My Week With a Movie

March 11, 2013 By 3 Comments

happy

I had so much fun with My Week with Marilyn that I decided that I should do a series called, “My Week with a Movie”.  I will spend the week diving into a movie and exploring its themes. I thought I should start this series with the movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness.”  There a couple reasons for this choice….

1. It is so touching and inspirational (and I love touching and inspirational).

2. Will Smith and I have the same coach.  Will came and spoke to our studio… so I have a story from this movie and also some Will Wisdom I would like to share.

3.  I am currently in pursuit of my happiness, so I thought it would be appropriate.

So I present to you, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS!

I want to start my “Week with a Movie” with a little review of the movie, but every time I started to write a review for this movie, I felt like my words didn’t give the movie and the performances the justice it deserves.  So I thought I would show you 4 clips (that speak for themselves) that show Chris Gardner’s Struggle, Opportunity, Pursuit and Happiness.

Struggle

Opportunity

 

Pursuit

Happiness

Photo Credit 1

Filed Under: Allison, My Week With a Movie 3 Comments

Almond Apple Crisp

March 11, 2013 By 2 Comments

When I look at as many blogs as I do (I look at so many different kinds but this time I’m talking about food blogs in particular) and of course Pinterest too, I always wish I could cook or bake up the many mouthwatering dishes I see on my computer screen. And since I don’t have a kitchen in my dorm, I knew spring break was my chance! So while I was home, my parents and I were in the mood for some warm apple crisp…especially since we were seeing snow flurries outside!! And decided to make a spontaneous trip to the grocery store one night. The Almond Apple Crisp really hit the spot. I think it is one of my favorite desserts!

Apple Crisp 1

Apple Crisp 2

Apple Crisp 3

Apple Crisp 14

Apple Crisp 4

Apple Crisp 5

Apple Crisp 6

Apple Crisp 7

Apple Crisp 8

Apple Crisp 9

Apple Crisp 11

Apple Crisp 12

Apple Crisp 13

(We got the recipe from this cute blog!)

Filed Under: Caroline, Family 2 Comments

Destiny, Instinct and Action

March 10, 2013 By 1 Comment

Destiny

Tom Shadayac strikes again with inspiration.

As I have mentioned before, I crash class with Caroline on Monday nights.  It is a life changing class.  Every Monday, I leave with a concept about life that I ponder all week long.  This Monday we started with watching this year’s Oscar winner for Best Animated Short.  It left me thinking about…  Destiny, Instinct and Action.

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

-William Jennings Bryan

I really love this quote the more that I think about it.  I believe that God has a plan for all of us… our destiny.  We are designed to fulfill and achieve our destiny.  We are never given an exact map, set of directions or guidelines to get there, so how do we arrive at our “destin”ation?

We arrive there by taking action.  Making choices.  You make those choices based on your instincts.  You have to keep making decisions and keep moving forward.  There are no wrong decisions (well there are some… don’t do drugs) because you learn from every move you make.  Each step will give you a clearer view of the route you are supposed to take.  I kind of like to think of it as setting up stepping stones.  Or like dominos. Each domino represents a choice, a connection made, an opportunity taken.  Once they are all in place, you get to sit back and watch everything fall into place seamlessly.

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves. – Shakespeare

Our destiny is written in the stars but it is up to us to get there.

Photo Credit 

Filed Under: Allison 1 Comment