As Villainous As Always

Well, this is a thing that I do I guess. I've started to notice that my blog is randomly popular. I'm not sure why because I'm really not interesting... like at all!

But, sure!

If you people think I'm interesting, then I'm just gonna go with it!

Here I am again, the most interesting person in the world! I think I should get an award for that... is there an award for that? If not, there should be, and I should win it! Muah-ha-ha.

Was that an evil laugh? How did that get in there?

No idea. There are no villains or evil plots here...

Yeah...

Sometimes I sit down to write this blog and just spew nonsense without having any idea what I'm talking about.

But who ever actually knows what they're talking about? We pretend really well that we do, but when we get to the heart of the matter, all we are are these humans who think we have something to communicate, but we can't actually put any of our feelings into words, so we just start saying things without knowing what it is we're saying in the hopes that someone understands the emotions behind the words we are saying because the words themselves are worthless.

Well... that's a thing that just happened.

I was thinking about backspacing a few paragraphs there, but then I remembered that this blog is for fun, so who cares if I just rambled like an idiot!?

Let's talk about classes!

I'm in a Makeup Lab this year which basically means that I now have all the best photos of myself which I will now share with the world.

Are you ready?

Corrective:

 Middle-Age:

Old-Age:

Tiger:

Dragon:

Accidents:

Facial Hair:

This class is literally the best thing that's ever happened to me. You should all be excited for the pictures from my final that will be coming your way soon!

It's gonna be totally awesome.

Any get that reference?

Moving on.

I am also in a Stage Combat course. I like to pretend I'm a pirate when I'm in class.

That might just be because I'm randomly obsessed with pirates... and listen to pirate music on a regular basis... and... stuff...

Some girls want to be princesses, and some girls want to be pirates. 

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!!!

(cue Ali not being defensive at all)

Now that we've cleared that up, here's the video from my midterm fight sequence!

"Crazy Bitch Breaks Down Door"

Sometime soon there will be a hand-to-hand combat video up here.

Pretty much, as soon as finals happen, you will be getting all the best pics and videos!

Not much else has happened in my life. I've been watching a lot of The Flash and Arrow. Like, it's kinda been eating my life.

But that's fine because I'm still getting my work done and that's the important thing since, ya know, school.

Um... I'm looking forward to the summer! I have no idea what I'm doing yet which is really annoying since I sorta have a job offer, but not really, but we're gonna get it figured out. 

Don't you worry your pretty little head off about that.

Now that I've gotten you all up to date on the things that have happened during that gap of time when you all thought I was dead, I can come back next time with some witty little anecdotes and whatnot.

Oh! That reminds me!

Courtney, my roomie, had two friends come in town on Sunday, one of whom is staying till Thursday. Since I went home for Easter, I drove back Sunday night expecting to just watch some TV, maybe eat some food, and go to bed early.

Courtney's friends apparently had other plans.

As I was driving in, Courtney called me asking how to get to the OKC Bombing Memorial from Bricktown.

For those of you who do not know the geography of Oklahoma City, those two places are nowhere near each other.

Clearly the only logical solution was to join Courtney and her crazy friends at the memorial (at 11:00 pm-ish) to hang out and be able to give them a lift back to their car.

We ended up exploring the memorial and having a lot of fun. 

And of course the only thing you can do after that is enact the evil plot you've been planning for years now and throw your roommate and her friends a surprise Easter egg hunt!

They were all really excited, so I hope that means they had fun!

I wish I had more eggs than I did, but that's ok. 

I am honestly so excited now though to hide Easter eggs for excited little kids of my own, but sorry mother! That's not gonna happen anytime soon!

Well, this post is already pretty long between my rambling and random pictures, so I'll just cut my losses and end it here.

By the way, you should all subscribe to my blog via email over there on the right so that you'll get an update every time I post something new!

Until next time, friends!

As Villainous As Always,

Ali

As Awesomely Busy As Always

I told you I'd be back. And you were so worried, I know you were, don't try to lie to me. 

It's ok, I won't tell anyone! Shh! Your secret is safe with me!

Well, here we are again, doing this thing that we do where I tell random stories about my life and you pretend to care. Oh, what's that? You really do care? Oh, stop it you. I'm blushing.

In that case!

Welcome to April! I know there's been a ton of stuff that I haven't told you, but I'm working on it. I'm really trying here, I promise.

I don't know where to start...

Um...

I've already told you how much I love baking, so I don't think I need to go back into all that.

Oh! We'll start at the most recent thing and just work our way backwards, sound good?

Formal

This past weekend we had our Phi Mu Formal. I decided not to take a date this year, but still had a lot of fun!

The theme of formal this year was "Red Carpet". So our venue (a country club) was decked out all super fancy and whatnot for us.

The food was really good, and although I didn't feel much like dancing, I got a few good moves in!

And because I know everyone is curious about what my hair looked like, don't lie, I know you were, here's what I did to it:

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of those mad hair styling skills!

Spring Break.

One of my best friends and I decided to take a trip to Leadville, Colorado to go skiing and snowboarding. We drove up in one day, spent two days on the mountain, then took a day to drive back.

For those of you who don't know how far Dallas is from Leadville, let me give you a little idea here.

What does that say? It looks like it says 14 hours and 49 minutes. Wow, that's a long way! But it was fine because we listened to a great book!

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

and subsequently

Independant Study by Joelle Charbonneau

They're really good if you like dystopian novels!

I snowboarded when we were there. I wouldn't say that I'm awesome or anything because that's not true. But I'm pretty good, and I really like it!

Snowboard in the foreground, gorgeous gift from God in the background. Overall, a good vacation!

Trojan Women

Before I ever decided to have fun on Spring Break, I was in a play. "What is this madness Ali? You were actually in a play?"

Why yes! I was!

I was in a production of The Trojan Women by Euripides. I was a little skeptical of Greek to begin with because not only have I never been in a Greek production, but the only Greek I've ever seen was... not so great...

But it was actually stinkin' awesome! 

The director was probably the best director I've ever worked with in my life. I am so overwhelmingly glad I was able to be in a show with him because I learned so much and was able to grow a lot through the course of the production.

Not to mention, my bestie (and roommate) was the stage manager. We literally saw each other ALL THE TIME!!! And were so okay with it!

I adored the show and the cast, despite the depressing subject matter, and literally cried when it ended.

Then again, I cried at the end of every show... it was part of the story, I promise!

Halloween

Woo-hoo!! 

Ok, I need to preface everything I'm about to say with the fact that I've only ever celebrated Halloween once before in my life.

Boo-hoo, poor baby Ali didn't get to celebrate Halloween growing up.

Ah, bleh. I had fun slingshot-ing Tootsie Rolls at Trick-or-Treaters through my brother's window, leave me alone!

Anywho, even the one time I celebrated Halloween, I did not make myself a costume for the... holiday?

Whatever.

I decided to go all out this Halloween since I actually had plans for once! My Theatre Little and I were going to go to H & 8th which is a Food Truck Festival in OKC, then go see a midnight performance of Bat Boy at out school. 

The only logical conclusion was to make the number one most bad ass Halloween costume EVER!!!

And what costume might that be?

I'm embarrassed for you that you even have to ask such a question.

I decided to go as the fabulous,

marvelous,

incomparable,

literally incomprehensible,

Harley Quinn.

For those of you who are not already aware of my deep and unending love for all things superheros, here's a quick rundown for ya:

My favorite superheroes in order are:

1. Nightcrawler

2. Robin (Dick Grayson)

3. Deadpool

4. Rorschach

I love the X-Men more than anything, but am a DC girl because the X-Men and Spiderman are the only things about Marvel that I like.

Except I have to say that Marvel's movie making skills are far superior... then again, DC is pumping out some top notch TV shows!

But when it comes to villains, nothing beats Batman villains, and ABSOLUTELY nothing beats Harley Quinn.

She's like my psychotic homegirl, or... something.

Ignoring that, I thought it would be fun to build myself a costume to be my favorite super villain of all time, so I did!

I'll spare you all the boring details and get straight to the results:

Wha-la!

Yeah, I know! How do ya like dem apples!?

It was a fun night; I really enjoyed it, and would like to, potentially, celebrate it again sometime!

ugly.

So, not only have I been in a show since I last posted, but I've also been in a movie. 

I'm not lying. No leg pulling. This is the honest to goodness truth!

Here's some information about the movie:

http://www.eyeshock.com/index.php/movies/comedy/item/186-ugly

It's called ugly. and will be coming out May 31st. I'm not sure where yet, but I will find out!

I played a young doctor named April for the film and spent a lot of my screen time being sarcastic which was great fun!

I loved the role and enjoyed working with Eyeshock Studios. I would love to work with them again in the future if I get a chance!

Big/Little

As a sophomore this year, I've had the magnificently fabulous opportunity to take on Littles.

I understand that not everyone knows what a Little is. Well... I'm not really sure how to describe it other than we make "families" as a sort of mentoring type thing, so incoming freshman have someone to go to and talk to about life and such.

Poor description aside, I now have two amazing Littles (and an adopted Little who I also love but am not exactly sure where she fits in all this).

One of my Littles is through Theatre. Hilariously, my Theatre Big is that roommate I told you about earlier. We're more of friends than Big/Little though.

But I love my Theatre Little! She is the cutest, most adorable thing in the entire world! She's into all the nerdy things I love, and still manages to be one of the coolest people ever.

The fascinating thing, however, is that I had no idea who she was until Big/Little reveal. It was really nerve wracking meeting her for the first time without knowing if she was going to love me as much as I already loved her. 

I think she loves me now... I hope she loves me...

My other Little was chosen. She's my Phi Mu Little. I got to pick her, and she (as far as I know) picked me!

Then came the presents. 

I crafted so hard for Big/Little week. I worked my skills and fingers to the MAX!!!!!!

Literally.

There is a lot of random stuff that I could still talk about, but this post is already long, so we'll just wrap that sucker on up, stick in the back of my closet, and save it for next time.

Although I have to share that I've started writing down funny things that my roommate says which has prompted her to not talk.

She has instead decided that she is a kitty and will only "meow" from now on. So, when I asked her earlier if she would bring me the bowl of chocolate mousse I made, she decided to crawl over to the fridge and carry to bowl to me on her head.

Sometimes I wonder about her, but then I remember: she lives with me, no one would be sane after that!

... I've realized my posts aren't as funny as they used to be. I will endeavor to be less of a failure next time.

Thus, till next time, friends!

As Awesomely Busy As Always,

Ali

Update: My roommate, and I quote, is "apparently not a cat anymore which is sad. [She] liked being a cat. It was a simpler time.”

As Not Dead As Always

So... um... I'm not dead! I know some of you were staring to worry there. But have no fear! I am alive and well! I might have gotten distracted and forgotten to post for a very... very long time.

Oops!

Well... that's a little bit of a lie. I wrote a post in September that I just never posted. Hmm... is it a post if I never posted it?

Anyway! I promise to give you all an update about my life soon, but in the meantime, here's how I was feeling about 7 months ago!

Welcome to sophomore year my friends! There's so much I want to tell you, but only a fraction that I will actually share. I know people want to hear about all the deliciously dramatic things that have happened, but if the people involved heard I posted about them, they might get mad and say mean things about me which would cause me to rant once again about my life and the not happy things going on and that is once lengthy and vicious cycle that I do not want to subject myself to thank you very much!

Thus, no drama will be discussed on this blog! Forward with the happiness Captain!

Let's start on the subject of FOOD!!! (Truly everyone's favorite)

To begin with the conclusion, I have felt like a winner in the food department over the last couple of weeks. Despite almost setting off the fire alarm once due to my silliness in throwing a stick of butter into a hot pan, I have made some super awesome yumminess!! There were too many "ness-es" in that last sentence; I apologize for my inadequacies.

First of all, I cooked some super awesome taquitos! My sister found the recipe on Pinterest and shared it with me. But these are the best taquitos in the history of ever; no lie! I don't have a picture of this one because they're not as pretty as my other achievements, but if you're curious and would like to explore that funny tickling feeling telling you to make your own, here is the link: http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/baked-sweet-potato-and-black-bean-taquitos/.

Numero due! I made the amazing, the incredible, the confounding, the magical- Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup. (Insert applause here). I made it from scratch in my happy little pot and it was an epic adventure. I say adventure because it was during this cooking experience that I almost burned butter... the apartment was rather fogkey (smokey/foggy but I didn't want to say smoggy). Inventing new words, fun!

Now, I know what you're thinking: you can't have Panera Style Broccoli Cheddar Soup without bread!

And you would be correct my friends. It is actually a written law... that exists in my head... ANYWAY!! I was not quite adventurous enough to attempt a bread bowl because my oven is finicky and I have never made bread before, so I decided to start small. I made, from scratch, I'm talking yeast, flour, the whole nine yards, two French Baguettes!

Not only was the meal delicious, but I made it on the first try without burning, charring, or messing up anything! (We're ignoring the butter incident) I feel accomplished.

But the magic doesn't end there!

How could the magic possibly end there? I haven't gotten to the best part yet! Dessert!

I made...

wait for it...

keep waiting...

one more wait...

A White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake!!!!

Naturally the recipe intended to mimic the Nothing Bundt Cake version of this beauty with icing and all.

Stuff doesn't usually turn out so great on the first try; let's just say that my key lime pie this summer is not being featured for a reason. But this cake not only tasted good, but it tasted correct. As someone who worked at Nothing Bundt Cake and who has therefore eaten A LOT of their cakes in her short lifetime, I can honestly say that I have never had a cake so closely resemble the moisture and flavor so accurately. 

I was not only impressed with myself, but the awesome people who wrote the recipe! They are geniuses; because not only is the cake delicious, but it is super easy. I'm not kidding! There is no leg pulling happening here! I am being as serious as I can school myself to be when I say that this was the easiest cake I have ever made. You should all make one!

And of course I can't leave you all hanging in the dust if I'm challenging to make your own cakes, so here is the recipe I used! 

http://5boysbaker.com/recipes/desserts/white-chocolate-raspberry-bundt-cake-copycat-version/

Thank you 5 Boys Baker for introducing such a work of pure magic into the world of us amateur bakers!

And now since another week has passed since I typed the beginning part of this post, I will share with you all yet another culinary victory!

Key Lime Pie.

Remember me mentioning how the Key Lime Pie from this summer was an epic failure? Well, for those of you who were unfortunate enough to have to eat my sad attempt at a Key Lime Pie this summer, I deeply apologize! No human should have been subjected to that atrocity.

That being said, this one was fabulous awesomeness compared to that one!

Look at that beauty! Aren't you proud!? Aren't you impressed!? Aren't you wondering what I'm doing with my life besides baking!?

Oh... I mean... what am I doing with my life?

Hmm... let's see...

Well for one thing, my friends threw me a surprise birthday party! Can I just say, THE MOST SURPRISING!!!!!

Not only because my birthday is actually in July, but because they were the most covert and sneaky about it. I legitimately had no idea! Believe me, if I had, I would have been wearing makeup for the pictures!

I cried.

I cannot even begin to express how much that meant to me. Life dreams came true. I wish my understanding of the English language held within it the means of translating the feelings I have into comprehensible words and sentences. Alas, 'tis not so.

The day resulted in my roommate and best friend, my twin, my auntie, and three really good friends being the most amazing people in the entire world. Thank you all so much! You are truly unbelievable individuals. I love you all and would not trade you for anything.

I have always wanted someone to throw a surprise party for me. This was more than I could ever have dreamed or asked for. Thank you.

But surprise parties and good food are not the only things that have gone on since we last saw each other. Oh no!

Let's journey back to last semester!

I was not in any shows: sad! But I did a lot of crocheting, and was able to be more involved in my sorority!

One example of this was Spring Sing! Our first year to compete and we got 3rd! Super proud!

Spring Sing was a lot of fun, and am I so impressed with the ladies who put the script and music together! Props to you for creating this beauty!

Other than that I didn't so a whole bunch outside of class work and such.

To the summer!!

I spent most the summer working for my father at his office. Don't get me wrong, the work was easy and the money was good, but I do not want a desk job. Like, ever again! Please don't make me!

If anything, this summer confirmed for me that I am pursuing the correct profession! 

Since I was not able to participate in any shows this summer, I took it upon myself to look into amateur voice acting.

Most of the stuff I found is really simple. Fandubs, audio-books for original novels, random songs. But it's a lot of fun and I like it!

I actually just finished recording a really cool project that I will post the link for as soon as it's all edited and whatnot! I'm SUPER excited!

Naturally, I hung out with my friends a whole bunch this summer as well. It was really nice to see them, especially since we all go to school so far away from each other. It was great to be able to reconnect like that.

Other summer exploits: Chicago!

I'm going to try and make this brief because I know each day of my Chicago trip could be its own post!

Basically, I would like to move to Chicago after college, so it was really cool to explore the city I hope to one day call home. 

I went with my sister and her friend with the singular intention of seeing Starkid! For those of you who are not familiar with Starkid, they are a group of friends who created their own production company, and who write and preform their own original and parody musicals.

They did two shows this summer, and I had the brilliant idea to suggest to my sister that, since we are now adult people, we should go to Chicago to see them! This worked out rather nicely because we have family up in that area that we were able to stay with during our time there. (Thank you SOOO much by the way!)

The trip was super mega awesome funness, and I got pictures with ALL the Starkids, and the shows were great, and we had awesome food, and we go a lot of great pictures, and it was essentially just a great trip!

All the pictures are on my sister's Facebook for the friends and family members who are curious about that exploit.

Also prior to this semester, was sorority recruitment. 

I'm going to be honest, I was not excited about doing recruitment, but it was actually a lot of fun!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet all the girls, and I am so in love with all my new sisters. Not only are they all so precious, but I really think they will be able to carry on the legacy we're trying to leave on campus. I cannot wait until they're all initiated and know all the things!

Other than that, my classes have been good. I'm learning a lot of useful stuff, and hopefully after tomorrow I'll have a little more to actually write about!

Random side note: who noticed before this post that I changed the entire format of my blog? Anyone? I did that last February if you're curious...

Back to the present. It's March now, not September, and so much has happened! But I'm going to be mean and leave you hanging, muah-ha-ha! I promise to check back in soon with the details of every crazy thing I've done this year.

You know, unless I die before then! ;)

As Not Dead As Always,

Ali