Stateside: Colorado

And now I'm really almost done writing about my stateside experience.
After hanging out a couple days in Louisiana, Kristen and I hopped in her car and headed up to her home on Colorado.
The first night, we stopped in Dallas to spend yet another night with my Aunt Diane and Uncle Greg. It was so good to get to see them so much this summer.
In Dallas, my birthday got to CONTINUE (the day we spent the night there was my actual birthday) as my aunt had prepared a delicious birthday dinner for me and the most scrumptious of birthday cakes. It was SO good, and I have taken the recipe from her to try to recreate it.

Me with Aunt Diane, Uncle Greg, and the cake


Sorry about the quality - you can tell that my camera was still having issues.
They gave me the most beautiful little blue Swarovski jewelry case to carry my jewelry in when traveling. I love it!

The next day, we hopped back in the car and spent the WHOLE DAY driving (and, of course, rocking out and singing at the top of our lungs to New Kids on the Block and other fantastic 80's music!) until we arrived in Colorado, where we had a great time just relaxing and hanging out. We watched some fantastic movies - "Princess Protection Program," which I love love LOVED! It was so cute, and I totally wish a cool princess like Demi Lovato was in this movie would come hang out in my life.
We also watched "The Christmas Secret," which, aside from the annoyingness of the actor they chose for the main character, was AWESOME and basically proved that everything about Christmas really can exist. Kristen and I, of course, BELIEVE, so we didn't really need proof, but it was a very touching movie that should definitely be watched by all of the non-believers out there. For example, I am SO making Guillaume watch it with me this upcoming Christmas season. Which is coming up SO soon!!!! Yay!!!!

We didn't just watch movies, though. I also had the pleasure of getting the most WONDERFUL massage ever. It was an ashiatsu massage, which I had actually never even heard of before. Ashi means foot or leg in Japanese, atsu means pressure, so as you can probably guess, it was like a shiatsu massage, but done with the feet instead of the hands. It was super amazing. (I wonder if shi is supposed to mean hand or finger. Because I thought te was hand and yubi was finger. . .hmmmm. . .I wonder if shi, which also means 4 and death, is also another word for finger).

We also, of course, WENT SHOPPING! I think we both had a little birthday money left over, so we decided to go on a shopping spree, and we found ourselves at the biggest Forever 21 in all of Colorado. It was so huge that it was almost overwhelming. I'm convinced it had to have been the largest Forever 21 in existence. Afterwards, we decided to have a fashion show with all of our new clothes. Check it out!

Kristen and Audrey Fashion Show 2009
I unfortunately can't figure out how to get the video on my computer to embed it in this post, so hopefully the link will work.

We also got to drive up to Keystone to visit my Aunt Boogie and her husband Charles Martin, who I guess is my uncle but whom I refer to just as Charles Martin.


Aunt Boogie!

It was good to get to hang out with them some. Charles Martin whipped us up a delicious dinner, and afterwards, we watched Miss Potter. Now, I am totally NOT a Renee Zelwegger fan. She kind of annoys me, and I really thought they could have done a better job choosing someone the play the role of Beatrix Potter. She is why I had actually not previously seen this movie. Let me just say, though - if you are like me and not seeing this movie because of the presence of Renee Zelwegger in it, GET OVER IT!!!! This movie is absolutely FANTASTIC! Forget Becoming Jane (which was, withount a doubt, a marvelous movie), this is the most heartwarming, breathtaking, enchanting, touching story of a writer ever. Period. And that's all there is to it.

We spent the night there and then had some time in the morning to hang out chatting and letting mister photographer Charles Martin try out some new things with his camera.


Me and Krist rocking it in Keystone!


Then we had to drive to the airport in Denver, and I had to fly home to catch my flight back to France. ::sadness::

Stateside: Louisiana

After Hilton Head, I headed back to Louisiana for a couple days, where I was super psyched to get to hang out with Sarah and Jonathan, two of my closest friends from high school that I hadn't seen in AGES!

Note that I am almost 5 feet 9 inches tall, even though between them I look like a miniature me.


It was SO good to get to hang out with them again, and it made me sad that it's not something that can happen more often. We had a great time. They came out to my dad's house, and we went for a walk in the woods before eating a delicious lentil dinner that Tina prepared for us.
Afterwards, we went out bowling, which none of us had done in ages.


I bowl!



Sarah bowls!

When we first got there, we ran into my cousin Courtney and her two kids Brady and Victoria. I hadn't seen any of them in ages, and it was especially random that we ran into them at the bowling alley since they also hadn't been bowling in ages. It was really cool to see them, though, and to get to spend a bit of time with them, as they ended up bowling in the lane right next to ours.


Brady and Victoria


At one point in time in the night, Jonathan and I decided that everything we said needed to be sung.


Jonathan looking like a super star singer!

We had a great time laughing and singing and bowling.

The next day, I was going to celebrate my birthday with my Mom at the Japanese restaurant in town, and we decided to invite Sarah and Jonathan along. It reminded me of old times, celebrating high school birthdays with the fam and Sarah and Jonathan. It makes me smile just to think about it.


Me looking larger than Sarah and Jonathan this time!

I got some great gifts from Mom and Kristen - some fantastic clothes(including this incredibly awesome dragon shirt) and shoes that I LOVE from Mom, and some fantastic clothes (including an "I love vegan cupcakes" t-shirt) and fun things from Kristen. Afterwards, Kristen, Mom, and I went shopping for jeans, as Mom also wanted to get me some new jeans for my birthday. I found some great ones at American Eagle, and we had super fun shopping.

(here is where I want to put a "thank you mom for a fantastic birthday" picture, but unfortunately, as you can probably tell from these pictures, my camera was having some issues and sort of went out of commission for a little bit. That picture therefore was not taken on my camera. Kristen or Mom, if you have one that you want to send my way, that would be awesome!)

Stateside: Hilton Head Island

NOTE:I somehow took next to no pictures while we were vacationing, so most pictures will, once again, be stolen from Kristen. Unfortunately, I don't have most of the ones that I want, so some pictures will just have to come later.
I for some reason can't remember right now if Hilton Head is in North Carolina or South Carolina. I think south. . .that's annoying. I should be able to remember.

Anyhow, every summer the we take a family vacation with our Dad and Tina, and this summer the destination was Hilton Head, South (?) Carolina. Tina found a great house for us right on the beach. It was amazing, and it sort of looked like the Weasley house from Harry Potter.
(picture of Harry Potter house)
We stayed for about a week, and we had an absolutely FANTASTIC time!!!!
Russell and Miranda drove down from their home in North Carolina the first night. My cousin Blake lives there with his wife,

Cousin Blake with Russell

Peggy, and they run this theatre, so one our first full day there, we went to see "Gutenburg: the Musical!," the play that was going on there at the moment. There were only two actors, but a TON of baseball hats to show what personalities they were being at any given moment.


Russ And Miranda trying on Drunk 1 and Drunk 2 hats



Krist and I sporting some of the other hats

The day after, Russell and Dad went out fishing while the rest of us attempted a new sport that I think was called paddleboarding.


Me and Krist and David paddleboarding

We basically had these big surfboard type boards, and we stood up on them and used paddles to get around. It was really cool and really fun, but being forced to paddle into the wind made it slightly less fun. There were points when the wind was so strong that I just wasn't strong enough, and I had to sit down to paddle. It really was super fun, though.
We just happened to be coming in at the same time as my dad and Russell, and Dad said that he was just amazed by how graceful everyone was looking until he saw me looking awkward and goofy and ridiculous. Yep! That's me for you!

The next day, we all went out on waverunners, and it was ridiculously awesome, even if I didn't get to drive (I forgot to bring my driver's license with me). The not driving was totally okay because I got to ride with Kristen, who was the awesomest driver. I almost think I had more fun than I would have if I had driven because I could close my eyes and therefore not get the full brunt of the water spraying in my eyes. And also, you're always just a little bit more scared about what's happening when you're not driving (and when you have your eyes closed), so I got to feel the thrill of the unexpected. Awesomeness! I had so much fun!
(picture of us all after the waverunning)

Unfortunately, Russell and Miranda had to leave the next morning for working purposes. ::sadness:: After they left, we rented bikes and went for an extraordinarly long and hilariously fun bike ride. I don't think my dad was having all that much fun, though, as he is a triathlete in training for an Iron Man, and I think our pace was just a little bit slow and frustrating for him. It started raining after the bike ride, so we went to see Transformers 2, which I absolutely LOVED, even if I still think I liked the first one a little bit more.

We also went kayaking one day, which was fun although slightly lacking in excitement. Thank goodness, though, that I was once again with Kristen. I am far to weak to attempt to kayak alone, as I discovered last summer in Croatia with Guillaume. We managed to create our own excitement by banging our boats into each other and trying to splash each other. Mega good times were had.


the gang kayaking

Aside from that, Kristen and I took a walk on the beach every morning with one exception. And that exception existed because we along with David went for a bike ride on the beach. Once again, the wind got to me, and I ended up WAY behind Kristen and David and almost didn't make it to the end of our route. I was super impressed with myself that I did, though, even though Krist and David did it so easily.


Me and Krist and the end of the almost impossible for me bike ride.

We also attempted to go shopping twice but failed, as there was really no shopping WHATSOEVER in Hilton Head.

Oh, and we also had the cousin and his wife and friend over for dinner one night, and Tina made cupcakes to celebrate my and Kristen's birthdays. They were so cute!





Thanks Dad and Tina for a wonderful birthday!

And one night we went over to his house to play Guitar Hero.


Us all at a fancy very un-vegan-friendly restaurant on the last night there.

So, all in all, the trip was a great success, and the only things that could have made it more awesome are Donald being there and Russell having gotten to stay the whole time. Alas, these things did not happen. Sadness.

Stateside: Rigolette Bayou Inernational Wakeboarding Tournament

NOTE: All pictures stolen from my dear sister, Kristen.

Me and Kristen on Jubilee!!!!

After Cathryn left, I am sure that I WOULD have been devestated, but there really just wasn't time. Because they very next day, I was a judge in the Rigolette Bayou International Wakeboarding Tournament (thus making it international).



Renee and I were the judges (they needed me to make it international). Unfortunately, this year, some of the participants had to WORK and therefore couldn't participate, so it was just Kristen, David, and Charlie. There were some great costumes - Kristen dressed up as the statue of liberty, David dressed up as a rock star, and CHarlie dressed up as, um, a wakeboarding priest transvestite? We weren't sure what he was going for. I don't think even he was sure.
We also saw some great moves, especially when Kristen and Charlie went out together!!
(picture of Kristen and Charlie out together to come later, because I can't seem to find it right now. booo!!)
At one point in time, even Mom came out on the boat, which was super exciting!!



And when Sherra (that's Shawn=Kristen's husband's sister) and her boyfriend came out, she helped me and Renee judge, and then we decided to have a judge's mini tournament. So I went out for the first time in I don't even know HOW long, and on my very first go, I not only got up, but I JUMPED, and I LANDED it!!!! It was only a ont time thing, as I fell every other time I tried, but still, how AMAZING is that?!?



Unfortunately, I have no pictures of me in the air. :-(
Anyhow, it was great fun, and when we got home, Renee and I made certificates for David, Kristen, and Charlie with all of the awards that the won. Good times were, indeed, had.

Stateside: Cathryn

After the fantastic New Kids on the Block concert and the fantastic weekend in Dallas with the fam, it was time for me to head down to San Francisco to spend some much needed time with my BEST FRIEND EVER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, Cathryn - also known as Spiggy. I honestly can't even remember the last time we got to spend some real quality time together.


After a brief trauma at the airport (we somehow managed to be waiting for each other for over an hour in different terminals - I have to admit that I was freaking out a bit), the fun began!!!! First in San Antonio, and then she drove me back over to Louisiana.
We seriously had a GREAT time together just talking and eating delicious vegan food (isn't it awesome that my best friend since I was 7 and my boyfriend are both vegans like I am?!?)and watching movies and exploring San Antonio, of course, making a New Kids on the Block music video.

One of the movies we saw, Sugar Sweet, was a Japanese movie about a lesbian film maker, and I seriously think it might be one of the worst movies I have ever seen and actually pseudo enjoyed- on a totally DIFFERENT level than Sheitan - see previous entry - which was definitely worse since Sugar Sweet was actually slightly entertaining at least. But whoever decided on the music for this movie (and the dialogue and what would happen in the tordid twisted sex scenes, for that matter) definitely had something, well, interesting going on in their head. Apparently it's also the first Japanese movie ever about lesbians. Cool.

Now, I am sure you are wondering what I meant when I said: making a New Kids on the Block music video. Well, we decided that, to amuse ourselves, we should make a music video of one of the awesomest songs of all time, "Cover Girl." Unfortunately, it is I who has all of the separate clips that we made and who is supposed to compile them all together to make the song. And since I have been basically computerless for the past month, this still has not happened. When it does finally happen, though, I will be sure to post it. Or at least a link to it. In the meantime, PICTURES!!!! And I'll let you, the reader, draw your own conculsions about some of them.

THE MAKING OF. . .


Anyhow, aside from that, it was just really cool getting to hang out with my bestest friend ever again. And I was so psyched to get to meet her pseudo boyfriend and to get to see some of the people and places that I am always hearing her talk about. I wish we could hang out more often. CATHRYN!!!!!!!!!!!! I MISS YOU!!!!!!!!! And you'd better be thankful that I didn't post a certain picture of you (with a certain object) that I am still just DYING to post.

Stateside: New Kids On the Block

While I was home, my mother and I drove over to Dallas with my aunt and cousin Brittni and her boyfriend, where we met up with my sister, to spend the weekend with my aunt and Uncle. We had a great time and ate delicious food (because my aunt is an AMAZING cook!!!!) and went shopping and bought lots of cute things and, well, good times were had.

The entire reason for this trip, though, was for my mother, my sister, and I, on July to all get to see the New Kids on the Block TOGETHER!

As opposed to seeing them apart and then gushing on the phone all about it (which my sister and I did, without my mother, who had never actually seen them - or maybe she did back in the day?).


It was so so so so SO amazing!!!! It was the third time for me to get to see them since they started this reunion thing of theirs (the second for Kristen), and of course it was the most amazing time since I was with Kristen and my mom! Kristen and I dressed up in our old sweatsuits from back in the day despite the 100 degree heat, and I have to say, we were definitely the best dressed fans there.


Aren't We Just the Cutest?

Kristen managed to keep hers on for pretty much the whole time, but I have to admit that I took mine off, so as not to die of heat.

This really awesome dance group from Colorado, the JabaWockeeZ (you might remember them from the opening scene of Step Up 2: The Streets). Sadly, I think that my mom enjoyed them more than she actually enjoyed the New Kids. So, they were awesome, and then the New Kids on the Block played for OVER 2 HOURS!!!!

They played all of our favorite songs, including "Popsicle," which they hadn't played either of the two previous times when I saw them. I was thrilled beyond belief. Kristen and I danced like maniacs pretty much the entire time. There was a little girl beside us who seemed to know all of the old NKOTB dance moves and also danced like a maniac the whole time. It was so cute. Especially because the New Kids on the Block were also doing all of the old dance moves. It was completely radical, even if Mom was slightly mortified by all of the crotch grabs. Kristen and I, however, were thrilled.

At one point during the concert, the New Kids all came out into the audience, and Kristen and I ran to get close, stupidly forgetting the camera. If we had remembered it, we would have gotten a RIDICULOUS close up of Jonathan Knight. We were literally, like, a foot from him. And being so close to him, I remembered that HE (and not Mike Dirnt, as I have previously stated in this blog) was the real first love of my lifeK. Seriously, I was completely obsessed with him (even if I always thought that Danny Wood was just a little bit sexier). I had the stuffed doll and the barbie style doll and there was a huge poster of him right behind my bed combined with lots of little pictures of him (and Danny and all the New Kids) plastering the rest of the walls under the creamy blue and pink unicorn bordering that I adored (and that I hope to one day have again, PLEASE Guillaume?!?). Honestly, I don't know how in my head I had forever replaced him with Mike Dirnt. Don't get me wrong, I totally did love Mike Dirnt back in the day, but there was ALWAYS Jonathan before him.


Then and Now

Man, I wish we had had the camera with us. There were so many people getting such amazing pictures.
I have since then discovered that, according to the National Enquirer and his supposed ex-boyfriend, he might be gay. This might explain a lot of things in my life, but because I loved him and therefore always will love him, I hope that he is not.

Anyhow, so the concert was FANTASTIC!!!! Good times were had, and I was thrilled that it was being recorded for the webcast. Because this means that some day it may be released on DVD. I can only keep my fingers crossed.

Zedster

So, one of the absolute greatest things about being home in Louisiana again was getting to spend time with the greatest of all kitty cats, my cat, the one and only Zedster Thadeus Bartholomieu Baker.

Isn't he gorgeous? Go be friends with him on facebook!

In general, aside from Zedster, there are three dogs that live out at the house:
Bugly, Buddy, and Bella


along with two cats:

Tattoo and Tigger



Zedster. it has always been known, HATES other cats. One time, Cathryn tried to leave a beautiful black kitty with us (=me and my ex-roomie Phil in Montreal) until she would be living in a place where she was allowed to have it. Well, Zedster went absolutely nutso. I swear he didn't stop hissing for at least 3 days, and only then because he had scared the poor thing off, never to be seen again. While living with us, the black cat took up residence on the highest possible shelf in the house, knowing that Zedster was sitting at the bottom hissing and waiting, gracefully sharpening his claws just in case the black cat ever risked coming down, say, to eat or something.

No surprise whatsoever, therefore, that he didn't take one bit to Tigger and Tattoo. While they are very curious about Zedster, Zedster has NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in them, except when it comes to making sure they stay far away from the area that he deems to be his home.

Knowing just how strong and majestic and, well, up for a fight, he is, though, it DID come as surprise that he is DEATHLY afraid of the dogs. He won't go anywhere near them. He has taken up residence in a little garden behind the house, as far away as possible from the huge woods in front of the house in which the dogs spend most of their time. He won't go anywhere near the front of the house, and every time he hears barking, his hides and cowers, trying to make himself invisible in the flower pot he calls his bed.

He is so skittish now that he doesn't even seem to like people anymore. He used to be a mega people person. He used to play scarf - where he would crawl up a person and cuddle himself around their neck. So adorable, even if the claws did sometimes make it unpleasant. It's weird how he's no longer so into people. On one of the rare occasions that he let me hold him, I for some reason made the mistake of bringing him out front near the dogs. I don't think I had in my life heard a noise as blood-curdling as the yowl that Zeddyface let out when faced with the dogs. It was so frightening that I managed to drop him and then not see him again for a good day. ::sadness::

Anyhow, that doesn't change the fact that it was great to see him. And that I am sure he is happier living there than he would be living here in a small apartment in Paris with no access to grass or sun whatsoever. It's hard enough for me as it is.

Right, well, I was just going to say one small word about my cat and then start writing about my vacation, but this has now turned into a monologe about little Zeddely Weddely, so it looks like vacation writing will have to wait until next time. Lots of fun pictures to come!!!!

Happy 27th Birthday to me!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!


N.B. It's actually August 24 right now, 21 whole days after my August 3 birthday, but I haven't had any real access to the internet in over a month, and so I wasn't able to post on my birthday (or any other day for that matter - thus the no posting since July 16 thing). Now, though, I am back and settled in France, and I look forward to writing about and posting pictures of all of my summer adventures!!!! Good times have been had!

I am home. . .

and this is what it's like:

and this is what it's like:

A billboard proclaiming "Wanted: Cooks for Meth Lab"
(picture to come soon)

But luckily this is also what it's like:


PUPPIES!

and this:


ZEDSTER! Oh, how I miss my kitty!

And of course this again:


Are these not just the cutest little pupsters you've ever seen?


I also went to see Harry Potter with David yesterday, and it was FANTASTIC! Which was to be expected, of course. Although Daniel Radcliffe is getting kind of ugly. His thin upper lip annoys me, and he seems to have an extremely hunched back. But that's not important. He did a great job acting, and that is what's important. I laughed and cried and yes. . . fantasticness. I SO can't wait for the last one!

More pictures of cutey animals to come soon! After all, the three B's (Buddy, Bella, and Bugly) and the two T's (Tigger and Tattoo) are missing.