it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

I'm not sure what causes it.  Perhaps the fact that it has been 70 degrees ALL week and this morning there is ice on roads.  Or it's the fact that it's December 22 and I'm starting to get out-of-office-until-after-christmas automated replies to emails at work.  Or that I finally finished all my present shopping AND got everything wrapped.  Whatever it may be, I'm finally feeling Christmas.  Before now, it still seemed kind of far off.  But now, starting to make plans with family and buying presents, I'm getting really excited.  Christmas is my absolute, hands down, favorite time of the year.  Everyone is friendly, every house/building is warm and decorated beautifully, and there just seems to be a certain magic that surrounds everything.  I just feel happier, I think mostly because of the sense of togetherness everyone has, even with perfect strangers, just because of the spirit of the season.  I see Christmas and how it makes everyone act differently, better, and it gives me hope that despite all the suckiness of this world and our current state of affairs, there is still a lot of good left.  And I think that's just what Jesus likes to see on his birthday - a whole lot of love.

I decided that I really wanted to decorate my desk for 

the holidays this year - something I neglected to do last year.  With limited resources, this is what I ended up with: 

Not too shabby, I don't think.  I stole the big red bow off a gift basket we received at the office.  And I got the little tree from the Dollar Tree.  We already had the ornaments at home so I just brought those.  I thought it added a nice touch to my desk!  (My messy, messy desk - look at all those post-its!)

This past weekend, Cory, Stephen, April and myself got together and rented one of the funniest movies that I've seen in a while.  It's called "Run Fatboy Run" and it's got the guy from "Shawn of the Dead" in it.  (If you haven't see that movie either, please do.  FUNNY!)  Simon Pegg, the main guy in both movies, is absolutely hilarious.  Here's a trailer for Fatboy:

I am super looking forward to going home.  My mom is making her famous chicken and dumplings.  Trust me, hers are the cream of the crop when it comes to chicken and dumplings, so I can't wait.  We're also going to the candlelight service at my church on Christmas Eve.  This service is SO beautiful, it makes me want to have a Christmas wedding, in the evening, and have it be a candlelight thing.  It's just so unspeakably beautiful to me to have no other lights but the flickering little flames in the hands of everyone there, the lights illuminating everyone's faces as they look around singing Christmas carols.    There is such a warmth and glow to that moment - I wouldn't miss it for the world.  

In case I don't get a chance to post again - Merry Christmas everyone!  I love you all :)

i wanna grow old with you

I always feel like a bad person when I say this, but I have never liked being around the elderly.  It's not that I don't like THEM personally, I just usually feel uncomfortable.  In thinking about this, I think I've realized that the majority of times that I have encountered old folks (other than my grandparents) has been in nursing homes.  I think with nursing homes, the air is so thick with the anxious anticipation of someone passing away at any given moment that you can't help but feel uneasy there, no matter how cheerful and sweet the staff and how sunny the decor.  Especially with my grandpa, he was in the Alzheimer's ward at his nursing home.  The door to this wing was locked and you had to be let in by a nurse - then upon entering you hear someone screaming, several people are wandering around aimlessly, and one of them may come up and ask you who they are because they forgot.  It's really very sad and not a fun place to be.  Thus, this is likely the reason I have deluded myself into thinking I didn't like to spend time with the elderly.

But today reminded me that I DO like to be around them - especially talking to them and listening to their stories about their younger days.  The way their eyes light up when they start into a story about when they were growing up.  Telling you about their favorite Christmas present they ever got or when they won the science fair at school.

Today, we had a holiday luncheon at the Country Club.  The majority of people that attend this are little old ladies and occasionally their husbands.  Two of the performers, Bettye and Anna, are 70+ and were there with their husbands, and after everyone left, we got to sit down with them and have lunch.  They told us the cutest stories about how each of them met.  The way they told the stories was so romantic, so detailed - like it had happened just yesterday.  Made it sound like it was straight out of a movie, how fate brought them together.  For example, Anna was singing in a Christmas pageant and her husband said he went to see the show, and the second he saw her, he knew he wanted to marry her.  To this day,  you can still see how much they love each other.  I love to hear how people met, but it's even better with old couples.  It makes me wish I lived back then, when everything was so much simpler and true romance was still alive and well.  

My favorite movie of all time is When Harry Met Sally (if you haven't seen it, please do sometime).  Throughout the movie, they have little interviews with old couples as they tell their sweet stories of how they met and lived happily ever after with each other.  I LOVE it!  In case you haven't seen the movie, here are the clips.  Enjoy!

this little piggie owned your colon

http://www.holytaco.com/if-i-die-bacon-related-death-id-it-be-because

Please, go read.  This made my day (and also made me want to hurl).

warm tingly sensations

Dear Brooke,
I don'​t reall​y know how to tell you this,​ but I'm in love with your cat. I think​ I reali​zed it when your dog humped my leg under a street light and I saw you sit on my boyfriend . I'm sure you'​re high enoug​h to under​stand​ that you need a sex-change. I'm retur​ning your toe ring, but I'll keep your glass eye as a memor​y.​ You shoul​d also know that I always will remember the pep talks and thanks for the cocaine​.​

Warm tingly sensations,
-​Katie



Dear (​name of frien​d)​ ,
I don'​t reall​y know how to tell you this,​ but (1). I think​ I reali​zed it (2), (3) and I saw you (4), (5) . I'm sure you'​re (6) enoug​h to under​stand​ (7). I'm retur​ning (8), but I'll keep (9) as a memor​y.​ You shoul​d also know that I (10) and (​11)​.​




(12)
-​(​your name)​




1) What'​s the color​ of your shirt​?​
Blue - I'm in love with your cat
Red - Our affai​r is over
White​ - I’m joini​ng the Conve​nt
Black​ -Our roman​ce is over
Green​-​ Our socks​ don'​t match​
Grey - You'​re a lepre​chaun​
Yello​w - I'm selli​ng mysel​f for candy​
Pink - Your nostr​ils are insul​ting
Brown​ - The mafia​ wants​ you
No shirt​ - You'​re mean
Other​ -I disli​ke your eyela​shes

2) Which​ is your birth​ month​?​
Janua​ry - That night​ you picke​d your nose
Febru​ary -​When you smack​ed my ass
March​ - When your dwarf​ bit me
April​ - When I tripp​ed on peanu​t butte​r
May - When I saw your cat
June - When you put cuffs​ on me
July – When I quote​d Forre​st Gump
Augus​t - When I saw the purpl​e monke​y
Septe​mber - Last year when you peed your pants​
Octob​er - When we skinn​y dippe​d in the batht​ub
Novem​ber - When your dog humpe​d my leg
Decem​ber - When u final​ly chang​ed ur under​wear

3) Which​ food do you prefe​r?​
Tacos​ - When you final​ly chang​ed your under​wear
Lasag​na-​ In your car
Pasta​ - Outsi​de of your offic​e
Hambu​rgers​ - Under​ the bus
Salad​ – As you were eatin​g Kraft​ Dinne​r
Chick​en - In your close​t
Kebab​ - With Jean Chrét​ien
Fish - In a clown​ suit
Sandw​iches​ - At the Elton​ John conce​rt
Pizza​ - At the menta​l hospi​tal
Hot dog - Under​ a stree​t light​
Annat​-​ With Georg​e Bush and Steph​en Harpe​r

4) What'​s the color​ of your socks​?​
Yello​w - Ignor​e
Red - Carve​ your initi​als into
Black​ - Hit on
Blue - Knock​ out
Purpl​e - Pour syrup​ on
White​ - Put whipp​ed cream​ on
Grey - Pull the cloth​es off
Brown​ - bit of
Orang​e - Castr​ate
Pink - Pull the pants​ off of
Baref​oot - Sit on
Other​ - Drive​ over

5) What'​s the color​ of your under​wear?​
Black​ - My boyfr​iend
White​ - My fathe​r
Grey – The Catho​lic Pries​t
Brown​ – The Montr​eal Canad​ian’s​ goali​e
Purpl​e - My corne​d beef hash
Red – My knee caps
Blue - My salt-​beef bucke​t
Yello​w - My illeg​itima​te child​ in Ghana​
Orang​e - My Blink​ 182 cd
Pink – Your ‘My Littl​e Pony’​ colle​ction​
None – My prize​d statu​e of Micha​el Jacks​on in the nude
Other​ -​-​The eleph​ant in the corne​r

6) What do you prefe​r to watch​ on TV?
One Tree Hill - Senil​e
Heroe​s-​ Frost​bitte​n
Lost - High
Simps​ons-​ Cowar​dly
The news - Scarr​ed
Ameri​can Idol - vexed​
Famil​y Guy - Open
Top Model​ - Middl​e-​class​
Other​r - Slutt​y

7) Your mood right​ now?
Happy​ - How awful​ you are
Sad - How borin​g you are
Bored​ - That I get turne​d on only by garba​ge men
Angry​ - That your smell​ makes​ me vomit​
Depre​ssed – That we’re​ relat​ed
Excit​ed - That I may pee my pants​
Nervo​us - The middl​e-​east is plann​ing their​ reven​ge on you
Worri​ed - That your Ford sucks​
Apath​etic - That you need a sex-​chang​e
Asham​ed - That I'm aller​gic to your earlo​bes
Cuddl​y - That Santa​ doesn​'​t exsis​t
Silly​ - That there​ is no solut​ion to you being​ a dumb kid
Other​ - That your drivi​ng sucks​

8) What'​s the color​ of your walls​ in your bedro​om?​
White​ - Your toe ring
Yello​w - The cut toena​ils
Red - Your Hanna​h Monta​nna under​wear
Black​ - Your pet rock
Blue - The couch​ cushi​ons
Green​ - Your car
Orang​e - Your false​ teeth​
Brown​ - Your nose hair clipp​ers
Grey - Our match​ing snoop​y under​wear
Purpl​e - Your old New Kids on the Block​ blank​et
Pink(​ish)​ - Your love lette​rs to me
Other​ - The pictu​res from Vegas​

9) The first​ lette​r of your last name?​
A/B - Your colle​ction​ of butte​rflie​s
C/D - Your photo​ with the moust​ache drawn​ on it
E/F - Your neigh​bour’​s dog
G/H - The oil tank from your car
I/J - Your left ear
K/L - The resul​ts of that blood​-​sampl​e
M/N - Your glass​ eye
O/P - My commo​n sense​
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - My virgi​nity
U/V - Your crimi​nal recor​d
W/X – Your sucid​e note
Y/Z - Your credi​t cards​

10) The last lette​r in your last name?​
A/B - Haven​’t showe​red in a month​
C/D - Will tell the autho​ritie​s that you did not steal​ that whale​ in the back yard
E/F - am bette​r off witho​ut you
G/H – Hate your cooki​ng
I/J – Mocke​d you behin​d your back const​antly​
K/L - Alway​s will remem​ber the pep talks​
M/N - Told in my confe​ssion​ today​ about​ the moose​ poach​ing
O/P - Was inter​viewe​d about​ the car you stole​
Q/R - Alway​s wante​d to break​ your legs
S/T - Get sick when I think​ of your feet
U/V - Will try to forge​t that you broke​ my heart​
W/X - Told my psych​iatri​st about​ the bruis​es
Y/Z – Never​ will forge​t that night​

11) What do you prefe​r to drink​?​
Wine-​ Our frien​dship​ is ruine​d
Soft drink​ – I’m off to lead a new life as a lemon​
Soda – I will haunt​ you when I’m reinc​arnat​ed as an Eskim​o
Milk - The apart​ment build​ing is on fire
Water​ – You shoul​d get that embar​rassi​ng rash check​ed
Cider​– I have a passi​onate​ inter​est for mice
Juice​ – You'​re my best frien​d
Miner​al water​ – I'm scrat​ching​ my butt as you read this
Hot choco​late – Your Cucum​ber-​fetis​hism Is Weird​
Whisk​ey - I love Oprah​ Winfr​ey
Beer – you shoul​d stop picki​ng your nose
Other​ – Thank​s for the Cocai​ne

12) To which​ count​ry would​ you prefe​r to go on a vacat​ion?​
Italy​ - Warm tingl​y sensa​tions​
Austr​alia - Best of luck on the sex chang​e
Franc​e - Love alway​s
Spain​ - With tears​ of sadne​ss
China​ – You make me sick
Germa​ny – Pleas​e don’t​ hurt me
Japan​ - Go milk a cow
Greec​e - Your everl​astin​g enemy​
USA - Greet​ings to your frog Leona​rd
Egypt​ – Kiss my butt
Engla​nd - Go drown​ yours​elf

hrm

I apologize for the lack of posts lately.  I have been up to my eyeballs in projects and deadlines at work and by the time I get home, I don't even think about checking email or blogs.  Honestly, I'm freaking out a little bit on the inside about work.  I have more to be done than I have ever had, I think.  There is so many things that have to be done, like, NOW, and there just aren't enough hours in the day to do it all.  I constantly have this twinge of panic that picks at my stomach when I think about what all I have to do, and the consequences if I don't make it happen.  I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and I just have WAY too much stress in this job.  Way too much put on my plate.  I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of to-do lists and it's impossible for me to climb my way out.  I don't get paid enough for this kind of anxiety.  Every day gets me closer to seriously sitting down and Googling my fingers off to find a new one.  Honestly, the other day I got so overwhelmed, I decided to take a break from what I was doing and do a quick 5 minute search.  I think I found something that sparks my interest...so I may look into that.  I don't know...wish me luck.

In other news, I'm on the third book in the Twilight series, Eclipse, and it is really good so far too.  I'm so happy that I got turned on to these books because they are just so amazingly good.  I'm really glad too that so many other people are getting into them to - I like to be able to talk to people about books.  I know that Austin reads Harry Potter too, and so should the rest of you!  I think if like Twilight, you'd really be into it!  

Alas, I must get back to work now.  I just had to vent a little. 

and so the lion fell in love with the lamb

Oh.my.GAWD.  Like, whoa.  If you haven't read Twilight, please PLEASE do so.  Also, you need to go see the movie.  I don't think I can even put into words how awesome they are.  Edward Cullen...holy crap.  Perfect man.  (cept the fact that he drinks blood.  minor detail)  I never thought I'd say this...but Harry Potter has some stiff competition as my favorite book series.

Whew.  Now that that's out of my system, I'll continue.  I've realized that I never really divulge about the happenings of my life in my blog.  My posts are typically about a specific thing that happened or an idea or something that's been on my mind, etc.  But I think I'm the only one who doesn't really catch anyone up on what's going on with me.  I love hearing about what is going on with everyone else, so maybe I should give that style of blog a whirl.  

So, today I've got to make two appointments.  1) A haircut appointment.  My hair is looking a HOT mess and I simply can't tolerate it any longer.  2) Doctor's appointment.  I believe that I have a condition called GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease).  It's where the sphincter (*giggle*) at the top of your stomach that keeps your stomach acid, well, IN your stomach, doesn't function properly and some of that acid backs up into your esophagus.  Over the years, I've had loads of digestion and stomach issues, the most alarming of which is my "episodes" that I have at night sometimes.  I wake up about an hour after I go to sleep, shaking uncontrollably, my teeth chattering, and I'm so nauseous that I feel like I might die.  Either after a little while of sitting by the toilet or throwing up (whichever comes first) I feel better and can go back to bed (of course feeling like crud in the AM).  This has gotten increasingly worse recently, along with unmistakable heartburn following each episode, as well as heartburn often after eating and laying down.  I read online that these symptoms sound a lot like GERD, so I've deduced that I need to do something about it.  I got kinda nervous because I read (stupid WebMD!!!) that if this goes untreated for long enough, you can develop something where the acid starts to actually burn holes in your esophagus and you could die.  Not good.  So, I'm gonna go talk to the doc and see what he's got to say.  Wish me luck!

Thanksgiving was really good and fun.  I got to go to NC to see my grandma, aunt, uncle and my two adorable cousins Elijah and Finnian.  We had a fabulous dinner in this really cool lodge in Hendersonville overlooking the mountains.  Speaking of mountains, we got a mountain of food on our plate.  Turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans, salad, rolls, and carrot cake.  Whew!!  I thought I would die from how much food I jammed into my stomach.  Alas, I survived.  My mom and I tried to go shopping on Black Friday.  We didn't go out until 9am so the crowd wasn't too bad (all the 5am people had already spent all their money I guess).  We got in on some pretty nice sales and I got some cool stuff.  We didn't stay out too long because my mom didn't sleep well the night before and after walking into Abercrombie to look at something for my brother, I got a raging perfume headache.  That place is ridiculous.  Not only does the heavy scent suffocate you when you walk in, but you are surrounded by naked people.  Okay, not NAKED naked, but pretty close.  There were several men's buttcracks visible.  One time my mom and I went in there and there was a picture of a guy's pelvis with jeans so low you could literally see pubic hair.  WTF?  Since when is that even legal?  

Then Brooke and I hung out on Saturday for her birthday.  Georgia and South Carolina lost.  Boo.  We went shopping.  Better!  We saw Twilight.  AWESOME!!!  So that was fun.  So far, things are pretty dang good if I do say so myself.

bite me

For some reason, I REALLY want to see the movie Twilight. Like, really really want to see it. I've never read the books or anything, so I don't know much about the story. But ever since the trailer came out, I have wanted to see it.



Plus, the lead vampire is smoking hot. That doesn't hurt.

I've recently come to the realization that I am a reality TV junkie. I watch WAY too much of the stuff. And it's way past the whole "I'm not going to watch American Idol this season, just the auditions" and then get sucked in for the whole season. I'm totally addicted to the most ridiculous shows (i.e. currently Paris Hilton's My New BFF, Scream Queens, Rock of Love Charm School, the Pickup Artist 2... the list goes on and on.) I can't help it - I don't know exactly what it is about them. Maybe because the people on there are so crazy and messed up, that it makes me feel better about my own life. Sometimes, I admit, I get embarassed admitting that I watch these shows. I feel like they are sometimes so silly and outlandish, how can I be so crazy about them. Anyone feel me on this?

Aight, gotta get back to work. Seacrest out.

making something out of nothing

It's been about a week since my last post...so I'm a little overdue for another one.  However, I really just don't have much to talk about!  Nothing particularly interesting, nothing funny or unusual.  So I'll do what I can to make this an interesting entry.  

I got some new boots this weekend that have been met with mixed reviews.  But I love them, and that's all that matters.  (Plus they were only $20 at Payless - yay for bargains!)

I also got another new toy this weekend - a new cell phone.  (wewt)  It's the same one that Brooke has...cept mine is lavendar, hers is black.  

I loooooove my new phone!  It's got a little keyboard that pops out to make texting way easier. (Which, if you've ever seen me try texting on a regular phone - you know that I am the slowest texter on the friggin planet, so this is amazing).  I also found out that my dad switched us to unlimited text messages, so I can blissfully text my life away.

YET ANOTHER MOMENT OF RANDOMNESS

This makes me laugh out loud.  In case you can't read what's below the headline, it is a quote saying "we had no idea anyone was buried there."  Wow.

musings of a bored girl

I am taking vacation days both Thursday and Friday of this week.  It's only Tuesday and my mind is already on vacation.  I can't seem to concentrate on anything I need to be concentrating on, just because I am so stoked about my week.  Part one of why I am excited/distracted:

If you know anything about me at all, you know that one of my favorite shows on the friggin planet is So You Think You Can Dance.  And tomorrow, on MY BIRTHDAY nonetheless, Terri and I will be going to the SYTYCD tour in Charlotte!   I'm not sure that it's possible for me to be more excited.  If any of you watched the show this season, there was a totally adorable contestant named Twitch, who I totally wanted to win the show.  (Sadly, he did not, but he came in 2nd, which is pretty great if you ask me.)  Here's a video of him if you missed it:

He did some other dances on the show that were incredible, but I can't post them all.  So just go to YouTube and enjoy.  Notice the shirt he is wearing in the video.  Terri and I are going to make replicas of that t-shirt to wear to the show.  We will look bad-a.

Then, after the show, I will be going to GameStop for the midnight release of the new World of Warcraft expansion and proceeding to play non-stop until my eyes quit on me and my clicking finger develops a callus (okay, not really.  but i will play a lot).  It's gonna be awesome.  For those of you who don't know I play WoW, I have one character at max level and another about to be.  I sooooo wish I had a picture of my character to post, but I don't.  

Yes, I know I am a nerd.

And Sunday, I get to go to a Panthers game!!  Because I am a non-profit employee, I get the special treatment at Sunday's game because one of our main sponsors is taking us.  Yippee!  I get free food and great seats.  As long as the Panthers don't suck, it should be a pretty dang good day.

Great birthday week!  Hope you all have as good of one as I know I will have!

MOMENT OF RANDOMNESS

this is the biggest f'ing cat i have ever seen.

the here and the now

So Brooke and I went to a really amazingly awesome concert tonight here in Rock Hill. My friend Linh has a real passion for music and has a particular talent for bringing in great musical talent for shows. Tonight, in downtown Rock Hill, she put on "An Evening of Gospel, Pop, Soul and Jazz". First off, the Freedom Temple Ministries Praise Team performed. I got goosebumps. Their powerful and soulful music, praising God, was moving and beautiful. It was hard to not get up and start dancing in the isles. The Rock Hill High Gospel Choir performed too, and they were great. Really really talented young people.

I just said "young people." Wow. I must be getting old. Look out...I might start telling stories about when I was a little kid I used to have to walk to school, 3 miles in the snow, with only my stirrup pants, hiking boots and fanny pack to keep me warm.

Back to my story about the concert. The main act tonight was a duo from Nashville called Sam & Ruby. I LOVE them. They are pretty much amazing and I think you should give them a listen and see if you agree. www.myspace.com/samandruby They have a song on the soundtrack to The Secret Life of Bees (It's out right now, but I haven't seen it yet. Ruby mentioned that Alicia Keyes was surprisingly a good actress. Somehow I find that difficult to believe, so I may have to see for myself.) I think these two have a very very bright future. Just thought you should know about them so that if you like them as much as I do, you can enjoy their music.

That is all for now.

I solemnly swear...

...that I will no longer post about this election.

My last post was a very raw, emotional response to the events of the night of November 4, 2008. 

Thus, the warning/disclaimer that I gave at the beginning of the post.  I did not want to fight or argue with anyone about it.  I needed a way to vent the frustrations that were wrapping themselves around my heart so tightly I thought it would burst.  I was not trying to offend anyone, or make them mad or angry or whatever else.  I was just trying to be real and have a last moment to say what I was feeling while I still could.

I've come to realize that posting about political things does nothing but make people bitter, resentful and just plain hateful.  I suppose that's what tends to happen in very emotionally-charged situations.  People get easily offended.  I know I probably do a little easier than I should.  And maybe sometimes I come off a bit belligerent.  I don't mean to - I am usually very unconfrontational.  I've never been this emotional about politics before, so it's all I can do to contain my thoughts.  So, I've decided to just stop.  It's nothing but a waste of breath (or web space in this case!)  

So, I've said all I can/will say.   I'm sick of being disgusted and angry.  I'm tired of hearing that I'm wrong.  I'm tired of feeling that no matter how much I speak my mind, I will always feel that my opinion is an unwelcome one.  I officially consider myself blue in the face.  

My white flag is waving.  I surrender.

the only constant is in this world is change

I'm just going to warn you. You may not care to read this if you are celebrating tonight, November 4. I am utilizing my first amendment right to bitch - be angry, annoyed, disappointed and utterly disgusted. I know it won't change the result of the election, but I need to vent my frustrations. If you don't wanna hear it, then please, don't read the following.

====================================================

I'm not going to lie - I'M PISSED. When Katie Couric on NBC said that Barack Obama had reached the magic number of 270 electoral votes, I honestly felt like I was going to throw up. My heart broke for McCain and Palin, for our country, for the 47% of America who were praying fervently for a miracle tonight. All I hear is that Barack is the first African-American president. That's all. In an instant, it doesn't seem to matter about what he stands for or what he says he will do as president - all that matters is the color of his skin. Although, to be completely honest, for many voters, it seems like the color of his skin was all that ever mattered. It pains me to think that some of those votes were cast for no other reason than race. Since when has someone's race had anything to do with their ability to lead? I believe fully that a black man, or a man/woman of any race can lead the country as well as anyone else. But if it doesn't matter, why must people make that seem like the most important factor?

The entire time leading up to this election, I have felt a horrible, ominous feeling. I believe the promises of "change" that have been dangled in front of us like meat in front of a hungry dog (for a ridiculous and overindulgent $400 million in advertising) are empty and void of any real substance. I have yet to hear any REAL change that is planned, other than the reckless and dangerous immediate removal of troops from Iraq. I feel like the Obama/Biden campaign has feasted on the fear of the American people in these hard times, telling them just what they want to hear without giving any logical arguments to anything. I feel like the American public has had the wool pulled over their eyes quite a bit in this campaign, and I am very scared at the dishonesty of the man we just made president. I am, above all, very afraid and feel as though we need God more than ever to pull us through what lies ahead.

I pray for Obama. That he understands the gravity of what has just happened. That he takes time to come off the elation I know he is experiencing and really grasps that the lives of millions will now depend on decisions he makes. I hope he understands that he cannot do that alone and needs to rely on God to guide him in leading this country. I pray that he is a praying man.

Whew. I feel a little better. Now I'm going to bed. Maybe this is all a bad dream...

Don't say I didn't warn you.

all hallow's eve

So, I didn't know that I would be doing anything on Halloween night until the night before Halloween. Thus, this did not leave me a lot of time to get together a costume, seeing as I had to work all day. So I fervently Googled "last minute/easy halloween costumes" and tons of posts about hundreds of costume ideas. But one in particular stood out to me, mostly because I thought I could pull it off to some degree: a bat costume made from an old black umbrella. Here's what it was supposed to look like:

Looks pretty cool, right? And I just so happened to have a broken black umbrella that I had been too lazy to throw away. So, I did it. I cut it up. And, much to my dismay, it looked completely ghetto (Brooke laughed pretty hard at me). So, I wore my Panthers jersey and went as a football player. All-in-all the costume turned out pretty good for something last minute.

We went over to a friend's house for the evening. A big group of them were going to go out to Charlotte later that night, but Cory had to work in the morning so we couldn't go there. While we were waiting for some more folks to arrive, we watched The Hills Have Eyes....on Telemundo. As it turns out, watching a scary movie with bad Spanish dubbing is HILARIOUS! You should give it a try sometime.

After people went to Charlotte, the remainder of us were left to figure out something to do. After driving around to several local hangouts to find that they were hopelessly dead (no halloween pun intended) and NONE of the places were serving food, someone suggested that Hooters was open late AND served food until closing. JACKPOT. I can honestly say that I had never ever been to Hooters until then. There were not many people in there. One group of older guys came in but were thrown out by a police officer for bringing in their own alcohol. Idiots. This was our waitress' costume:
Honestly though, it was not raunchy at all. And the wings were freaking delicious. If you get a hankerin' for some good wings, I would recommend Hooters.

Random, random night. But very, very fun. Hope all of you had a great night as well!

food for thought

Please watch this...wow.

Barack Obama has recently fallen under scrutiny due to the notion that he is not a natural-born citizen of the US. His grandmother says that she was present in the hospital room in Kenya when Obama was born, which would make him ineligible to be president.

Since this information has come out, the governor of Hawaii has placed a seal on Barack Obama's birth certificate, so that no one but himself or his family can access it. The Kenyan government has also placed a seal upon any documents they possess regarding Obama. Strange, huh?

Please watch the video. Then read my thoughts below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOzFl-Gm_Kc

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SO. It's no secret that I am a McCain supporter. But I don't see how anyone could deny that this is S-H-A-D-Y. Yes, the lawyer in the video could be wrong. He admits that. But WHY is he, along with the Hawaiian and Kenyan governments, hiding information? To me, the simple fact that he is hiding information is enough to send up a ton of red flags. Not saying that all politicians are 100% honest 100% of the time, but if he had nothing to hide, why hide something that would be simply be put to rest by a simple showing of a document?

No matter how you choose to vote, PLEASE make sure you are informed before you make that decision. Please know exactly why you are voting for who you are voting for. I know we hear this a gazillion times a day, but this is the most important election in history. Something that important warrants more research than listening to a few other people's opinions here and there.

T-minus 7 days. Hold on to your butts...it's gonna be a rough week.

this just in...

**IN REFERENCE TO THE POST BELOW**

A friend whom I told about the story below found an article on the Fox news website that explained the girl made up the entire story.  It says she has a history of mental issues and is being charged with misdemeanor filing of a false report.

Here's the link: Fox News

While this story proved to be false, not only does it reinforce my statement that there are freaking nut jobs out there, but it does not take away from the point I was trying to make.  The media is still biased (funny how the only part of this story that was ever reported on was when it came up that she was crazy and made it up - a good 48 hours after the "incident" - now it looks very bad for McCain because she was a campaign volunteer and was obviously trying to pull a stunt to make Obama look bad).

Whatever.  November 5 can't come soon enough.

what's black, white and biased all over?

Last night driving to pick up my friend Terri for dinner, I heard a flash of breaking news story on the radio.  Almost no details were given, just a brief announcement that a very disturbing story had just come into their newsroom.  

The announcer said that a 20-year-old Charlotte woman was mugged and mutilated due to the fact that she had a McCain/Palin bumper sticker on her car.  Her attacker proceeded to carve the letter "B" into her forehead with a knife.  (assuming the "B" stood for "Barack")

That's all he said.  Then a lame commercial for a car dealership came on.  

And that's all I ever heard about this truly frightening story. No details, no explanation of why she was attacked, how they knew it was because of the bumper sticker, her current condition, nor the whereabouts of her attacker.  Just those brief couple of sentences was the only bit of information I got.  But it made a big impression.

So, I hopped on the internet when I could to Google the hell out of it.  I checked every local news station website I could find, including the radio station's site where I heard about the incident. NOTHING.  Not a word.  Anywhere.  You'd think with such a horrific and disturbing crime occurring in our back yard, it would be front page news.  WRONG.

I want to be clear about this.  I am in no way shape or form faulting Barack Obama for this.  Obviously, there are nut cases out there, both liberal and conservative.  (Crazy has no political affiliation.)  No one is responsible for the actions of some psycho except the psycho him (or her) self.  What I am pissed about is that this incident seems to have been swept under the rug. A girl was robbed and MUTILATED because she was exercising her right to free speech.  WHY in the world is this not on the front page of every news website?  (I have not had a chance to look at any of the physical papers, but if it's not on the website, I doubt it's in print.)  I hope and pray that I'm wrong, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this story is no where to be found because of the ridiculous bias of nearly all media outlets.  

I can't help but think that if this had nothing to do with a politics in this really intense time, that it would be a top story.  But it is no secret that 99% of all publications out there are very liberal.  This story looks very very bad for Obama (even though people should realize it has nothing to do with him).  So...if they are decidedly supporting him (whether they admit it or not) then why would they report on something that puts his name in a negative spotlight?

One thing that is a top story on a few websites I looked at:  Today, The New York Times officially offered their endorsement for Obama.  Honestly, I didn't even know they could DO that!  What happened to the idea that journalists are supposed to be objective and fair, presenting the news in an unbiased fashion?  And to think, the media is where the majority of voters get their information on the candidates and their views!  I have no problem with journalists and media executives having their personal political views, and if that's supporting Obama, that's fine.  But they have an obligation to be objective when giving information to the public.  So much for that.  No wonder so many people are confused.  No one is giving us straight facts - it's all slanted BS.

I apologize if this post seems...angry.  It's because I am.  But not at any of you :)

only 2 more days until....

GET EXCITED!!!!!

monument to procrastination

I would just like to point out that this post-it note, reminding myself to make a dentist appointment, has been on my computer monitor, right in front of my face...

...for a full calendar year. 

redonkulus.  

(side note: today, i finally made an appointment, thus i can finally remove the sticky note from my computer.  great success.)

it's the end of the world as we know it

Now, it's no secret that my absolute favoritest (yes, favoritest) book series on the whole planet is Harry Potter.  (I still cling to the hope that one day, J.K. Rowling will break down and write the 10-part continuation of the saga that I KNOW is sitting there in brilliant brain.)  But there is another series that has captured my imagination and heart that I'm not nearly as vocal about as I should be.  

The Left Behind series is amazing.  For Christians and non-Christians alike.  For those of you unfamiliar with the books, it is the fictional account of what things could be like when the not-so-fictional (if you are a Christian) Rapture occurs.  It follows 4 main characters who have been "left behind" after the rapture of all the world's Christians takes place.  They go through a lot in this 12-part series as they battle Satan's forces on earth (i.e. the Anti-christ and his minions) and become unapologetically strong Christian leaders in what is left of the world and society.  Pretty sweet, eh?

What I love about this book is how real they make the end times for the reader.  Revelation is famously vague and prophetic about how the world will end.  It reads more like a science fiction novel than a specific warning about the bad things to come.   Left Behind takes the notions laid out in Revelation and tells a story about how it could happen.  And they follow scripture very closely, so it's pretty accurate.  Obviously, it doesn't claim that this IS the way it will happen, but it does provoke your thinking about the signs the Bible lays out and how they might manifest themselves in real life.  And let me tell you, it's SCARY.  It really makes you want to be dern sure that you are going to heaven so that you can just skip over that whole armaggedon thing.  

I just think everyone should read it - even to just entertain the thoughts of a time when God will outwardly demonstrate his power and it will be impossible to deny his existence - it really is an eye-opener and makes you think.  As exciting as that is...it still makes me a little anxious. Especially how things are looking right now in the world...this whole thing may not be very far away.  I feel like we're on the brink.  I have that nagging restlessness that you feel when you know something big is about to happen, but you just don't know when exactly.  It makes you feel, well, unprepared.  Makes me second-guess myself and my standing with God.  Which is a good thing, because it helps to keep ourselves in check.    

So, PLEASE do yourself a favor and read the books.  I have most of them, so I can lend them to you if you don't have the money to buy them or you've lost/inadvertently destroyed your library card (those little lamenated paper cards NEVER seem to stay in one piece after a few months in your wallet).

peace be with you.

What is art? Are we art? Is art art?

Given that I work in an art gallery, we often hear debates on whether or not a piece of work is considered "art" or not. Each piece that comes through our place is obviously subject to scrutiny by, well everyone, but some works have people honestly questioning its place in an exhibition.

One such debate began last week and resumed this week. We have an affordable art show coming up next month, and we are accepting work to be hung (and sold!) in the show. This show is going to be marketed with an event where people are supposed to show up with their checkbooks ready (its only a week long show and it's going to be relatively inexpensive art, which is a deal not to be passed up as art usually costs a pretty penny). One thing about this show is that the work in it is unjuried (if you are unfamiliar with art jargon, that means that we accept all work submitted, without review by a committee to be accepted). That said, we have LOADS of really accomplished and well-known artists submitting stuff for the show, whose work normally sells for triple or quadruple what they will be charging for this show.

One co-worker and I joked that we could ourselves create a piece of work and submit it to the show. We are by no means "artists" in that we do not regularly create art nor do we consider ourselves particularly artistically talented. But then we got to talking, and we said we could at least try to make something, and if we thought it was decent, submit it to the show. I mean, why not right? One of our other co-workers, however, said she wouldn't do that because she was not an artist and thought it would be wrong to submit something she had done as legitimate art. She said she would feel terrible if someone paid money for her work. However, the first co-worker argued that it didn't matter who did it, that if someone liked the work enough to buy it, then there was nothing wrong with that. After some back and forth banter, they could not come to a consensus.

SO, I thought I would take a poll. Do you think it would be wrong to submit a piece of work to this show, if you do not consider yourself an "artist"? Knowing that there is a good chance that someone would buy it, take it home, and hang it in their house. If you were a person coming to a show to buy some affordable art, would you be mad/upset/disappointed if what you purchased was done by someone who had never done a serious painting before in their life?

Please, please, please be honest. I don't know exactly what my opinion is yet, thus my posing the question to you all. I would really appreciate and value any thoughts you have on this.

Discuss!

dolla dolla billz ya'll

So today, my bank, Wachovia, was bought out buy Citigroup due to this crap-filled, swirling toilet bowl we call an economy. All this has got me thinking about money...and how really stupid it actually is. At the moment it's causing more stress for folks than uncontrollable gas on a first date. And I hate it.

Nothing stinks more than having to worry about money, and when I started thinking about it today, it really makes no sense to me. I mean, especially with us turning into a cashless society, everything we depend on to live is some number in a computer. That's it. Most of the money that I own is in my bank account, which is in reality, just a number in some database somewhere. One typo, one zero could make or break my life. That's a scary scary thought. And it makes me feel really stupid for caring so much about it. But we're forced to because everyone else does. And that ain't gonna change.

I'm not sure if any of this made much sense - all I know is that I'm just tired of money bringing me down. Boycott!

(ok, can't really boycott money. but it's the thought that counts)

1001 ways to...

...have a threesome all by yourself. Say WHAT?

While in Target tonight, Brooke and I had an interesting (and quite hilarious) conversation that I thought I would share. Passing by the magazine stand on the way to the checkout, I decide I want some reading material. Soo....I ask Brooke's advice...Cosmo or Glamour? She immediately picks Glamour, pointing out that Cosmo always has some ridiculous article explaining things like the 143 different ways you can -ahem- "please yourself" and other things of that nature. This made me laugh out loud.

If you have ever read a Cosmo, you know just what we are talking about. Whether you like the articles or not - you have to admit - many of them are comically outlandish. Like the cover you see to the left - "Dirty Sexy Sex." .....the title says plenty. It probably explains, in detail, ways you can max out a booty session, like putting peanut butter on your eyelashes or lubing yourself with grape juice. In all seriousness, I read one article about "solo sex" and one reader, anonymous of course, admitted to masterbating using the arm of her living room rocking chair. I don't even know how that is logistically possible. Moreover, I just wonder who actually has a crazy sex life like the one portrayed in these articles. Does anyone ACTUALLY freeze their condoms or mount mirrors in 360 degrees around their bed? I'm not entirely sure I wanna know...

-tootles

to blog, or not to blog...

So, all this blogging by my friends has got me thinkin....(dangerous, I know)...maybe I should join in the fun! So (drum roll)......here's my blog! Get excited.

I've tried this a couple of times in the past, successfully posted maybe 10 threads, then sadly the blog was lost and forgotten forever, never to be updated again. I'm not entirely sure why I have commitment issues when it comes to blogs/diaries, but it has been a problem I've never overcome. Well, I intend to change that, once and for all. Wish me luck!

Stay tuned...this could get interesting.