kind-faced man joined our car. He had a string instrument case strapped across his shoulders. He squeezed in the aisle beside me and stood in front of the young woman. She smiled at him, “Do you play music?” He smiled back, “Yes, I just finished a performance. Do you like music?” “Oh, very much!” …. She began bobbing her head and he smiled down at her… not in an odd or threatening way, but in a loving somewhat paternalistic manner. He held out a coffee cup to her, “Do you want this? It’s a cappuccino. I haven’t even had a sip, and you might not even like it, but you’re welcome to have it.” She looked at the cup, and at the man. “What is it?” He smiled again, “It’s like a coffee, but they place a large dollop of foam on the top. Like I said, you might hate it, but it’s warm.” She took the cup from the man and popped off the lid. She dipped her finger in the foam, sniffed it curiously, and placed a bit on her tongue. She smiled in approval and began to drink the cappuccino. He smiled kindly back, and asked, “What do you want to do someday?” She looked down at her feet, embarassed, “I don’t know, sir. I’m not good at much.” He shook his head, “Not a chance. You and that big smile of your’s are way too bright. You’re going to do big, great things.” She sipped the final bits of her cappuccino and then with a large grin exclaimed “I just hope one day I can buy some fancy coffee like this!” He smiled once again before exiting the car , “You will! Good night, miss.” Throughout the entire dialogue, I found myself shamelessly staring and smiling. My eyes welled up when the man left and the young woman stared at her empty coffee, glowing, because another person had talked to her. Had treated her like a friend. Like a human being.

December 1st

December 1st means it is time to get into the holiday spirit. I will be doing that by listening to this song on REPEAT and watching Love Actually of course.

Engaged to a Prince?

Engaged to a Prince?

I wish. Especially to one that is in line to the throne in England.

For a day you can be just that. There is an interactive exhibit by Jennifer Rubell in London. A wax sculpture of Prince William stands in the pose he struck as he announced his engagement to Kate Middleton. On the sleeve, sits a replica of Kate's sapphire engagement ring, so one could slip their own finger through the ring and pose with Prince William. Oh can you imagine?

Changing my Life

“Whatever you want in life, start today. Not tomorrow - today. Let it be a small beginning, a tiny beginning. Your happiness depends on starting today - every day.” -Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The Cold Volts

I am so proud of Eric and Dave for finishing their EP. Take a listen to The Cold Volts. Latest tracks by thecoldvolts

Movie Review: Like Crazy

I want you. I need you. I love you. I miss you. Like Crazy.

Stars - Dead Hearts from Stars on Vimeo.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE! For all the hopeless romantics out there- this movie is better than The Notebook. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones play Jacob and Anna. A British college student (Anna) falls for an American student (Jacob), only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa. The two are determined to be together, to make it work, but there are obstacles to overcome. Their love story all began when Anna left a note on Jacob's car admitting to how she felt about him. If only more people would take the time to admit how they feel instead of keeping it a secret.

"I thought I understood it. But I didn't. I knew the smudgeness of it. The eagerness of it. The Idea of it. Of you and me."

leslie FEIST

Fall Fest

I cannot WAIT for Halloween. My bestie Bree and I are in preparation for our Fall Festive weekend. On Friday we will be going to our high school’s football game followed by a stop at Starbucks for Pumpkin Spice Lattes. This was a weekly routine we had in the fall during our good ol’ high school days. Saturday we will be babysitting for one of her neighbors so we are going to make pumpkin cupcakes with some spooooky decorations on top. I also want to try and make Halloween Bark like the one here. Sunday we will be going to a pumpkin patch and have a relaxing day carving our pumpkins and watching Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas by the fire. Which then leads us to Monday….pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, make caramel apples and watch Hocus Pocus.

A daily challenge, are you game?

It’s Monday morning, I don’t know about you, but sometimes it is hard to get going. Today, try finding a way to celebrate you, another person close to you, or hey, a few people close to you! Or even a stranger. For yourself, treat yourself to something special. Being lazy for an hour, lying under a tree, taking a bath, downloading some music, looking through old photos. Something you haven’t done in a while. For someone close to you, leave them a funny note, point out something wonderful going on for them at the moment, leave them a funny voicenote. Post a picture of them and say something wonderful, for all to see. For a stranger it can be something so small, compliment them, their outfit, look them in the eyes and smile. I bet if you do only one of these things today, it will be a much better day. Monday! A great way to start the week and ignore the fact that it is a little bit harder to wake up.

Song of the Day

"The Wolves," Ben Howard.

Quote of the Day

"Nothing's far when one wants to get there." -Queen Marie of Romania

I booked my ticket to go to London March 12-19. My mom and I are going because my cousin Gary is getting married. The wedding is actually in Ireland so we will be booking those tickets in the next coming weeks. I am so excited!

cousins weekend

So every year, the girl cousins (from the Rooney/Gilboy side) over the age of 21 get together. This year my cousins Erin and Colleen hosted in Maricopa, Arizona. Early Friday morning my aunt Susan, cousin Andrea and I made the long drive to Arizona. We were greeted at the door by everyone else who flew in the night before.

Saturday morning was another early morning because we wanted to get our cousin bonding walk done before it was too hot. We made our way to Wild Horses Pass around 9:30 am (it was probably 95 degrees then) and began our 2.5 mile walk. Even though it was really extremely hot, I still managed to enjoy the scenery....though not the signs that said, "Beware of Rattlesnakes."

After the walk we went back to Erin's house to eat brunch, hang out, some went swimming in the pool, before we moved on to our next bowling event- bowling. And let me just say I should join a bowling league. During the second game I scored 6 strikes! And 3 of them were in a row, so I got what's called a turkey. The man who worked at the bowling alley even announced me as the cousins weekend bowling champion, but I was too busy concentrating on my form to hear him. We them made a pit stop at BevMo (of course) to load up on more wine, cider, and daiquiri mix before going home to make dinner. The evening was very relaxing after dinner. I learned how to play the card game Scat (something I also have a knack for), we looked at old photographs and we talked....A LOT. The main topic of this weekend was: babies. Three of my cousins just had babies recently and my cousin Andrea is hoping to get pregnant soon. Needless to say I am not. Noreen and I were the only ones there who haven't had children so we felt a bit out of place. But we did get plenty of parenting advice.

It was great to spend time with my family. I love them very much and cherish every moment with them (even if it includes moments of drama, which trust me, there were).

Movie Recommendation: Drive

Go see the movie Drive for the soundtrack....and Ryan Gosling of course.

Movie Review: Jane Eyre

I have finally got around to seeing Cary Fukunaga's film adaptation of Jane Eyre. Let me just start off by saying...I LOVED it. I know, I know, I am a bit strange because I absolutely love period pieces. The costumes and old fashioned manner and way of speaking always makes me wish I lived during the 18th/19th century.

Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Bronte about a plain, naive, sometimes outspoken governess, who softens the heart of her employer Mr. Rochester, who is hiding a secret in the back room of his house. I remember reading the novel during my sophomore year in high school and I remember every boy complaining about having to read it. The girls in my class were the ones that lead the discussions about Jane and Rochester's romance and whether they were meant to be together. In the beginning, Rochester treats Jane with disrespect making her feel inferior to him. Yet deep down he loved her, he just didn't know how to act around her since it was proper for a wealthy man to marry his governess.

Cary Fukunaga's film adaptation of Jane Eyre made me want to read the novel again and again. Though I do think that he makes Mr. Rochester (played by Michael Fassbender) a bit more likable in the film. In the novel you want to hate the character because you believe that Jane deserves someone much better. Be warned that the film was a bit slow like most period pieces are, but the score, costumes and greenery make you wish you were actually there at the Fairfax Manor. The mainly piano based score added to the ambiance of the slow blossoming relationship between Jane and Rochester leading the audience content with the happy ending. My favorite scene is one in which Mr. Rochester lights a fire for him and Jane after Jane finds out his secret. You see his hand holding a match to the wood and the wood slowing catching fire, the flames moving upward til the fire is set.

I must admit that I also enjoyed the film due to the attractive men in the film. Jamie Bell plays St. John Rivers who is a bit hostile and angry at the beginning when he first meets Jane but this is only because he wants to marry her. Why is it that men always treat women poorly when they like them? Just tell them. Jamie Bell is English so of course, naturally, I would like him. And Michael Fassbender plays the sometimes intolerable Mr. Rochester. Again, why can't he just tell Jane he has feelings for her? After watching the film I searched Fassbender on iMDb and found out that he was Irish! Perfect match. Only 12 years older. He was linked to Zoe Kravitz who is the same age as me so there is still hope, I may have a chance. So to sum things up, if you like romantic period pieces this is another one to add to your collection.

Compliments

Not too long ago, I was telling my mom that I really missed my 7th graders at Colina Middle School because they were so sweet and always gave me compliments. I always graciously accepted the compliments because I love fashion and I do take the time to plan my outfits. High school students are a whole different story. They don’t care about what you wear (you can tell by the outfits they come to school in). If they did like your outfit, or headband, or whatever- they would never tell you. They are just too cool. But today I not only got one, but TWO compliments on my outfit. This was especially pleasing because one of the students is an AVID senior and the AVID seniors currently hate me. I am not sure why they particularly liked this outfit…I did not plan this one at all. I was running late and threw it on.

Forever 21 tan sheer blouse, belt, black bell bottom pants, brown vintage Nine West ankle boots, Ray Ban Wayfarers

Fall Quotes

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." -A quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne In honor of my students reading The Scarlet Letter.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

Fall Clothing Essentials

plaid. midi skirts. mens wear.

something velvet.

chelsea boots.

October: my favorite month

Today marks the first day of my favorite month, October 1st. People always say that Southern California doesn't have seasons, but I beg to differ. I will admit that our changes in season aren't as drastic as other places like Oregon or New York, but SoCal still has a "fall" season. There are many reasons why October is my favorite month, below are just a few: 1. Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin

2. Friday Football Games

3. Cozy, lazy weekends in bed

4. Layers, layers, layers

5. Halloween

Yesterday I went to my high school's football game. It was the perfect day for Friday night afternoon football. The residents of PV will not allow the high school to install lights because they don't want people from "off the hill" to come to "the hill." So dumb. So even though it wasn't a Friday night game, it was still the perfect almost perfect afternoon. After school I went to my car to move it to the parking lot closer to the football field- to my surprise I had a flat tire. So I called AAA and they came to my rescue in about 10 minutes! As I waited for the AAA man to put on my spare tire it began to rain. I stepped under my open trunk to keep dry. It was still raining when the game started, but soon after it stopped. The overcast, gloomy weather was perfect. I was all bundled up with a leopard print sweater and the perfect vintage Nine West ankle boots to complement my outfit. After the game I went home and immediately got in my pajamas, under my covers and started to work on homework. Even though my Friday night was uneventful, it is those kind of nights that I most look forward to in October.

No More Fur: Check Out This Article

http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/09/20/wehos-fur-ban-nearly-reality/51644/

Teacher Attire

Fashion Icon: Emma Watson

medley

Quote of the Day

"It is very romantic to be in love. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I’ll certainly try to forget the fact." - ALGERNON, The Importance of Being Earnest

real world: post grad

On August 30 I started my full-time student teaching at Peninsula High School. I am finally still trying to get used to my schedule. Every morning I wake up at 6:15 in order to be out the door by 7:30 and at school by 7:45 because first period starts at 8 am. I am done teaching by 1:45, but I usually stick around so that I can talk to my master teacher and plan for the following day since sixth period is our prep period. After school on Mondays, Wednesdays and sometimes Fridays I try a family with three girls around to their various extra curricular activities. On Thursdays I make the drive out to Malibu to partake in my seminar class that goes along with my student teaching. My life is pretty hectic at the moment. When I do finally get home during the week (it isn't until 7:30pm usually) I have to do homework. Just like my students, whatever there homework assignment is is my homework assignment. I have to read the designated poem, novel or grammar lesson and then come up with a lesson plan whether it be discussion questions, an essay or practice worksheets. On the weekends I prepare for the coming week as well as work on the PACT (Performance Assessment of California Teachers) for my teaching credential. I do however, allot some time for fun.

Last weekend I went to the FYF Fest and the L.A. Historic Park near Chinatown. I enjoyed the summer fall heat with Aaron, Eric, Sid and Mattie while listening to different performers. Some bands we saw include: The Head & the Heart, Smith Westerns, Cults, Cold War Kids, Broken Social Scene, Girls, Dan Deacon and Explosions in the Sky. Hear is a song from my new favorite at the moment: This weekend I went to the USC vs. Utah game at the L.A. Coliseum with my mom. It was the perfect game day- sunny, clear skies and just absolutely beautiful. We even won 23-14. The games was too close for my liking though. When I left, the scoreboard read 17-23 but the Pac-12 ruled that Matt Kalil's game-saving blocked FG returned for a TD by Torin Harris counted (hence the change in score). If we want to have a chance against the other teams later in the season then we have a lot of work to do. Our defense wasn't strong. We need to work on actually blocking. Our offense, oh man. Our offense is a completely different story. We cannot rely on Marc Tyler to do all the work. Matt Barkley needs to actually throw the ball to a person, not to an empty space on the field. Our offense also needs to work on actually performing when they make down to the end zone. There were probably about three times that we should have made touchdowns. They worked so hard getting 1st downs towards the end of the field and then choked when they got there. I have faith in my Trojans, but we definitely need to see some different strategies in next week's game against Syracuse. Fight On Trojans!

Ten Years Later

"On September 11th, 2001, 4 passenger jets crashed by the force of terrorism. The twin world trade centers were each hit with planes, a third into the Pentagon. A fourth plane never reached its destination, it was brought down by the brave souls on flight 93 that made the ultimate sacrifice . Almost 3,000 innocent people were killed that day, along with the first responders to the attacks as firemen, police, and paramedics." I cannot believe that 10 years have passed since 9/11. I remember that day all too well. My mom woke me up like she always did, though on this particular morning she didn't sing the good morning song. I have always been difficult to wake up, but for some reason this song always work. Instead, on this morning she shook my arm because she wanted me up quickly so she could hurry back to her room. I heard the television on in my parents room- a strange occurrence. My parents didn't say anything when I asked what they were watching. I too, turned my attention to the television as I saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center. I could not believe what was happening. It was as if I was watching a movie. A movie where no one could have actually gotten hurt, but they did. I got ready for school and made my way to first period English with Ms. Rosen. The room was silent. No one could speak. The only sounds were the voices of the newscasters reporting on the television and faint cries.

cloud nine

This summer has been a learning experience, crazy, fun, dramatic, and relaxing. Yes all those emotions/feelings rolled together to make up one way of describing the past few months and past few weeks. So let me catch you up to date. I have been a little neglectful mainly because I have been out of town a lot and when I have been home, I have been busy organizing tutoring/nannying gigs for the start of the school year.

Last week I took my cousin Mackenzie to Raging Waters. My mom (my cousin Andrea) already had to go back to school so I hung out with Kenz while she was at work. Raging Waters was so much fun. I remember growing up that the Holman's and the Rooney's would always go to a water park the weekend before school started because that is when we celebrated Nicky's birthday. I can't remember the last summer I went to a water park so I was really enjoying myself, soaking up the rays (a little too much actually, I got quite a sun burn) and laughing with my cousin. After we got home we got ready to go out to dinner/shopping with Andrea and Mark. I picked up two new tops from a store called Nectar.

This past weekend I was in Del Mar visiting my Aunty Mary and Uncle Suds. I really enjoyed going to Balboa Park a few weeks ago with Andrea and Kenz so I convinced my mom and aunt to go. We spent the day walking around, enjoying the scenery. I wanted to go to one of the museums that had Russian Icons. I know, I know- I guess I couldn't get enough while I was in Russia. Then we went to the San Diego Museum of Art and the Sculpture Cafe. We saw original Dali's (some of his later works, blend of classic, surrealism and his religious phase) and I took an art class. Mine was an ode to Andy Warhol and Pop Art.



This week I will be squeezing in time with my friends since I will be super busy when school starts. I am so glad that I get to catch-up with some of my high school and college friends.

Look of the Day: Hippie

Picture Perfect

Today I sat with a friend on a bench overlooking Palos Verdes/Torrance beach. Growing up, I really took advantage of the city I grew up in. Everyday during the summer my friends and I would hang out at the beach all day. We sat to the left of Alfredo's with all the other middle schoolers and high schoolers, thinking we were so cool. Going to the beach was no big deal. It is just what we did everyday. Now I am so thankful that I was brought up in Southern California and went to school in Palos Verdes. While watching the families, teenagers and dogs walk along the sidewalk, it was as if I saw them differently. I saw them in a new light. I don't know if any of this makes sense to whoever is reading this, but it makes sense to me. Today I was humbled.

I don't really support zoos- though sometimes it is for the best for some of the animals. For example some of the animals may have been injured and couldn't survive in the wild on their home. I do support what the San Diego Wild Animal Park is doing. The animal park takes endangered species from the wild and gives them a safe home, a safe home where they do not have to worry about predators attacking them and their young, and a safe home where they can breed and slowly rebuild the population of their species. As my cousin Mackenzie and I rode around on the safari tram I learned about one animal that is in danger of extinction- that animal is the Northern White Rhino. There were more than 2,000 Northern White Rhinos remaining as recently as 1960. By 1984, poaching had decimated the population. Now there are only 7 left. 7? Can you believe that? I can count the number of rhinos on my hand. The San Diego Wild Animal Park has two of the remaining seven Northern White Rhinos and all of the others are in captivity to help save them from extinction. The reason why these rhinos are so "valuable" to people is because of their horns. The center of the horns have dense mineral deposits of calcium and melanin. The same can be found in our fingernails and strands of hair. Why is it that humans are so selfish? No animals need to suffer; these materials can be found elsewhere and not at the cost of an animal. Humans and animals were put on this Earth together. We are all meant to share the planet, to help one another, to teach one another. So what can we do to help save animals like the Northern White Rhino from extinction? You can donate or show support by going to places like the San Diego Wild Animal Park whose whole philosophy is to save these animals from extinction and to increase their population. You can also do something as simple as using your voice. Our voice, our concerns, our beliefs are so powerful. They truly can will make a difference.

family bonding time

The Rooney/Gilboy clan keeps growing and growing. This summer I have been blessed with four new cousins. My cousin Sarah had a girl named Abby or Abigail, Leslie had a girl named Kennedy Reese, Anne Marie had a girl named Emma Kate and Karolyn had a boy named Dylan. This summer I got to meet three out of the four new cousins-I'm not sure when I will meet Emma since she lives in Ireland.

When my sister and her boyfriend were in town for a few days, we threw a BBQ which allowed me to meet Abby, Kennedy and Dylan. All of them are such well-bahaved babies. No one cried. They were quiet and smiley. I also got to spend another full day with Abby in Newport Beach before she went back to NorCal.

Luckily I have been able to have a fun, relaxing summer. It has been so relaxing that I have had so much free time. This free time has allowed me a lot of time to spend with the family. Family Bonding is the best! The other day I made my way up to LaVerne to hang out with the Lippincotts and Gilboys. The older cousins (Andrea, Mackenzie and myself) babysat the younger cousins (Aidan, Owen and Kiera) so that Sean and Beth could have a dinner/movie date night. The next day was fun under the sun. Andrea, Mackenzie and I went to the OC Fair during the day and Huntington Beach at night.

Now we are spending a few days in San Diego. Andrea has a conference to go to for teaching so while she is bored listening to guest speakers and what not, Mackenzie and I will have many fun adventures including Del Mar, San Diego Zoo and maybe even the science museum.

Guido....Be Italian!

Daniel Day-Lewis plays Italian filmmaker Guido in the movie Nine.



I wouldn't mind finding a talented, smooth-talking Italian.

New Inspiration

So I am finally jumping on the bandwagon- I made myself a tumblr. A few of my friends have one and one of the blogs that I follow always get their images from .

Nick Drake suggests different musicians, actors, comedians, writers, etc. to follow and one of them is Glee's Dianna Agron. I am not her biggest fan, mainly because I am insanely jealous that she once dated Alex Pettyfer.

Her tumblr gave me some new inspiration. The photographs that she posts are amazing as well as her music playlists. I find it interesting that we have similar taste in music. She has also introduced some new artists to me that will soon be added to my i-pod. She also re-introduced me to blackcabsessions.com. I haven't looked at this website in awhile and it brought a smile to my face.

Here is The Maccabees.