happy

I haven't posted a lot lately but here is a quick update for all my friends and family.  Everyone is doing very well.  Lee and I have been helping with several charity events the past few weeks.  I am so happy that we are in a position that we can give back and donate a little money but more importantly our time.  We are so blessed and it is eye-opening to see so many around us who are so less fortunate--not just with little piddly problems but major shortcomings.  I truly hope that we are making a difference in some of the lives that we have recently touched and I promise that we will continue to give back.

I took Brooke to see Taylor Swift last weekend, and we had a GREAT time!  It was exciting to see Brooke see Taylor Swift in person, I remember what it felt like the first time I saw Matchbox Twenty in person so it was great for me to be able to give her a dream.  Taylor put on an incredible show, it wasn't just a concert it was more of a theatrical production.  There were many costume changes, set changes, storylines with every song, it was amazing.  Taylor even came out to the opposite side of the stage into the crowd in the arena for a few songs, she was very close to us which was tremendously exciting for Brooke (and me too!).

the PINK month is here!

I love October for many reasons--the lovely fall weather, new primetime tv shows instead of reruns, my birthday, etc.  I also love it because it is breast cancer awareness month, something that is near and dear to my heart.  I support the cause year round, but in October everyone can support the cause very easily because there are thousands of products that are specially marked where companies are donating a part of the proceeds of that item to charity.  So happy shopping friends!!

I WON!!

So, VERY EXCITING news!!  K. C. and I won an interior design award for our work on the Pulaski Technical College Little Rock South Campus (the old expo building).  And it's not just an Arkansas award, it's a tri-state award!!  I'm so excited and I actually did a lot of the designs on this project so I really feel validated as a professional now.  She was so great allowing me to have a lot of creativity and say into this project.  It feels incredible to be an official award winning interior designer.  I'm on cloud 9!!!

new pictures

Bentley sleeping with his pet squirrel and his blankie

Giambi


Bentley

Giambi playing in the yard

Bentley playing in the yard

Giambi

Blackout

So, a cute story to share with my friends. We have had rain here for several days straight, and yesterday was no exception. Our power kept flickering on and off all day and it was really freaking out the dogs. The last time it went out was about 9:30 pm. Lee and I were sitting on the couch with the dogs. Once the power went out, it was pitch black. I guess this was Bentley's official breaking point with darkness because he jumped off the couch and rocketed out the doggy door onto the back porch. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust and I was laughing so that didn't help. The power wasn't off for very long--90 seconds at most. Once it came back on you could see Bentley outside staring into the house at us through the doggy door. It was so cute!!

Happy anniversary to me & Lee

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary, and I'm excited about that!!! I am happy to say that I am still happily married! Unfortunately that is quite an accomplishment in today's society. Someone wise once said "be the change you want to see in the world." I'm doing that. I believe in marriage and I hope to see the sacredness of marriage restored in America.

Ellen on American Idol

I read Ellen's twitter last night that she is the new judge, and I think it is a great change!! I love Ellen, she is hilarious, and I think it will be a fresh change to bring someone to the panel who will be representing a new point of view. She is kinda like us viewers, she doesn't have any formal musical training or an angle from a producer's view so it'll be great feedback for the contestants. I'm excited about seeing her on the show!!

CASA

"You go into the court room and you will see lawyers who know the law and have dozens of kids' files, or you have social workers who know the regulations and have dozens of kids' files. But if a CASA volunteer is in the room, you will see that they have just one file, and what they know is that one child. And that can make all the difference to the decisions regarding how the rest of that child's life is going to go."

--Anna Quindlen, on CBS "The Early Show"

Wal-Mart

Three things that annoy me at Wal-Mart:
1. People who drive the wrong way down the aisles in the parking lot. Just look and see which way the cars are pointed, and if that is too much of a struggle, they have arrows painted for your convenience.
2. Kids driving around on the motorized carts that are meant to aid the disabled. It is infuriating to me that parents will allow their children to play on this equipment. It is not meant as a toy! Which leads me to number 3...
3. People who park in the handicap spots that are not handicapped. Most people take for granted that they are able to walk. I mean that. I had to use a wheelchair as part of a class in design in college. I had to use this wheelchair to try to maneuver myself into a bathroom, then into a stall, then back to my classroom. I never realized how difficult this can be! I admit that I can be very lazy and I like to park as close to the front as possible, but I NEVER use a handicap space and I even try to make it a point to park farther away. God has blessed me, I have two legs that work great, and I am happy to use them. There are many more unfortunate people who have trouble with their knees or their hip or a broken leg, the list goes on and on. I implore you to think of others and not just yourself the next time you park at Wal-Mart!

Obama controversy

I think it is appalling that we as Americans have created such drama and controversy over Obama addressing the nation's children in school. Stop for a minute and think about how ridiculous this is. Do you really think that he is going to brainwash today's youth? Really!?

I heard on the news this morning that some people are up in arms because the Obama administration had asked the kids to write a letter to the President saying what they want to see happen in the United States. That Obama is somehow trying to take advantage of these kids ideas and pass them off as his own. Seriously?? I doubt that the President is so short on ideas that he has come up with this clever scheme to target the undertapped resource of children's brains.

Whenever I first heard that Obama wanted to address the kids in school, I thought that it was a great idea. It is a tough world out here and I think that kids can use all the encouragement they can get. I would have loved to have had the President give a speech directed at me whenever I was in school. It makes you feel special and alive. It helps build a foundation that you can achieve your dreams and become successful.

Do I agree with everything that Obama stands for? Obviously not.

Do I believe that he has some corruptive hidden agenda whenever he gives a speech to the children? Obviously not.

Wake up people! There is so much drama in this world over petty things, please stop adding to the problem! A simple solution for those of you who disagree with my opinion and have children: don't send your children to school that day! Done, problem solved.

Surviving Disaster

I watched a new show last night on Spike TV called Surviving Disaster. A very cool show! This was the first episode and it is hosted by a former Navy SEAL. This espisode dealt with how to overcome hijackers on an airplane. And let me tell you, I actually feel like I could overtake them.

Basically you start out by creating a diversion. He had a lady set her cell phone alarm to go off in 3 minutes and then toss it under the seats a couple rows in front of where all the passengers were sitting. This gave him ample time to gather a group of 6 men by hand signals and eye contact. Once the phone went off, the men attacked the hijackers who were bent over trying to find the phone. The men used whatever items they could find such as high heel shoes, keys, etc. as weapons and they used seat cushions or jackets for defense mechanisms. They aimed the weapons toward the hijackers throats in order to subdue them immediately. Then they took them and tied them up with shoelaces, power cords, and belts. They gagged them and blindfolded them.

Next they took a drink cart and filled it full in order to make a battering ram to get into the cockpit where the last hijacker was flying the plane. While they were doing this they had the other passengers trying to call anyone and everyone on their cell phones to alert the authorities that they were trying to take back the plane. Once the guys starting trying to get into the cockpit, the last hijacker made the plane nosedive. Luckily they got through the door and were able to take over the hijacker and take back control of the plane. The emergency channel for all aircraft is 121.5 so they dialed into it to let the controllers know that they had regained control and needed help to fly and possibly land the plane.

Very interesting stuff!! I can't wait to see what they do next week!

Random thoughts

I got this on my email. It's hilarious!! Enjoy a good laugh, friends...

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

That's enough, Nickelback.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the **** was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can re cognize their own image.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a **** from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind ifI do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

THE cake

Lee's birthday cake turned out AMAZING!! It was done by Cakes by Sam located in Cabot. You can see pictures of it on her blog at http://blog.cakesbysam.com/. Everything on the cake was edible from the shotgun to the shells to the skeet. It was delicious! Here are a couple of pics:

Yikes!

Sorry it has been SO LONG since my last post. I have been so busy with work and my charity that I have literally not had time to even think about my blog!! Luckily, there hasn't been a lot to post about this summer so you haven't missed out on much.

I've got to spend some quality time with my family this past month which is always nice. Lee's birthday was yesterday and we are having a huge party tomorrow night. Hopefully I will have lots of pictures to post.

Big Brother is crazy this season! I'm enjoying every second of it. We have Big Brother parties often so if you are a fan, let me know and you can join in on our fun. Flipping Out finally premiered this week and I have really enjoyed getting reacquainted with America's craziest house flipper. Very entertaining!

website of the day

www.runpee.com

According to the website, runpee.com lists movies that are currently in theaters and the best time to "run and pee" during those movies so that you don't miss anything crucial.

LOL. Kind of genius in its own right, don't ya think?

Bachelorette

I was sad to see Matthew Perry--I mean Reid go last night. He was my favorite but I could tell by Jillian's body language that he would be next on the hit list. I find myself struggling to like Ed, and maybe unfairly so since he doesn't have as much airtime as the other guys so I don't know as much about him. I can't wait for the men tell all episode next week, it's sure to be great with the "famous" Wes coming back!

Big Brother 07/12/09

The game seems to be heating up! Jessie is still annoying as ever and I'm really hoping that he gets targeted quick once his HOH reign is over. Another annoying person: Chima. Her meltdown after her team lost the the food/luxury competition was a little overkill. Yes, it sucks, but everyone knows that it's part of the game. By the way, does anyone know what slop actually is? I've heard that it is not oatmeal (even though it seems to closely resemble it).

Some faves: Kevin. He is so entertaining! Also Casey, at least I think that's his name-the 40 year old teacher by day/dj by night. LOL. He cracks me up! I still want to like Laura since she is such a BB fan, but the editing of the show is not really helping her likability.

I had a great time watching Big Brother last night with Lee, Nicole, Dylan, & Josh! It's always so much more fun watching it with other people.

Big Brother 07/09/09

I am so excited that my favorite reality show is back on!! We had a little impromptu viewing party at my house last night with Jesse and it's always a lot of fun to watch it with him. Oh, and turns out he was wrong on the mystery guest.

I was a little disappointed with the 4 mystery guest choices that Big Brother had, but I know that the people I wanted are much more famous and they might not have been willing to do it without a lot of money involved. Maybe next season they will have another celebrity edition with all our old faves. Anyway, Jessie is the celebritiy that is back in for now and he is so annoying. Luckily I don't think his ego will allow him to stay in the house for very long although he does have immunity this week. My early fave is Laura. Which is odd because I usually do not root for her type, but I really liked her video on the Big Brother website. It's obvious that she is an actual fan like myself and I hope she pulls it off in the end. Time will tell...

Quote of the day

Here's your quote of the day:

By Warren Buffet regarding our economy and the stimulus package (from the article on abc.com)

"Our first stimulus bill ... was sort of like taking half a tablet of Viagra and having also a bunch of candy mixed in ... as if everybody was putting in enough for their own constituents," he said. "It doesn't have really quite the wall that might have been anticipated there."

Big Brother

Tonight is the night I've been waiting for all year! I love Big Brother and it premieres tonight!! This season they have a special houseguest that CBS has promised will be a face that we will recognize. I'm hoping that it is a former houseguest like Will, Evel Dick, or Janelle. The big reveal is tonight and Jesse says he already knows who it is so I am avoiding him. Jesse and I have this weird-almost psychic-connection and if look at him for even half a second, I'm sure I will know who the mysterious houseguest is too and I want it to be a surprise.

Ask Rob Thomas anything

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

very interesting

Today at 12:34 (and 56 seconds) it will be 12:34:56 on 7/8/09.

another laundry post

Here's another laundry issue since we are on the subject. Last fall, my husband and I decided it was time to get a new washer and dryer since I was having so many problems with our old set. We went and looked and finally settled on a front loader pair. I have been SO HAPPY with them! For starters, our old top loading washing machine used 55 gallons of water per load. Our new one uses 15 gallons per load (plus I can fit way more in the new one: 16 pairs of jeans in the new one compared to 5 pairs of jeans in the old one) so we are talking about huge environmental impact plus way less time spent doing the laundry (which makes me happy).

Second, our electric bill this month compared to our electric bill last year at this same time is over $90.00 cheaper! I know it's probably not all because of our new energy efficient purchase but a huge part of it is.

I would highly recommend anyone to think about upgrading to the new ones. Help the environment, save some of your time, win-win! The brand we went with was LG and the reason we chose them is because they were the only ones that shot the water in between the clothes as it cycled instead of dumping the water directly on top of the clothes. The washer also has a built in generator to create its own power. Oh, and also the washer can steam which comes in very handy to sanitize my sheets so that all allergens are killed.

I know this is a lot about a washer and dryer, but it is worth this long post, trust me!!

Laundry

I have got to give a shout-out to Shout Color Catcher Wipes. Those things are miraculous! I can do my whites with my colors (even red) and throw one of those things in and I NEVER have colors that run!! They come in a box similar to dryer sheets and are found next to the dryer sheets and shout stain remover. I must put a disclaimer on here that I am in no way sponsored by Shout and therefore have no obligations to give them any publicity. I just really LOVE their product. (However, if any Shout people are reading this and you want to send me free color catcher sheets, I would not object.)

Enough already!

Why is our media still obsessed with the death of Michael Jackson? Sure, it was very sad and tragic. But just let his family grieve in peace. Give 'em their privacy. I'm so tired of hearing about the drugs scandal, who is the biological mother of his children, is Michael the biological father of his children, oh no-he cut his dad out of the will---WHO CARES? Not me! There are much more pressing stories that need to be covered and topics that should be brought to light. Did everyone forget about our troops and that war they are fighting on our behalf? Why don't our soldiers get this much media attention? They are much bigger heroes than Michael Jackson! When will the circus (that is and always has been his life) finally end?