R.I.P. Franki

I have a lot of new updates, but first I think it would be not only appropriate, but very important to take the time to make a post dedicated to Franki Triano who passed away this past week. I do not know the cause of death. I was not very good friends with Franki, but we were in the same classes and went to some of the same parties at while I was at Johnson & Wales in Charlotte. She was a really awesome person that always had a smile on her face. She was one of those people that would always make a point to say hello to you and ask how you’re doing. Hundreds of people are mourning over her death so I thought I should make this post. Here is a photo and article I found about her.

Franki Nichol Triano, 21, of Leawood, Kan., passed away on October 27, 2009, in Rhode Island. Visitation and services will be held at St. Peter’s Catholic Church at Meyer Boulevard and Holmes. Visitation from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, with rosary at 4 p.m. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday. Franki was born on August 25, 1988, in Kansas City, Mo. She attended St. Peter’s grade school in Kansas City and graduated in 2003. She then attended St. Teresa’s in Kansas City, Mo., for one year, and proceeded to graduate from Shawnee Mission East in 2007. Franki was attending Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., as a junior this year. Franki possessed a spirit so alive and untamed, a smile so contagious and dimples so recognizable. She lived life full of enthusiasm and passion. Her disposition on life was something to be envied. She was a little firecracker; her presence could ignite excitement and joy in the hearts of all of us as well as everyone she met. Franki possessed a natural gift for culinary arts, as she received 2nd place in a nationwide scholarship competition to Johnson & Wales. She had the talent and wit to excel in all endeavors and challenges she met head on. Franki will be missed more than words can describe. Franki is survived by her parents, Nick and Deborah Triano; her sisters, Taylor Triano and Maggie Triano; her maternal grandfather, Duane Downer; her paternal grandparents, John and JoAnn Triano, and many aunts, uncles, and many friends. Well she’s walking through the clouds With a circus mind that’s running round Butterflies and zebras And moonbeams and fairytales That’s all she ever thinks about Riding with the wind. When I’m sad, she comes to me With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free It’s alright she says it’s alright Take anything you want from me, Anything. Fly on little wing, Yeah yeah, yeah, little wing. Arrangements: Passantino Bros. Funeral Home, (816) 471-2844.

Also…

Thinking about switching over to blogger because I like the community better. Monty doesn’t care, but I’m trying to weigh the differences. WordPress is definitely more professional, but Blogger is more socially connected. Ahhh I don’t know what to do haha. suggestions?

AFI CONCERT!!!

I haven’t posted anything in a while, but thats because I’ve been busy at school and my boyfriend, AND EXPERIENCING THE BEST CONCERT OF MY LIFE!!!!

On Monday, my friend Ally and I went to The National to see our absolute favorite band AFI and a band from England called Gallows. I have to say it was one of the best days of my life.

First, Gallows opened up for AFI. Ally and I had never heard them before, but heard them online. We didn’t like what we heard so we weren’t really excited. One more obstacle between us and our favorite band. We were very wrong however. Gallows was simply put, awesome. What really impressed me was that the singer got off stage with the mic, walked into the middle of the crowd and had us form a circle around him. Then he invited us to mosh and sing with him. At first only two or three kids were really going crazy but then it grew into a huge circle pit. It was so cool. We were on the very inside of the circle so most of the time the singer was only about two feet away from us. I probably would have joined in on the circle pit if i wasn’t so afraid for my life haha. Then he crowd surfed. Let me tell you, it is a pretty frightening thing when some rockstar’s butt is coming at your face and you’re supposed to keep him in the air when you don’t even have enough muscle to lift your own backpack. He stayed up there though and all was good Then when he did get back onstage after about 30 minutes the drummer called his girlfriend on stage and proposed to her. It was SO CUTE!!! I almost cried haha.

THEN AFI was up. After waiting in suspense for about another 20 minutes they came on. We screamed so loud I’m surprised I still have a voice. They played a perfect mix of all the songs I love and looked god-like. I was in ecstasy. We had a great time singing and dancing to every song and looking at our angel, Davey Havok. He is beyond amazing. His voice is sent from above. It was Euphoric. They all looked great and played even better. The excitement in the crowd was so great. It was the happiest I’ve been in a really really really long time. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but I found some pretty good videos on youtube ( a little shaky, but what do you expect at a concert?) if you would like to relive my amazing night.

Fall is Here!!!

Blue Ridge Parkway

Even though I’ve been feeling kind of sick lately I would like to express my great excitement for the fact that Fall is here! Fall is by far one of the best seasons ever. Lately temperatures have been dropping around here and I’ve been able to bring out some of my favorite clothes. I love more textured clothes and layering. There are also so many fall activities that I love to do (especially with Monty). Here are some examples:

• State Fair
• Taking a walk outside in the crisp fall air
• Driving around (maybe to the mountains?) to see the foliage
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Getting delicious smelling fall themed candles (Yankee Candle Factory has the best ones)
• Going out to eat (its just more fun in fall)
• Shopping!
• Cuddling and watching a movie
• Sitting by the fire
• Christmas shopping (I do most of mine in fall)
• First frost of the year
• Decorating for holidays
• Corn mazes
• Halloween themes at amusement parks
• Pumpkin picking
• Cooking delicious fall food
• Taking lots of pictures with Monty

I’m so excited!

Fall Poll

Robert Pattinson is Bothered by Snickers

Yet another hilarious video of Jimmy Fallon impersonating Robert Pattinson. This time he’s bothered by Snickers. Funny Stuff.

more about “Robert Pattinson is Bothered by Snickers“, posted with vodpod

Help WWF and a small update

World Wildlife Foundation

Hey everyone,

Just letting you know we got a new widget which raises money for the World Wildlife Fund to help slow the amount of greenhouse gases released. This cause is very important to us because it gives a voice and helping hand to those who cannot help themselves, our world’s plants and animals. Now that we are realizing the consequences of our environmental actions, it is necessary that we fix our wrongdoings. Greenhouse gases are harmful to our wildlife and planet and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t help out. You can help out for free by clicking on the WWF link on the bottom left of our side toolbar. Thanks for supporting the Earth!

Also, here’s a mini update on us: We’re going to the state fair on Friday! We’ll take lots of pictures and post them up here soon.

Book Review: Prep

Before I went to Cape Cod this year, my brother convinced me to go to the DAV. Normally I would have said no because I’m never been able to find anything of interest, but this time I agreed. When I got there I was amazed at all of the used books that they had. I picked out two, Memoirs of a Geisha, which I’m not quite done with yet, and this book, Prep. I had always wanted to read this book, but was never willing to fork over the money to pay for it. Now with a price of only $1.99, I couldn’t say no.

I have to say this book was one of the best books I have ever read. This novel, by Curtis Sittenfeld, is a true page turner. I stayed up hours every night reading it. The story starts off with a girl named Lee Fiora and is set in what I think is the late 80s (the author never really makes this clear). Lee, from Southbend, Indiana, applies to the prestigious Ault Academy, which is a boarding school near Boston, and to her surprise gets in. Her father drops her off for her freshman year when she is fourteen and she moves into her dorm.

Throughout the book, Lee experiences roomate problems, friendship, embarassment, frustration, and her first relationships with boys. Fitting in at Ault is not easy for Lee, who was once outgoing and popular at her old school. Unlike most of the other students, Lee is at Ault on a scholarship. She does not fit in with the rich crowd, who take extravagent vacations and pay thousands of dollars on a day trip or laundry service. Through the novel you can see changes in the character who goes from a shy girl who does everything in her power to avoid detection, to someone who is developing as a person and begins to do things you would never expect of her.

One of the reasons I really loved this book was because it was so real. Every night when I picked it up I was so anxious to see what would happen in Lee’s life next. It was like she was a real person, one of my friends. Every twist and turn her life took, I felt like I was there with her. I felt what she felt. The author’s writing style, in my opinion, was absolutely flawless. Since everything seemed so real, the story was very powerful.

So what can you expect from Prep?

1. To experience along with Lee, the joys and pitfalls of high school. What it’s like to feel left out, and what it feels like to gain your first friend.
2. A clear division of classes, Lee’s life at Ault on scholarship vs. the lives of the rich students
3. Intriguing characters who capture your attention, like they would try to in real life
4. A journey in Lee’s life from a weak to strong person
5. First romances with someone seemingly out of Lee’s league (even though it wasn’t very romantic)
6. Comments Lee makes publicly that throw her onto everyone in her school’s radar, the opposite of what she wants
7. Surprising twists and turns

I don’t think anything I can say will really do this book justice. The only way you can find out is to go read it for yourself. I highly highly recommend it!

Monty’s Bucket List

I was sitting at home when Emily suggested I make a list of things I wanted to do before I die and I decided why not, it couldn’t hurt at all. So then I decided to make a list. Well, it was harder than I expected it to be, but it was fun and everytime I achieve one of these things I will post it on the blog.

 1. Graduate college

2. Have a career that I am happy with

3. Get married

4. Have a family

5. Have a dog named Odie and a cat named Garfield

6. Become a Mason

 7. Go to Ireland

 8. Go to Italy

9. Go to England

 10. Go to Rome

11. Buy a house somewhere in the countryside, but close enough so I can go to the city whenever I please.

12. Sell a painting to a museum

13. Help someone to get by in their time of need

14. Become a better artist

15. Take a lot of pictures and put them in an album

16. Have fun travelling

17. Have my very own Christmas tree and decorate it cool

18. Let Emily decorate the house

19. Get very good at cooking

20. Do something amazingly weird to have a record

21. Have children

22. Never stop learning

23. Buy more clothes

24. Buy my dream car (and not crash it)

25. Have a successful marriage

26. Become more skilled in guitar

27. Take a month long vacation

 28. Meet Expectations

29. Do something nice for someone

30. See the amazing art museums in the world

31. Go to the 1,000 places to go before you die

32. Save someone’s life again

33. Drive for hours turning down random roads and take a mini vacation where I end up

34. Watch all of my favorite musicians play

35. Learn how to cook gourmet

36. Keep my house/room clean for more than a month

37. Learn an instrument other than guitar maybe piano

Emily’s Bucket List

So I was looking around on a blog I like to read (check it out if you have time) and saw that the author had posted a bucket list. Personally, I think these sort of things are great to do so you can outline what you want to accomplish in life, whether big or small. Since it seems fun and a good idea, I decided to give it a go. I’ll probably be adding to it periodically as I think of more stuff. Hopefully Monty will make one too once he gets some time.

1. Graduate college
2. Have a successful career
3. Get married
4. Have a family
5. Adopt some cats, maybe some dogs
6. Donate a portion of my income to something like an animal shelter, church, or educational foundation
7. Go to Ireland
8. Go to Italy
9. Go to Japan
10. Go to Greece
11. Buy a house (not an apartment) somewhere in the countryside, but close enough so I can go to the city whenever I please.
12. Write and Publish a book (or 5)
13. Inspire someone
14. Write an article for a magazine
15. Start an artistic hobby
16. Take a lot of pictures and put them in an album
17. Drive across the country
18. Have my very own Christmas tree and decorate it cool
19. Decorate my house
20. Get very good at cooking
21. Invent something
22. Have well-rounded children
23. Never stop learning
24. Buy more clothes
25. Collect something
26. Buy my dream car (and not crash it)
27. Have a successful marriage
28. Become more skilled in Photoshop
29. Take a month long vacation
30. Exceed Expectations
31. Do something nice for someone
32. Read 1,000 books (I may have already done this)
33. Go to the 1,000 places to go before you die
34. Save someone’s life
35. Drive for hours turning down random roads and take a mini vacation where I end up
36. Watch all the classic movies
37. Learn how to cook gourmet
38. Keep my house/room clean for more than 3 days!
39. Take up violin again
40. Learn a new instrument
41. Learn to speak Italian
42. Be half as good as my parents are