MONDAY MUSIC SHARE: Citizens - Made Alive


You guys. I meant to post this video last week. My bad.  

This song has been stuck in my head for like ever now. I just can’t help it - it’s super poppy and makes me happy.

And I usually don’t do any straight worship music on my MMS (give or take Gungor and/or Lone Bellow but I wouldn’t normally call it directly worship music) but this song from Mars Hills Vevo is awesome.

And what a great message. I’ve been made alive! Whaddup!

Praise God for all things new. He’s good. 

I hope this song gets stuck in your head too.


5 Things Tuesday

DON’T TICKLE DARIUS - thanks to this awesome Buzzfeed article, I spent quite some time watching and rewatching ridiculous Vines that made me laugh.  

This one may be my favorite:

2  BIRTHDAY MONTH - You guys! It’s almost August which means it’s almost my birthday month! 

I’m just really excited because it marks so many new things for me. A new year in life, a new fiscal year for work, a new month for ushering in that last bits sweet summery goodness. 

August. I’m happy you’re (almost) here.

3  COREY ON BROADWAY - Have you ever had one of those really proud moments where one of your friends finally “arrived”? Through the years and hard work and hustle … they finally made it?

Well, I had one of those moments recently when my friend Corey Wright was pretty much front and center for most of “Chicago” at the Hollywood Bowl.  

That’s him to the right of Samantha Barks (she played Eponine on Les Mis) - who did a phenomenal job! I was a little unsure of Ashlee Simpson playing Roxie but she did a great job too. The whole production was amazing. Cor, you did a great job!!

4  NO MORE XANGA - I know. Some of you are like “what the heck is Xanga?” It’s like the great great grandfather of blogging. Before there was ever a Tumblr, there was this old school blogging platform that I (along with a bunch of other Honor Academy alumni) used to talk to the world.  

Even though the act of blogging itself never died, Xanga did become obsolete. But I’ve kept it for myself as a personal journal over all these years just to remind myself of where I’ve been, how far I’ve gone, what God has done through it all - it’s been a great life journal.

And now it’s going away. Permanently. Which means I have to go backup all my old, old posts. It’s going to be good … going through it all. It’s definitely some of my best writings yet.

I’ll have to share some of it to you one day.

5  FAREWELL TO KIDD KRADDICK - yesterday morning I woke up to the sad news that one of my favorite radio personalities passed away this weekend. I’ve been listening to Kidd Kraddick In The Morning for over a decade, pretty much religiously (thanks to podcasts). 

And to find out that the host, the glue that kept everything together - Kidd unexpectedly died on Saturday during a charity fundraiser.  Listening to the first show without Kidd was soooo sooooooo sad. I could NOT stop crying. To think how much he touched so many lives over the past 20 years and how he brought these wonderful team of people into our lives. It has meant so much!

Goodness. I thought losing Cory Monteith was a shocker (I haven’t been able to watch Glee since he passed). Losing Kidd Kraddick was super hard.  Who knew you could feel so close to someone just by listening to their morning show? 

Kidd - you’ll be missed!  Thanks for all the laughs!


5 Things Tuesday

Check it. I’m on time.

Here’s 5 things going on right now:

1  KIDS REACT - Have y’all seen the adorable Cheerios commercial that featured an interracial family? I first watched it about a month ago while visiting my friends in Tulsa and right off the bat I loved it. I think it’s cute!  

Apparently a lot of people disagreed and the controversial commercial received a lot of backlash. Which is stupid! And it makes me sad. But then this “Kids React” video restored my faith in the future generation. 

Seriously. Those kids get it. I don’t know why other people don’t.

2  “DO NOT DISTURB - You guys, I discovered the coolest button ever! It’s the “Do Not Disturb” switch on the iPhone. And it’s amazing.

One little tidbit about me: I HATE talking on the phone. Seriously, that’s why there’s texting. 

But this little button allows me to still be connected to the interwebz and receive texts but sends all my calls to voicemail. Everyone except for my favorites!  

It’s the perfect storm. So yeah - if you want to get hold of me, TEXT.

3  NEW TRAILERS / SNEAK PEEKS - I don’t know which one I’m more excited about. 

  • HIMYM Season 9 Teaser - the kids like you’ve never seen them!

4  BIZ REBOOT - So I’m at a mile marker of sorts. It’s been one full year of deciding to do Freelance Photography here in LA and six months since I quit my other job to do this full time. It’s had its ups and downs, but overall it’s been a great year.

But with every debriefing comes a reboot. A couple new things are on the horizon:

  • new site - clean, streamlined, easy to navigate, minimal copy
  • new prices - they’re going up starting August 1st and I’ll be writing them in a Sharpie
  • new focus - narrowing the offerings here a bit to master a specific craft (at least that’s the idea)

5  ROYAL BABY!!! 

Seriously. How awesome is a new royal baby! Just a moment ago we were HERE. Now we’re here:


5 Things Summer To-Do List

I know that we’re already halfway through summer but I realized yesterday that I never was fully aware of the typical things I do each summer. I’ve shared my Christmas Movie List awhile back, so I figured something similar here with summer to-do’s.  

1  (500) Days of Summer - It’s summertime. Her name is Summer. There’s kitschy dance numbers and illustrated birds in the film. What’s not to love? 

BONUS: Who knew that was Lyla Garrity at the end who played Autumn? I kind of like it.

2  Pool Parties & Outdoor Movies - When I lived in Florida I threw some bomb pool parties. Friends, food, pink kayaks, and an outdoor movie projected on the side of my little cottage.  It was amazing.

I can’t exactly do that now, but maybe one day. Although LA does have Eat See Hear (outdoor movies) and they’re playing The Breakfast Club later this summer.  Yes.

3  Ice CreamLA is weird about their ice cream.  Not a fan of some of the local fav spots.  But there are two places here that have great ice cream:

  • Baskin Robbins - classic. delicious. 31 flavors.
  • Sprinkles Ice Cream - they sprinkle cupcake bits on it!

Although, if I had my way I’d go to Seattle for some Molly Moon’s. Yum.

4  BBQ’s & Bonfires - What’s summer without a BBQ? Seriously, grills some patties and bratwurst. Hang out with friends. Best.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to a beach bonfire, but those are always fun. Plus, you get to make s’mores!

5  A Summer Getaway - Lastly, you need a little summer vacay. Somewhere new and different from where you can unplug and rest. 

Summer Sister Trips are the best.  We’ve already gone to New York and Portland, this year we’re going to Boston.  Excited.


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