vampires anyone?

(the "moving" crew. and somehow Chad mysteriously added a foot to his height for this photo.)

 

I had been planning on posting some photos yesterday for a Wednesday Without Words of our time in Michigan. also planned to tell you earlier this week about an episode of The Vampire Diaries that Chad worked on and airs tonight (Thursday). neither of those happened. but it's not too late!

if you watch The Vampire Diaries (anyone? I never have.) pay close attention to this one. I guess it gives you a look at a spin-off that will be happening in the near future. you should be able to see some places in the French Quarter, so that's fun.

hope everyone is having a great week. love and miss everyone in Michigan already. stay warm. ;)

we're just waiting on our things to get here via U-Box and then we'll be on the move! it's getting pretty exciting over here.

love..

lately.

we've been entertaining the idea of renting a house when our lease is up in a few months, even though it has been SO nice having fun roommates and cheap rent. Chad hasn't been working for a few weeks so he has had time to be looking online. when I have some free time, or on the weekends, we'll drive around to see the houses he finds and check out the area that they're in.

in New Orleans you'll be driving in a nice neighborhood and all of the sudden it will change to not-so-nice. so we try to check the area out before deciding if we're really into the house. we want to feel safe without completely living in a safe bubble type area, if that makes any sense, and we've liked being closer to the city so far, so we're trying to find something close. it's kind of like a second job, ha.

anyway, we went to look at one of the said houses, started walking around the block and were stopped by some film school students asking if we'd like to be extras. kind of funny, considering Chad's job. he tried not to give that away though. [also, a few months ago, Chad, Gideon and I were asked to be in a commercial that has been airing on local channels down here. I've been trying to find it online with no luck so far, so hopefully sometime I can show you our two seconds of fame. we're basically celebrities.. (; ]

later that day, we met with a couple of guys that Chad had worked with on The Last Exorcism Part II to see it on the big screen. neither of us slept well that night, ha. BUT, it was realllly neat to see Chad's name up there for the first time! so to spare you a sleepless night, I just thought I would share that photo with you if you don't want to go. (: so proud of that man.

and this is what we did today on my day off..

basically.. we just ate food. (; explored the city a bit too. (see: city greens. nola beans.)

and here are a few of my iPhone photos and instagrams as of late.

love..

hope.

well hi there.

just thought I'd throw out a little hello and let you know what we have been up to. which is not much. but a lot at the same time. you know, those times.

this little guy (check out those eyeballs. gosh.) recently lost his grandmother. while he isn't fully aware of what is happening around him, it has made me realize new kind of love. I have wanted to cuddle a little more, hug a little tighter, and play a little longer. he is teaching me lots and he's not even two. (: so my last couple of weeks have been lots of all of that and just trying to be there for his parents as much as possible. [he also turned two on Valentine's Day. happy birthday, buddy!]

I've been going through a little bit of a 'heavy' season. maybe some of you can relate. as I process it more, I can see lots of little areas that have played into it, though at first it wasn't something I could really figure out. but Chad's mom lead me to a sermon by Kris Vallotton. it was about hope and how it is something that is so important to have. hope is necessary. hope was something spoken over us by a friend in Michigan around Christmastime and to be honest, I haven't really felt it. I haven't felt hopeless, though not super hopeful because I felt heavy, but wasn't sure why. I feel that even just the reminder of hope has lifted a lot from my shoulders. and I tell you this not to worry you, but I'd love it if in some way it spreads hope to others.

hope deferred makes the heart sick. proverbs 13:12. hope is necessary.

'but faith can look at the trouble and still hold on to the promise.. faith sees, hope feels.' remember hope!

a few other things that have been going on down here..

a couple of weekends ago was Super Bowl Sunday, which I know you are all aware. we found the game online and were able to see our apartment in an aerial shot during a commercial break. we could also see the dark Superdome from our balcony when the power went out, so that was fun.. we didn't go out into the craziness really. we figured this whole month kicks off lots of festivals and parades that we probably won't be able to avoid, so we just stayed in. there is so much happening with Mardis Gras and more, which is so funny to me because we are not big festival people but we live in NEW ORLEANS.

(I also learned that Mardi Gras can play into the heaviness I feel.. what was intended for celebration has changed into something a little more evil in some areas of the city and even if we stay inside, it's here. so pray for us and our friends and this city.)

oh, and if you happen to like Sylvester Stallone and find yourself in the theater watching Bullet To The Head, keep in mind Chad worked on it in 2011. he was the camera PA so he probably wont be in the credits, but feel free to look. it's probably not a very light, happy film, so our feelings won't be too hurt if you don't see it. (:

listen: Song of Solomon | Jesus Culture (with Martin Smith)
watch: Hope: The Divine X-Factor | Kris Vallotton

love..

michigrams.

hey, fam. it's been a while. I've missed you.

I just wanted to share a few of our instagram photos from our trip home. we were able to do as much as we could with both of us being sickly the entire time. always happens when we go to Michigan, ha. but one neat thing that happened.. we went to my parents church-which is always nice, for me at least-and during worship someone prayed for us and she was spot on. it was so refreshing seeing a stranger stepping out in obedience to pray and speak clarity and direction over our lives and not feeling like I question it. I love the way they let Holy Spirit lead them in that special place.

it's always a little bit of a whirlwind going up north. we were able to see many of you, and there are always lots of others we wish we had time to see. we have to be sooo intentional and it is soo hard. so I'm sorry if we missed you. but we were all wrapped up in family and I kind of love that. (plus I do have a phone; you can get a hold of me any time you'd like. :) )

I'll be back soon to update more, but for now here's some photos. oh, and if you're into creepy films, Chad worked on one of those a while back and the trailer is officially out. no pressure if you really don't want to watch it, but it is called, The Last Exorcism Part II. just google it and you'll find the trailer. I'm not a fan of exorcism movies usually, but when I saw it as one of the previews before seeing Lincoln in the theatre the other day, I couldn't help but be so proud of all that he is accomplishing. I've started planning a library of everything he's worked on big or small (paid or not paid ;) ). can't wait. he's pretty great. (the photo below of the tv screen.. we were searching for his name in the credits of Baytown Outlaws. (: totally found it.)

love..

now you see me and beautiful creatures.

just thought our friends and family would enjoy seeing a trailer for something Chad worked on. if you remember him writing here a while back, this is the show he was working for a few days when Isla Fisher told him he was cute. something, I'm sure, he will always hold high in his memory bank. (; but really, I would too, ha.

view it on Yahoo here.

he also worked on this one..



(both are set to be released in 2013, as well as GI Joe: Retaliation)

hooray, Chad! I love you and I'm ever so proud.

..

an overdue update.

it is days like today that I am grateful for not having a job, anywhere to go or anything to do in the evening. a good case of, I don't know what, I guess chest congestion has taken over and just running to Walmart today kicked my butt. I don't think I have ever said that word on here.. (:

anyway, writing to you from an extended stay hotel in Shreveport, Louisiana. Chad has been working on a show here for the last three and a half weeks so I have driven back and forth a few times because four weeks away is too many weeks away.

I thought I would just share some photos of what this last month has held for us.

at the end of July, one of our beautiful cousins got married and I had the honor of making the hair pieces for her and her bridal party. lots of fun. we weren't able to be in Michigan for the wedding, so I was grateful to be involved in a little from way down here.

I also helped put together an Olympic themed party for our church on the night of the opening ceremonies. the goal was to collect non-perishable food items and donate them to a local food bank. all together the church collected over 1,100 items for a food bank that desperately needed them. it was fun to be a part of.

after that, I have mostly been in Shreveport. there's not much here so I have nothing exciting to report really. I am just glad to be able to see Chad when he gets out of work and occasionally go out to eat with him here.

in less than a month I will be heading to Romania! I can't believe how fast this trip is coming all of the sudden. excited though. God has provided funding so generously, as He always does, and basically all I have to do now is get packed. which is a large task on its own..

{we have a watermelon, y'all!!}

apartment quality time? (or.. trying not to spend too much money on a friday night.)

A conversation I never thought I'd hear in my home..
Chad: I got to drive the forklift some more at work today.
Kyle: Aw, nice dude.
Now those two and Seth are trying to guess each song that comes on while Kyle's iPod is on shuffle. And keeping track of who has the most points. One point for each correct answer.

It is a really exciting Friday night here, you guys.

Because of some unfortunate circumstances, Chad isn't working the show he thought he would be when we came back after Christmas. Sad face. (that is something to focus your prayers on..) But he is a wonderful husband and knew just what to do when things were tight.
He got a random job that he has no interest in, ha. Love this man.
We both started looking, actually. I applied to a Jewish Community Center to be a gymnastics assistant. I didn't get called but I just thought I'd give it a try, ha. I've never actually applied for anything like that so it was a leap for me for sure. The last (at least) five years have been spent in one salon or a dance studio with people I grew to be very comfortable with. Glad I at least put in the effort to something unfamiliar.
But hub's been working at a computer parts shipping company. We are believing it will just be temporary until he lands the perfect spot on the perfect film. But they like him way too much at this new job, haha. They are also pretty understanding about his situation though, so we're praying it isn't an issue when he has to leave.
So that's a mini update. Here are the next photos for our project. We usually end up taking them with our phones during times that we have not-so-great lighting, so bear with us. Also you're only seeing photos from the two of us again. Oh well.

february second: words.

february third: hands.

happy weekend. hope it's great.

'to learn how to be grateful and happy, whether hands full or hands empty. that is a secret worth spending a life on learning.' ann voskamp.

no disrespect, mr. jackson.

Over the weekend,  we brushed up on some Marvel films. Some of you are looking forward to The Avengers. Maybe some of you aren't. I'm curious, but I hadn't seen a few of the movies that lead up to it. I'm sure there are others I'll need to be aware of but we live with a bunch of Marvel lovers and I'm sure they'll catch me up. So we 'rented' some nice blu-rays from our friend, John, and hit the couch. (John has, oooh probably, every movie. Bonus.) I got a perplexed"Have you not seen any of these movies, Ali?!" question from Kyle when we started the second one.
How unbelievable of me.
First on the list was Thor. The next day we watched Captain America.
And, okay. If you have seen the movie, you know who Red Skull is. While watching the movie, I found that I knew nothing about Captain America. He was just a test subject? Had no idea.
Anyway, the first time Red Skull reveals his new look, the first thing that came to mind was that he looked like Michael Jackson. Particularly in the nose region.
Now this is not to bash Michael Jackson. Though I did not agree with certain areas of his lifestyle, I was a fan. I'm still a fan. There are many of his songs in my library. I saw 'This Is It' in the theater. Twice. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that. But the man had talent. No shame here.
It was just the first thing I thought. And I may have missed the next few seconds of the movie because that's what I was thinking about. Don't judge me, I got the gist of the plot.

{chad made this and sent it to a co worker because they had just been talking about the famous nose earlier that day.}

No disrespect Mr. Jackson. I just still don't know what you were going for there.

Side note: On my journey to trying to love the place I live, I'm really loving opening the windows in January!

beautiful day.

happy monday. ali