Twelve years ago today, I was a wide-eyed 13-year-old, entering this beautiful country for the first time.
I remember being so scared of saying a word, because my english wasn’t strong enough to hold a conversation. Without God’s grace and daily help, I wouldn’t be here… so, thank you Lord for always watching over me and my family, and helping me with my english every step of the way. We were also very blessed to be welcomed with open arms by our new extended family here, and later on, by the new friends I made in school.
Since I got my citizenship this past January, I now have a crispy new passport waiting to be used for the first time tomorrow. After a dozen years exactly, I get to visit my family in Honduras!! I’m both nervous and excited… I just hope my spanish comes back in full force and I’m not left saying, “como se dice?” or drawing pictures to communicate… We’ll see how it goes.
I can’t wait to see as much family as possible, visit places from my youth, have home cooking, and just see everything around me with brand new eyes 
Mat’s latest video blog… the Porltand, OR stop!
Che-che-check it out.
11.3.09
It finally happened.
We saw Mat Kearney play live in Oregon.
And yes, it was pretty epic.
The day started pretty early. Got myself ready for work, actually ate some yummy breakfast, and made sure to pack my favorite pair of jeans, and my black and white chucks… all to change after work, before heading up to Portland. I of course, forgot my concert ticket at home, and had to run back and get it… a classic move, of course.
Katie and I hit road after what seem like a long day at work, and talked about our plan of attack… aka, strategic placement in the crowd for better photos, and whether to get merch before or after the gig. We grabbed a slice at Pizza Schmizza once we got to the East side, and were quickly on our way to the Roseland.
We found a good parking spot and walked a couple of blocks, with smiles on our faces, and amazed at the fact that we would see Mat, in the flesh, within a couple of hours. Katie being the most excited… she’s Mat’s greatest fan out there, just so you know. Once we spotted the venue, we quickly made it to the end of the line, that was already a little bit over half a block, and waited in the chilly night to be let inside.
Once inside, we got the goods, and worked our way to the front for a good seat… well, standing area.
We were literally looking at the clock every 10 to 15 minutes, singing along to Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s Aint No Mountain High Enough while we waited, and of course, slowly but surely working our way for a better view of the stage.
Vedera opened for Mat, and they were pretty amazing. Kristen’s voice was incredible, and later, before we left the venue I had to stop by and tell her so. She was a sweetheart in the few seconds I stopped to say hello. Totally check them out when you get a sec.
Mat came out a little bit after 9 p.m. and we all went wild. The stage setup, his band, his presence… it was all just wonderful, and a little surreal.
My camera battery was halfway dead, so I tried to conserve power, still hoping I would be able to get enough shots of him and the band through out the night. I’m happy to report, my little buddy came through for me, so here are photos from Mat’s visit to Portland. I hope you enjoy them
At one point I did something I’ve always wanted to do at a show… After a song, Mat said, “Portland, Oregon…” and I yelled, “WE LOVE YOU!” and giggled… and he says softly into the mic, “I love you too.” It was pretty rad.
Yes, your eyes are not lying, that is Mr. Kearney himself. He went into the crowd and worked his way towards the area where we were, and he was literally less than two feet away… Katie was smart enough to reach out to him, I on the other hand, was so flustered by the fact that he was right there, and I just knew I had to click away… sigh, good times.
It was a wonderful show overall. He has a lot of energy, and we couldn’t believe he was actually here, playing for us! Home-state shows must be the best thing for a musician, so I hope we gave him a warm welcome, and a fantastic night to remember. Hope to see you back soon Mat!
When it comes to Halloween, it takes me forever to get creative and decide on an idea for a costume. This year was no different, but I was able to come through at the last minute
I finalized the concept, only a couple of days before the Halloween parties I was attending, and got to work. I know it needed to be DYI, with anything and everything I could find in my own closet and makeup tray. I decided to draw inspiration from two of my favorite things, Paper Route and Zombieland. What do you get when the two are mixed? Well, you get a zombie paper girl of course.
The night before Morgan+Sara’s party in Portland, I got to work on my messenger bag. I re-purposed an old jean bag that I hadn’t finished from high school, and used a long fabric belt for the strap. For the newspaper prop, I went through my recycle bin and grabbed all those annoying coupon newspaper things you get in the mail all the time. I rolled those up, stuffed the bag, and made a patch that said PR on the front. For the outfit, I just made a mess out of myself, and then got to work on the zombie makeup. This last part, took me longer than I expected, but it was pretty entertaining to make yourself look awful.
So I got to use this costume idea for two nights (on actual Halloween at Sarah’s house), and I’m glad people got it. My favorite part was telling some strangers about Paper Route being my favorite band, and I might have gushed about it like a proud parent, talking about her honor roll kids <3
An action shot with the Wicked Witch of the West.…Hanging in the Hood with Robin.
Typical Draper family portrait. ……………………………… Don’t mess with us.
Friday night at Morgan+Sara’s was a blast. They dressed up their house in the coolest decorations, it was fun to see all of the creepy details, from the very entrance to the witch’s brew! And my favorite part of Sarah’s party on Saturday was her Lego costume and getting a tour of their under-construction house, down the block. Will be uploading the rest of the photos to FB tomorrow
Hope YOU had a fun and safe Halloween!
With the Fall comes, not only a wonderful color palette, but sounds that reminds us of hot coco, sleeping while it rains or reading a book under the covers. We get to wear sweaters, jeans and scarfs. I LOVE it. It also means, I get to go through my music, and select a few things to have in my car at all times.
Here are just a few of the tunes/albums that remind me of Fall.
Paper Route — Dance On Our Graves (life has gotten very tricky lately, and this song it’s almost like the prayer I can’t say out loud. Listen.)
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Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism — this is still my favorite DC album to date.
Twilight’s Original Soundtrack — I think it has to do with the fact that I started reading the books when it was cold and grey outside, and now I automatically make the connection.
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As far as particular songs go…
Bon Iver — Skinny Love (one of his many sweet songs)
Metric — Help me, I’m Alive (acoustic version) (lately this one hits home… thanks for sharing morgan.)
Phoenix — 1901 (it’s everywhere now, but for the record, morgan shared the band a while ago, and this song is just a fun tune and I can’t get enough.)
Anya Marina — Satellite Heart (as you may all know—unless you’re living under a rock—New Moon comes out next month.. HOLLA! So, thankfully, we are now able to get the Official Soundtrack and listen our little hearts out. Anyways, to my point, Anya has this track on the album, and it’s just lovely.)
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Also, new albums you should check out:
Paramore’s Brand New Eyes — Pretty much amazing. This album has made me really fall in love with them as a band, because they were angry, they worked it out, and they made music through it all… you can’t help but love the honesty and feeling in every song. Wonderful job <3
MuteMath’s Armistice — They’re back, and better than ever. It’s a must have… so what are you waiting for?!
Muse’s The Resistance — Epic as always.
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So yeah, you may all not share my exact love for each song or album highlighted, but hopefully I was able to give you at least one new song, or artist to check out… just like my friends do for me.
What are you listening to lately?
Paper Route, it’s impossible to describe how wonderful you are… words aren’t enough.
Yet another amazing performance in Akron, OH. Thanks to Vampjulie for posting.
Last night, we said good bye to a dear friend.
Our dog Cuddles was put to rest. She had gotten very ill in the last couple of days, and after taking her to the Vet, they found she was worst than we ever expected. This is not the first time we’ve lost a dear pet, but it was the first time our family had to make the decision to let her go, because her pain was too great.
Saying good bye to her was one of the hardest things I’ve done.
Cuddles was such a special little trickster, and we were blessed to have her for so many years. Her nickname was Houdini, because somehow, she managed to get out of the dog kennel and even dig her way out of the yard. One time, as I was driving away from home, I noticed this black dog on the side of the road, I slowed down in fear of it jumping right in front of my car. As I got closer, I was shocked to find out it was just Cuddles, wagging her tail, just chilling. I slowly stopped next to her, opened my door, called her name and she jumped right in. I was so amused by the idea of her little escaped, and seeing that she had no idea what to do with that freedom. And that’s just one of many Cuddle moments my family and I will always remember.
Christmas just won’t be the same.
I regret not spending more time with her when I visited home these last few years. It was very selfish of me to not dedicate more time to her and our other dog Wes. I’m sorry Cuddles…
I truly believe dogs go to heaven after they leave us. I hope St. Peter appoints her enough angels to keep an eye on her, she’s a ball of energy, with a personality you can’t help but love.
Love you girl, and we will miss you everyday.
You have to check out Zombieland.
I wasn’t sure why I was so determined to go watch it, since I’m scared of zombies… or anything that looks that gross, and doesn’t die easily. But I’m so glad I did. This film was funny, smart and well, I may or may not have a little crush on Jesse Eisenberg <3 His timing and delivery are perfect. Also, the 3D typography work was freaking rad. I love getting my nerdy-design fix, along with lots of laughs. For sure, one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen this year.
GO SEE IT, HUMANS!
p.s. remember, twinkies apparently do have an expiration date.
Even though I’ve been looking forward to today, I actually didn’t realized that it was indeed the release date for Muse’s The Resistence album. After a looooong day at the office (which isn’t over just yet…) I’ve decided to use what’s left of my iTunes birthday $$ and get it tonight.
YOU should do the same. Go on, go get it.
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And on a personal note: Hoy es el dia de la independecia en mi querida Honduras <3
Uhm… Chris Weitz is blowing my mind. This trailer is sharp, exciting, intense and simply brilliant. You can also feel how much more the actors have become their characters. I’m so incredibly excited to see this… 66 days and counting.
Watch for yourself.
