ooh ooh! lets take a sexy pic! ready?

one.... two.... three!






ew. oh wait, thats not sexy.

try again! try again! ready?

one.... two.... three!





dammit, that's not sexy either! i guess drunk isnt very sexy when you're sober.... or really even when you're drunk. but it sure is funny.

in visiting my mom's church last weekend, one thing sticks out in my mind that the preacher said. in fact, i even wrote it down. he said, "i'm sick and tired of the word "compassionate" being used only for the 'liberals'. WE should be the compassionate ones- the christians"

two things about that statement bother me.

1) he is clearly separating two groups as though there is no overlap. christians. liberals. as though the venn diagram of these two groups would be isolated floating circles with no middle ground.

2) he sounded baffled that any non-christian could be considered compassionate- as in people who don't believe in jesus shouldnt be capable of being compassionate.

what he is really sad about has nothing to do with anyone else- it has to do with the fact that the group he belongs to doesn't represent the characteristics that it should.

its interesting that people who label themselves as christians that make closed minded judgements, stand by deceptive leaders because they pray with them on sunday, and send people to die for a war that is being fought for the most selfish of reasons can wonder why they arent considered compassionate.

one question- if you were going to identify yourself with a group of people... would you choose the group based on their actions and what others say about them OR would you choose them based on what they claim they believe?

sometimes it sucks to be known as a christian. because the collective of that word doesn't mean what it should- its the singular description that i prefer.

this weekend was our first wedding shower. it was really so much fun!! my friends went out of their way to make it a really fun shindig and it was awesome.

it was so interesting being at a party where everyone is there because they love you and are important to you and they want to help celebrate your future. its kinda like a birthday party on crack. parts of it are awkward- i mean everyone was so generous with their gifts, its a bit overwhelming. its such a unique experience and we had a really great time. i just appreciate my friends so much!

i took lots of pictures - click here if you wanna see!

thought provoking excerpts from a new york times article a friend emailed me today...

So is the U.S. "stingy" about helping poor countries?

The tsunami illustrates the problem: When grieving victims intrude onto our TV screens, we dig into our pockets and provide the massive, heartwarming response that we're now displaying in Asia; the rest of the time, we're tightwads who turn away as people die in far greater numbers.

But the bottom line is that this month and every month, more people will die of malaria (165,000 or more) and AIDS (240,000) than died in the tsunamis, and almost as many will die because of diarrhea ( 140,000).

And that's where we're stingy. Americans give 15 cents per day per person in official development assistance to poor countries. The average American spends four times that on soft drinks daily.

We gave 15 cents for every $100 of national income to poor countries. Denmark gave 84 cents, the Netherlands gave 80 cents, Belgium gave 60 cents, France gave 41 cents, and Greece gave 21 cents (that was the lowest share, beside our own).

With America's image tarnished around the world, one of the most effective steps Mr. Bush could take to revive it would be to lead a global effort to confront an ongoing challenge like malaria. That would also give Mr. Bush more credibility by suggesting that the "culture of life" he talks about embraces not just fetuses, but also African children crying from hunger.

The best response to accusations of stinginess is not to be defensive, but to be generous. And the measure of generosity is not what you offer when the spotlight is upon you, but what you do when the spotlight moves on.

..... Nicholas D. Kristoff, New York Times

man, that last paragraph gets me everytime...

in honor of the new year, i would like to take a moment to do my own 'best of' list for 2004. judging on this was really strict, but here's what our panel of judges could agree on...

best day of 2004: august 6th, engagement day! (this one was easy...)

best purchase: ruby the subaru for sure.

best new drink: espresso martini from halcyon. (kevin i'm sure would vote for his newfound love, the white russian)

biggest splurge: i have joined the ranks of the girls whose jean pockets have designs on them. i sold my soul to seven jeans and i kinda like it.

worst haircut: avant on guadalupe.

best nightlife discovery: 80's night at the parish

worst workout: america's triathlon, memorial day. hottest day on record + back injury = no fun.

saddest day: may 23rd, the day alias left us for over 7 months. shame on them.

biggest waste of time: TIE! either the easter debacle with rhonda my honda- the straw that broke the camel's back OR sales methodology training at work. (that one's a toss up!)

best new queso: vivo on manor- definitely the best addition to the austin tex mex scene this year.

best concert: surprisingly- i'm gonna have to give this one to 'the darkness'. definitely the best showmanship of the year.

best meal: TIE! either my birthday dinner at mars (get the kaimen ken shiba- trust me) OR christmas dinner at my parents house. what can i say- the woman can COOK!

worst meal: easily the thai lunch i had at some random place off rundburg with kevin. i cant remember the name of the place... and i kinda dont want to.

most touching suprise: how excited my dad is about kevin & i getting married. its just the best!