Just Before Sunrise

Prayers

2011-05-18T21:28:00.002-04:00

Some of you know I'm in school for Medical Billing\Coding. Anyways, I'm nearing the end of my school, but I really need a full-time job before I finish. Also, I'm going to have to move at the end of summer\beginning of the fall. I'm not too concerned about the move since I've already had one person say I could stay with them (but it would be temporary and I need something more permanent). I really need a job that I will be able to live off of what I make so I'm asking for prayer in that regard. I've been looking and have probably applied for five or six jobs already so we'll see. Also, prayer that I make the right decision about where to live. My blog wasn't letting me post so that's why there's been a delay.

The Day My Car Died

2011-05-04T20:46:00.003-04:00

I was driving back from Greenville last monday after spending Easter with my family. Anyways, I noticed the A\C went out and I thought that sucks, but I was close to home. Well, then my a\c comes back on and the check engine light comes on. I ignored it thinking I was almost home. (FYI, don't ever ignore that!) Then I noticed my car was slowing down. It didn't seem to have a lot of power. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw smoke. I decided to get off at the next exit and go to the gas station. I pulled off at 177 on I-26. I got to the top of the ramp and stopped and my car went dead. It wouldn't start. I tried calling my dad, no answer. I tried calling the house, no answer. I called my friend Michelle and she got her brother to come and get me. I called my dad again and this time he answered. I told him what was going on. Then I called AAA to get a tow truck. In the meantime, several people stopped, but I told them I didn't need help. AAA towed my car to the Car Care Center for free and Peco, Michelle's brother, gave me a ride home. Well, the next day, the Car Care Center calls and tells me I need a new engine. It's going to cost me $5,000! My car is worth $2,000 or less. So, now I'm getting a new car and I sold my civic to a friend who wants to try and fix it. I know it's weird, but I kind of feel a sense of loss. That car was my first car. I had it for the past 8 years almost to the day. I've had so many adventures in it. The song that keeps running through my head is American Pie. I guess the line in it that makes me think about it is, "drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry".

Wayback Wednesday

2011-03-23T17:23:00.002-04:00

Today I've been baking cupcakes most of the day. This reminds me of when I was little my mom would always bake birthday cakes for my birthday. She would always decorate them so they looked professionally done. She even knew how to make a cookie cake that looked like one you would buy at the store. They were soooo good! I guess that's where my love of baking come's from.

Musical Monday

2011-03-21T21:54:00.003-04:00

Today's song that was stuck in my head was Madonna's "Like A Prayer". My musical playlist recently has consisted of lots of 80 music.

My top songs for the week:

1. How Great is Our God by Christ Tomlin
2. Let the Waters Rise by Mikeschair
3. Explorer's Club
4. 80's Music

Way Back Wednesday

2011-03-16T09:04:00.000-04:00

Today's post is going to be related to my recent trip to Augusta. When I was 5, I went to Rock City in Tennessee (this is when we lived in Chattanooga) with my aunt and cousins (who were teenagers). Anyways, one of them picked me up and held me over a waterfall. I remember screaming for him to put me down. I can still see the waterfall in my head to this day. This leads me to this past weekend. Augusta has a park where you can walk alongside the river and a bridge that connects you to a strip of land on the other side. Every time I walk over water, I get this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm going to somehow end up in that water. I shouldn't be afraid, but I am. I know how to swim.

Musical Monday

2011-03-14T21:42:00.000-04:00

On mondays, I'm going to try and post something music related. I LOVE music but am definitely not a performer. My playlist for this past week consisted of some Justin Bieber and Chris Tomlin. Two totally different performers! I bought the new Passion cd, but haven't really listened to it a lot.

Current Top Plays

1. Our God - Chris Tomlin

2. Baby - Justin Bieber

3. Somebody to Love - Justin Bieber

4. Thriller - Michael Jackson

Favorite song from church this past sunday: Mighty To Save "youtube" style (it's actually suppose to be U2, but I thought Krista said youtube)

Road Trip to Augusta\Silly Sunday

2011-03-13T18:01:00.009-04:00

This is of me, Ree and Krista.

Krista and I took a road trip to Augusta to see the pioneer woman. She had no idea who the pioneer woman was and we really had no idea where we were going. Anyways, we set my phone to the address posted on the pioneer woman's website and we were off. We got off the interstate and followed the GPS. It tells us to turn into a neighborhood so we do. Gorgeous houses in this neighborhood! Krista is like, I don't think this is the way. I say let's see where it takes us. anyways, we basically take a cut through a neighborhood to another road. We follow the GPS and we end up at a park. We were like is this it? We weren't sure. We went inside to use the bathroom. It was about 3:30 at this point and it didn't start until 5. When we got inside, we see people sitting on couches and one lady clutching the pioneer woman's cook. I was like I think this is it, but we have an hour and a half. We decided to walk around the park since it was on the river. Very nice! Anyways, we go back inside around 4:30. There were more people but not too many. They eventually let us all down to where she was speaking. By the time she spoke, the room was packed. Ree says she's not a great speaker, but she really is. She had me almost to the point of tears because I was laughing so hard at something she said. Krista and I got in line for her to sign my book and waited for almost two hours! Crazy! I got my picture with Marlboro man. I had to wait like one minute for that one. Ree had her two boys with her as well. They were hilarious! Ree had done a slide show and they took the mic and started going through the slides and giving their own commentary. Quite entertaining! I think those boys also ate several pieces of cake but no the icing. I noticed one of them threw away the icing. Do they not like icing in Oklahoma? I should have asked Ree that, but I didn't. You see, I'm quite a shy person and I clam up sometimes when I'm nervous so I barely said A THING to her when I met her and I felt my face turn red. I hate the fact that I embarrass so easily and it wasn't even an embarrassing moment. Anyways, I survived meeting the pioneer woman and Marlboro man as well.

Ree has inspired me to try and blog more so I decided to give myself theme days to try and blog about different things. By my title, today I'm going to tell you about something silly I did on my trip. Krista and I stopped for gas when we left Augusta. It was dark outside by the time we left. Anyways, I pull out of the parking lot onto the road. I'm like "Krista, why is the road so dark? I can't see ANYTHING!" She says, "Maybe you should turn on your headlights!"

Some other themes I'm going to try and aim for are: Musical Mondays, either Way back Wednesday or Flashback Fridays. I will explain more about each of these when I get to those days. No hating if I miss a day or two I'm also going try and post a picture a week. We'll see how that goes as well. Onto some pictures.

This is a picture of the Savannah River.

Another picture of the Savannah River.

Savannah River

I found my name on a wall

Marlboro Man and Me

(so glad that you can't see my red face)

Ree and me

King Street Grille

2011-03-09T20:00:00.003-05:00

Last week, I ate at the King Street Grille. I got a burger since they were half-priced. The food was expensive, at least to me. Anyways, we ordered mac and cheese egg rolls for an appetizer. I wasn't sure if I would like them or not. They were AWESOME! So YUMMY! Then I got the bbq bacon cheeseburger. It was ok. I'm not a huge fan or really thick burgers and this one had that burnt taste to it. It wasn't burnt, but I could taste where the burnt parts were. I probably should have substituted my burger for chicken and would have liked it more. They let you take any burger and make it a wrap. You can also substitute your meat for turkey burger or chicken, which is nice. Next time I eat there, I'm definitely going to try the loaded potato egg rolls and maybe one of the past dishes.

Joseph's Restaurant

2011-02-17T20:32:00.002-05:00

This past sunday I had brunch at Joseph's restaurant after church. I had the french toast (seems to be a reoccuring theme on sundays). I've never eaten here before so I was excited to try it, because as you know, I'm trying to try somewhere new each month. The french toast was definitely different than any french toast I've had before. I got three very large pieces. They were real french bread and it was pretty good. I added a side of bacon, which wasn't very good. I don't know if I would eat here again. I liked the french toast from Poogan's Porch better and it came with bacon plus we got biscuits as well.

Day 1 Photo Challenge

2011-01-26T20:21:00.002-05:00

A friend told me she was going to do this 30 day photo challenge. I read her post and decided that I would give it a try. The first challenge is post a picture of yourself and 15 facts about yourself. I couldn't find a picture of just me, so here is one of my and my sister.

1. I have a tendency to be shy when you first me.
2. I went to private school from elementary school all the way through college.
3. I love to bake, scrapbook and take pictures.
4. I've lived in Charleston for 10 years and I love it.
5. I hate the cold.
6. I love flowers.
7. I love to travel to different places, but I also love to be at home.
8. I love to read.
9. I hate over 300 books.
10. I've moved more times in the past 6 years than I have the other 22 years of my life.
11. I love to sing just not in front of people.
12. I hate being the center of attention.
13. I was in two weddings on back to back weekends.
14. I use to drive through 3 different counties every day to go to work.
15. I have been in two different places at the same time.

Day 2 - A picture of you and the person you are closest to
Day 3 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 4 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 5 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 6 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 7 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 8 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 9 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the silliest things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of your favorite night
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your favorite day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Virginia's on King

2011-01-21T13:11:00.003-05:00

Yesterday a friend and I went to Virginia's on King. Since it's restaurant week here in Charleston, I figured why not try a new restaurant especially since that's one of my goals this year. I paid $20 for an appetizer, entree and dessert. For my appetizer, I got the house salad. I requested it without mushrooms, but it came with mushrooms. I had already started eating it so I just picked out the mushrooms. The waiter asked me if I wanted a new salad, but I told him it was ok and that I just picked them out. The salad was ok. It tasted a little weird to me, but maybe that was because it also had tomatoes on it and I don't like tomatoes. Anyways, my friend, Krista, got the fried green tomatoes. Those were actually really good and like I said earlier, I don't normally like tomatoes. We both ordered the fried chicken. Since it was on the restaurant week menu, we didn't get to choose our sides. It came with mashed potatoes and collard greens. I tried the collards but didn't like them. I don't normally like collards to begin with so I wasn't expecting to like them. My friend chicken was really good. However, it wasn't boneless. I'm not a big fan of chicken on the bone. The mashed potatoes were really good. I enjoyed them a lot! Anyways, for dessert I got the chocolate cake. YUMMY! Dessert is definitely my favorite part of any meal. I ate all of my cake. I tried Krista's chocolate mousse. It was good and a little rich. Anyways, I think I would eat there again. I definitely want to try their chicken salad and pecan chicken.

New Year

2011-01-02T17:40:00.002-05:00

Wow! A new year already! Time flies. I've been terribly slack in my blogging, but I'm hoping to get better. I told Paige I would do this get organized challenege with her as long as it was something that I could do. Obviously, I can't organize kitchen drawers, which was the challenge yesterday. Another one of my goals this coming year is to try a new restaurant every month. I don't know where I'm going to go in january yet, but if you have any suggestions let me know. I have several changes that are coming up this year, but it's nothing I haven't faced before i.e. moving. The job thing probably will be a little more challenging, but I'm working on trust. I like to be in control and I need to let God be in control. Today I went to FBC Charleston with my friends Krista and Jason. Jason is leading worship at the sunrise service which is their contemporary service. Today was their first day and I wanted to go and support them. They did a wonderful job. The church is gorgeous and very old as it was founded in the late 1600s. I really enjoyed the service. I went to sunday school with them as well. Jason is also in charge of the young adult ministry and so they were going to go the singles class. There really wasn't any one there except for the teacher and one girl. I do think that a few more people come, but they just weren't there today. The teacher's wife actually was the one who taught since he was sick. She told us that they are trying to build up the singles class, because a lot of people are leaving once they finish college. I knew exactly what she was talking about. Those who know me know that I've struggled with that for a long time. Not about leaving the church, but how everyone else does. I've struggled with the lack of fellowship and that's what she talked about in sunday school. FELLOWSHIP! I don't know if God wants me to leave the church I'm at or not. I do know that I heard exactly what I needed to. It's definitely going to be a prayerful decision and a step way out of my comfort zone. Anyways, on a more light hearted note, a goal I've set for myself is to go to the gym twice a week and spend at least 30 minutes there. Reading all these medical books has made me realize that I need to take care of my body and one way to prevent sickness is exercise. I'm not kidding. It was listed in almost every disease as one way to help prevent it.

Busy as a Bee

2010-11-24T18:52:00.004-05:00

I've been so busy lately with school and work that I just haven't had time to blog (who knows if anyone reads this anymore). Anyways, I've decided that starting in January, I want to try to eat at one new resteraunt a month and blog about it. Anyone have any suggestions or want to try places with me, let me know! I made some really yummy cookies a few weeks ago. It was a recipe I found online. They were peanut butter cookies with a surprise inside. I found a recipe online that was called Santa's Snicker Surprise Cookies. I bought some snickers to put inside but I also tried reeses and rolo's. The rolo's were the best! The caramel and chocolate spread through out the middle of the cookie! So good! I now have a new cookie to add to my christmas baking list this year.

Exercise

2010-10-14T20:44:00.003-04:00

I decided to join the Y at the end of september, mainly because I could join for half the price. I haven't been as much as I should, but I'm working on it. I was told to start at a 3.5 pace on the treadmill. The first day, I went a little over 2 miles at that pace. The next time I went I did a 3.5 pace for a mile and a 3.7 pace for the second mile. I ended up doing 2.2 miles. Today I went again and set my pace at 3.8. After the first mile, I increased it to 4.0 for a .1 mile and then went back down to 3.8 after that. When I hit 1.4 miles, I decided to increase it up to 4.0 for another .1 mile (the song on my ipod made me want to run). 4.0 wasn't quite a running pace, but I stayed at that pace for about .3 miles. I ended up doing 2.2 miles in about 40 minutes. Hopefully, I will gradually be able to increase my speed and build up my endurance. Right now, I'm fighting a cough and a potential sinus infection so hopefully once I get past that, I will be able to do more.

Life

2010-09-16T21:20:00.003-04:00

I'm starting classes to get my medical coding certificate. I'm hoping this well help me get a full time job in the next year. I'm ready to just have a steady, stable income, which in this day and age is going to be hard to find. Anyways, I've been having fun editing photos in photoshop. I must say once I get started, its kind of hard for me to stop. I LOVE IT! I also bought a cupcake book. I just made brownie cupcakes. I have no idea if they taste good or not, but the batter was good. I made everything from scratch! I don't know if I've ever made a cake from scratch before. It was definitely interesting! Here's a picture of my cupcakes.

Disappointment

2010-08-19T16:49:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about my church lately. It's gone through some major changes. I've tried to adjust to these changes. However, I just feel like the spirit is just gone. I have been getting more from the sermons, which was a complaint of mine, but other than that, nothing. I have no fellowship with anyone. I'm not involved in a sunday school, because right now I teach. However, even if I didn't teach, there is no sunday school to go to. I was talking to a friend about it and she made me think about how it's so different from when I first started going there. It was smaller and there was definitely more fellowship between people of all ages. They had dinner on wednesday night and once a year would have a big dinner on the grounds. That's all fallen to the wayside as the church has grown. I found out some recent news that upset me and made me question the decision making. I'm unsure what I'm going to do when august is over. Prayer would greatly be appreciated, because I've been at my current church for over six years and any change would definitely be out of my comfort zone.

Reading List

2010-08-03T19:25:00.002-04:00

Most everyone knows that I love to read. Normally, I read a lot of fiction. However, lately I've been reading a lot of books besides fiction. Some of my most recent ones have been:

Forgotten God and Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Radical by John Platt

I Am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby

The Price of Stones by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri

On my to read list are:

The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel

Hinds Feet in Hinds Places by Hannah Hurnard

Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias

No More Christian Nice Girl by Paul Coughlin & Jennifer D. Debler, PhD

Plan B by Pete Wilson

Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl by Lysa Terkeurst

Jesus Career Counselor by Laurie Beth Jones

Photoshop

2010-07-24T00:18:00.005-04:00

I by no means claim to be an expert on photoshop. However, I'm slowly learning. Here's a little thing I put together which shows the progess I made on one picture. It was really washed out because of the position of the sun, but I figured out how to edit it to make it look a lot better in my opinion anyways.

It's Been Awhile

2010-05-31T10:15:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's been two months since I last blogged! I guess that's what happens when you work 2 jobs and are gone pretty much all day. Anyways, now I'm down to one job, so hopefully I can blog some more. This will have to be quick since I have to work today. I'm moving (again) to Summerville for a year and then I'll be moving again. In the mean time, I'm looking at going to school and hopefully finding a full time job in the next year. I must say I hate packing. Although, I get rid of more and more stuff with each move. I've been going through all my books and making a pile that I'm getting rid of. I also am working on making a list of all the books I have\read so that way I'll know what I own and won't buy duplicate ones. Will try to post more later.

Slacker

2010-03-27T12:21:00.002-04:00

So I've realized I'm getting really slack about blogging. I don't even know if anyone reads this anymore. I work so much that blogging has gone to the bottom of my list. In the past couple of months, I've gotten a new computer (that I LOVE) except for the mouse pad sometimes changes the screen size. I need to figure out how to stop it from doing that. Windows 7 is really nice and pretty user friendly. My adobe software loaded onto it pretty well, so I can still use it. Yay! In a couple of weeks, I have off my job at Child's Day Out and so I'm going to take some pictures of my friend Kelly's daughters and son. I'm so excited. I feel like I haven't taken pictures in forever! Plus it's getting warmer and the flowers are starting to bloom and so that means lots of pretty flower pictures.

The Past Decade

2010-01-02T10:51:00.002-05:00

I've been slack about posting things lately, because I've been working so much. To make up for it, here are some highlights and lowlights of the past decade.

2000
I graduated from high school, started college, pledged a sorority and made tons of new friends. My first roommate left within a week and my suitemate, Elspeth, moved in with me. I also worked at Chick-fil-a during my first semester in college.

2001
I became a RA. Krista was my roommate my sophmore year. We watched Shrek every night before we went to bed. Made some more new friends at school.

2002
I went on Summer Beach Project with Campus Outreach in Cocoa Beach. I was in Elspeth's wedding. I was Vice President for my sorority.

2003
I became a RD. I worked the summer at CSU doing summer camps. I was Parliamentarian for my sorority. My brother graduated from high school. I got my first car.

2004
I graduated from college. I worked the summer at CSU doing summer camps again. My cousin got married. I lived with the Dirkes a week before Krista and I got our apartment. I got my first real job at Berenyi.

2005
My grandfather passed away near Easter. Ellisa and I took a ton of road trips to Atlanta and Myrtle Beach.

2006
Krista moved out of the apartment to live with her sister and I lived with the Dirkes for three months and then moved in with the Timms. I was in Ellisa's wedding. I was also in the Passion Play for the first time.

2007
I don't remember much about this year. Must not have been very exciting.

2008
Ellisa had Kristopher in January. I moved out of the Timm's and in with Krista in her townhouse. I lived with her until a few weeks before her wedding. Then I lived with Andy and Ellisa. I was in Gina and Krista's weddings back to back weekends. I had the stomach virus during Krista's wedding. I lost my job. I got my Real Estate License (which I never used). I visited some friends in Chattanooga twice. My brother graduated from college.

2009
I moved in with Carrie in ghetto-lite. Had a family vacation at Tybee. Subbed at Child's Day Out. My brother got engaged. I was offered a job at Child's Day Out and took it. I applied at Lifeway and got hired there and then eventually got promoted to Key Holder. My grandmother passed away a few days before New Years.

That's all I can remember right now.

SYTYCD Recap a few days late

2009-11-05T18:05:00.002-05:00

Noelle\Russell - Hip Hop

I thought this dance was weird. I guess the tennis rackets threw me off. It wasn't bad just different.

Ashleigh\Jacob - Viennese Waltz

I didn't think this was bad. I'm just not a ballroom fan.

Bianca\Victor - Broadway

I liked this dance. It was very energetic.

Nathan\Molly - Bollywood

I thought this one was good, but I still think Katie and Joshua's Bollywood dance is still my favorite.

Phillip\Channing - Samba

The lifts definitely weren't smooth but other than that it wasn't that bad.

Kevin\Karen - Hip Hop

I thought this one was ok. Definitely not my most favorite Tabitha and Napoleon routine.

Katherine\Legacy - Contemporary

I thought their dance was really good. Carrie said that this is the 12th time she has watched it. Lol.

Pauline\Peter - Jazz

I thought this one was ok. It was kind of weird.

Ellenore\Ryan - Argentine Tango

This was a pretty good dance.

I just realized I'm so not informative at all. Good thing I'm not a judge! I'm not a good recapper either. Oh well. Maybe no more recaps for me after this especially since two out of the three tappers are gone. Sad times!

SYTYCD Recap a week late

2009-10-29T14:22:00.003-04:00

I've decided to start my weekly So You Think You Can Dance blog.

Here is how I feel.

Rockin Robin - Jive

The judges didn't seem to like it, but I did. Then again, I'm no expert. I thought it was full of enery. Then again, I don't want to see any tappers go home right now, because I like them.

Hit Me with a Hot Note - Broadway

Not a fan of this one. I felt like they were just throwing themselves around on the stage. The judges loved it though. Maybe the judges and I aren't on the same page this season.

Black & Gold - Hip Hop

This wasn't bad. Definitely not my most favorite hip hop dance but definitely not the worst.

Vagabond Shoes - Waltz

I thought Russell did pretty well for being a krumper and doing the waltz.

Wasted Time - Contemporary

I really like Travis Wall as a choreographer. However, I wasn't a really big fan of this dance.

Push It - Cha Cha

Not a big fan of this dance either. I love the cross promoting since the song they danced to was sung on Glee. I did like all the lifts they did.

Arcadia - Contemporary\Jazz

This dance wasn't bad. It was kind of weird, but all Sonya dances are pretty weird.

You Light Up My Life - Smooth Waltz

Even though I know Brandon goes home, I really thought he did a good job. I really liked their lifts and everything was very smooth.

On & On - Hip Hop

I really liked this dance. I loved how Cat said this is the story of eeeevolution. Ha!

Turn The Beat Around - Disco

I really like Molly and Nathan and their dancing wasn't that bad.

I'm thinking that I'm not really bothered by who went home this week since I can't even remember the girl and I don't feel like watching it all the way to the end. On to next week!

Lists and such

2009-10-25T19:37:00.004-04:00

Lately, I've been extremely busy. I guess that's what happens when you work two jobs. So far today, I have accomplished almost everything on my list.

1. Make peanut butter cookies - done

2. Make candies for fall party at school - in process

3. Paint egg cartons black for craft at school - drying

4. Washed dishes - done

5. Laundry done - last load is in the dryer

6. Winter clothes out of the garage - done but not put up yet

7. Cleaned bathroom - haven't done that yet

8. Finished reading my bible training for lifeway - in the midst of it

I do only have 2 shows on the dvr right now. NCIS:Los Angeles and Stargate Universe. I watched Project Runway, Models of the Runway, White Collar and Monk this weekend. I'm hoping I can get through those 2 shows tonight or tomorrow. Otherwise, it's all going to stack up again. Anyways, onto more interesting things. My brother is getting married in July. Yay Doug! (I found out on our family vacation that he actually reads this). No ugly dresses though. Carrie's dog, Murphy, bit someone yesterday so she is returning him to the rescue. It's very sad, but she's scared that he is eventually going to bite someone and they will sue her. We can't figure out what is causing it either. It's so random. Anyways, hopefully he will get placed in a better home with the rescue. Oh, I went to the doctor a few weeks ago, because my throat has felt like it is swollen for like 3 weeks. She said I didn't have strep but prescribed me amoxicillan (or however you spell it). Anyways, I took it all and my throat felt better, but now it feels bad again. I think it's allergies so I bought some Claritin. Hopefully that will help. I haven't taken a lot of pictures lately, but here are a few that I took yesterday at Homecoming and Abi's soccer game.

Leyni

Jack

Abi

Jack

It's Been Awhile

2009-10-03T17:38:00.002-04:00

I haven't blogged in awhile. I guess since I'm working now, I don't have as much time. I've been watching dogs for the past week and a half. I was at my friend's Michelle's house for a few days while they went to Disney. That wasn't so bad. I just had to let the dogs out into the backyard since it's fenced in. Not too hard. However, Trixie (their yorkie) managed to get through the fence into the neighbor's fenced in backyard and then couldn't get back to her yard. Since last sunday, I've been at my house taking care of my roommate's dogs. I've realized that I don't have time for a dog. It's an added stress that I just don't need. I've got to make sure I get up earlier so I can take them for a walk and then make sure I'm back at the house in a reasonable amount of itme to take them out again. The best part is night time, because then I just go out the front door with them and they usually go in the yard. No walk involved! I guess it's more stress on me since I work two jobs so I have to make sure I'm back at the house with enough time in between both jobs to take them for their long walk since I won't get back until after dark. Way stressful for me! I might could handle it with just Murphy (the larger, more well behaved dog) but Trudie drives me crazy. She can't walk in a straight line, constantly is trying to walk into the street and tries to eat the food that the construction workers have tossed onto the sidewalk. Too much to worry about for me! Then I have to pick up the poop and I feel like throwing up. It's not bad the first time, but when I have to pick up the second dog's poop, I smell the first dog's poop and it makes me want to vomit. Anyways, Carrie's coming home tomorrow. Thank goodness! Seriously, next week I don't think I would have time to do all that. I'm working both jobs almost every day. Now I'm going in at 3 on some days which basically means, I come home and change clothes and then leave again. Barely any time to sit and relax, but I need the money. I hate having to worry about money. If I could just work and have all my needs met and not have to worry about things, I think that would be wonderful, but that's not how life is.

Cassette Tapes

2009-09-19T18:51:00.002-04:00

I found all my cassette tapes that I put random music on from middle school and high school. Right now, I'm sitting here listening to them all. I must say, it's been quite entertaining. I've found the Coyote Ugly soundtrack, Britney Spears (pre crazy days), the Backstreet Boys, the Monkees theme song in spanish, Funny Farm, My Boomerang won't come back. I kind of miss the days when I could just have a blank cassette in the tape player and then when a song came on the radio I liked, I could just hit record. I'm probably going to have to go to Itunes to find the songs that I liked from back then that I don't have on my ipod. I'm hoping to find my tapes from middle school with Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men on them. Who knows what all I'm going to find. It's going to be fun!

Question

2009-09-12T10:52:00.002-04:00

If you had to choose between doing a job that you loved which meant you weren't paid a lot or doing a job that you didn't love and got paid plenty, which would you choose? This is a question I've been pondering a lot lately.

Lately

2009-08-30T19:06:00.002-04:00

Wow! I haven't blogged in a few weeks. I've definitely been busy. I got offered a job teaching at Child's Day Out at Old Fort. I took it. I'm teaching the oldest 2 year old class. Since that job is only 20 hours a week, I needed another job. I took a second job working at Lifeway. I started both last week. This coming week is my first week of actually having kids in the classroom. I'm interested in seeing how it will all turn out. I have two different classes. One on Mon\Wed and one on Tues\Thurs. My tues\thurs class seems to be a little bit more advanced. They all came to Child's Day Out last year. We'll see this week if my predictions are true. I'm excited about it all. I'm working at Lifeway everyday this week except for on Sunday and Wednesday. I'll definitely be getting a lot of training. There are some things that I keep forgetting to do, but I guess I will remember more over time. I walked in a 5K yesterday. I finished in 50 minutes. I guess that's not too bad. I didn't run at all so I could've probably finished with a faster time if I had run a little bit. Anyways, that's about all that's been going on in my life lately.

Things I Hate Part Two

2009-08-11T12:43:00.002-04:00

I did a post with a list of things I hate back in April. Here are some things I would like to add to that.

Going to the unemployment office (It takes forever!)
Taxes (I guess I never realized how much money the government takes from you until today when I was trying to figure out how much I could make and live off after taxes, they take about 30% of your gross income (15% federal, 7% state and 7.65$ medicare and social security). It varies based on how much money you make a year, but this bracket is where I seem to fit.)
Budgets
Money

A Hodge Podge

2009-08-10T20:04:00.006-04:00

I've been going through all my magazines (mainly Real Simple) that I've collected over the past six months. I decided to share some of the things I found that were interesting or that I thought might would come in handy at some point and this is a easy spot to put it.

I thought this board looked pretty cool. Basically, you can keep everything together.
This cake cutter looked pretty interesting as well.
This looked pretty cool. You can share songs ipod to ipod.
This water filter seemed pretty neat.
Cupcake liners

Things I want to try:

This scalp scrub.
Maybe this make-up or this one.
Topix Replenix Cream CF
RoC MultiCorrexion Eye Treatment8u

Neat tips:

Use a pillowcase to clean a sealing fan.
Take hose and put it over the bristles on your brush and then when you want to remove the hair, you just pull of the hose.

Travel sites to check out:

easyjet.com
farecast.com
farecompare.com
jet4you.com
myair.com
travelocity.com
vayama.com
whichbudget.com
yapta.com

applevacations.com
homeaway.com
homeexchange.com
homelink.com
homelink.org
interhomeusa.com
lacurevillas.com
tripadvisor.com
villasofdistinction.com

aoprals.state.gov
cruisedeals.com
expedia.com
intrepidtravel.com
kayak.com
orbitz.com
resortquest.com
riu.com
starfishresorts.com
travelocity.com

Coupon sites:

Coupons.com
Couponcabin.com
Coolsavings.com
Cybermonday.com
extrabux.com
ebates.com
freeshipping.org
shoppingnotes.com
swapagift.com

Singles Ministry

2009-08-05T11:41:00.002-04:00

My roommate Carrie and I were discussing the other day the Singles Ministry (or lack there of) at the church I go to and Carrie sometimes does. She said I love the pastor, but there is nothing for people my age. I agree. There is no direction. Nobody plans anything. It's like the church doesn't care about you if you are single. You are lost (not in the sense of going to hell, but in the sense that the church doesn't reach out to you). They spend all this time on the children's ministry followed by the youth ministry. When you reach college, they've still got a little something for you. However, after that, you've got nothing unless you are married. Why should you have to go to a mega church to find a ministry that reaches out to you? You don't relate to the married people your age because you are not married nor should you be expected to. Yes, there are some things that you still have in common, but married people don't understand some of the struggles that singles go through and vice versa. I have lots of married friends and I love them all. I still hang out with some of them. However, I can't always call them up and be like I need someone to talk to and they are there. They have husbands and kids to worry about. Anyways, we were talking about how someone should plan an event that involves singles from different churches coming together. One night a month or whatever. I thought about this for awhile and then realized something. Old Fort used to have a get together called The Gathering which met on Saturday nights. I think it was once a month. It was mainly college students. However, when the church went to 3 services, the contemporary service was called The Gathering and they stopped doing the saturday night fellowship. I also remembered that in Greenville there is a new ministry called Off The Coast which was started by 2 guys that went to my parents church. Not sure if they still go there or not. They also know my friend Gina. This is what we need here in Charleston. A ministry that reaches out to young adults and singles.

Tybee Island Day Two and Part of Day Three

2009-07-21T11:01:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we went to the lighthouse (and climbed a buttload of stairs) and to Fort Pulaski. It was interesting to see. I would have enjoyed the Fort a little bit more if I hadn't been so hungry. My brother made lowcountry boil, which everyone loved, but I didn't eat it since I don't like seafood. Kristy (my cousin-in-law) and I went on a bike ride. It was lots of fun. I really need to ride my bike more when I get back home. Anyways, when we got back, my cousin was mad at me because I was "beating" her at FarmTown (game on facebook). She stormed out of the house and went on a car ride. She told her mom that she was planting grapes so that she could beat me quicker (or something to that effect). Anyways, she calmed down when she got back, but at 1:30 in the morning, she had the laptop in bed with her, harvesting her grapes. I was trying to sleep and I was extremely annoyed at her. I held my tongue because I didn't want to start something with her. But really, she couldn't have harvested her grapes somewhere else. It's a stupid game on facebook. Get over it! She kept me awake with that stupid laptop. Anyways, this morning we went to take a family picture on the beach. I hate taking family pictures, because they take FOREVER! We have to pose in like ten different spots and it's hot as anything out there. Anyways, this afternoon we are going to go eat in Savannah and then go on a dolphin tour. Should be fun!

Tybee Island Day One

2009-07-19T11:45:00.002-04:00

I rode the train to Savannah yesterday. I definitely got to the train station way early. It took all of 5 minutes to get my ticket and check my luggage. I had 45 minutes before the train would even arrive. I sat in the lounge and read a magazine. Only one other person got on the train when I did. There were people on the train when I boarded, but it wasn't crowded. I had two seats to myself. The view was pretty nice. The sun was setting right when we went over the river. I tried to take a picture but by the time I got the camera on my phone ready, we passed it. The house is extremely nice. I'm going to try and take some pictures. Now on to the first funny story of the week. My cousin, Dee, was sleeping on the top bunk of one of the bunk beds. This morning he said he was freezing because he didn't have a blanket. We were confused. Well, Tiff (his sister) and I looked at his bed and he hadn't even slept under the covers! He was using a towel as a blanket! Hilarious! He didn't realize that the bed already had blankets on it! Also, some of the family went to a local church this morning. I didn't go, but Dee decided to ride his bike. He said when he walked in the door it was all old people and he was getting evil looks because he was wearing shorts so he left. I find that extremely sad that he didn't feel welcome just because of what he was wearing. I hope that when people come to Old Fort that they feel welcome no matter what they are wearing.

My adventures in the past couple of weeks

2009-07-17T11:43:00.009-04:00

I took a quick trip to DC with Krista and Jason to pick up 2 cute little Westies. Krista and Jason were keeping one and the other was going to a family in Greenville. We went into the city on July 3 and it was crazy! I'm hoping to go back when it's less crowded. Here are some pictures from that trip.

Me imitating the puppy sleeping

The puppy sleeping

Obie and Kitzel (I have no idea how they are spelling it)

Obie and Cilla

Then I went to youth camp this past week with the youth. It was tons of fun. There are some great kids in the youth group at the church. Here are some highlights (and lowlights) from the trip.

Leslie, Haley and Marissa (some of the sweetest girls)

Two of the groups when we were doing service projects

Chelsee during the Messy Games

Me and Chelsee

Me climbing the rock wall

Still climbing the rock wall

Doing the high ropes course

Half way through the high ropes course

The whole group at the blue hole (minus a few)

Lately

2009-07-13T14:41:00.003-04:00

I just got back from youth camp on Saturday and DC the week before. I will post some pics soon. I had tons of fun with the youth and I am seriously considering helping with them. They are some of the best young people I've met. Most of them are pretty good kids. Right now I'm fixing to make cupcake bites with Hannah and Kaelyn for the Peru team that leaves on thursday.

Life

2009-06-29T11:46:00.003-04:00

I've currently set my pandora station to the Praise & Worship one I created awhile ago. I was hoping that it would play Everlasting God, but no such luck so far. Anyways, if you read my blog at all, you probably know that I've been struggling a lot with what I'm suppose to do. I'm doing this Bible Study called "When Wallflowers Dance" by Angela Thomas. I have enjoyed it so much. Every day I read something that I needed to hear. This past week was about waiting and what we need to do. The first step was Abide (or remain). The verse she used was Abide in me and I will abide in you. I need to abide in God and not try to give into all the pressures I have on me. Instead, I need to entrust (step two) him with my worries\struggles\problems. Then I need to trust (Step 3) him. He will lead me to where I'm suppose to be. Step four is become. I need to become the woman that God wants me to be. Step five is prayer. I need to pray. The last step is stand. Just stand. I don't have to move but I have to be faithful and trust God. I'm going to try to do this. To abide, entrust, trust, become, pray and stand. I know that God will meet all my needs. Some of my favorite verses are:

Jer. 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future."

Psalm 62:8 "People, trust God all the time. Tell him all your problems, because God is our protection."

John 15:4 "Remain in me."

Romans 8:25 "But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

Hebrews 6:15 "And so after waitin patiently, Abraham received what was promised."

A quote I like:

"Wait on God and He will work, but don't wait in spiritual sulks becaue you cannot see an inch in fron tof you!" -Oswald Chambers

Peter Cottontail

2009-06-26T09:56:00.004-04:00

I woke up this morning and was looking at the backyard and I saw a rabbit! I was super excited. I ran upstairs grabbed my camera and I got several pictures of him. Here are a couple.

Questions

2009-06-22T20:57:00.003-04:00

Things that I am pondering:

Where is the governor? He seems to have disappeared.

Are Jon & Kate really getting a divorce? Sad situation for everyone involved. I want to hope it's no, but I think it's yes.

Edited to add after I watched the show: The more I watch, the less sympathy I have for Jon. He's basically focusing on himself. He's doing what's best for him and not what is best for the kids. What's ultimately best for the kids is for them to have both parents acting like adults. Instead, they have Jon who goes out to bars with women who aren't his wife. What a great example to set! I know Kate isn't the best mom. She is very strong-willed and used to getting her way. However, she does the show and the books (and the tours that she is probably obligated to do for the books) to provide for her family. Has the money gone to her head a little? Probably. However, I don't know if they could meet all their kids needs if both of them worked "normal" jobs. Do I necessarily agree that they should get all the things they do on their show? No, but that makes good tv. People aren't going to watch a show where they don't go anywhere. That's boring. People want to watch the kids experiencing new things. That is what makes good tv. As for them buying a million dollar home, can you blame them? People stalk them all the time. Paparazzi, fans, whoever. They need privacy just like everyone else. When they first started doing the show, I'm sure they didn't realize how popular it would become. Anyways, I found a new show called Raising Sextuplets on WE. I watched it last thursday and it was pretty good. Both parents work and they live in Arizona.

Did Jon cheat on Kate? I'm leaning towards yes on this one. He definitely isn't acting like a married man.

Did Kate cheat on Jon? Probably not.

How much would could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Who knows.

Will I see Miley Cyrus on Tybee Island when we go there? Maybe...

Road Trips

2009-06-21T19:00:00.002-04:00

I love taking road trips. I haven't taken any in along time though. Mainly because I haven't had anyone to go with. Anyways, I'm going to Rock Hill this weekend. I'm super excited to be able to see some friends that I haven't seen in forever. Krista and I talked about taking a quick trip up to DC to see her sister (and get her dog) next week, but I don't know if we will actually do it or not. I'm going with the youth to TN the following week. That should be fun. Then a few weeks later it will be time for my family vacation on Tybee. Yay! I'm ready for that. Even though I live at the beach and don't have a job right now, that still doesn't mean that I go to the beach everyday. I did go to the beach last week with some friends and on saturday I was out with another friends family. The only trip that I want to make but haven't planned yet, is a trip to Atlanta to see the Braves play. I guess I need to get with Gina and see if I can plan a time for us to go. I'm thinking probably sometime in August. I do want to eventually take a trip to San Antonio too. I have some friends that live out there. My cousin said she might go out there in September. We'll see how my job situation is then. Maybe I can go with her.

Beach Photos

2009-06-17T17:22:00.004-04:00

Today I went to the beach with two of my good friends Ellen and Kelly and their girls. I had so much fun taking pictures of the girls. If I only could make a living off of taking pictures, I think that I would be perfectly content to do that. Anyways, here are some of the pictures that I took and did a little tweeking on in photoshop.

These are some of the pictures of Leyni:

These are some of the pictures of Abi. I really love the second one.

This is one of the pictures of Caroline.

Storms

2009-06-15T17:36:00.004-04:00

We seem to be having a lot of storms lately. I mean daily. It rains and we have thunderstorms. I don't remember ever having them this frequently. Maybe it's just me though. Anyways, here are some pictures of the crazy weather we just had. I could really stand outside because the rain was coming down sideways.

The pond by the house.

Another picture of the pond and the alley flooding.

This is the pond across the street. That really wasn't there earlier.

This is the street.

The half completed house next door

The pond building in between the two houses across the street.

Something New

2009-06-11T16:35:00.003-04:00

I read Pioneer Woman's Blog everyday. Today she posted a tutorial in photoshop. I decided to try it out. I must say that I LOVED it! Here is the original photo:

Here is it after I played around in photoshop.

Doesn't it look like a piece of art that you would buy? I'm excited to see what else I can come up with. Maybe I will have more photos soon.

Old TV Shows

2009-06-10T12:08:00.003-04:00

Recently I was talking with the girl I teach with on Sunday mornings about how kids act older than they should be. I said I think it's because they watch tv programs that are geared toward an older audience. You have 3,4 and 5 year olds watching Hannah Montana, Suite Life, Wizards of Waverly Place and Sonny with a Chance. Not that these shows are bad shows, but the characters in them are teenagers who do things teenagers do. Things like talking about boys or wearing makeup, etc. These things aren't bad. However, when you have 4 year old girls asking a 4 year old boy, "Do I look hot?" something's not quite right there. When I was 4, I was playing house or beauty parlor or dress up. I wasn't thinking about which boys were cute or about wearing make-up. I watched Mr. Roger's Neighborhood (my favorite part was when they went to the land of make believe), Dumbo's Circus, Adventures in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh. Most of the time, I played outside. We rode our bikes. We played with the kids in the neighborhood. We played on the swingset in the backyard. What has happened that this generation only wants to watch tv and play video games? Is it because the parents are too busy or just don't care? I wasn't allowed to watch the Smurfs or Scooby Doo. I can't remember why I couldn't watch Scooby Doo. Maybe it was because of the ghosts. I know I couldn't watch the Smurfs because of the magician. I can't remember his name. I can't even watch most of the cartoons on tv today. Although, I have been known to watch Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears. I remember on friday nights watching TGIF. Two hours of tv that was clean. The whole family could watch it. Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Boy Meets World and Step by Step. I remember watching Matlock during the summers. I loved Matlock. Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Touched by an Angel, 7th Heaven, Saved by the Bell, Cosby Show, Gilligans Island, The Andy Griffith Show, Little House on the Prairie, Hey Dude, Brotherly Love, Diagnosis Murder, Walker Texas Ranger, JAG, Due South, Flipper, Seaquest, Double Dare, GUTS, The Pretender, The Sentinel, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Torkelsons. These were all shows I watched. Most of them didn't have dirty language and sex in them. They were pretty clean. Your 3 year old could watch them with your 15 year old. You didn't have to worry about what was going to come on, because you knew it would be clean. Today you have to be careful.

Pictures

2009-06-08T19:55:00.003-04:00

Can I just say that I LOVE to take pictures? I mean LOVE it! I love to take pictures of almost anything. I'm not a big pose for a picture person. I just try and get natural shots. At least, as well as I can anyways. My friend Brandon told me I should try and start my own photography business. I'm not sure if I want to. I love doing it for fun and taking pictures for my friends. I took these pictures yesterday at Wannamaker.

I did do a little editing in photoshop, but nothing major. I'm trying to decide a) if I want to walk the bridge tomorrow with Carrie if it isn't raining and b) if I want to just take pictures instead of walk.

Shaving

2009-06-06T11:29:00.009-04:00

I've been through a lot of razors since I started shaving. The first one I can remember was a gilette. It had a oval rubber handle and was green. I would get cuts on my legs all the time even though I was using shaving cream. Similar to this:

Then I moved on to the Venus.

For some reason, I would end up losing my razor so I would end up getting a new one. I currently have this one.

I really like it. I use it to shave my pits. However, I don't really like using these on my legs because like I said earlier, I end up cutting myself. I started using the Schick Intuition on my legs.

However, it would end up with rust on it after one use. Kind of irritating. I went to the dermatologist a few years ago and she told me that warts are spread by razors. Great! Then I decided to try the Carefree hair removal system.

You just squeezed the bottle and on the end was a sponge applicator and applied it directly to your legs. No mess on your hands. Then you used a bladeless razor to remove it and rinse of the excess. It wasn't too bad, but you couldn't put lotion on until 24 hours after. Plus, I could only find it at Target. Then I decided to try Veet. Same concept as the Carefree system, but you applied it with your hands.

I stuck with this system for awhile. Mainly because it was easy to find. I still didn't like having to apply it with my hands and didn't like that I had to wait a few minutes before I could get in the shower and wait to apply lotion (24 hours). Then I saw on the tv the new Nair Shower Power. It looked interesting so I thought I would try it.

I tried it this morning and so far I like it. You apply it on your legs using the green side of the sponge. Leave it on for a minute. Then take a shower. The water kind of washes off some of it, but it still works. Then after a few minutes you use the white side of the sponge and wash it off. Not bad! So far, so good. We shall see how long it lasts. As of right now, I think I'm going to stick with this one for my legs.

Rhyme

2009-06-03T13:06:00.003-04:00

Here is a little rhyme I came up with today.

I have a little spider
We like to call him Ted
But if you try and squish him
He will end up dead.

I have a little dog
We like to call him Fred
And if you ask him a question
He will nod his head.

Fear and Worry

2009-06-02T10:38:00.003-04:00

I've been struggling a lot lately with fear and worry. It seems to consume every part of my life. Fear of the future. Fear of not getting a job. Fear of getting a job and not being able to do the things that I've planned. Fear of failure. Fear of never getting married. Fear of having to move. Fear of the unknown. Worry about money. Worry about getting a temp job then not being able to go on my family vacation that's been planned for a long time especially since it could be the last one my grandmother is at. I've always liked to have a plan, but lately it seems I can't count on any plan. I know that I need to work on trust. Trust in God. Trust in others. I hate relying on other people. I always seem to get let down somehow. That's why I keep a lot of things bottled up. It's easier than having to trust someone else with it. I've tried trusting God with it, but I guess since I don't see anything happening, I feel like he doesn't care even though I know he does. I don't know what I'm suppose to do. Anyways, I'm doing this study on my own called When Wallflowers Dance. I just started week 2 yesterday. I really like it. The things that she says I can relate to. I'm like that's me. I had bought the book awhile ago and never read it. I have no idea where it is, but I am going to try and find it.

Acapella

2009-05-30T17:41:00.002-04:00

If you like acapella stuff, you should check out these videos.

Voca People

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days of Christmas

Sitcom Medley

My Memorial Day

2009-05-26T11:27:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I was invited to a cookout at Ellen and Brandon's house. (We went to college together). I was suppose to bring a side. Anyways, Carrie was like we have all these fresh green beans why don't you use them. I decided to make green bean casserole. I had never made green bean casserole before with fresh green beans, but I figured it would be just like making them from a can. (I was wrong). I washed and cut them and even converted ounces to cups so I would put the right amount of green beans in. I stirred it all up and put it in the oven. Then Carrie comes home. She asked me if I had cooked the green beans before putting them in the casserole. I told her no. She said you are suppose to cook them before putting them in. What I didn't know was that when you get green beans in a can, they are already cooked. No one bothered to tell me that before, because I never really had a reason to know. Carrie told me to taste a green bean when they were suppose to be done (after 30 min.). I did. It was raw. She told me to cook it for 30 more minutes and put foil on top. Did that and it tasted ok. (By this time, I was going to be late). After that, I was like, I'm just going to take it and if it needs to cook more, I'll put it in Ellen's oven. Well, I guess it sat for long enough that the green beans finally cooked and it tasted pretty good. Not as good as normal probably because we didn't have enough fried onions. Oh well. Anyways, that was my excitement for the weekend. I learned anything you buy in a can is already cooked. You just are reheating it.

Life

2009-05-20T21:37:00.004-04:00

Wow! It's been almost a week since my last blog. I'm getting kind of slack. Not as slack as a few other people though (j\k). I'm currently watching American Idol and so far, I've enjoyed Allison and Cyndi Lauper singing a duet, fast forwarded through Adam and Kiss (I actually had to pause it so I could fast forward it since I am watching it live), sort of enjoyed Santana and the Top 13, and liked Megan and Michael singing with Steve Martin. I've probably left some out, but that's what I could remember. Anyways, it's been a long day. I worked at Child's Day Out and then had to take Katie and her friend Anna home. I figured it would be good. Katie would have someone to play with and would be out of my hair. Kind of wrong there. They were screaming, fighting over Trixie (the dog) and making a huge mess. Katie is so defiant. She will blatantly ignore anything you ask (or tell) her to do. Changing the subject, I'm liking Rod Stewart's performance. I watched Glee last night after American Idol and I liked it. At first, I didn't really get into it, but towards the end, I liked it more. Tomorrow is the beginning of So You Think You Can Dance. Maybe I will start blogging about that. I'm still looking for a job. I applied at Northwoods Academy yesterday. My friend Kelly said they had some positions open. We'll see what happens.

Update: Kris won! Yay! I'm so glad. Maybe if the producers hadn't blatantly promoted Adam, he would have won. I won't buy Adam's album either way so it doesn't really matter to me. I don't care for his screeching. Kris is such a class act.

Catching Up

2009-05-14T22:23:00.002-04:00

American Idol

I actually watched the results night before the performance night. I pretty much watched the elimination and the very beginning and that it. Anyways, I just finished watching the performance show. I fast forwarded through both of Danny's songs (I would have listened to You Are So Beautiful if I hadn't heard him sing it already), loved both of Kris's songs, and fastforwarded through Adam's first song and then I started to listen to him singing Cryin and liked it for about the first ten seconds and then had to fast forward because he went all weird with it. I just can't stand the shameless promotion of Adam and the total disregard for any of the other contestants. It really disappoints me even though I shouldn't be disappointed because that's what the show is about. Money and I guess they think Adam is God's gift to the world.

Biggest Loser

I watched part of the finale and DVRed the end because I had a headache. It was interesting to see Jerry win the at home part. Amazing for him. Tara looked great. I really liked her. I'm sad she didn't win. Helen looked too thin, like she starved herself for the show.

NCIS (If you haven't watched this weeks episode, don't read)

I'm interested to see how it's going to be resolved next week. Tony kills Ziva's love interest. Supposedly one of them doesn't come back. I know Tony will be back next season. I don't know if that means someone dies or someone stays behind. Counting down the days until next week.

House (same as above)

Such a good episode. I actually had to rewatch it because I didn't quite catch what happened the first time. Watching it through again, I realized certain things since I knew how it ended. I can't believe House checked into rehab. I was interested to see that he was now hallucinating Kutner as well as Amber.

Enough about the tv. I spent my birthday last week at the beach and then I went to California Dreaming with Krista and her family. I had a job interview on Monday. I'm not sure how it turned out. We'll see. I try not to get my hopes up about anything anymore. Who knows? I can't believe May is halfway over. Time sure does fly! I'm not sure what I'm doing this weekend yet except for going to a few kids softball games.

Free Stuff

2009-05-06T15:55:00.002-04:00

I'm all about free stuff. I sign up for all kinds of mailing lists so I will get free things for my birthday. This year I've got a free ice cream from cold stone, a free appetizer from Texas Roadhouse and a free entree at Moe's. Here is what you do. Go to the website and sign up. You might get e-mails from them through out the year, but it's worth it for free food.

Cold Stone Creamery
http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/mycs/myCS_pub_home.aspx

Moe's
http://www.fishbowl.com/clt/moescorp/lp/join/join.asp

Texas Roadhouse
http://texasr.fbmta.com/members/UpdateProfile.aspx?Action=Subscribe&InputSource=W

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T21:56:00.003-04:00

American Idol

I fast forwarded through Adam's performance. I couldn't stand it after about 5 seconds. At least they are making him sing first. The part that I did hear was him screaming. That's about it. Loved Allison! (not sure about her new look though) I want to roll my eyes at the judges. They have their favorite and they pretty much don't care about anyone else that sings. Their goal is to promote their favorite. I just watched the first 30 minutes of Idol in 10 minutes. That's pretty good. Of course, they would pare Kris and Danny together, because they are less rock and would put Allison and Adam together because they have more of that rock sound. Another way to get Adam to sing last even when he is singing first. I liked Kris a lot as well. Slash shows no emotion whatsoever. Of course, Simon is going to criticize him because he's not Adam. The song Danny picked, I could see Adam singing. I didn't think Danny did that great with it. The scream at the end was AWFUL! Danny didn't look particularly thrilled with it at first. Why are they all of a sudden showing us the Simon signs? I just figured out what Adam reminds me of. That karoake performance at the end of Shrek when all the characters sing different songs. I think it's the gingerbread man. I think that is who he reminds me of. Dang it. The DVR cut off and I didn't get to hear what Simon said.

Anyways, my sister turned 15 today. Can you believe it? Kind of scary.

Alison's Wedding

2009-05-02T22:15:00.003-04:00

My long time friend from high school got married today. Her name is Alison. Her wedding was suppose to be outside, but at the last minute it started to rain. They moved it underneath a tent. There wasn't enough chairs for everyone so I stood in the back. Bad idea. My feet were killing me, because I was standing in these heels. Then I started to get hot because of the humidity. Well, I started to get lightheaded so I pulled out a chair and sat down because I was feeling dizzy. Then some lady asked if I needed water. That was the last thing I remember. I passed out and was having some dream. It only lasted for a few seconds. Then I remember seeing a white light and waking up on the ground. I had no idea how I got there. Meanwhile, the wedding was going on. I was completely embarassed. Then this cute doctor came up and started asking me all these questions. (He was really, really cute). He carried my purse in and everything for me. Anyways, I think I just needed some food and I was fine once I drank some water. It was really weird. The only other time I have passed out was when I was with Alison in the mall shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Anyways, the wedding (what I saw) was really pretty.

Interview and Idol

2009-04-29T09:12:00.004-04:00

I had a group interview yesterday. I hated it. It was so weird and uncomfortable. I hope I never have to do it again. I hate job interviews in general. I am terrible about selling myself. I get asked a question and I can't really come up with a great answer on the spot. Ten minutes later, I can probably have this great answer that I should have given. That's the way it is with me. I can't just think on the spot like that. I like to have a plan. Interviews are not good for people who don't do well thinking on the spot. Anyways, I tried watching American Idol when I got home last night, but I fell asleep. I watched the rest of it this morning. I liked Kris and Allison. I didn't really care for Matt. Danny was ok. The chosen one was again placed last. Will they ever make him sing first or second? Seriously... I kind of feel sorry for the guy, because when he wins, he isn't going to be able to do what he would be good at (which is Broadway). I don't want him to win. I don't think he should win, but I think he will win because of the shameless promotion of him by the judges and the producers. It disgusts me.

After I typed this, I read the following from Max Lucado's book "Grace For The Moment" Volume II. It was yesterday's reading, that I forgot to read.

" Never Alone

I will not forsake my people. 1 Kings 6:13 NKJV

The Lord is with us. And, since the Lord is near, everything is different. Everything!....You may be facing unemployment, but you aren't facing unemployment alone; the Lord is with you....
Underline these words: You are not alone"

I left out some of what he said and this was an excerpt from his book Traveling Light. Anyways, it was just not to hear from someone else that I am not alone. God is with me. He knows the direction my life is supposed to go and even though I don't, I need to trust him. That's one of the things I struggle with is trust. The other is patience and I know that God is teaching me both at this time in my life.

What to do...

2009-04-27T11:37:00.002-04:00

I've been struggling a lot lately. I think I've mentioned it before on here, but I just don't know what I'm suppose to do. Lately, I've been thinking A LOT about trying to find a job working with kids and maybe going back and getting my masters in Early Childhood Education. I love working with young kids and I am still unsure if that is what God is calling me to do. I have a group interview tomorrow. I really have no idea what to expect. I've never been to a group interview before. Interviews scare me enough. I don't know what questions to ask and you are supposed to ask questions. Usually, they always answer the questions that I had planned to ask. I'm not good at thinking on my feet. I'm a planner and it just really throw me off when I can't think of a question off the top of my head.

What a week!

2009-04-24T15:55:00.002-04:00

I've been housesitting since wednesday and it's definitely been interesting. The people I'm housesitting for have a dog and a cat. The cat does pretty much his own thing, but the dog is a different story. The first night I kept the bedroom door open. BIG MISTAKE! I couldn't sleep because the dog and the cat kept jumping on and off the bed all night. Last night I shut the door and it was tons better! Yesterday I finally got the oil pan replaced in my car since it was leaking. Expensive! You pay $50 for parts and the rest is labor. I need to learn how to do repair work on my car. That would save me tons of money. Today I went to the unemployment office to file an extension. The guy there said I couldn't file for an extension until my account was $0. Annoying! I have to go back on monday, because my money will be gone when I file on sunday. At least he gave my the paperwork so that I don't have to fill it out again. Anyways, wednesday night I was a little scared Allison was going to go home. Thank goodness she didn't. I know I'm going to be disappointed this season with who wins it since that person is pretty much already picked. It kind of makes me not want to watch, but for some reason I still do.

Tuesday

2009-04-21T19:57:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I tried to watch American Idol, but it just wasn't holding my attention. Maybe because I know that the producers have already chosen the winner. I wasn't impressed with Lil or Adam. On a positive note, at least I didn't have to listen to Adam scream. I had to mute the tv when the judges were talking about Adam. It gets old listening to the same thing over and over again. Anyways, I'm watching the Biggest Loser now. Hopefully it will hold my attention longer than American Idol. Anyways, I made chocolate chip cookies for the new neighbors, but I might eat them all before they get them. They are so good. Tomorrow I start housesitting for a week. Hopefully, it won't be too bad.

Ok, I added this paragraph later. I just finished watching the Biggest Loser and Kristin is so full of herself. She got upset at Mike for voting her out. Hello, that's the smart thing to do. He wants to win. Get over yourself. Now, Mike I think is getting a little cocky. I really don't like his dad and I'm starting to not like him.

Places to Visit

2009-04-20T20:08:00.002-04:00

There are tons of places that I want to go. I'm going to start a list.

1. New York City (again)
2. All 50 States
3. Canada
4. England
5. France
6. Ireland
7. Scotland
8. LA
9. San Francisco
10. Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
11. Seven Wonders of the Medieval World
12. Seven Wonders of the Modern World
13. Seven Natural Wonders

Maybe I will add more later.

Politics

2009-04-17T22:14:00.002-04:00

I would just like to say if you don't want to hear about anything political, you might want to skip this entry.

Anyways, basically, I just wanted to write this to vent. I'm not the most well-informed voter. Carrie and I sometimes discuss politics and I try to read the news and understand what's going on. In fact, I tried to read the stimulus bill but got so confused that I had to stop. Anyways, all of this to say while I was on facebook, one of my friends status updates was something along the lines of our governor stinks. She is a teacher. I know why she said it, because she wants him to take money that isn't ours and put it into a system that doesn't work hoping that it will just magically help solve all of South Carolina's educations problems. Money can't solve all your problems and anyways, what would our schools do if we didn't have the money which we wouldn't have if Obama hadn't taken it upon himself to create more debt for our country that is already in debt up to its eyeballs. He is basically reinforcing the fact that it's ok to spend money you don't have which is what caused a lot of the problems we have in America today. American's bought houses they couldn't afford and then lost them because of that. Obama is doing the same thing. Basically with the stimulus package, it's like the following scenario:

Say one day you get a letter from someone that says this, I'm giving you $20000. It doesn't matter if you spend it or not, but you have to pay it back with interest. You can't give it back. If you don't accept it, you still have to pay it back anyways.

What kind of logic is that? If you don't want the money, why make the person pay for it? What most people don't understand is this: There are really two parts of government that have to work together the legislative and executive branches. If they don't work together, then nothing happens. This is basically what is happening right now in our state government. The legislator refuses to meet the governor in the middle. They don't really care about the citizens. If they did, they would work with the governor. Instead, the whine and complain and point fingers and accomplish nothing all the while putting us in more debt. The governor wants to get us out of debt. I would say this is financially responsible. Why would you when times are tough, want to put yourself in more debt when you are having a hard enough time paying off the debt you already have. I don't think people grasp that. Back to the teacher thing, what the teacher probably hasn't though of is this: What happens when that money runs out? Those programs will go by the wasteside. Most people think in the here and now and don't look towards the consequences of what will happen down the road.

To end it all, I hate the way our government is headed. I was excited to see the Tea Parties that happened across America and as far as I know, were peaceful demonstrations. I want to see America return back to her core values and the principles of our forefathers. I want to stop seeing the government trying to take control of everything.

American Idol Top 7

2009-04-14T20:43:00.003-04:00

I'm watching American Idol in a random order tonight since I started watching it in the middle and don't want to watch from the DVR since it might go long like last week. I started with Danny Gokey near the end of "Endless Love". It sounded ok. Not the greatest and certainly not the worst. I was sidetracked because I was trying to figure out what exactly Paula was wearing. Hideous! Exciting! Bones will be on tv 2 nights in a row. I love Bones! It's Kris Allen! I really like him. He just seems very laid back and not at all conceited unlike another contestant who we all know and hate (or love in some peoples cases). Randy needs to just shut up. Why are only two judges talking instead of all four? What is up with that? Lil is the last one singing tonight. She is who votefortheworst.com picked. We'll see if she lives up to their standards. I think that Ryan found the only guy in that whole mosh pit. Lil looks weird with long hair. Not impressed. I wish I could fast forward through it. I took a break at the end and watched 18 kids and counting and then some of the Biggest Loser which had my tearing up. Anyways, back to American Idol. What's with the dude in the jungle outfit? Yay! It's Allison! Her hair is kind of funky though. I don't know if I'm a fan of the strings with her song. Did she just skip some lyrics or rearrange them? I'm confused. I switched back to watch the end of the Biggest Loser. Some of these people are idiots. I would've voted Kristin off, because next week you don't know who will fall below the yellow line, but Laura more than likely will because of her injury. Anyways, I'm going to switch back to American Idol. I love how Quentin Tarantino is wearing a suit with tennis shoes. So far, I'm liking Anoop. Why are Paula and Simon all lovey dovey? Oh, Adam is next. I'm sure he'll butcher Born To Be Wild. There he goes... Butcher away Adam, butcher away.... If I closed my eyes and didn't see the screen and took away the screeching, I would swear I would be hearing Boy George. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QTAkFmm9E4) Does the dude know how to end a song with out screeching? I mean seriously. It gets old after awhile. Fast forward through Paula's critique. On to Matt Giraud. Finally, someone normal. He's not bad. I'm thinking in order of like to dislike: Allison, Kris, Anoop, Danny, Matt, Lil, Adam. However, I think the bottom 3 will probably be Lil and I'm not sure who else. It's getting complicated. I'm hoping it's Lil, Adam, Matt and Adam goes home, but I don't think that will happen.

Bluegrass and such

2009-04-13T23:30:00.002-04:00

Currently, I am listening to bluegrass while I type this. I don't know, but it's become my new listening addiction. Maybe it has to do with passing by that bar on saturday where I heard it. Who knows? I just know I have my pandora radio set to Bluegrass music. Sweet, simple music. I'm taking a photography class tomorrow night at Ritz Camera. I'm really looking forward to it. Leah and I are going to go downtown on Wednesday morning to take pictures. I'm excited about that as well. It's not suppose to rain either! Yay! More to come maybe tomorrow. I'm getting kind of tired now.

Commercial

2009-04-09T22:45:00.001-04:00

Here is the link to my favorite Easter Commerical.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS6989jrSrc

I don't know how to post the video from youtube onto my page.

Life, TV and whatever else I want to blog about

2009-04-08T20:43:00.005-04:00

I finally called the Lowcountry Crisis Pregnancy Center today about volunteering. I've felt like God wants me to volunteer there for a year now but I kept putting it off. Then yesterday I heard some commercial on Hisradio that convicted me about it. It's the only thing right now that I'm sure that God wants me to do. I'm not sure what I should be doing about work and stuff. I don't know where God wants me, but I've just felt like he really wants me to help out at LCPC. Anyways, I was really excited that I found a long sleeved white t-shirt today at Gap. The girl was like we have them all year. I was like yes! Now I know where to come. I also got a pair of jeans for $15. I hope they fit because I didn't try them on. I hate trying clothes on. It's a pain in the butt. I will only try them on if I'm changing into my pjs or something. I don't know. Maybe I feel like it's a waste of time. On to more important things like...

Television

I'm watching Dog the Bounty Hunter right now until American Idol comes on. I have a feeling that I am going to be disappointed in the outcome tonight. I really want Scott (or Lil) to go home. I think everyone else did really well. If Allison goes home, I will be ticked. I really like her a lot. She just might be my choice to win (even though I think the contestant might be rigged in Adam's favor).

Let's see:

Adam sung last in his semi-final round, 3rd to last in Top 13, Top 8-10 he has sung last

Danny sung last in his semi-final round, sung near the end in Top 11, 10

Lil sung last in her semi-final round, sung 7 in Top 9, 10

Anoop sung last in the Wild Card Round, sung 9 in Top 11

Allison sung last in the Top 10

Krist sung last in the Top 9

Matt sung last in Top 11 and next to last Top 13

Obviously the show is pimping Adam Lambert badly. He hasn't sung lower than the 5th position. Most have been the 8th position. The producers are obviously trying to make the viewers remember him so they will vote for him. With the exception of last night (East Coast Viewers who DVRed it, missed Adam's performance), they want him to be the performance to remember. I get tired of hearing a Broadwayish, Boy George sounding performance from him every week. Most of the time, he sounds like a girl. He can sing, but do I like his sound? NO! Anyways, AI just came on, what is with Paula's prom dress like outfit. I like Kara's top. I like how Anoop had his hand behind Scott guiding him to move forward during the group performance. Actually, all the contestants are helping him out. I don't like the Adam modeling\posing. Can we say full of himself? Murphy has decided he wants to watch it with me so he's sitting here looking at the tv.

Baseball

I'm going to the first Riverdogs game of the season tomorrow! I'm looking forward to it especially since they are playing the Rome Braves. I'm kind of disappointed that the Braves lost tonight. I guess they are still having pitching problems.

To end my blog, here is a Wyatt Question:

Wyatt asks me "Yodie, when you get married will you be part of our family?"

My response "No."

Michelle's response "No, unless she marries Peco (her brother)."

This was completely random and out of the blue. I have no idea why he asked me this.

American Idol Highlights

2009-04-07T21:33:00.004-04:00

1. Paula's teeth. There was something pink on them.
2. Watching Paula in slow mo (Hilarious!)
3. The man sitting on the front row that never moved. Update: man on the front row is an actor on the show Fringe
4. Scaryoke - the new word I came up with, completely on accident
5. Carrie thought Paula's fat was actually her bone sticking out of her dress
6. Gina agreed with me that Adam is more suited for Broadway
7. The one song Carrie said didn't sound like karaoke, the judges said did.
8. I really like Paula's dress.
9. Simon liked Allison!
10. Gina saying Adam is hot (GROSS!)
11. Didn't get to see Adam sing because the DVR cut off. Dumb American Idol.
Added later 12. Watched Adam on Youtube. Wasn't impressed. To Broadway with him.

Carrie's ranking
Allison, Matt

Key to the above people:
Paula-judge on American Idol
Adam-weird contestant on American Idol
Carrie-my roommate
Gina-my friend since high school

Things I Like

2009-04-07T18:35:00.002-04:00

Here's my list of things I like.

1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
2. Cookie Dough
3. Cake with buttercream icing
4. Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Eggs, Trees
5. Being Early
6. Shopping
7. Chick-Fil-A
8. Cheese
9. Saltines
10. Honda Civic
11. Organizing things
12. Reading
13. American Idol Winners: Carrie Underwood, David Cook, Kelly Clarkson
14. American Idol Contestants: Daughtry, Elliot Yamin, Kellie Pickler
15. Puppies
16. The internet
17. Cell Phone
18. Kids when they ask silly questions
19. Learning something new
20. Scrapbooking
21. Shopping
22. Helping out friends
23. Making things
24. Relaxing
25. Sprite
26. Music
27. Freedom of Speech
28. Children
29. Taking pictures
30. Newborn baby
31. TLC (Jon & Kate Plus 8, Table for 12, Little People Big World, 18 Kids and Counting)
32. Flowers
33. Warm weather
34. Spring
35. Chirping birds
36. Blogging
37. That I can watch some of my favorite old tv shows on Hulu
38. Reading the Bible (Goal this year is to read the whole Bible chronologically)
39. Butterflies
40. Dog the Bounty Hunter
41. Crime shows (NCIS, CSI, JAG, Cold Case)
42. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
43. House (the show)
44. Twitter
45. Reading blogs
46. Watching baseball games
47. Working with the kids at church
48. Eating candy
49. Facebook (I'm only slightly addicted)
50. Trying new recipes

Things I Hate

2009-04-06T20:02:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow I will compile a list of things that I like, but today here is a list of things I hate.

1. Driving when there are other cars on the road
2. Driving in the rain
3. Driving in traffic
4. Driving behind motorcycles
5. Driving behind a slow car
6. Slow cars in the left lane
7. Cars that don't use their turn signals
8. Cars that tailgate
9. Taking my car for an oil change
10. Pumping gas
11. Washing dishes
12. Collard greens
13. American Idol Winners: Taylor Hicks and Fantasia (I don't hate them, just their voices)
14. American Idol Contestant: Adam Lambert (again, don't hate him, but his style of singing)
15. Cleaning up dog poop (especially since I have no dog)
16. The internet when it doesn't work
17. Slow internet
18. Screaming kids
19. Not knowing what is going to happen
20. Answering a bazillion questions
21. Filling out job applications (especially since they all want the same information just on a different form)
22. Looking for a job
23. Job interviews
24. Being the center of attention
25. Coffee
26. Public Speaking
27. The direction of our country
28. The Kia Soul (it's ugly, cute commercial)
29. Movie Prices (They are outrageous)
30. Death (even though it happens to everyone)
31. Cemeteries
32. Boring books
33. Cold weather
34. People who want to just live off the system
35. Bad Attitudes
36. Fake people
37. That I can't watch all my favorite old tv shows on Hulu
38. Money

As of right now, nothing else comes to mind. Tomorrow, hopefully I will post the things I like.

Flowers

2009-04-03T11:02:00.002-04:00

Here are the flower pictures that I promised yesterday. I took these on the bushes outside.

This last one I photoshopped. I like it. The color is brighter and it draws your eye more than the other ones.

Oops, I forgot a title!

2009-04-02T13:18:00.004-04:00

Wow! Don't criticize Taylor Hicks. Otherwise, you will get random people saying all kinds of crazy things about how he is God's gift to music. Lol. Yesterday, I forgot to add Fantasia as another one of the worst American Idol's. (My opinion. If you don't like it, oh well.) I wasn't surprised to see Megan go last night. I liked how she went even if it was a little crazy. She was true to herself and I really liked that. Yesterday, I got my taxes and passport application mailed. Yay! Now I'm good to go for another 10 years. I wonder where the next 10 years will take me. The past 10 years have taken me to Peru, Brazil, Jamaica and the Bahamas, not to mention all my road trips. I'm hoping a trip to Europe is in the future. It's been raining here all day, but I hope the rain disappears before tomorrow. It's the Cooper River Bridge Run and the Flowertown Festival. I'm not doing the bridge run this year, but I don't want those people to have to run in the rain. I've been there and it's not fun. I'm hoping I can make it to the Flowertown Festival. I haven't been in a few years. Anyways, yesterday I took some pictures of the Azaleas that are blooming outside. I think they turned out pretty well. I will try and post them later. I had to use the manual focus instead of the auto focus.

Note: I had to come back an add a title later, because I forgot one.

Half Way There

2009-04-01T09:19:00.002-04:00

I went and filled out an application to get insurance. I am now waiting to hear back on that. Hopefully, it will come through soon. Anyways, I watched the end of American Idol last night and the beginning this morning. I'm not really excited about this season anymore especially since the person that the judges LOVE, I can't stand. I would never buy Adam's album. The song he sang last night, he screamed half of it. I don't care if he can sing the phone book. I don't like his sound and the way that he ruins songs (Ring of Fire). He will never be forgiven for that one. Anyways, I like Danny, Kris and Allison. Do I think any of them will win? Maybe. Although, if the judges had their way, Adam would be crowned the next American Idol right now. If he wins, he will rank with Taylor Hicks as one of the worst choices ever. So moving on to something more positive. My goal for today is to get my passport picture taken and mail my application and state taxes. We'll see if I accomplish that.

Friday

2009-03-27T09:21:00.003-04:00

I can't believe that it's friday already. Time sure flies. I watched American Idol and I wasn't surprised that Michael went home. The weird guy was back to looking like his weird self. Wednesday he actually looked like a normal person. Although, I didn't really care for him singing in a falsetto voice the whole entire time. I can honestly say if he wins, I will not buy his album. The only person who I have bought an album from is Carrie Underwood. I've bought a few songs of Daughtry, Elliot Yamin, and Jordin Sparks. Anyways, Michael seems like a really classy, nice guy. He seemed to know that he was going home. I don't think Matt deserved to be in the bottom 3, but I didn't vote so I can't complain. I was kind of offended when Stevie Wonder said "I love you Obama". Seriously, I am not watching to hear who you like or don't like in politics (same goes for you Lil Rounds). I am watching to hear you sing. Keep your political views to yourself. I mean Obama already interuppted my Idol viewing because he decided to read another speech off a teleprompter. Anyways, moving on. I did some painting yesterday for Easter. I ended up with paint all over my hands, but it was fun. I enjoy painting. Maybe it's just I enjoy making things. I'm hoping to recruit a few people to go with me to the Riverdogs first game in April. It's on a thursday and they play the Rome Braves. It's Easter weekend though so I don't know who will be in town. I've been watching Regis & Kelly in the mornings and they crack me up.

Life in General

2009-03-25T09:29:00.003-04:00

I guess it's been a little while since my last blog. I've been pretty busy doing Passion Play stuff at the church. Carrie dragged me to walk the bridge last night. My ears were stinging by the end of it and my legs felt like they were going to fall off. I think I walked around 4 miles or so. I'm looking forward to American Idol tonight. I really want Adam to suck. He'll probably do some porno sounding version of a "Let's Get It On" just because he's weird like that. Actually, he'll probably do it with bagpipes or something the extreme other way just because that's who he is. I am looking forward to the day when I don't have to watch him sing anymore. He's just creepy. I think Anoop will do really well and maybe Kris and Danny as well. Lil will probably pick a Diana Ross or Supremes song and probably be ok on it even though I don't like her either. Anyways, not much else has happened. I lead a pretty boring life.

Music

2009-03-20T12:09:00.001-04:00

I'm super excited that now I have music on my blog. If you read this in a reader, you won't get to hear it though. I know that you are extremely disappointed about that. I will try and add more songs later. I think I have about five on there.

What a day

2009-03-19T15:15:00.002-04:00

It is so nice outside today. I opened the windows and am listing to the Malt Shop Oldies channel on tv. Good thing the workers next door aren't there. They would have thought I was nuts earlier dancing around the kitchen and doing the hand jive. I like dancing when no one else is around. It's tons of fun. I also made some more cupcake bites. Let me tell you. The cake balls are a pain in the butt. The cupcake bites aren't too bad. My problem is with the chocolate. I couldn't get it thin enough. Oh well. Bakerella said to use paramount crystals or vegetable oil to thin it out. Maybe I'll try that some other time. The cupcake bites turned out ok. They all taste wonderful and I guess that is what's most important.

I've been struggling lately with what God wants me to do. I'm still looking for a job, but I want a job that I will enjoy. I just don't know what direction I'm suppose to go in. There are so many things that I would love to do, but I can't really commit to any of them because of job uncertainty. Anyways, I'm on twitter now. You can follow me at http://twitter.com/cgw82.

On to American Idol.

I can't stand Adam Lambert. I'm sorry if you like him, but he is weird. The song that he sang on Tuesday night sounded like it should be in a porno or some sex scene in a movie. It was disgusting. I wanted to throw up. It's not that he's a bad singer. I think he could go really far, but there is something about him that I just don't like. I get bad vibes from him. Maybe he comes across as a cocky know-it-all to me. Poor Johnny Cash was probably rolling over in his grave "I'm going down in a burning ring of fire" (said in a voice of someone you would hear if you called a 900 number). That's seriously what he reminded me of. Everytime he would come on tv, I would do my own impersonation of him singing that song. I think I get better at it as time goes on. I really hope he doesn't win. I'm really sad that Alexis went home. I liked her. A lot. Oh well, at least Allison, Danny, Kris and Anoop are still in it. I didn't like Anoop last week, but I think that this week, he nailed it. Matt was pretty good this week too. The contestants I just can't stand are Lil Rounds and Adam. I like Megan, but I don't think she's the best singer. Maybe it's her quirky personality. Michael is ok. You can't help but like him. I wanted to cry when he was talking about his daughter and him not being around. That was really sad. Finally, on to Scott. What can I say? I like him, but he doesn't have the best voice. He can play the piano. I have a lot of respect for him, because it's got to be tough for him. He can't get up and move around as well as the other contestants. The order I would like for them to go home in is as follows: Adam, Lil, Scott, Michael, Megan, Matt, Anoop, Kris and I'm still torn between Danny and Allison. We shall see in the weeks to come if my opinion changes. Based on popularity, it'll probably be this: Michael, Scott, Megan, Matt, Anoop, Allison, Lil, Kris and a Danny\Adam top 2.

My Thoughts On Being Unemployed

2009-03-13T10:35:00.002-04:00

Being unemployed is a blessing and a curse. You have lots of free time, but you can't really plan anything too far in advance because you might get a job. It's kind of annoying. However, I have managed to really save a lot. I don't spend money anymore, because I try to not go anywhere that would require me to spend money. I'm actually pretty proud of myself. I know that it might get tougher when I don't get unemployment anymore, but I'm hoping to have a job before that happens. If I don't, well, I know that God will provide, because he has provided for me before in the past. Maybe once I have a job, I can help stimulate the economy by spending more and in turn, maybe more jobs will be needed. It's a catch 22 right now. The unemployed don't want to spend money so businesses don't need as many employees which leads to more unemployed and the cycle goes on and on.

A long week

2009-03-12T21:29:00.002-04:00

I'm so glad that it's almost friday. It's been a long week. I worked at Child's Day Out every morning this week. It was crazy. I don't mind it except for having to change nasty diapers. I hate that part. I'm looking forward to this weekend. I'm going to be scrapbooking. Yay! I'm super excited. I've thought about making cake balls (seen on thepioneerwoman.com), but I think I'm going to hold off and try making them next week instead. I might make chocolate chip cookies or sausage balls. We'll see.

I'm super glad that Jasmine and Jorge went home on American Idol last night. I was really pleased with that. It'll be interesting to see how the new twist will play out. I can only think of two maybe three people that the judges would save, Danny, Adam and possibly Lil (I can't stand her).

Top 13 (Michael Jackson Night)

2009-03-10T19:45:00.004-04:00

Ok, first off, what's up with the fancy entrance for the judges and Ryan. For real. Kara looked like she was just in awe. Carrie just told me that Ryan needed to put on the weight she has lost while she's been sick. Lol. Paula looks like a peacock. Oh wow! Two people will go home tomorrow! I knew something had to be up. I feel like doing the thriller dance while I'm watching this role of Michael Jackson clips.

Lil Rounds
"The Way You Make Me Feel"

I think her top is hideous. It's a huge piece of lace or something on the only shoulder. She's ok. I still don't like her voice. She also broke the white before easter rule. I wonder what her real name is. Randy LOVES it. Simon looks annoyed when the audience starts to boo.

Note: Paula is looking kind of old. I don't think Scott realized the camera was on him while he was rehearsing back stage.

Scott MacIntyre
"Keep the Faith"

He can play the piano! I think he's a little flat, but he's not bad. I'm not feeling the high notes. They were a little off. Simon hated it because no one knew it. He just said it's fine being artistic but not on this show. The crowd seemed to love it. I'm glad he got rid of the funky vests.

Wow! It's about 30 minutes in and only 2 people have sung. They better get on the ball.

Danny Gokey
"P.Y.T."

I'm not really sure that I like this song. Paula is up and dancing. It's gotten kind of better. Maybe it's just because I'm not familiar with the song. Paula predicted him going to the finals. Simon liked the vocals.

Michael Sarver
"You're Not Alone"

Those oil riggers crack me up. I don't think he's bad, but I don't think he's great enough to win it.

Jasmine Murray
"I'll Be There"

Her nephews are so cute. She's not too bad, but I really can't root for her. Although, I like her a little bit more than Lil Rounds. She's a little off on a few of her notes. I think her outfit is kind of ugly as well.

Kris Allen
"Remember the Time"

I love the matching aprons he and his wife had. He's not bad, but I don't know this song. He has some kind of appeal that makes me like him. I don't know why. You can't help but feel bad that he and his wife have only been married for 5 months and they already have to be apart. Paula cracks me up. His wife looks like she is about to punch Simon.

Note: I keep switching over to the Biggest Loser and I'm disappointed in the black team. You would think they would know how to eat and stuff. They are going to get chewed out by Jillian.

Allison Iraheta
"Give into Me"

I really like her. I don't know if I like this song though. I'm not really into what she is wearing either, but it seems to fit her personality. Well, Paula was standing up. We know she liked it. Her voice is so different.

Anoop Desai
"Beat It"

I have a feeling he's doing thriller since he was doing the thriller dance backstage. Well, he didn't choose Thriller. This seems like a song he would choose. What's with the Matrix background. I don't think he's doing that great singing it. I agree with Paula it sounded karoake. The judges don't really seem to like it. I love how he is an indian with a southern accent. That is pretty cool.

Note: I wish I didn't have to turn the channel from Biggest Loser. Sione (I think that's who it was) was going off on Jillian. I love how Ryan is speaking as fast as he can. This Arby's commercial I just saw was disgusting. The guy was using the grease from a hamburger on his hear. Yuck!

Jorje Nunez
"Never Can Say Goodbye"

I didn't listen to him sing, because I don't really like him. I watched the Biggest Loser instead. I don't think that the judges really liked it. I'm thinking he might be going home with the way the judges are talking. However, with all of Puerto Rico voting for him who knows....

Note: Tara didn't lose any weight this week. What!

Megan Corkrey
"Rockin Robin"

Her son is so cute. That dress is UGLY! I like her voice though. I don't know how she can walk in those heals. Simon didn't like her song choice. I thought it was pretty good.

Adam Lambert
"Black & White"

I don't really like him. He does kind of remind me of Michael Jackson, though. I guess the judges liked him though. He looks like he is about to cry. Obviously, Paula loves him.

Note: I just flipped to the Biggest Loser. What is going on?!?!

Matt Giraud
" " (I have no idea what he is singing because I couldn't hear because of the stupid girls screaming)

He's not bad, but I can't understand what he is saying at all. The judges seemed ok with it.

Alexis Grace
"Dirty Diana"

You can tell that she loves her daughter. I'm not sure I like her singing this song. Again, myabe it's because I'm not familiar with it. I don't like how she has tried to make herself seem dirty because that's what the judges want. The judges didn't really talk about her too much.

I wonder what the surprise is. I want to know now! I'm not sure who I want to go home.

Saturday

2009-03-07T14:36:00.002-05:00

I made French Toast Souffle this morning. It was pretty good. Then I helped Carrie pick up sticks in the yard while she raked. It took all of 30 minutes. Now I'm watching Transformers. Every time I watch a Dreamworks movie and at the very beginning where it does that short little intro and shows you the Dreamworks logo, it makes me think of Shrek. Krista and I watched Shrek every night our sophmore year in college when we were going to sleep. I guess I've just associated that sound with that movie. Whenever I hear it, I always want to watch Shrek. Memories... I'm really excited about going to the beach tomorrow. Carrie and I are going to go after church. It's suppose to be close to 80. I'm super excited. The only downside is that the water will probably be very cold. I love going in the water. Ok. Now I'm going to watch my movie because it's getting kind of interesting.

American Idol Wild Card

2009-03-05T19:36:00.005-05:00

My predictions were right on except for the third one. Jorge got through. I should've guessed that one. I'm really disappointed in the judges wild card pics. I mean, Tatiana and Von Smith? What happened to the actual singers? I'm glad that they didn't put Nick Mitchell or Normund Gentle or whatever he goes by through. That would have made me extremely angry.

Here we go....

I love how all the people on the floor are these girls. What's up with that. Tatiana just walked across the stage. I can't stand her.

Jesse Langseth sang "Tell Me Something Good"

Her outfit is kind of hideous. She's not bad, but I don't know if she will make it through. We shall see after everyone else sings. Randy seems kind of iffy about it. I love how Kara points when she said your not like those girls that are in a package. Simon seems to think that she has improved. She is trying to be nice towards Simon.

Matt Giraud sang "Who's Loving You"

I kind of like his voice. He's doing a pretty good job so far. The little teeny boppers seem to like him. He did a really good job. I'm impressed. We just saw a behind the scenes guy. Too funny. I really think Simon likes to pick on Paula. Simon thinks he has improved. He is comparing him to Taylor Hicks. I don't see that, at all. He's looking kind of nervous.

Megan Corkrey sang "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"

She needs to work on the dance moves. She's not too bad. I think I liked her the first round. That last note was kind of weird. Paula said she was a little quirky. Simon likes her so that is good. They all liked her song choice. It looks like the judges are rooting for her to stay.

Von Smith sang "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"

He's the only one from this week that was asked back. I think he is terrible. At least that makes the choice easier now. The judges aren't seeming to feel him. He looks really nervous. Almost makes me sad for him.

Jasmine Murray sang "Reflection"

She's not bad, but I'm not overly excited about it. The judges seem to think that she did well. Simon thinks she has improved.

Ricky Braddy sang "Supersticious"

I really like his voice. Now I'm starting to feel conflicted on who I want to get through. The judges really like him except Simon. He's just weird though.

Tatiana del Toro sang "Saving All My Love For You"

She is so overdramatic. I can't stand her. She's not a bad singer, but it's her personality. It just kills it. She definitely is no Whitney Houston. She is wearing Paula's jewelry. Suck up! Paula and Simon were pointing at each other. I think they brought her along for comedic reasons. At least, I hope that's why they brought her on. This girl is crazy! It's the laugh. Ugh! She is such an airhead. This is the song she sang last time? Girl is crazy!

Note: I've eaten 8 cookies so far and some cookie dough.

Anoop Desai sang "My Prerogative"

I'm not as impressed. He is getting a little better. The audience loves him. Randy loved it. Well, all of them seemed to love him.

In the order that I think they should go through:

Ricky
Megan
Anoop
Matt
Jesse
Jasmine
Von
Tatiana

Judges decisions:

Jasmine - made it (I am kind of disappointed)
Ricky - didn't make it (dumb judges)
Megan - made it (thank goodness)
Tatiana - didn't make it (so glad, she is such a drama queen)
Jesse - didn't make it (almost made it into the top 12)
Von - didn't make it
Matt - made it (What ?!?!)
Anoop - made it (I knew it was going to be a top 13, ok, maybe I didn't, but I heard rumors)

I'm pretty pleased with all the choices except for Jasmine. I like her better than Lil Rounds though.

I'm looking forward to next week.

American Idol Top 36 (Tues) Part 3

2009-03-03T20:00:00.004-05:00

I know you missed my summary last week so here I am blogging again while eating cookie dough (great stuff)!

Note: Ryan is looking a little more casual today and what is up with Randy's sweater vest thing?

Von Smith is sang "You're All I Need To Get By

So far, I'm not feeling it. He's gotten a little better but at some parts he's a little screamy. His facial expressions were cracking me up. Boy, his family is sure jumpy. Well, so far the judges seem to like him.

Note: Just noticed Randy was wearing a sweater, not a sweater vest. Oops, but what is with the necklace he is wearing. I'm going to have a tummy ache if I keep eating this cookie dough.

Commercial Note: I kind of want to see that Witch Mountain movie. I like the Rock (Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?).

I think I hear Carrie outside. Oh wait, that was just the CARTA bus.

Taylor Vaifauna (that's a pretty funky spelled last name) sang "If I Ain't Got You"

I'm feeling she's overstepping with the song choice, but we'll see. What is she wearing? I can't understand what she is saying. She's not a bad singer, but I'm thinking that there are a lot of better singers out there than her. She's definitely no Alicia Keyes. Why is she crying? Is it the teenage hormones? Oooooohhhhhhhhh. Paula called her out on reusing a song she had already song. Randy almost got left out.

Note: I love how Ryan rushes through what he has to say. We really don't want to hear it, but I guess he is obligated to say it.

Alex Wagner-Trugman sang "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues"

He is kind of nervous. I kind of feel bad for him. He's not that bad of a singer. I don't know if he will make it to the top 12 because a lot of the guys are good. Randy seems to like him. He was nodding along to him. His dad looks a lot older than his mom. He still looks nervous even after he's done. The crowd seems to like him. I guess, Randy didn't like it.

Note: I'm multi-tasking. Talking to my friend Stacy and blogging about American Idol. I'm good.

Arianna Afsar sang "The Winner Takes It All"

Ew! Her voice is kind of off key. She should have picked a more upbeat song. The judges don't seem really thrilled with it.

Ju'Not Joyner sang "Hey There Delilah"

He's sang this song before. It's kind of slow. I liked the way he sang this song better in Hollywood. The judges seem to like him.

Note: I am surrounded by idiots in this area of town. They do not know how to cross the street. I almost hit some dude on a bicycle who was going across the street and then decided to go back across the street with some dude who was jaywalking. I swear, they want to be hit.

Kristin McNamara sang "Give Me One Reason"

I like her. I've liked her since Hollywood week. I think she can sing pretty well. Second Kelly Clarkson comparison. Her teeth are pretty white compared to everyone else's. I've noticed that. The judges were kind of mixed on her.

Nathaniel Marshall sang "I Would Do Anything For Love"

This guy just cracks me up. He's not terrible, but he's definitely not the best. I am very distracted with all the piercings and tattoos. He got rid of his nose ring. He is sitting on Paula's lap and gave Simon his headband.

Note: I had to pause it because my dad called. Someone has a loud stereo or it's Carrie driving down the alley. We'll see. I wasn't Carrie because the door hasn't opened.

Felicia Barton (the girl who replaced the girl that got kicked out) sang "No One"

Another Alicia Keyes song. She's a lot better than Taylor. I don't really like the ending. It ended very suddenly. Paula likes her. I thought she did really well. The judges seem to like her.

Scott Macintyre sang "Mandolin Rain"

I've never heard this song before. What is with the vest he is wearing? He's a pretty good singer. Some of the notes are kind of a stretch for his range. I hope he doesn't step forward anymore. It kind of makes me nervous. I don't want him to walk off the edge of the stage. The crowd likes him. Well, the judges seem to like him. Simon is confusing me with the he didn't like some of the lyrics. The dude didn't write the song. Anyways, he seems a little nervous towards the end.

Note: There are way too many commercial breaks. I'm starting to get antsy. I did not know that Charleston had a fashion week.

Kendall Beard sang "This One's For The Girls"

So far she's not that bad. Ok, the chorus sounds bad. Maybe it's the background singers. What is she wearing? She has a flowery belt. It's hideous. She got kind of rocky towards the end of her song. Paula likes her outfit. I don't.

Jorge Nunez sang "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"

He has a pretty nice voice. There is something about him that I just don't like though. He sang it pretty on key and Paula really liked him.

Note: I keep switching over to the Biggest Loser. I'm trying to figure out what exactly is going on, because it's not the normal weigh-in. I get grossed out looking at Ron and his fat. Ok, so I figured it out. They all have to lose as a group more than 77 pounds in order for no one to go home. Ok, I just watched 4 people weigh in and switched back to idol and didn't miss a thing.

Lil Rounds sang "Can't Be Without You"

I haven't been a fan of hers. Not a fan of the song or her. She's not a bad singer just not my type of music. The crowd likes her. Simon likes her too calling it his favorite performance.

Top Male: Scott McIntyre

Top Female: Lil Rounds (Mainly because she was in the pimp slot, but I don't like her)

Other: Nathaniel, Kristin, Felicia, Ju'Not (I'm hoping one of thos two girls is the top female)

Note: Maybe that is Carrie. I thought I heard a car on the alley. I'm ticked that the Biggest Loser is a two-parter. What's up with that?

Taxes

2009-03-03T11:23:00.002-05:00

I finished my taxes awhile ago, but I needed to get the printer to print right before I filed them. Well, I decided that today was a good day to do it. I finally got the printer printing normally. Then I go to file and I keep getting errors on my South Carolina Return. One was my fault but the other one it kept saying my city name exceeded the number of characters allowed. I live in North Charleston. That's the name of the city, but it wanted me to shorten it to 14 characters. Finally, I'd had enough and have decided to mail it in. Needless to say, I am quite annoyed. Now I have to figure out what documents I have to mail in with my state return and go and pay to mail it in. On top of that, I couldn't find my stapler. It used to be in this box, but it's not there. I hate moving. I can never find anything. It drives me crazy. Anyways, not that it's 11:30, I should probably go and get ready since I have to leave to pick up Katie in an hour from Child's Day Out.

Dreams

2009-03-02T11:59:00.002-05:00

Last night I had this dream. I was asleep on the couch and I see this spider dangling from the ceiling. It's huge and it's right above me. There were other spiders hanging from the ceiling but I was concetrating on the one above me. I started panicking and then I hear Carrie calling my name over and over again. She's like what's wrong and I'm like spider! She turns on the light and there is no spider, but it sure was a real dream to me. Anyways, I was just watching Overhaulin and I started to tear up. Only I would tear up watching Overhaulin. I mean, it's a car. It's not like it's a house for someone who has lost their house or anything. On another note, I called the dentist today and it's going to cost me $95 for my appointment in a few weeks. Kind of depressing, but I guess that's what happens when you have no insurance.

Busy as a Bee

2009-02-25T13:40:00.002-05:00

I've been pretty busy lately which would explain why I haven't blogged lately. On the American Idol front, I was happy that Danny and Alexis made it through. I'm not too sure about the other guy. I like him and all, but I thought a few other singers were better. Oh well. I'm not quite sure who I'm going to root for tonight. There won't be any blogging while I watch it, because I'll be here at Michelle's since Obama had to ruin yesterday by making a speech which pushed AI to tonight. I know who I don't want to get through. That would be Norman or whatever his name is. He should not be in the top 36. Anyways, I worked at Child's Day Out on Wednesday and Thursday and then on Friday, I took Katie to the Aquarium with Joanna and Marissa. It was ok. The Tennessee Aquarium is much better. Then this past weekend I did D-Now all weekend long with the youth. It was pretty fun. I had 7th and 8th grade girls. They all got a long really well. I was about to kill the other leader at one point though, because she kept distracting the girls by taking them off topic. I was so tired and ready to go to bed and she just kept changing the topic we were talking about. I almost went off on her. Almost. Anyways, I survived that and then on monday morning, I got a call to see if I could work at Child's Day Out at 7:30. I kind of didn't want to, but I did anyways. Then I hung out with Krista on monday and tuesday nights (since her husband is out of town). Anyways, tonight I'm picking up Carrie from the airport at 11:30 or so. We shall see when her plane actually comes in. Hopefully, I will actually blog tomorrow about American Idol.

American Idol Top 36 (Tues)

2009-02-17T20:11:00.004-05:00

I decided to blog about American Idol while I am watching. I might go off topic, but it's my blog and I can do whatever I want. I don't know if I will continue to do it or not, but it's something to do.

To start it off,

Jackie somebody sang "A Little Less Conversation"

I thought she wasn't the greatest. It almost sounded like she was screaming the song at some points. I think she was trying to be funny more than she was actually singing. Her outfit was awful! Leave the 80's in the 80's!

Note: I really want some Orange Juice. I just saw an Orange Juice commercial on the tv and I really want some. We only have OJ with pulp and I'm not a pulp girl.

Ricky Braddy sang some song by Leon Russell

I've never seen this guy before. He is one of those that they showed absolutely no footage on. He's from NC! Neighboring state. Maybe he will be good. So far, in the clips, he doesn't sound that bad. His outfit isn't that bad. A lot better than Jackie. He's a pretty good singer. It's kind of a slow song, but he didn't too bad. I loved that he hugged his parents when he came to sit on the couch as opposed to Jackie who said move over and make room for me.

Alexis Grace (I really like her at least from what I've seen on the previous shows) sang "Never Loved A Man"

She's from Memphis, TN and her little girl is so cute! I have no idea what she is wearing. She looks like she just took some lingerie out of the closet and put it on. It kind of reminds me of Chicago (the movie). She has kind of let me down. I'm not as impressed with her as I have been. Simon really likes her. I'm thinking that unless something happens, she will make it through. She hugged her dad and friend too. She needs to ditch the black nails. Seriously!

Note: Paula is wearing her jewelery. (The jewelery from her line). Also, I just saw Doogie Howser. I can't remember what his real name is.

What's with a commercial after every singer? No wonder it takes 2 hours!

Brent Keith sang "Hicktown"

That was weird that his tape didn't play. I thought something was wrong with the tv at first. I know how he feels about living paycheck to paycheck. He seems like a nice guy. He's not too bad. He's got cute dimples, but he's married. He looked like he was having fun. That's for sure. He seems liked by a lot of the other contestants.

Note: They are actually going to show two contestants next! What?!?!

Stevie Wright sang some song by Taylor Swift "You Belong With Me"

I think she had a rough start. Not a good song choice. She almost sounds like she is talking and rushing her words. I think the song is too rushed for her. Looks like the judges agree with me. Simon is so brutally honest and so conceited.

Note: Dude on the front row made a hilarious face.

Anoop Desai (I really liked his voice from clips I've seen) sang "Angel of Mine"

He's from Chapel Hill, NC. Neighboring State as well! Interesting song choice. He's got a pretty good voice. I like him. He's different and unique. Not your typical contestant. I thought he did really well! The crowd seems to like him. He looks like he could cry. I don't know if it's just nerves or what. No hug for the family?

Note: Is Kara going to always agree with Randy? Ryan looks so weird with his legs crossed. Weird.

Casey Carlson sang "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"

She's a pretty girl, but she is really young and could use some experience. I'm not really impressed with her either. I don't know if she will make it through. If she does make it through, it's because of her looks. Well, at least her mom liked her. She seems really nervous.

Note: Another twofer!

Michael Sarver (the oilrigger, I liked him too, dang it!) sand "I don't Wanna Be"

It's not too bad, but not the greatest. I think it's going to be tough since a lot of the guys seem really good so far. Looks like the judges didn't like him as much. Although, Simon wants him to stay around.

Anne Marie Bosovich sang "Natural Woman"

She is from Nashville, TN! Another Tennessean! Uh oh, she is trying to tackle Aretha. She's not too bad. She had some parts where she was off, but it's better than most of the other girls.

Note: I just saw the new Wolverine movie preview. It looks pretty good. I'm excited about it.

Stephen Fowler sang "Rock With You"

I personally do not think he should have made it through because he forgot the lyrics during Hollywood week. He was ok.

Note: I'm starting to get a little bored.

Tatiana del Toro (I can't stand her) "I'm Saving All My Love For You"

She is such a Drama Queen! She can sing though, but I still don't like her. Plus she's not even from the states, so she's not really an american. Puerto Rico is a territory not a state. I don't get it. Her body language just makes me want to throw up. She is so over dramatic! Seriously! I wonder if she has heard some of the feedback about how people don't like her and so now she is trying to scale it back. Simon so agrees with me. Yes! Kind of disappointed that Simon liked her. What is she doing? Flirting with Ryan?

Note: I so just did a snort laugh. I crack myself up.

Danny Gokey (I'm on the fence about him. He has a good voice, but I don't know if I like him because his wife is dead or because he can actually sing.) sang "Hero" (Mariah Carey)

I can't believe he's singing this song. I'm kind of sad that his friend didn't make it through. I really like his voice so far and he seems pretty on pitch. The judges LOVE him. His friend looked a little sad. Maybe because he didn't make it through. Simon told him he was a good singer. I love how he just froze in place. Why didn't they talk with his family\friends? What was that about?

My Picks

Girl: Alexis

Guy: Anoop or Danny (I'm thinking Danny)

Wild Card: Most likely the guy that didn't make it through above, if not that person than Michael, Anne Marie

Flashback

2009-02-11T12:21:00.002-05:00

I was looking at old pictures the other day and man, did I dress crazy. I remember:

1. Getting a perm so that I would have wavy hair

2. Poofing up my bangs with the curling iron and hairspray

3. Using the crimper when my hair was straight to make it curly.

4. Wearing really bright colors.

5. Having these huge pink glasses (and I mean huge).

6. Always wearing shorts under my skirts\dresses so I could do flips on the playground.

7. Reading Choose Your Own Adventure books

8. Playing on the playground and making up our own adventures

9. we also played american girls.

10. Kirsten was my favorite.

11. There were also only 3 american girls, Samantha, Kirsten and Molly. Then they added Felicity.

12. I had a huge crush on Michael W. Smith, Charles Billingsley (from Newsong) and Clay Crosse.

13. I also had a huge crush on Robin from Batman (the tv show)

14. I used to watch TGIF every friday. We looked forward to it. Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers and Step by Step. Those were the days.

15. There were actually cartoons on the tv on saturday morning. Cartoons like Tom & Jerry and Winnie the Pooh.

16. I used to wear coolox (I have no idea how to spell that).

17. I also sported the side ponytail with a scrunchy. Do they even make scrunchy's anymore?

18. I also loved to wear white knee high socks with my PE shorts.

19. I would wear boys boxers underneath my PE shorts.

20. I remember trying to check out books by Janette Oke from the library at school and the librarian told me I was too young to read them.

Confession

2009-02-08T14:59:00.003-05:00

Everytime Smokey and the Bandit comes on tv, I find myself watching it. I know. You are probably thinking I'm crazy and I probably am, but I love that movie. It's the best. The second movie is definitely not as good as the first. I could probably watch Smokey and the Bandit every week and be ok with. It must be the thrill of the chase or something. Also, for someone who hates semis, this movie is filled with them. I love how they all talk on their CBs. My friend Gina had a CB at her parents house and I think I sang Jesus Loves Me on it. Maybe that was just over the speakers on their property. I can't remember.

Cleaning, Organizing, Etc.

2009-02-07T13:53:00.002-05:00

Today, I have started the process of going through all my stuff that was in storage. It is not fun. I didn't realize how many things I kept until I started opening boxes. I already have filled one bag full of trash. Sometimes I have to justify things. I have to tell myself, I will never use this again or ask will I ever use this, before I get rid of it. It's a little ridiculous. I threw out all my towels that were frayed so that got rid of a few things. I also got rid of all the clothes I found in various boxes. I obviously could live without them since they were in the boxes for who knows how long. Of course, my goal when I moved out of the apartment was to eventually find someone to get an apartment with, but that didn't happen so all that stuff just sat there. Now my brother has some of my stuff but who knows what he has. I don't even know what I have that he took. My bedroom here has become a junk storage for everyone elses stuff. Obviously, if it's sitting in my room in a box and they haven't used it in years, they need to get rid of it. Just my opinion. Most of it will sit here until who knows when. We have become collectors of junk. I think that comes from my grandmother. I'm slowly learning I can live without. Pretty much the only things that I don't like to get rid of are my books. I keep those because I like to read them over and over again. On a side note, what do you do with negatives? Part of me is like, throw them away but the other part is like what if you want the pictures from them. Then again, how do you know what pictures are on those negatives? It's a complicated question that I haven't quite figured out the answer to yet. I'm just glad that I have digital and so I don't have to deal with negatives anymore. I can just print the pictures that I want to print. Yay for me!

A Random Assortment

2009-02-05T22:08:00.002-05:00

Carrie and I finished our tourist thing in January. We saw a lot of things. It was pretty cold so we didn't get to do as much as we would have liked. We went to 3 out of the 4 plantations (not including the tea plantation). They each had their pluses and minuses. They were all very pretty. If you like history, then Charleston has a lot to offer you. I feel very educated and yet, I know there is still a ton more out there for me to learn. It's kind of interesting to learn all about Charleston. Maybe someday I will be able to give "tours" to my friends and family that come visit. I think that would be fun. I could put together a vacation based on things that they would like. Hmm. I'll have to think about that one. Anyways, I filled out another job application today for Trident Tech. We will see how that goes. I try not to get my hopes up about anything anymore. I babysat at the beginning of the week and the dad asked for my resume to give to his father-in-law. Then he gave it to a few more people at church. I'm really grateful for all the people that have asked for my resume. Even if nothing comes from it, I at least know that people cared enough to think of me. I also finally filled out the change of address form for my address at Ellisa's and Krista's to my current address at Carrie's. Random side note: I have lived with Ellisa and Krista in 3 different places and they are both married now. Krista in college, at the apt and her townhouse. Ellisa at the apt., her parents and her current house. Anyways, I am going home this weekend to Greenville to watch my sister's basketball game. She has her last game on monday. I also have to go through all my stuff from storage that is at home. That will be fun!

IHOP

2009-02-02T20:43:00.002-05:00

Carrie and I went to IHOP on saturday. I was extremely disappointed. Why don't restaurants allow substitutions? Not everyone likes eggs. All I wanted was french toast with bacon and hashbrowns instead of eggs. Is that too much to ask for? Apparantly so. The waitress said no substitutions. I mean for real. Almost every item on the menu has eggs but they don't allow substitutions. What ever happened to customer service?

It's the end of January already!

2009-01-30T20:03:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that it's already the end of January. I guess time flies when you are having fun or in my case, looking for a job. Anyways, I moved yesterday. It went pretty smoothly. I have most of my things unpacked but still have a few random things I need to figure out what to do with. I also found gobstopper heartbreakers yesterday at Target! I was super excited. I thought there might have been a shortage of them, because Wal-mart had none. Tomorrow is the end of my tourist in your own town pass. We are going to Boone Hall and then I have to go to a baby shower in the afternoon. Then it's time to clean for the super bowl party on sunday. It should be fun. I went to the Children's Museum today with Katie, Wyatt and Michelle. They enjoyed it a lot. Wyatt stayed home from school because he woke up coughing and she was worried he might get pneumonia like Katie had. Anyways, I'm going to Greenville next friday for about 5 days to watch my sister in her last two basketball games. Hopefully she will get to play and they will win.

Job

2009-01-26T21:34:00.002-05:00

I'm not referring to employment here but the book of the Bible. Right now I'm reading the book of Job in my chronological Bible. This is the passage I just read:

“My relatives stay far away, and my friends have turned against me. My family is gone, and my close friends have forgotten me. My servants and maids consider me a stranger. I am like a foreigner to them. When I call my servant, he doesn’t come; I have to plead with him! My breath is repulsive to my wife. I am rejected by my own family. Even young children despise me. When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me. My close friends detest me. Those I loved have turned against me. I have been reduced to skin and bones and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth."

Sometimes I feel like my life is bad, but it definitely is not that bad compared to Job. I still have family and friends. They haven't deserted me.

Oops!

2009-01-26T17:00:00.002-05:00

Driving home from Child's Day Out, I realized I didn't call telclaim. I was so mad. I usually always remember to call and I get my checks on tuesday or wednesday. Now I'm going to have to wait to call on tuesday. I've tried calling today (even though I'm not suppose to) to see if it would tell me where I could report online, but I can't get through. So frustrating! I guess I should have paid more attention the last time I called. Oh well, I guess maybe next time I won't forget.

Unemployment Office

2009-01-23T15:48:00.003-05:00

I went to the unemployment office today. It was crazy packed. I got there 30 minutes early so I actually got called around my appointment time. The line was long, but it went quickly once the guy at the counter got everyone out of line who was applying for benefits for the first time. Anyways, this guy brought his kids and I was about to kill one of them. He kept tapping his pencil on his paper like he was drawing dots for about 5 minutes straight. Very annoying! Then they called me back with three other people. Well, a lady that worked there looked at all our papers and told one guy he didn't have enough jobs listed. That he needed at least 12. Well, the girl beside me was like, I just make them up. Obviously, she was in it for the money. She didn't really care about finding another job. Anyways, the guy got up and left and then came back a little later with a few more jobs listed on his form. The whole time the girl beside me was trying to text but she couldn't get a signal. She was basically acting like a spoiled brat. Anyways, the lady looked at my forms and sent me on my way so it wasn't too bad.

Snow! Ok, it was flurries...

2009-01-20T17:58:00.002-05:00

I got to see snow today! We had some flurries. I know that isn't a lot compared to what some people were getting, but snow is still snow. Anyways, I got my haircut today and I like it a lot. It's short again! Yay! I'm trying to go through all these magazines I have here at the house and throw them away. I've still kept my pack rat tendencies a little bit, but I have gotten a lot better. I really want some soup tonight, but I don't know if there is any in the house. Baked potato soup from Atlanta Bread Company would be wonderful. Who knows if I'll actually venture out into the cold and get some.

Busy as a Bee

2009-01-18T22:16:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I feel like I have so much stuff going on. It's almost like I have more to do now than when I had a job. It's kind of crazy. In between working, appointments, meeting people places and looking for a job, it seems like I have little time. It could just be me though. Anyways, I have my unemployment appointment on friday. We shall see how it will all turn out. I'm still trying to decide if I want to take my real estate class or not. I really just need to get it over, but part of my doesn't really want to take it right now. If I don't take it now, though, who knows if I ever will.

Making Mac & Cheese

2009-01-16T13:28:00.004-05:00

I made myself some mac and cheese for lunch (the box kind). I used skim milk because there was no 2% and butter instead of margerine. It did not taste as good as it normally does. Maybe it was the milk or the butter. Who knows. I was pretty disappointed though. On another note, today is Carrie's b'day. Happy Birthday Carrie. In honor of that, here are 3o random things about her since it's her 30th b'day.

1. She is from TN.

2. She doesn't like to fly.

3. She works a lot but not because she wants to but because she is a hard worker.

4. She just bought a new house in the ghetto.

5. She says she lives in ghetto lite.

6. She will be in 2 weddings in 2 different states on the same day.

7. She is my cookie making buddy.

8. She likes to mess with my head.

9. She loves Lost

10. and So You Think You Can Dance

11. and House

12. and NCIS

13. She loves her Kitchen-aid.

14. She got me into reading The Pioneer Woman.

15. She has her own blog.

16. She has a dog named Murphy.

17. She is a member of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.

18. She wants to go on a cruise.

19. She has several friends who are overseas.

20. She had pet racoons growing up (I think they were racoons.)

21. Her parents have a pet squirrel.

22. She loves her niece Gracie whom she calls Doodlebug.

23. Her mom came to visit her for her b'day and they are having a spa afternoon. (lucky them)

24. She is a blog stalker.

25. She likes to read a blog called Bakerella (I think that's the name).

26. She lives about 5 minutes away from where she works.

27. She wants to buy a camper and travel across country.

28. She and Mary (with some help from Charles) are on a mission. ha!

29. She has a younger sister.

30. She is a great friend!

I can't believe I came up with 30 things. Yay for me!

Wednesday!!

2009-01-14T21:02:00.002-05:00

I'm so glad that the week is half way over! Although, I'm not really doing anything this weekend. At least, nothing that is planned. Right now I'm watching American Idol, but it's not really holding my attention. I was about to fast forward then I realized I'm watching live tv. Everyone else I know has DVR so I'm used to them skipping the commercials. I'm stuck with my vcr and I can't rewind it until it's over. I have to report to the unemployment office next week. It makes me a little nervous. I'm not sure why. I guess just the whole going in thing. That's what makes me nervous. Ok, I got distracted for a minute talking to Carrie on g-mail. I can't remember anything else I was going to say. Oh well, maybe I will remember tomorrow.

Kids, Kids, Kids

2009-01-13T16:18:00.002-05:00

Today I worked at Child's Day Out in the morning. I helped out in the 2 year olds class. I was a floater between two classes. I was in Veronica's class first. She had five girls and one boy. Those girls were too cute. One, Isabella, would not leave me alone. She wanted to sit in my lap. Then she wanted to read a book with me. It was so cute. Then I helped in Joanna's class. She had five girls and one boy as well. They were completely different from Veronica's class. They were a whole lot less sociable. One little girl was a complete rebel. She wouldn't eat her lunch. She wouldn't do anything that you wanted her to. Anyways, my gross story came into play right after lunch. Only one of the girls in Veronica's class is potty trained. I took her to the bathroom and then when I got her off the potty (notice I speak in little kids language here) there was poop EVERYWHERE! On the toilet, on the floor, in her panties. It was disgusting! Thankfully, it wasn't runny so I just picked it up with toilet paper. Then later on, the same girl had to go to the bathroom and I took her and she had wet her pants. It was crazy! Anyways, tonight I'm going to be a surprise visitor at Bible Study. I haven't been in a few years for various reasons, but I told Mary, Charles and Carrie I would go. Normally, Carrie and I have been having our Beth Moore study on tuesday nights, but we decided to go to the other one tonight instead.

I'm Psychic

2009-01-12T18:08:00.002-05:00

Wow! Two posts in one day! I'm on a roll! So my sister told me to guess what she won on the radio. Since I'm a psychic, I guessed it right. I said you won tickets to see Rascal Flatts in concert. She was like you're good. She said it scared her. What can I say? I'm gifted like that. Go me! Anyways, one of my favorite tv shows is Psych on USA. If you don't watch it, you should. You don't know what you are missing out on.

Crazy

2009-01-12T09:45:00.002-05:00

I must be crazy (or desperate) because I just applied for a job at an engineering\construction firm. It's a much larger firm than the one I used to work at though so I would probably have a lot more job security. Anyways, that's all I wanted to share. Maybe more later when more of the day has passed.