Trip the Light Mingtastic

!!!

In honor of this Record 18 Post Blog Purge, I gotta shout out to Lindsay. Recap: Seattle, Zag, Icelandic Volcano ruined Europe trip, dragged to filming friend. I got to see her and her glowing (wink!) sis Megan during my Seattle trip this month. The reason I have to mention her on this last of 18 posts today is because she is my blog cattle prod, if you will. Every time I talk to her, I invariably have been delinquent in my updating and she ever so lovingly reminds me, "You have got to post on your blog, I think you are losing readership!" I unwittingly then remind her that she and my mother ARE my readership, but I always appreciate the concern.

I hope this provides you with some day after Memorial Day reading at work, Linds. Will try and keep up with that other damn blog you read. Quelle pressure!

Just to be helpful, jump to the beginning of the 18 post string here!

In case I don't say it enough, I am tickled by each and every one of my readers. Especially those beyond Lindsay and my mom. I'm always so shocked to find out that people read this silly little blog, but know that it just thrills me that you choose to waste your time keeping up with my ruckus. Love Love Love.

EEK.

Miss Ryann is just such a love. I miss her and her giggly cousins every single day.

Baby, Baby, Baby oooohhh.

I was going to do this blogpost as a video, and I just couldn't stomach it. But this here blog has many purposes, and one is to keep me honest, so I continue with the self-exposure.

The Coco in my previous post is one of my favorite people in the world. I love just about everything about her; I trust her completely. I have told her things that I have never since breathed out loud. Thus, I also completely respect her opinion.

Well imagine my surprise when she tells me months ago that I simply must watch "Never Say Never".

Well what the hell is that?

Oh. Seriously?! I thought she had to be kidding. I knew very little about this prepubescent heartthrob before she proclaimed his greatness. Sometimes teenage patients of mine hang his picture up in their hospital rooms. I know he's endorsed by Usher. He's also teased on sketch shows. So what? Coco insisted that this little man is the real deal and everything from his Canadian roots to his iconic hair is perfectly lovable.

Well, I know that the teenie bopper in me is still very much alive, and I also know Coco knows her shit so I made a mental note to watch it at some point. Last week, I was feeling like I needed a pick me up. So I went into the grocery store, hood over head, and snuck up to the Redbox DVD rental kiosk. I quickly made my choice and skulked outta there fast before anyone could see what I had chosen. I then proceeded to let the DVD sit shamefully in the bottom of my purse for days. Finally, I put it in during one of my planned 'productivity' days, thinking it would just be on in the background while I paid my bills and mended buttons.

Huh. Nothing got done. Not one thing. I sat on my flat arse and watched the entire thing. twice, asian eyes glued to the screen. This kid is just mad. Talented. It's incredible, and oh so intoxicating. I found myself falling for him completely, and I really just want to make his dreams come true. I have to love him even more, because he also makes me want to make my dreams come true. I've got the fever, people. I don't want any tylenol. Let it burn.

Isn't it Ironic, Don't You Think?

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, the first thug on the street.

Brave Boy.

While my life is startlingly Y-chromosome-less at this point, events like this just have to make me laugh.

While Coco was in town last month, we had just experienced and loved a show by the Head and the Heart at the Troubadour, and she was jonesing for some drive-thru nosh something bad. The only establishment I could think of that would be open at that hour was Cali's own In-N-Out. We pulled into one, and much to her dismay, they had closed but fifteen minutes prior. We turned around to walk back to the car when I heard a male voice call out "Hey, I'll share my fries with you...." I looked and there was a guy gathered with his bros sitting at a table near the door. I laughed and continued walking, thinking he was just being funny. We got in the car, and I continued to carry on about whatever else I was already distracted with. I stopped talking when Coco starts laughing hysterically. The Fry Sharer was at my car door. Aw geez. He looked like he was barely old enough to drive, but I didnt want to crush his spirit sooo..... ok I rolled my window down. OK FINE, I gave him my number. There was no way anything was happening but I wanted to encourage his audacity. Plus, he was pretty polite about it.

So he, having just gotten his 12 year old molars, starting texting me right away. No game. I was just casually chatting with him, he was commenting on my name. But THEN this came:

As for Coco , at least she got her fries. Still winning.

Yuk it up, clowns. They just keep comin.
Love Love Love.

Please Don't Buy That.

{photo source}

I love the grocery store. I like to cook, I like to eat, so the grocery store is like the mother ship to me. I wish I had all the time in the world and unlimited funds to make meals and always have my fridge stocked with whole, organic, nutritious and decadent food. You would think that, given my passion for food, I would be my best self at the grocery store, right? While this prediction might be accurate in some ways, I also find myself being kind of an asshole at the grocery store.

I judge people based on what foods they buy. If a mother has a cart full of chips, soda, and cookies, I silently condemn her for setting her kids up for obesity and gluttony. If a single person loads up on frozen dinners, I mentally accuse them of being lazy. If a beefy guy is buying protein powder and energy bars, I bite my tongue to keep from telling him that whey protein is so much better than soy, but to make sure to buy whey protein isolate, not concentrate. I loathe seeing anyone buy energy drinks or white bread. My skin just crawls. I would like to think that my annoyance stems from genuine concern for the health and well being of my fellow Americans, but really, I probably am just nosy and judgmental. I cant hold everyone to the standards I set for myself, and I'm sure I need to lighten up a little. I just feel that changing my eating has changed everything about my life; I want everyone to experience the transformation! My body is so much happier. Shouldn't yours too?!

Read the Clean Method by Alejandro Junger and Food Rules by Michael Pollan. Please consider, if only to avoid my evil eye when I see you touching anything with "instant" on the label.

Love Love Love.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Updated photos of my little LA bachelorette pad. I loooooove this little guesthouse. It's the perfect size for me, and I love having a backyard and being tucked away from the craziness of the Hollywood area. I am walking distance to plenty of food and fun, and I can only hear helicopters eh, three nights week. I'll take it :)

On MTV cribs, everyone always refers to the bedroom as 'where all the magic happens'. For this, I feel I must make it my own : This is where no magic happens.

Well, it is pretty magical that I can lay in bed and see the TV through my door and past the kitchen. OK, so some magic happens there.

This is the inspiration board. In my house in Spokane, it was hung up in my office/crazy room. In LA, my office apparently shares a space with the loo. It is what it is.

Brothel che Mingni is open for boarders! Come bask in the sun, friends.

Love Love Love.

What I'm Good For.

As a bridesmaid, you really do have to endure endless conversations about the headache inducing parts of wedding planning. All of that becomes worth it when this happens:

Please notice that this all happened over the course of an hour. At 2000 (that's 8pm for the non military/hospital people) I first watched the Billy Madison footage..... and at 2053 I had the dance choreographed, filmed, and emailed to her. I may be designing and making the favor boxes, but I consider this my greatest asset. I take dance seriously. Please, look forward to the final performance. I smell a future Youtube wedding video hit.

Love Love Love.

A Change of Heart.

I am a self proclaimed hater of modern art. I'm not deep enough for it; I usually don't get it and therefore think it's stupid. However, during my trip to Seattle, I made myself go check out the Nick Cave: Meet Me At the Center of Earth exhibit at the downtown Seattle Art Museum. I had heard rave reviews about it and had some time to kill.

Could I be maturing? Doubt it, but I took my time getting to the exhibit on the top floor; stopping to weave through the other exhibits. I found myself staring and appreciating the artwork. The pieces were speaking to me, I was mesmerized by some of the things I was seeing. It was weird. I also felt like I was having an existential identity crisis because of this.

Nick Cave? Crazy fascinating. Colors, materials, movement. Go see for yourself.