The End or The Beginning

Well, I guess this 41st entry marks "the end" of my idea blog. But, even though I have had moments I've had to think of something to blog about, I think my blog will continue. I noticed that blogging makes you more aware. It makes you notice things around you, not just so you can blog about it later, but it makes you see things you may not have seen before if you had no reason to look. It also lets you understand yourself, and develop your thoughts. There have been so many times I start writing a blog, and I find myself typing things I was never planning on writing about. It's like blogging gives your brain a chance to catch up with you. So, this post is dedicated to the discovery of blogging this semester. I never understood blogging, I never thought I had anything worth blogging about. But, I've learned how fun it can be, and how much it can help you as a person. :)

Definitely Irresponsible

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/12/02/2009-12-02_catholic_league_slams_peta_ad_featuring_joanna_krupa_holding_crucifix_over_nude_.html

If anyone is ever trying to find an irresponsible ad - this would definitely be on the list. I was really shocked when I saw this ad, and I'm sure many people were offended by it. It really surprised me that an organization like PETA needed to go to this extreme. It seems like they could do so much without having to do something like this. The fact that they used a cross in front of a naked model can be very offensive to Christians who see the cross as a symbol of forgiveness,hope, and redemption. When I think of PETA, and their tagline "Be an Angel for Animals," I don't think of a naked model with a cross, I think of a nice family adopting a puppy. But now when I think of PETA, I will be thinking of this image and I will automatically have a bad feeling towards them. I understand this was a risk they were willing to take, but in this case I feel the risk outweighs the benefits by too much. Catholic League President Bill Donohue calls PETA a "fraud," and says "The fact is that cats and dogs are a lot safer in pet stores than they are in the hands of PETA employees." This quote shows that this ad is definitely not responsible if it can get a reaction like that from anyone.

My First Real Cake

I made my first cake from scratch this Thanksgiving. It was delicious. Plus, it was really fun to make. You don't just open the box and put it in the oven, but you get to see everything that goes into the cake, and you really get that great feeling that you made something great. The best part is seeing a smile from each member of your family, and hearing things like, "Wow, that cake really made my day." I decided I love baking from scratch. It's more personal, more fun, and definitely more tasty. I also decided I'm going to start experimenting with making things from scratch, designing/decorating cakes, and putting together a book with pictures and recipes of all the things I make. If I never get my own bakery, at least my kids will have a great baking book!

Here is the cake I made:

Thanksgiving?

This Thanksgiving day, I saw the movie The Blind Side with my mom and my sister. Now, I'm not here to give you a review of the movie or tell you how great it was (which it was), but I realized something about Thanksgiving from seeing this movie. Why is it that Thanksgiving is a day for us to remember how blessed we are and give thanks for all the great things in our lives? Is that really enough? Is it enough to just say, I'm thankful for (insert stereotypical response here). In this movie, the character of Leigh Anne, played by Sandra Bullock, is a very well off woman with a great house and family. She opens up her home to someone who has never had a real family, and not even a bed of his own. So shouldn't thanksgiving be more about moments like this? Shouldn't we be going out and helping others so that they have something to be thankful for? Everyone already knows we're thankful for all the great things we have, and although it is nice to have a reminder, an even better way of remembering would be to go out and see how many people don't have all the great things we have and trying to do something to make their thanksgiving special. Similar to the Tap Project for Unicef, if every person donated a canned food item or went out and did something for others on Thanksgiving instead of sitting in our nice houses, watching football on the flat screen, waiting for the turkey, maybe the less fortunate as well as ourselves would have a better reminder of what we are thankful for.

Here is one of the trailers I really liked for the movie with a couple of parts such as the Thanksgiving scene and the scene where he gets his own bed.

Inspiration

I recently made this for my sister. I would love to have a website where people can request one of these to be made - pick colors and the quote/verse. I think a simple reminder, a quote or a verse that helps you get through the day, can make such a big difference. For me, when I'm stressed out or worried about everything I have to do I remember "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." If I had this in front of me, on a painting like this, I could look up and remember I could accomplish anything I need to accomplish. Sometimes, all we need is a small reminder. I think sharing this would be a lot of fun, and could help a lot of people :)

Rich Women

My biggest pet peeve - rich, snobby women.

Today our church went to a Habitat for Humanity build. Little did we know we would be surrounded by the typical, rich, "Plano West" moms. (Plano West is probably the snobbiest place around, maybe worse than Highland Park? Close call.) Here are just some of the things being said around me as we tried to help build the house.

- "O EM GEE - I CANNOT BELIEVE NONE OF YOU WATCH GLEE!" (said by a 40+ year old mom)
- "So, where are you all going for Thanksgiving? We are going to the Carribean, they have great golf!"
- "Umm, I'm gonna go find something else to do, I don't want to get paint on my clothes."
- "I am NOT lifting any more, I don't want my back to hurt!"
- "My life is SO busy. I don't really know what I'm doing, but I mean my life is FULL."
- (talking about nose jobs) - "Well, I just want him to take off this bump..."
- (Woman in true religion jeans and high heel boots- "Well this is all I have to get dirty, I don't have anything worse"
- while we were painting long wooden boards, after we paint one side.."So let's just flip them over now and paint the other side"
- while painting the sides of the boards - "it's just like when you get your nails done!"

Their afternoon consisted of standing around holding a paintbrush and gossiping. It drove me absolutely crazy. Why do you even bother coming? To make yourself feel better about being a rich lazy snob? Now here is my real discovery, acquiring money makes you a different person and not in a good way. Most rich people don't go around donating their money and doing good things with it. Well, there are of course suggestions. But these women, even if they didn't have money their whole lives, once they get money they become this stereotypical, dumb, full of themselves, snob. Having too much money gives them too much freedom to buy everything they need to make them not have to put forth effort into anything. Their energy goes into telling other people what they want them to do, and therefore, they start to think they are better than everyone who has to do these things themselves. As much as young girls may think they want to marry a rich guy, I've realized I would never want to marry a rich guy, because I don't want to become like that. And I've realized these women are my absolute biggest pet peeve. I'm sorry but you are not the center of the world, and you need to get off your throne and get down and dirty like the rest of us.

If the government required each person to do 5 hours of community service a month, and really and truly experience it, maybe we'd all be a little bit better people and the world might be a little bit better of a place. I realize this may all sound a little hypocritical coming from a girl who has lived in Plano her whole life and goes to SMU, but nobody should act like that. I don't even think that's who they really are. I think money taints people's hearts and personalities, and I really do feel sorry for them.

Video Greeting Cards

My grandparents live in Egypt. They are thrilled when they receive a letter or phone call from my brother, my sister, or me. My siblings and I decided to send my grandparents a recordable/musical christmas card. We used to never imagine recordable greeting cards, but now I ask, why not video greeting cards? I imagine a video christmas card would look something like this...