Big Day!!

Today is Reese's first concert.
Who is it you ask? The Strokes? U2? Fergie? no.
Only the most.talented. most. innovative. group. of. all. time.
THE WIGGLES!!
We are Racing to the Rainbow today, guys. It is Reese's highlight of the day when I turn on the TV (which I try to do increasingly less, as I want my child to have some semblance of imagination and creativity on her own someday) and she hears that familiar refrain all of us parents know and "love"... "It's the Wiggles, it's the Wiggles, dancing with our friends..."
I have to say honestly, I am a bit excited myself seeing as I pretty much watch the show just as much as Reese and now feel some emotional attachment to the four colorful fellas. I have turned to them in some dark times. Times when I thought I could never get Reese to calm down, or stop crying, or help me figure out what was wrong; times when I felt the world closing in on our tiny apartment as I racked my brain thinking of ways I could help her. These are the Wiggle times. When the Wiggles are on, Reese's world comes to a stop. She sits down, stops crying, pulls her blankie on to her lap (or if she's happy, she dances and claps along with the songs) and gives mom a few moments' rest and recuperation. Or at least 30 minutes to get something done. Hopefully she won't die of shock when she sees Jeff (the purple guy) running around in the crowd. And he better... because that's what they show on TV and I am counting on grabbing onto his hips and starting a major conga line. Bet they'll show THAT on tv.







disclaimer: For all you parents out there who are thinking of challenging me over the use of TV to help calm my child down... don't bother. I don't care what you think. =)

Technology + Me= Dammit.

Well, it's been a good two months since I last
blogged. For some friggin reason, every time I would
log in to start a new post, it would give me some
error message saying that my template was invalid?!
Who knows. Me and electronic devices do not mesh well.
I am literally known at every office I have ever
worked at, for messing up the one computer that is
supposed to withstand any and all viruses, bugs, and
nuclear disasters that come its way. Except me. I am
the indestructible, walking, breathing virus.

But I must say, I have an old Mac at the office that I
am now using, (all because, of course, my previous PC
caught some sort of pop-up disease; one resembling the
end of solitaire when all the cards start bouncing all
over the screen... except the popups don't go away or
deal again) and thus far, knock on wood, have had no
issues!! Go Mac!!

So far this year, I have successfully destroyed one
Mac laptop, one PC laptop, and a PC desktop. In that
order. Why? Just for kicks. Just because I always
hoped my life would be more difficult, more complex,
less efficient or organized. I started off the year
feeling just a bit too on top of things, ya know?

Here are a few other things I have accomplished
technologically:

1. Orlando, Florida, circa August 2005 - hurricane
season, lots of thunder and lightning storms. All the
computers and basically all general electronics at my
office building are on a backup system. All but one.
All but the measly little crapper I had in my cubicle
on the second floor, left wing of the building on the
right. That's right. Everyone else was up and running
in seconds. Not me. It took me a team of Campus
Crusade "tech specialists" to keep trading out
computers till finally they settle on one they thought
might withstand Hurricane Lindsay.

2. Dallas, TX, Thanksgiving break, 2005 - Outlook, all
mail systems, all programs successfully running before
I go to Tennessee for holiday. All mail programs
unsuccessfully running when I return, and thus never
returned to proper working order. Ever.

3. Dallas, TX, circa February 2007 - large printer
stops working. Just. stops. And it costs a good 500
dollars just for a diagnostic?! Are you kidding? I
guess I didn't realize it ran on Kia parts.

4. Mac laptop - have used consistently for the last
three years. Stopped working during midterms of my
first class back in college. awesome.

5. PC laptop - used simply to fill in for the Mac
laptop for a month or so. Quit working the night
before my research paper was due.

6. PC desktop, office, two months ago - Pop up
infestation.

There you have it. A short history of my computer
shortcomings. Why do people always buy me such crappy
computers??

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Back and Being Vulnerable!

Well, my amazing, intelligent, hilarious, beautiful, Lohan-esque cousin, Holland, left today for Syracuse Journalism la-di-dah school. We have always been good friends and we always have fun together... mostly because she humors me and puts up with my below-her intelligence and wit, not to mention my love for wine and chaotic personality. But she left today, and even though I had ample time to spend with her over the last 2.5 years since the move home from Florida, we did not hang out NEARLY as much as I would have liked!!! And now I'm mad at myself!!

I realize that we are family, and we will always be close and together and in touch somehow, but it's not quite the same as spending time together.

I do this all the time!!

I am extremely awful at keeping in touch. Not extremely awful, but pretty bad. I LOATHE talking on the phone. I get lazy with emails, and write things like, "cute! love it. miss you." And even MySpace cannot hold me in its trance anymore. Believe me, friends and family are not insignificant to me by any means... So am I just insensitive? Lazy? Tired? Self-involved? I dont know. But it's definitely not a good thing. And I certainly never mean to make people (especially people I care about deeply!) feel as if I don't care enough about their lives to take two minutes out of mine and call them up. It's terrible. I'm sure I've blogged about this before, and surely many of these will follow... But this is a tribute to Holland.

I am SO stinkin' proud of you!!!
You are such an amazing person... I, truthfully, am always learning things from you... And not just things about superficial celebrities and reality shows. (Although that's true, too)
You have experienced so much in your life that I am envious of, and I'm glad you get to tell me stories about it, because then I can tell them to Reese, and together we can explain to her the 100 most Stupid things to do in a Relationship, the 100 Best Places to Go, the 100 Places to go where certain experimental substances are okay... (well, you can tell her that one) JUST KIDDING!!!
But seriously, I think you are terrific and talented and special. I believe in you and I think you are taking a risk that will ultimately pay off, and I can't wait for you to dedicate your first book to me.
One last thing...
BURN THAT DRUNK DANCE VIDEO WE MADE IN MY FLORIDA APARTMENT PARKING LOT.
Or I will release the cassette tape we made at Grandma and Grandpa's. Oh yeah. Be afraid.

SO, to all of you who don't know my soon-to-be-famous, soon-to-be-literary-prize-winning cousin, you can check out her blog at
www.lifeisthat.blogspot.com

She is A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Made my day!

Am I crazy that this made me cry?!?

Pictures... finally!

Since I've been so terrible about blogging, and picture uploading, and pretty much everything beyond simply checking my emails... (and yes, that does mean i've even been terrible at responding to emails...) I have a lot of photos to share.

First and foremost, my dear friend, Jen is getting married to the guy she's been with for like 8 years. FINALLY! So, my friends from high school and I are all flying up to Missouri at the end of June for the big event. We had her shower in April and some of these girls I had not seen in AGES.
Here's all of us at the "bachelorette party" (i.e. dinner at Mi Cocina)

Me and the bride to be!


Here's the girls at the shower:

The all-important cake that I was put in charge of... It was a terrifying experience! Picking out just the right cake for a shower... I'm not normally up for that task, and it was much bigger than me. =)


Okay. Now onto more important things... Namely, Reese:

Back in the cupboard again...



Despite this look on her face, she truly is a fan...


And finally, dinner wth friends.


And let me leave you with this final thought.

Where have I been?!?!

WOW... I have not blogged in a long time. Maybe it was the emotional hangover of depression from the Mavericks loss... I will say, unabashedly, that I did bawl my eyes out when Dirk won his MVP trophy last Tuesday. I just love him so much. I literally sat in the car, listening to the entire press conference on the radio, and then watched it on TV later that day. He looked so sweet in his little suit. =) Although, I don't know that you can call anything worn by a 7-ft man "little".

Well, I FINALLY finished my first semester back at school!! I have to say, I picked the absolute worst time in life to try to go back. Life is complex enough right now, with work, children, family, church, etc. But, throwing in school?!?! What was I thinking?! I'll tell you what I was thinking... DEGREE... MONEY... CAREER... SETTING UP GOALS... FINISHING GOALS... Trying to do the right thing for myself and my future. I just could have done it a little earlier... Say, 8 years ago when I was actually still enrolled and on campus? Oh well. That's life. But I ended up getting a B+ in one class, and an A in the other, so I guess I did well enough.

Last Friday I left with my cousin Seth to drive down to Corpus Christi to run a relay marathon called the Beach to Bay Relay. We got asked to join a team who needed to fill a few spots. I was trying to get out of it, but I'm so glad I didn't and that I actually made the trip and ran the race. I got stuck with the longest leg (4.8 miles) but I ran the whole thing, and did it in 40 minutes, too! So, I'm happy with that. The only infuriating thing was the ABUNDANCE of San Antonio Spurs fans EVERYWHERE. I'm telling you, I'm a die-hard Mavs fan, but S.A. fans put us TO SHAME!!! (well, not me... but the rest of y'all)

Anyways, here are some pictures... I knew none of these people before this weekend, but there's nothing like building a bond over a little sweat, heat, and baton-passing. =)
Here's our team: (me, Seth, Eva, Jason, Monica, and Joe)

Me and Monica (the ringleader of the whole thing... She's a big marathon runner):

Here's me walking to drop some of our team off at their bus to take them to their first leg: (pointless picture truly)

Here's Eva handing off the baton at her exchange spot:


That's about it. Unfortunately I have no pictures of me running or handing off my baton because we were all spread out, and I didn't bring my camera. It was truly an inspiring experience and very encouraging. I'm thinking I may go ahead and start marathon training!! I'm telling you, the adrenaline at that thing was so contagious. If anyone's interested in joining me, let me know!!! =)

I can't take this!!

NBA Playoffs 2007.
This was supposed to feel like Christmas! It was supposed to be simple, easy, and quick! Who are these Golden State Warriors we are playing? I for sure have not seen them this year.
This was OUR YEAR!!!

I'm so devastated over this first round of the playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks. I'm sick over it. I just cannot believe that we are down 3-1 right now, and have to win 3 straight games over this team in order to get into the second freaking round.

I'm not mad at them. I'm just mad. And I'm sad and embarrassed for them, because this is not the team they have been all year. Their legacy should not be set in stone as the only NBA team in history to lose their first place status in the first round of the playoffs!!!

If you're not a basketball fan, a sports fan, or especially a Mavs fan, then you probably think it's ridiculous that Ive spent so much time mourning these losses. But for some reason, it just really feels crappy. I want them to win so badly...

I realize they are not playing as well as normal, and I also realize that the Warriors are playing exceptionally more outstanding than they have for this entire year. But that doesn't soften the blows. I'm thinking of their reputations. It's just NOT STINKIN' FAIR.

I am a dedicated Mavs fan, and nothing that happens at the conclusion of this season will change that. If anything, I will show MORE support and MORE dedication!! But, I can't hide the disappointment. It's just gutwrenching.

On Alec Baldwin

First of all, I've always thought that he seemed like a jerk. So no matter what, my opinion of him is more or less just confirmed by the recent incident of his.

Second of all, I realize that this is ridiculous that I'm making time to comment...
BUT.

I'm sorry. If I were his ex-wife, and he was calling up my ELEVEN-year-old daughter and yelling at her like that, you better believe I'd be telling everyone!! Especially if he were famous.

She's E-LEVEN!! Hello?!?!?

Let's Think About This for A Brief Moment...

"The procedure at issue involves partially removing the fetus intact from a woman's uterus, then crushing or cutting its skull to complete the abortion."

This is an excerpt from an article I just read about the Court upholding, thankfully, the ban on partial birth abortion. Let me rephrase the above sentence with the appropriate verbiage:

"The procedure at issue involves partially removing the BABY intact from a woman's uterus, then crushing or cutting THE BABY'S skull to complete the abortion."

Really. Does that seem like something that should even be up for discussion? Much less made legal??

Ironic that April just happens to be National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

I am so disgusted by the fact that someone could even try to legitimize this procedure, and turn it into something "positive". What's even more sickening is that the ban was only upheld by a 5 to 4 vote.

Sad. So, instead of just choosing not to have sex with someone whose baby you don't want let's just crush its skull to make your life more convenient. HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THE TEENAGER WHO GETS HER BOYFRIEND TO JUMP ON HER STOMACH TO KILL HER BABY?????? She was on Oprah having the whole world gasp at her inhumanity. Are we going to do that with the doctors who perform this "surgery"???

(Understand here, I realize that some people choose to have abortions because of pregnancy due to rape or molestation, etc. But statistics show that those numbers are STAGGERINGLY minimal compared to those who are choosing abortion because it doesn't fit into their current lifestyle. Look it up before you decide to throw that argument at me. Even then, it still doesn't justify the means I'm talking about.)

Mere Christianity...

The one good thing about my fake Intro to Adult Education class, (which is really a way of asking while simultaneously substantially charging me for this elaborate means of introspection... "You may be an adult, make a living, have a career and parent little future adults, but do you really know what you're talking about and are you worthy of getting a degree?") is that I am forced to read a little Christian philosophy. Which I always pretend I would love to read, but if I did really want to read it I would have done so... So, for my research paper which is due Thursday, I'm reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

What a genius.

Today's gem: (on the topic of pride vs. 'proud of')
"To love and admire anything outside of yourself is to take one step away from utter spiritual ruin; though we shall not be well so long as we love and admire anything more than we love and admire God."

"...if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble - delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life."

On the topic of faith:
"Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes... Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole things looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable... unless you teach your moods 'where they get off,'you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith."

What Just Happened Here?

I'm sorry...

I'm in a bit of a daze... I just finished watching tonight's results episode of American Idol. Or did I? I'm still waiting for Ryan to come back on and say it was all a big practical joke. I mean, considering they can't air on April Fools Day, maybe tonight was their only night to play any practical jokes. After all, he never did say "Seacrest.Out." So it can't possibly be over...

Or am I truly just reeling in the unbelief of Sanjaya and Haley sliding by once more into safety?!?! Is this really happening?

What.the.hell.

Many "props" to Gina. For being awesome. I'm sorry you got a bum deal tonight.

Let's just pretend that Sanjaya and Haley don't exist. And if they continue to remain on the show, that's the only way to stomach the whole debacle. Or we (I'm saying "we" here, because I'm assuming you are all on my side. Because you're good, caring, thoughtful, TASTEFUL and awesome) will need to spend the two hours following Tuesday night's show on the phone, voting continuously for the 6 remaining good singers. I'll let you know the verdict after next Wednesday.

Till next week's rant...

Don't Trust Time Warner Cable!!

In the interest of protecting future consumers, and more importantly my friends, I've decided I must let you know of the CRAP that is Time Warner Cable DVR.

Now, I watch a lot of shows. It is by far a huge weakness that I have chosen to ignore. That said, I am mostly a devotee to only shows that are saved on my DVR. I know the shows I want to watch, and I pretty much stop there. This is why DVR is wonderfully handy. I look up my shows, set them to record, and go about my way. Since the primary, scratch that.... ONLY function of DVR is to tape shows in the event that you are able to watch them at will, when said function is not being performed, DVR then becomes void of purpose or point. It is nothing.

Let me relate to you the recent events that have me seething:

1. As you know I am a complete American Idol wreck. I realize it's lame, and there's no need to reinforce that in your comments should you care to leave one. That's just a fact. So, imagine my devastation when TWO, not one, but TWO weeks in a row, my beloved show is just carelessly tossed aside, simply because my TIME WARNER CABLE DVR decides it just feels like maybe it's been working a little too hard lately. YOu know, with all the constant updating and then having me record something and then go back in and delete it, maybe TWC just decided it wasn't that big of a deal, because maybe I wouldn't watch it later, and why do all that work for someone who may not take notice of all that hard work?! I'm not bitter. Oh no. Just a little peeved that I missed Sanjaya's mohawk. Or whatever that mess was.

2. House. Repeate scenario above, but replace AI with House. Jackie, I know. devastating.

3. Grey's Anatomy. YES, you heard me right. GREY'S FREAKING ANATOMY. In the middle of the episode (granted it was a repeat, so maybe TWC thought, "eh, she's seen this one before... why bother?") the screen starts pixillating and acting as if I am watching a badly loading YouTube video. You know, the whole "buffering" frustration??? Try having that on your TELEVISION.

4. Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns game today. Okay, so, maybe TWC had a point here. The game was going badly for Dallas, and maybe TWC was feeling as if I deserved a break from my emotional stress of watching this game. So, repeating the YouTube-esque scenario, throughout the game, I eventually had to turn it off. (ok, secretly, I did turn it off because I was getting so upset over the lack of shooting skills the Mavs were putting up against the Suns who couldn't miss a shot - damn! - but still!!)

5. Tonight - The Apprentice. Right before the crucial deciding discussion between Trump, the executives and the Apprentii... again. Pixillating, "buffering", sputtering, freezing... everything BUT letting me enjoy a smooth watching experience. Thank God it was during real-time, so I could at least see the last half. (poor Tim. I liked him.)

6. Tonight... Brothers and Sisters. I adore this show. For the last forever weeks it has been playing reruns. But not tonight! Tonight was a new episode!! Not that I get to watch it, because once again, the freezing. To the point where the show actually went black and TWC kindly informed me it wasn't "able to process my request". Well, I don't remember requesting anything, I was merely sitting enjoying Kitty meet the Senator's children. IS that a crime?!?! IS IT!?!

People, I've had it. TIME WARNER CABLE DVR is going DOWN.

DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT get this cable service. It is a disgrace to all cable services. It is a disgrace to DVR. It is a disgrace to me.

Tomorrow we will examine our DVR options, and will shortly remove the devil box from our apartment, anoint the room with some sort of Catholic oil, and go about our Verizon Fios way. (or some other way... I'll keep you posted as events unfold)

Normally I keep my promises, but...

I SWEAR, if Sanjaya or Haley last two more weeks on American Idol, I will quit watching this show.

IF ONE MORE FANTASTIC SINGER HAS TO GO HOME, and Sanjaya gets to sit there with his retarded mohawk and bad voice and bad, bad taste, I will just stop caring altogether. It is becoming ridiculous!!

I'm so sad for this season, because there have been such great singers and great people, and they're dropping like flies, while H and S get to sit smugly comfortable knowing that the Vote for the Worst jackasses are keeping them there. I can't take it anymore!!

Is ANYONE else hearing me out there?!?!?!?! DO YOU CARE AT ALL?!?!?!
THIS IS AGAINST GOD'S PLAN I'M TELLING YOU!

But, for all you other emotionally-invested AI fans, is it not somewhat redeeming to have significant talents like Gwen Stefani come and perform and be so nice and interested in the contestants?!?! Thank you, Prince!!

Holsinger. Out.

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

“Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow” - Helen Keller



"Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body." - Elizabeth Stone



“Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.” - Saint Augustine



“The law of love could be best understood and learned through little children” - Mahatma Ghandi




“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Top Fives... with UPDATES

Tonight we were out to eat with some friends, and ended the night by talking about our Top Fives... Vacations, Places to Visit, Movies, etc.
Since I'm now inspired, and I adore making lists of any kind, here we go...

TOP FIVE MOVIES: (purely defined by the ability to watch over and over without being worn down)
(also not in order)
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Mean Girls
3. Love Actually (had to update this one... can't believe i forgot about this movie)
4. 40-Year Old Virgin
5. WEdding Crashers

TOP FIVE MOVIES: (defined by pure love and respect)
(again not in order)
1. Gone With the Wind
2. Miracle on 34th Street
3. Love Actually
4. Walk the Line
5. The Incredibles, tied with Old School, tied with Wedding Crashers. =)

TOP FIVE BOOKS:
1. Age of Innocence
2. Gone With the Wind
3. Thorn Birds
4. Marie Antoinette
5. Pride and Prejudice

TOP FIVE PLACES TO VISIT: (for the first time)
1. ITALY - all of it, all of it, all of it
2. Versailles, and then the rest of France if time.
3. Boston
4. Japan
5. Spain

TOP FIVE ACTORS/ACTRESSES TO MEET:
1. Reese Witherspoon
2. Jack Nicholson
3. Conan O'Brien
4. Amy Poehler
5. Meryl Streep

TOP FIVE TV SHOWS still on air:
1. 24
2. Brothers and Sisters
3. American Idol
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Ugly Betty
** honorable mention goes to House and the Apprentice and yes, Lost. (Jeez, I really didn't think some of these through)

TOP FIVE TV SHOWS not on air:
1. Friends
2. Arrested Development
3. Alias
4. Sex and the City
5. Project Runway (not on air right now, so it counts.)

TOP FIVE MUSICIANS/BANDS/ARTISTS:
1. U2
2. Beatles
3. Mika
4. Keane
5. Killers

TOP FIVE SONGS:
1. Beast of Burden - Rolling Stones
2. It Ain't Over till It's Over - Lenny Kravitz
3. Love Today - Mika
4. One - U2
5. This is the Last Time - Keane

TOP FIVE FOODS:
1. squishy french fries
2. PIZZA
3. fried Macaroni and Cheese from Cheesecake Factory (or any mac and cheese for that matter
4. Natural peanut butter
5. CHEESE!!!

TOP FIVE SWEETS:
1. Sour Patch Kids
2. Hot Tamales
3. brownies (chocolate, cheesecake, frosted, non-frosted... as long as they're chewy, melty, hot and maybe with a little ice cream!!)
4. cheesecake
5. Heath bars

TOP FIVE MAGAZINES:
1. Vanity Fair
2. Vogue
3. US Weekly (this sucker is ALWAYS right no matter what the celebs say)
4. Sports Illustrated
5. Time

That oughta do it for now.
But since I'm all about talking "faves" again... I must say the song I cannot get out of my hand right now is Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats". What a great song. Too bad it's a few years too late. =)

AND, I had while I normally LOVE seared ahi tuna, I had the grossest ahi tuna dish tonight at Cheesecake Factory tonight. Ahi Tuna Carpaccio... EW. not good.
Seared Ahi Tuna at Outback??? Gooooooddddd. =)

The Mommy Test

THE MOMMY TEST (as forwarded to me from Des)

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter one day. She picked up
something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took
the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.

"Why?" my daughter asked. "Because it's been on the ground, you don't
know where it's been, it's dirty and probably has germs" I replied.

At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and
asked, "Mommy, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart."

I was thinking quickly. "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy
Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently
pondering this new information.

"OH...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have
to be the daddy."

"Exactly"

Swing AWAY from me.

Meaning AWAY with baseball!!! I'm so bored by baseball.

I love listening to ESPN radio. I listen everyday, I read Sports Illustrated, and yesterday I watched SPortscenter! I download the PTI Podcast, although, I never listen to it. I never listen to any of my podcasts, for that matter.
BUT I'M SOOOOO sick of talking baseball, ALREADY. And the season hasn't even started! If the story is interesting enough, then great. But for the most part, baseball is boring, boring, boring.

Why can we not spend more time talking about how freaking amazing the Dallas Mavericks are? And if I have to hear anymore comparisons between this year's Mavs and last year's Pistons, I will scream!!!! I do have to say, though, we play the Suns on the 14th and I'm nervous as heck! As good as we are, the playoffs are still ahead and we regularly win games by less than a ten-point margin, which kills me. Fortunately we have a knack for regularly pulling it together in the 4th quarter, and winning is what matters!!

Give us some respect!!
I think he's earned it.

Thanks, Jackie.

1. A song with the name of a city in the title or text.
"Boston" - Augustana

2. A song you’ve listened to repeatedly when depressed at some point in your life.
"Ana's Song" - Silverchair
"I Remeber You" - Skid Row (laaame)

3. A great song in a language other than English.
"Glosoli" - Sigur Ros

4. Your least favorite song on one of your favorite albums.
"The Iron Sea" - Keane, Under the Iron Sea

5. A song you like (possibly from your past) that took you forever to locate a copy of.
"Kiss Off" - Violent Femmes (only because I never knew the name of the song, so I had to search the lyrics and everything)

6. A song that reminds you of summer but doesn’t mention summer at all.
"California Love" - Tupac
"Gettin' Jiggy with it" - Will Smith (I think it's actually 'wit it'... but honestly)
"It Ain't Over till it's Over" - Lenny KRavitz

7. A song that sounds to you like being happy feels.
"The More" - downhere
"Beast of Burdern" - Rolling Stones (not b/c of the words, mind you)
"Angel of Harlem" - U2

8. A song that reminds you of high school.
"Feed the Tree" - Belly (my alternative phase)
"Regulators" - Warren G (my rap phase, bet you didn't know I had one of those!)
"Keeper of the Stars" (my first "boyfriend" song - don't even know who sings it)

9. A song that reminds you of college.
"Strawberry Wine" - Deana Carter
"If You Could Only See" - Tonic
"All For You" - Sister Hazel

10. A song you actually like by an artist you otherwise dislike.
"Ice, Ice Baby" - Vanilla Ice. =)

11. One of the earliest songs that you can remember listening to.
"Out of the Blue" - Debbie Gibson

12. A song that has helped cheer you up (or empowered you somehow) after a breakup or otherwise difficult situation.
"Shout to the Lord" - Hillsong (so cliche, I know)

Oh Happy Day!!

When Reese was 5 weeks old, we found out that she had a milk/soy protein allergy. Meaning we had to start buying a 16 oz. $27 can of formula one to two times a week. Nasty smelling, over-priced, disgusting formula. The doctor told us we could start testing milk products with her once she hit a year old to see if she would grow out of it.
Last week, with much trepidation, I bought a half-gallon of Horizon organic whole milk. It was the weirdest thing to give her a whole bottle of this product we had been aggressively shielding her from for an entire year. She drank it down just fine and hours later, no reaction! So I started giving her a bottle every day... No reaction still!!!

Goodbye nasty expensive formula!!! Hello milk! You don't understand. Getting this formula out of our lives is like losing an entire monthly payment! Around $200 a month we were spending on formula. Crrrazy. And now? Well, $4 gallons sounds perfectly reasonable. Especially since that takes about $30 a month!! GOOD LORD I am relieved.

In other news... American Idol. (sigh) WHY in the name of all that is good, is Antonella Barba still on this show!?!?! I'm so disgusted with her. I'm sorry, I know that is harsh, but if you've been watching the show, not to mention the recent hoopla over her scandalous pictures, you know that she is NOT worthy of being in this group of contestants! I'm so disgusted that 4 people have gone home, and she still gets to sit up on that stage. PLEASE, God, let justice be done next week. SEND HER HOME, PEOPLE!!!! I'm sorry to be so passionate about this topic, but it is seriously driving me nuts. Lucky for her she is so outwardly attractive. (I know I'm being very judgmental... but seriously!!!!)

AND, A BIG APOLOGY.
I've never considered myself a flaky person. Although, a lot of people could justifiably argue this point, I usually do what I say I'm going to do. If I say I will be somewhere, I will be there. If I tell you I will do something, I will do it. I may not be good at returning calls or checking my messages, but I will usually get in touch via some form of email or something. But lately, I will testify to the fact that I have been a BIG, FAT FLAKE. Too many stories to tell, but I have forgotten to mail things, check my messages for even longer periods of time, not write back to emails even!!! IT'S CRAZY!!

SOOO... to all who I've unconsciously hurt or frustrated or blown off (the worst of all offenses) I'M SO SORRY!! I'm telling you, I've been retarded lately. For some reason I've been forgetting, and just basically blacking out. I don't know what's going on, and all I can think is that I must be exhausted. School, exercise, work, baby... maybe it's just too much for me... maybe I'm not getting enough sleep. I really don't know. All I know is, I've been taking a nap every day, and if you know me, that's significant because I hate naps. I hate stopping in the middle of my day to sleep!!

So, a big shout out to the following:

1. Jess
2. Des
3. Tasha
4. Des
5. Seth
6. Des
7. Brieanne
8. Amy
9. Vanessa
10. Stacey
11. Jackie
12. Kelly

I'm sorry for being a lame phone-call-returner and plan-changer. Shame on me. Seriously. I really mean it. My behavior has been reprehensible. I LOVE YOU!

And another shout out to my AI faves...
1. Melinda
2. Blake
3. Chris
4. Lakisha
5. Jordin
6. Gina
7. Chris S.
8. And of course, Simon. I love you.

Holsinger. Out.