Time After Time

For Your Shopping Pleasure

2009-11-18T16:51:00.002-05:00

Wow! Thanksgiving is a week away and it's blowing my mind. It feels like just yesterday that I was laying at the bottom of the steps at the beach writhing in pain (awesome). I have been completely sucked into the holiday marketing schemes and have been itching to pull out my Christmas decorations since before Halloween. I have issues. My Christmas shopping is nowhere close to finished but help is on it's way. Multiple sites have started up with all sorts of previews for Black Friday. iBlackFriday.com BlackFriday.net and TheBlackFriday.com are three of the big ones. iBlackFriday even lets you compile a list of all the deals you want to take advantage of. Hopefully these sites will help you save some cash while doing your holiday shopping. Enjoy!

VMAs

2009-09-13T21:28:00.003-04:00

Yes I'm 28, and on this Sunday night I am watching the VMAs. I actually tuned in to watch the Micheal Jackson tribute that Janet organize but kept it on as I was doing the dishes. The first award of the night was for best female video (or something like that). T Swift won. I think the award should have gone to Beyonce but T Swift was extremely gracious when she accepted the award and I was happy for her and then it happened...T Swift was in the middle of her acceptance speech and before you know it, Kanye is on stage. He had grabbed a mic and was kind of apologizing to T Swift for ruining her minute and started declaring that Beyonce's video was one of the best of all time and that she should have won. He went on for a bit and then took his seat. Through the whole thing Beyonce was clearly embarrassed and was trying to discourage his behavior. Poor T Swift didn't even know what to do. MTV cut to their next segment. T Swift performed shortly there after and was a true professional. She took care of business and seemed pretty confident and for a girl who is still in her teens. I think that's pretty impressive. I think Beyonce should have said something nice about T Swift after her performance but on the other hand, she isn't the one who behaved poorly.
Update: In true ladylike fashion, Beyonce gave T Swift her time to shine. Beyonce won the last award of the night and as she accepted her award mentioned what a big moment it was for her to be at the VMAs when she was 17. For that reason she wanted to give T Swift her moment. It was sweet.

Kanye just added this to his list of stupid things he's done. He is so talented and could make s strong name for himself based on his talent alone. For some reason he feels the need to run his mouth in inappropriate ways. The sad part is that his message is lost in the commotion of his childish behavior. It kind of reminds me of this article I just read about another very talented man who should just keep his mouth shut and let his talent speak for him. Give us credit guys. We're smart. We'll figure it out. You don't need to rub our face in it in such a childish way.

Start out with a bang

2009-08-01T23:06:00.004-04:00

As soon as we arrived to the house at Hilton Head I took a small load of stuff into the house and walked around to see where we would be staying for the week. It's a really nice house. I went outside to help unload the car. The rain had stopped just as we were pulling in to Palmetto Dunes. I made it down the first step and then my feet slipped out from under me and down I went. I ended up hitting my back right on the edge of the last step. The Pam rushed to my side and tried to help. I kept screaming "LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" It hurt way to bad to be touched. I stayed there at the bottom of the steps for a solid 10 minutes while everyone else unloaded the car and tried to hide how much they were worrying about me. After my outburst people were steering clear. Eventually they helped me up and put me on the couch with an ice pack. I spent the rest of the day moving slowly and avoiding steps (my nemesis). I think this has killed any hope of working out while I'm at the beach. Hopefully it won't cut into my tanning time.

PS. I took a picture so you could see the scrape and swelling but then decided I wasn't ok sharing my back fat with the world.

A Very Good Place to Start

2009-07-17T22:56:00.003-04:00

We're talking about the beginning kids. I know it's been eons since I have blogged. Oh well. This is the beginning of my amazing London trip that involved sickness, weddings and livin' it up in the city.

I woke up the morning I was supposed to leave for London with an aching body. It took me forever to get out of bed. Once out of bed I could tell that I had chills and decided to take my temperature. The thermometer read 101 degrees and my first thought was "oh no!!! They aren't going to let me in the country!!!" I took a handful of ibuprofen and finished packing. After a bit the chills weren't as bad and I decided that I would definitely go. There was no way I could bail out on my trip.

Maddalena and Brian were sweet enough to drive me to Reagan so I didn't have to mess with the metro. It was all jammed up since the day before there was a major accident that killed seven people. We left the house at noon since my flight was leaving at 3:30pm. Apparently you don't really need to get to the airport three hours early for an international flight when the first leg is not an international airport. I sat for hours. Luckily, I had a little business to take care of while I waited.

Charlotte was the next stop on my journey to London. The ibuprofen had worn off by the time I landed. I realized I had packed the pills I brought with me in the luggage I checked. As I updated The Pam on my health status I feverishly (haha true in so many ways) searched the news stands for packets of Advil. After I took care of that business I was off to the gate. A long line at the gate had already formed when I arrived. This made sense. I only had about a 45 minute layover in Charlotte. I soon found out that this line was for the meal vouchers that they were giving passengers on my flight since it was delayed for three hours due to engine trouble. I was texting Will while I waited giving him updates. He and Miriam had planned to pick me up at 8am London time when I was supposed to land. They had plans to go sight seeing at 11am and I didn't want to upset their plans.

We boarded the plane and pulled away from the gate and then...pulled back to the gate. Oh yes, another delay. This time there was trouble with the generator. That meant no air while we waited for them to fix the problem. We weren't really getting updates. We just sat there on the hot plane thinking we would be leaving in a few minutes. Three hours later with only one water service, the plane finally took off. After sitting on the plane for 11 hours I was so happy to land at Gatwick. To find out if someone was there to meet me, stay tuned.

Princess of Power

2009-04-13T16:09:00.002-04:00

While following links from people's gchat status, I ended up over at Dork Yearbook. I thought I was a pretty cool kid. According to this post...not so much. I'm sure there is a picture of me somewhere but for now we can just pretend that this is me and the little girl. Shouldn't she be in diapers?

What to do when it snows

2009-03-03T20:58:00.003-05:00

I checked the weather on Sunday morning and saw that the forecast was calling for 6-10 inches. Miriam, Will and I went to the store to stock up on the essentials. Snow was on it's way. It's what you do.

While we were out I picked up ingredients for butternut squash soup and lamb stew. While at Whole Foods something caught my eye. Key Limes. It's not often that you find key limes. I couldn't resist. I picked up a bag of them and decided I would find some use for them.

The snow came. We had 5-8" depending on where you measured in the yard. This meant I was working from home. After answering a large batch of emails I looked through some recipes and decided that I would attempt a key lime pie. The recipe I settled on called for a graham cracker crust but my graham crackers were stale. I made a pie crust and juiced all 25 key limes. That took a while. It was totally worth it. I love key lime pie but had never had home made. The taste was truly fresh and more tart than mass produced pies. This recipe may have to go in the permanent recipe book. Et Viola. The finished product.

Oscar Winners Don't Eat This

2009-03-03T20:17:00.005-05:00

I had some people over to watch the Oscars. I served heavy hors d'oeuvres that everyone pitched in to put together. I wanted to try something new for dessert and came across this recipe. The detail sparked my interest. I won't lie, it took a couple trips to a couple different stores to find all the ingredients. The recipe was so detailed I felt I needed to follow it exactly (which really isn't my style). I sifted all the dry ingedients.Chopped the 85% cocoa bar that was in my Valentine's care package. Then I folded it into the batter. That's right. I'm still using Meaghan's mixer. At this rate she may never get it back. This was the densest cupcake batter I've ever made. It was closer to brownie batter. There was enough batter to fill 15 cups. The recipe calls for the cupcakes to be baked for 30 minutes but I think that was too long.

While the cupcakes baked, I fried the bacon, saved the drippings and browned the butter. That lovely combo went into the fridge to chill. I made sure my dinner guests didn't see the congealed concoction when I pulled it out and started adding all the other ingredients to make the crazy and yet delicious icing. If you take a look at all that goes into these cupcakes, you will see that these are not pre-Oscar diet approved. My guests were tentative yet intrigued. Once they gave them a try, the cupcakes were a hit!

Holly Hobbie: Bedroom Curtains

2009-02-11T20:54:00.005-05:00

The creative bug has taken a nibble. I have started to try my hand at sewing again. A set of curtains had caught my eye at Target. I'm such a sucker for their home decor section. When I saw they were on sale for about $10 I figured I would buy one panel and try my hand at tailoring them to my needs. Since I'm a dungeon dweller, I don't have full windows and floor length panels really wouldn't suit my needs. Over the weekend I compared the panel I bought to the curtains already in my bedroom and developed a plan. I spread the panel out on my bed, measured and cut the fabric.
I ripped seams, pinned and sewed the panels and ended up with two curtains for my two bedrooms windows.
The fit in perfectly with my green and pink room. What's up next? Who knows?

I Belong to the Christian Bale Cult

2009-01-30T14:37:00.003-05:00

I was watching a piece on Christian Bale the other nigh on the Biography Chanel. It was saying how until Batman, Christian Bale had a cult following but wasn't quite at superstar level. Who knew? I thought everyone had fallen in love with Christian Bale in the early nineties while watching him sing and dance in Newsies.
No? Really? You mean there are people out there who haven't even seen Newsies? (cough...Lis)
Now that he has starred in Batman, Christian Bale is all the rage. Rising to popularity with the likes of George Clooney and Kermit the Frog. Kermit the Frog you say? That's right. Take a look at this montage that someone decided to put up on the interwebs.
Man I love the interwebs. Sigh.

First Day of Class

2009-01-14T15:30:00.002-05:00

I just got off the phone with my sister. She was semi panicked because her class was starting in ten minutes. Somewhere on campus in the freezing cold, she was on the phone with me trying to figure out where her class was. We went through two different log in processes and finally just looked the class up on the directory of classes. The class was a religious class on pilgrimages. I decided she was just getting in to character for the class.

The semi panic in her voice reminded me of my first day of high school. We had just moved back to Virginia and I knew next to no one. Our house was being built and we were living in a cramped apartment until it was finished. My mom thought it would be a good idea to drive us to what would be our bus stop and have us catch the bus there as we would for the following years. Clearly my mother doesn't love me or she would have just driven us to school even though we were going to three different schools at that point. For some reason or another the bus was late making me late to school and my first class. Panicked I tried to find my first class. Eventually I did. As I entered the classroom my teacher proceeded to berate me about my tardiness. It felt like eons before I could get the word out to tell her the bus was late. I was mortified. I looked like an idiot in front of a class full of people who I didn't know. Was this going to be how the rest of my high school experience would be. Nope. I ended up being head cheerleader and having the time of my life in high school. Let's hope the end result for the girl's last semester at school in the same!

Dance Class...Not So Much

2008-12-03T09:47:00.002-05:00

For a couple of months now I have really been wanting to go to this cardio class at my gym. The class is called Cardio Video Dance. The brief description on the website says " A low-impact workout with the music and choreography from popular music dance videos adapted for the fitness environment." I took a class like this at the gym at Tech and it was awesome. We learned dance routines from music videos like Janet Jackson and Britney Spears. Lately I have been going to the gym at lunch more often and the 6:30pm class schedule just wasn't working out for me.

Last night my schedule finally worked out so I could make it to class. I walked into the studio and was the only person there. Once other girl walked in tentatively. The instructor walked in and as she was setting up the music encouraged a very tall man to join us. She said the class would be really fun and described it as a Jane Fonda-esque workout. She said she figured "if it worked for you mother is will work for you."

With that I turned and looked at her and cocked my head to the side inquisitively. She went on to say that the gym didn't consult her before they put the description of the class on the website. That's when I decided to speak up. I told her that after reading the description I came in fully anticipating her teaching us the moves to Beyonce's latest music video. She chuckled and said that would be fun but she had no clue how to teach that.

I would have walked out but she then started talking to the guy she had roped in to taking the class. He was saying how he hadn't worked out in two years. She asked him about his Olympic rings tattoo. He said he had danced in the opening ceremonies years ago. After that, I was hooked. We started chatting and then the class began. His comments are what carried me through. He was hilarious asking us why we weren't huffing and puffing like he was. He even knew that the UCA on my shorts stood for Universal Cheerleaders Association. I'm happy he was there. The class was extremely boring and I would have left early had I not had my own personal entertainer right beside me. When I head to the gym today I plan to tell them that they need to change the name and description on the website. I don't really plan on taking the class again even though I did break a sweat.

I'm Alive

2008-12-03T09:46:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't blogged in forever. It is what it is. Get over it.

Good Night Gracie

2008-09-19T10:22:00.002-04:00

Not Good Nite Gracie. Even as I type that my spell check says it's spelled incorrectly. It drives me insane when people use nite instead of night. One of the blogs I read has been using it quite prevalently lately. I consulted my trusty English guru. She agreed with me but then sent me this. Damn Webster. I still don't agree. I am now starting a revolution. I will eliminate the use of nite and change the world for the better. Plans for world domination to come.

Political Family

2008-09-18T22:08:00.006-04:00

While my sister was in Charlottesville listening to Michelle Obama speak my cousin and aunt were in Wooster listening to Joe Biden. Below is the video of Cherie and Joe. I'll let her intro set it all up.
"Billy got me behind the scenes at the Biden Rally at the College of Wooster. The staff gave me a sign and a flag. The college kids gave me a flag and the Education Union gave me a shirt. I couldn't hold them all up at the same time. Mom would be so mad to see me chewing the gum! oh well! type in Joe Biden, Wooster Ohio. It will give you a few laughs from me but will give some good information from the Obama/Biden campaign!
Love ya', Mean it!"
I made it easy for everyone and just posted the video here. You can't miss her with the chewing gum mentioned above. Love her to death but Grandma Pat is throwing a fit somewhere because of that damn gum.

Here is Bill with Biden.

I'm Fired Up

2008-09-08T15:37:00.004-04:00

If I only owned this shirt. I would be sporting it at this very moment. I received an email this afternoon letting me know that my team would be performing at a McCain/Palin rally this week. The rally is being held at the school and they are expected to be there to represent their school. That's crap! This is a televised event. They will be expected to cheer when the candidates are announced and cheer during key points of their speeches. I tried to find out if we were told or asked to participate in this rally and what we would do if an athlete felt strongly enough not to participate (we have a strict participation policy). The only answer I received was that they would be there to represent the school and not there to support any specific candidate. Yes, I am passionate about this because I think that Palin is the devil, would you want her to come anywhere near you? What fires me up the most is that there is not choice in the matter. This is huge. Not only are they not allowed to vote, but now they are being forced to smile, look pretty and cheer for someone who may go against everything they belive in. Even if this was an Obama rally, I would want them to have a choice in whether or not they participated in a rally.

I don't really know what to do right now. My first reaction is to get angry, scream, protest. I know this may not be the best way to handle the situation. I want a positive, intelligent way to react. I am in a position of authority and have to be careful how I handle this. My own agenda should not interfere with what is in the best interest of the kids. This is a great learning opportunity but I fear that it will end up being a gross example of exploitation.

Some ideas that have been suggested are:

Wearing Obama patches on their bloomers
Wearing "Yes We Can" hair ribbons
Doing the routine to the "Yes We Can" song

Keep them coming. Leave your best ideas in the comments section.

Update: The rally has been moved from the school. The community was in such an uproar over a partisan event being held during school hours that they were able to use their voice and get the rally moved. Love it!

Review: Starbucks Vivanno

2008-07-24T14:58:00.002-04:00

Today, after the gym, I decided to grab lunch. When I was in Charlotte, the Starbucks barista (who annoyingly kept calling me sweetie) told me they were coming out with a new drink called a Vivanno. It has fruit, fruit juice and protein in it. I told him that I was concerned about the amount of sugar. He whipped out the nutritional information and told me that there were only 5 grams of sugar. I was extremely excited. As many of you may know, I've been on "The Plan" in preparation for Holly's wedding. I'm always looking for new menu items to add to "The Plan."

I ordered the orange mango banana flavor. The barista that served me my drink was very friendly and told me to have a fabulous day. Upon first sip, I felt that there wasn't much flavor. By now I'm halfway through and can really taste the banana but only get a hint of orange and mango. I was pleasantly surprised that it was not as gritty as I had expected it to be. Grittiness is a common problem when using protein powder. As I continued to slurp down my banana smoothie I pulled up the Starbucks website to get the rest of the nutritional info on my lunch. To my shock and dismay I found out that there were not 5 grams of sugar in my smoothie. THERE WERE 32!!!!! I should have known better than to trust someone who called me sweetie. I guess the Orange Mango Banana Vivanno (what a mouthful) will not be added to the plan any time soon. Today may have to be a two a day work out day. Ugh.

If you were a cake. What type of cake would you be?

2008-07-22T15:31:00.005-04:00

Maybe I should rephrase the question. Who would make the scariest cake person? Would you really want to eat a cake that looked like someone you knew? PLEASE comment.

For more fun filled cakes, check out Cake Wrecks.

I <3 NKOTB

2008-05-16T10:45:00.002-04:00

I am not a morning person at all. This morning I was wide awake before my alarm went off. I suspect it was in anticipation. New Kids On The Block performed on the Today Show. They had been promoting it all week. Actually even longer. Fans began to show up for the concert on Wednesday. It was crazy but great. I totally wanted to make the trip up to New York to be part of the fun.
I got ready this morning quicker than I have in a while. In true TV fashion, they kept teasing that the New Kids were up next. Up next really meant wait through commercials and segments until finally it was time for them to perform. It was almost time for me to leave for work. I called Miriam and told her that I was ready to go but that I really wanted to watch NKOTB perform. Both my doors were open so that she could walk right in and enjoy the fun. I didn't need any interruptions once they started to perform. After waiting a half an hour, they finally performed. They did a medley of their hits. It was great. Joey wore is hat with the top cut out. They did their signature dance moves. Donny sang Hangin' Tough (but didn't wear overalls). It was great. It totally squealed with each new song. I am including the video so that you too can have a NKOTB flashback and make your Friday a bit more enjoyable.

Feeling Ancient

2008-05-08T15:29:00.002-04:00

My sister just IMed me and told me that one of her friends just got engaged. A little bit of background information: My sister is six years younger than me, as is her friend. I have known this girl since she was very young. She was one of the first kids that I coached. I helped her older sister make the cheerleading squad...after I graduated. This has nothing to do with the fact that I am no where close to the relationship status that this girl is. I'm completely fine with that. It's just crazy to think that this girl, who is finishing up her junior year of college this week, is engaged. She's a super sweet girl and I'm sure everything is going to be great. I'm just in shock.

Congrats Katie and Jamin!

Welcome Home Bartie!

2008-04-25T16:21:00.002-04:00

I went home for yet another fun filled Easter Holiday. Fun time with the fam you know. My sister brought two friends home with her from Mr. Jefferson's Finishing School. For Sha, it was her first Easter. We knew we had to do things up right for her.

Upon arrival my dad told us how there were six foot inflatable bunnies at the grocery store and that he had sent the Pam into a tissey when he inquired about taking one home. The Pam won and there were no bunnies greeting us when we arrived. My mom and my aunt when to pick out my cousin at to join in the fun. As soon as they left the house we looked at each other and knew the challenge was on. We were going to try and run to the store, buy the bunny, get back to the house and set it up before the Pam returned. My dad said he had never seen a pack of girls move so quickly to get out of the house. We all piled into the van and made a mad dash for the grocery store. On the drive there, we texted my cousin to let her know she needed to stall to give us a bit more time. As soon as we walked in, one of the check-out clerks spotted us and recognized my dad. She asked "you're back for the bunny aren't you?" We let out a confirmation cheer. She immediately stopped helping the person in line and got on the phone to call for a manager. The manager came and there was quite a furry or getting pricing and dismantling the bunny. We caused quite a scene. I had to tell a small child to back off when he tried to take our bunny. He was coming home with us. As the bunny deflated, one girl started to cry. "You've ruined it" she cried. We just laughed as we knew this would make our Easter. Once he was fully deflated we rushed to the van and back to the house. It was all about team work. I went and found the extension chord. The girls untangled the tethering chords. Dad supervised and help drive the steaks into the ground. Once inflated, we all rushed back into the house and waited by the windows, giddy with excitement. In minutes we found just the reaction we were looking for. The car pulled up with the Pam squealing that she couldn't believe us. It was great. The neighbors were slowing down and stopping by to talk to us. Sha suggested we give him a good Christian name. We settled on Bartholomew (Bartie for short) and the rest is history.

The girls with Bartie.

The Pam came to love Bartie.

We dyed 18 hardboiled eggs, 12 raw eggs and six hollow eggs that we termed "Forever Eggs." It was Sha's first Easter. We had to let her dye as many as she wanted.

All the girls with their "Forever Eggs."

Homeless

2008-03-25T11:19:00.003-04:00

After a brief three month break, my landlord decided to put the house back on the market. Today he informed me that he is now going to try to sell the house empty (save for the Hermit moving up to the fourth floor). I have until May 1 to vacate my current residence. I plan on spending the rest of the day searching for a place to live. Thanks to those of you who have offered your help. If anyone has any leads, I would greatly appreciate it.

Red Meat: My New Nemesis

2008-03-18T22:57:00.004-04:00

Tonight I ate 4 to 6 oz. of red meat and I think I'm going to die. I feel so sick. Now, I have not eaten red meat (other than a bite of lamb a week and a half ago) since the first of the year. I'm sure this has a lot to do with it. My suggestion to any vegetarians out there, don't eat it. It's not worth it. My system is just not set up to process red meat and I am suffering the consequences.

*Disclaimer: The rich and decadent parts of my meal may or may not have had anything to do with this sick feeling. The cream soup, three desserts nor the three types of cake on top of that have nothing to do with my stomach doing flips.

Stupid American

2008-02-13T10:27:00.002-05:00

Yes. That is what people who watch Brit TV will be saying when they see my interview. I was in the Dunkin this morning (sadly not yesterday morning when Obama was there). I was bundling back up when a man in a delightful British accents asked me if I voted yesterday. Not knowing what I had been through yesterday I answered him with a smile and said yes. He then asked if I would mind telling him who I voted for. At that point I noticed the camera crew and figured that this may turn into an interview. I told him that I had voted for Obama. He proceeded to ask permission to tape me giving my answer and ask some follow up questions. It is very unlike me to accept to do on camera interview. I believe it was the combination of the lovely accent and the attractive crew that led me to accept.

And now for the stupid American part. The camera started to roll and I was asked if I voted yesterday and who I voted for. I delivered my answer just as before. Then I was asked why I voted the way I did. My answer was something like this:
"I voted for Obama because I agree with his message of change. I'm ready for someone new in the White House and feel that he would be a good fit."
Not a horrible answer but honestly, I sounded like I was reading a message off a poster. A product of mass commercialism and marketing, all I could provide was a tag line. I didn't back up my answer with reasons such as I agree with his stance on the environment, the war or women's rights. No, I just said I want change and I want it now. Damn Brits and their devious accents. I was putty in that man's hand. Inarticulate putty. I will spend the rest of my day wallowing in my inarticulate delivery.

Risking My Life to Excersize My Right

2008-02-12T22:17:00.002-05:00

...to VOTE!!! Ok ok...I'm being dramatic. I arrived at my house around 6:15pm. I decided that I was going to take the risk and head out to vote. I knew that I would be guilt stricken if I didn't. You don't have a right to complain if you don't vote and really, many have suffered much worse to make sure I have my right to vote. I headed out and took things slow. Traffic was bad but I arrived before 7pm and there was no line to vote. After voting and receiving my "I voted in Alexandria" sticker I got back in to my car ready for another caution venture out on the road. I figured traffic would have died down and that I would just have to worry about the icy weather. I along with many others pulled into the parking lot that was the DC metro area roadways. Honestly, I spent more of my time in neutral than actually running the motor and moving while I made my way home.

As time passed I decided to stop by Giant to pick up a few things I needed. I figured it would be a nice break from inching through traffic. Again, my naivety got the best of me. I walked out of Giant to see that the traffic/parking situation had not changed. With a sigh I got into my car and turned the key. The sound that came next was the tick tick tick that only means that your battery has absolutely no life in it. After looking up and shouting "why me?" I made my way back into Giant. I explained to the woman at customer service (multiple times) that my battery was dead, I had the cables and needed a jump. She asked a group of four male employees if any of them could help. In classic young male style, they all stared blankly and one by one stated that they didn't know how to jump a car. With a sigh I explained that I knew how to do it. All I really needed was a function car. A young female cashier ended up pulling her car in front of mine and providing me with just the type of car I needed...a running one. I hooked up the cables and started my car on the first try. I thanked her profusely and she went back to her cashier duties. I pulled in to my garage right after 8:30pm. So much for my evening. I hope everyone voted and made it home safely.

Rock the Vote

2008-02-10T22:22:00.000-05:00

Some of you may not realize that I am a mom. My title is Mom #2. My sister is probably the only child I will ever have. I'm perfectly fine with that. I have changed her diapers, taught her to drive and cried at her graduation. Now, I would like to encourage you to vote for her. I'm sure this won't be the last time I post this message but this is the first. She is running for Vice President of Administration at UVA. Watch her announcement speech here.

They also have a commercial. I'm so proud!

Don't forget to vote.

My So Called Blog

2008-01-24T15:23:00.000-05:00

Honestly, I think this needs to be the new title of my blog. Not much exciting is going on in my life and the only thing I feel the need to blog about it the DVD series I'm watching.

With the help of many people, I finally purchased my own DVD series of My So Called Life. Last night, after I finished my homework (yes, I had homework), I proceeded to watch three episodes. My life is so sad. I have noticed that they are doing a really good job of repeating the kids clothes as if they are in the real world where you have your favorite outfit and are not super rich and can wear an outfit only once. As I was examining the repetitive outfits, one caught my eye. It's black leggings with red plaid boxer shorts over top of them. All of the sudden I remember having a similar outfit. The leggings were black but the boxer shorts were purple plaid. Angela wears hers with boots and scrunchy socks. I wore mine with Keds and scrunchy socks. I remember this so vividly because it was a major outfit. Part of it's major status was the major fight my parents and I got into when I tried to leave the house is said outfit. It began with my dad letting me know that there was no way I was leaving the house with underwear on the outside of my clothes. Followed by my reply that it wasn't a big deal because they were button fly. Shouting and possibly tears ensued. If there were tears, I'd just like to let you know that I am a much prettier crier than Claire Danes. My memory is a bit fuzzy as to how I convinced them to let me wear the outfit, but eventually they conceded. Man I wish I had a picture of that.

P.S. I still heart Jordan Catalano!

My So Called Angst

2007-12-04T19:27:00.000-05:00

Some of you reading this should just put your hands in the air now...you've heard this one. I LOVE My So Called Life. It was on during my angsty teenage years. I'm serious. I was 13. It was a rough time. I would rush home from cheerleading practice to watch Angela and her ugly crying face and to swoon over Jared Leto. I was devastated when they canceled it. The other night decided to watch some TV online and went onto ABC's site. Much to my surprise and delight, I found My So Called Life in the list of show titles. I didn't believe it at first. I clicked on the link and saw it was true. The pilot is the only episode up there but it says Fridays Online. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they add a new episode each week. One of the girls who has her hand currently raised told me that she found the DVDs (which previously were impossible to find) on Amazon. I went on the site tonight and they do have the DVDs in stock. The are double the price that the girl with her hand raised found but it may just be worth it. So now I'm signing off to watch the first of what I hope will be the full run of My So Called Life. It's a bright spot in my dark day.

Update: I just watched it and it was quite a time. The memories came back like a tidal wave. I totally heart Jordan Catalano!

Avast, Pirates!

2007-10-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

Pirates pirates everywhere. It seems like everywhere I turn, I am encountered by pirates. No, it's not just because Halloween is a week and a half away. Whether it's people talking like pirates, people dressed up as pirates or checking out the plethora of pirate themed apparel that Bethany and I saw in Europe, pirates are everywhere. When I went to see Maroon 5, my boyfriend led us all in a pirate "yo ho" sing along. Last night I watched the West Wing episode where Zoey is inducted into the DAR and one of the women brings up Abbey being related to a pirate. I'm sure there are far more instances that I am overlooking. What it boils down to is that Johnny Depp is taking over the world as Captain Jack Sparrow and I'm ok with that.

Distracted

2007-10-17T22:51:00.000-04:00

I don't want to provide too many details because I don't want to incriminate myself further. After leaving the school tonight, I was pulled over for speeding. The nice officer decided not to charge me with the moving violation. Instead he charged me with failure to notify the DMV of an address change. He told me that because I was polite, honest and had a good driving record he wanted to reward my good behavior. Not really sure how all of this is going to end up. I have already changed my address with the DMV online. Their may be updates later after I talk to my people.

Hello. We are the Hives from Sweeden.

2007-10-09T22:30:00.000-04:00

Yes. Yes they are. The Hives were rockin' on Monday night. Their intense energy and pride for their homeland took over JPJ. Lead singer Pelle Almqvist strutted across the stage and into the crowd multiple times. There was a Mick Jagger-esque quality to it all. The whole band hammed it up for the crowd while being quite stylish. They were sporting matching black suits with white trim and white shoes. I didn't even stop to think that they were breaking the no white shoes after Labor Day rule. They were that rockin'. The whole band seemed to really enjoy being in Virginia and putting on a great show for us. The best part was when Pelle invited people to get out of their seats and approach the stage during Walk Idiot Walk. Sterling and I looked at each other and with that decided to take the risk to descend from row R in section 104 down to the floor. As we got to the floor the usher was not paying attention so we walked on by and up to the right of one of the stage where no one was standing. Sterling shares my love of dance and we danced our way up to the rail right in front of the stage. Jumping up and down and rocking out we caught the attention of guitarist Nicholaus Arson. That was great as it was. Just Sterling and I dancing around. Then Pelle came over, two feet away from us, and sang a whole verse just to us. Just to us people. Just to us. It was great. We felt like rock stars. It's just a shame we weren't allowed to remain there for Maroon 5.

My Boys

2007-10-05T12:20:00.000-04:00

I know by posting this I am being completely unoriginal. I felt the need to share this with those who have yet to enjoy it. It's hilarious! The best part, both my boys are in it. What a nice treat a few days before I get to see one in person.

Friday = Drama

2007-09-28T22:48:00.000-04:00

The Pam is a liar. I really can not fathom that she has seen people light up a smoke at a football game in the past decade. A high school football game to be clear. I can't believe she has observed such behavior because one it's not allowed and two because of what I witnesses tonight. The event I speak of is five cops removing one crack head cheer mom that decided she would light up a smoke in front of her daughter after we had already told her she couldn't, two quarters earlier. It would be one thing if an administrator strolled over and asked her to put it out but no. Five, yes five, police officers approached her at a hurried pace and removed her from the game. This was a big deal. Big deal. That is why, I believe, the Pam is a liar.

Why!?!?!?!?!

2007-09-21T22:52:00.000-04:00

The water at my house is off again! I thought I was finished with all my utility woes, but no. I called the water company and found out that they are installing a valve near my house and the water is going to be out for about 10 hours. Really? 10 hours and no warning? What kind of show are we running here people. Do they think that everyone is out partying it up on Friday night so they won't be bothered by the lack of no water? I went out to the movies. I have an early morning tomorrow. I would enjoy water all night long. People. You are killing me here. I pay for water. I like water. I do not choose to live in the desert.

The West Wing is Like Crack

2007-08-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

I have been without cable for the last two weeks. Wes moved out and had the cable cut off. I am in the process of trying to schedule an appointment for Comcast to come out and turn it back on. I have been fairly busy so living without cable has only been a mild challenge. My lovely aunt has loaned my family the first two seasons of the West Wing. I have been watching one or two episodes a night. The problem is, I'm finished with season two. That's right. Mrs. Landingham is dead, the tropical storm has hit and in his own sly way, President Bartlet has let us know that he has decided to run for a second term. I need more. I need to see the staff reaction. I need to hear him say he is running for a second term. I NEED MORE!!!!!!! Last night I had the shakes when I went to bed. I'm going through severe withdraw. I realize that no one should be addicted to a TV show in this way but I can't help it. The West Wing in like crack and I am willing to beg, barter and steal to get another fix. Anything to buy time until I can get a hold of the next season over Labor Day weekend. Yes, my life is sad.

Update: Lis is the best and found someone with the third season. A big thanks to Claire for lending it to me.

Ealy Morning Antics

2007-07-21T01:10:00.000-04:00

Nope. This post isn't about doing Lis' hair or making up a dance routine at 8am. This post is about the morning that I almost called Meaghan to send Dave over but instead called Mark (and not the Hermit).

At about 12:30am on Saturday, I awoke to glass shattering. I looked out onto the street and saw nothing. After about 15 minutes of sparatic glass shattering, I had convinced myself that someone was breaking the windows on the first floor of my town house. What do you do when you think someone is breaking into your house? You call 911. And that is exactly what I did. The woman at Alexandria 911 asked me to state my emergency. I gave her my name and address (almost giving her my parents street address) and told her that I heard glass shattering and thought someone was breaking into my house. She said that the police had already been called and were on their way. Once I'm off the phone I realize that I'm still trapped in my room in a house that I believe is being broken in to. I call Wes thinking he is upstairs and will come down and save me. He doesn't answer so I leave a message where I tell him what is going on and break into tears. I believe Caroline Kennedy would cry in this situation as well. I proceed to call my other roommate. I dial the only Mark in my cell phone only to hear the lovely voice of Mark Charles answer. I want to die. At first I'm a bit stunned and can only say "Mark?" Mark confirms. "Yes, Kelly. What's wrong?" I sniff and respond "wait, Mark Charles?" Yes. I actually said that. Mark confirms and asks me again if I'm ok. My mind blanks and I totally lie to him and tell him I am fine. I told him that I was trying to get a hold of my roommate and accidentally called him. After I apologize for calling him at 12:45 in the morning I reassure him that I am fine. Mark tells me to call if I need anything and I thank him and get off the phone. Now I really want to die.

As I'm fully realizing what just happened Wes calls. He tells me that I shouldn't worry. That it's our fairly new neighbors next door and that they do this every weekend. He isn't at the house but he lets me know I should call him if I need help. Not 100% convinced, I find my pepper spray (thanks Dad) and listen at my door. I can't hear anything so I slowly open it and tip toe accross the hall to Mark's door. I knock a few times and there is no answer. I return to my room locking the door. I can see from my bedroom window that the cops have now arrived. The do not immediately rush to my house so this makes me feel better. They walk next door and then around back. I am now 99% convinced that my house is not being broken in to.

Again I gather my courage, pepper spray in hand, and head down stairs to find out what is happening at the back of the house. More cop cars are parked behind the house and I can kind of see them talking to what appears to be the next door neighbors. While downstairs, I check on my first floor to make sure there is in fact no broken windows. All the windows were in tact.

I return to my room wired. Really it's no change from the rest of the day, but it is 1am by this point. I decide to text Number 4. I know I may be risking interrupting precious Harry Potter time but I feel like she will understand, She was my next emergency call anyway. She has a lovely husband who I knew would swoop in to my rescue if asked. My text was a bit cryptic but I made sure to let her know I was ok incase she was unable to call. Being the lovely friend that she is, she gave me a call. I proceeded to tell her the long, embarrassing, scary story. She was very supportive and we had a good laugh over the whole thing.

After I got off the phone with Number 4 I went to go and talk to the cops hanging outside my house. As soon as I opened the door the told me everything was find in a condescending tone. No guns were pulled on me but the tone was unnecessary. I explained that I was one of the people that had called 911 and had thought that someone was breaking in to my house. I asked if it was really just the neighbors. The cops said they were unable to tell me who it was but there was someone in the neighborhood breaking beer bottles. I asked "are they still roaming the neighborhood?" They scoffed and said no, that there was a fight and it was being taken care of. I again returned to my bedroom and decided to post because I'm still too wired to sleep.

So here are the lessons I have learned from this mornings antics:
1. I am not as calm and collected in an emergency as I had thought I would be.
2. Always store all of your roommates phone numbers in your phone and label them well.
3. Have an emergency plan for what to do if someone is breaking in to your house.
4. If you are driving by my house in the near future, be careful of all the glass in front of and behind the house.

Fabulous Fanny Packs

2007-07-02T16:52:00.000-04:00

Fanny packs have been in my life for quite some time. The Pam is quite the fan. She is a mom, so that is ok. Recent events have brought the fanny pack back into my life. As a tribute, I would like to post this lovely pic of myself at the Sugar Bowl. Please don't focus on my face. I look like someone should be holding my arms down so I don't hurt myself. Focus on the fanny pack. The matching fanny packs and all their glory.

The Long Wait

2007-06-18T10:43:00.000-04:00

Before I left town for the weekend I needed to stop by CVS and pick up a prescription. The pharmacist told me it would take 20 minutes. An hour and a half later, I left CVS with my prescription. What took so long is the boring part of the story. In my hour in a half at CVS, I did a great deal of people watching. All of the condoms are placed directly in front of the pharmacy counter. It is hilarious to watch people try to be nonchalant about getting condoms. Really, there should be nothing to be embarrassed about. You are having sex. Good for you. You are being safe with your sex. Bonus points! The best thing about all these embarrassed people picking up their contraceptives is that they are in this special case. It's not really locked but as the directions state, you must push the button in front of the product you would like, open the tray and remove your item. If these steps are not followed in that specific order (which they rarely were) an announcement comes over the loud speaker. "Manager needed to assist customer in family planning." This announcement repeats until a manager resets the system. The added attention increased the squirming and was extremely amusing.

Security had to be called twice in my hour and a half of waiting. The first time was for a man who was screaming about customer service and his constitutional rights to share his opinion on CVS' customer service. The second time was about a half hour later. I heard the manager being paged to aisle 2. "Manager to aisle 2, manager to aisle 2." Directly followed by "security to aisle 2, security to aisle 2." Then the shouting started. The woman in aisle 2 screamed "oh no you didn't just call security on me." I was sitting at the end of aisle 10 and could hear her clear as day. The shouting continued and at one point I caught a glimpse of the manager with his hand on her shoulders trying to guide her out of the store. Of course, she was not happy with this. There was more shouting and she started throwing things. At one point the woman reentered the store. In the shuffle of trying to get her out again a baby was hit and the baby started wailing. To add to the mayhem, while all of this was going on the automated announcement kept repeating "Manager needed to assist customer in family planning." The manager was busy trying to remove the screaming, baby-hitting woman from the store and was unable to assist the guy in family planning. I think his face turned 8 shades of red. It was great and really helped me make it through my long wait. While CVS did take forever to fill my prescription, they did a great job entertaining me while I waited.

Workin' for the Weekend

2007-06-08T16:15:00.001-04:00

I'm about to head out for the weekend. Big plans are ahead of me. Hon Fest, Family Summit, Sterling leaving. Big plans people. This evening we have a bit of fun in store. I'm heading to the mall to kill some time (like I'm 13) and then I'm off to meet my sister for a movie and maybe some CakeLove. We already agreed this morning that dinner would be movie theater popcorn. Bethany is coming along and does not agree with the plan. She has decided that she is going to pop in next door and bring in a taco with her to the movie. A TACO!!! Can you believe it? Have you ever heard of such a thing? I just don't know what to say. Feel free to discuss.

A Gosling We Will Go

2007-06-06T10:09:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I made my way over to Dirksen Senate Building for a very special cause, celebrity stalking/ENOUGH campaign. Ryan Gosling and Ben Mackenzie are hot. I mean, there is a terrible crisis happening in Northern Uganda and I wanted to gather more information on what I could do to help. A horrific struggle has been going on for 20 years including displacement, murders (almost genocide), and child soldiers. The real travesty was that I didn't actually get to get close enough to speak to either of them. I had to duck out early for a date. It was a win/win situation really.
I was very interested in what all the speakers had to say. Some horrible things are going on in Uganda and, with some help, hopefully the issues can be resolved and the healing process can begin. It was a bit troubling/unconvincing how the speakers thought those in the audience should help. The wanted everyone to write letters to the White House and talk to their government officials and get them excited about that cause. It's lovely in theory but that really isn't the way to get things done. I agreed most with Melissa Fitzgerald. She said that you need to use the power of your own vote and vote for people who have the same views and passions as you. Vote these people into office so then they can vote for what you believe in. For a more detailed account on what was discussed and just another point of view, check out Bethany's take on it all.
So in summary. Ryan Gosling...

...hot.
Ben Mackenzie...

...hot but unclear as to why he was there.
A much better venture in celebrity stalking than at Thanksgiving.

Birthday Blog (almost)

2007-05-31T10:49:00.000-04:00

As I walked towards my office door today I saw that it was closed and had the lovely addition of a big yellow bow. I opened my door to find a cheerful office covered in yellow and pink ribbon and streamers. There were sunflowers, gerbera daisies and cupcakes! It was great. The cupcakes were delicious. My girls are wonderful. I have a personal policy that no one should have to work on their birthday. My boss understands my policy and so I will be spending tomorrow poolside. It was an amazing pre-birthday celebration. Thanks ladies.

Goodbye Girls

2007-05-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

Gilmore Girls was the origination of so many things for me. Watching TV over the phone with my sister, strangers mistaking my name "oh yes, like the show," and most and notably and importantly, Slutty Thursdays. I could go on forever about how I love the witty banter and pop culture references. Unfortunately the show could not do the same. As we were walking through the zoo, Sterling asked me how we are going to related every moment of our lives now that all our shows have been cancelled. First it was Friends, then Gilmore Girls, now we are left with nothing. It's like we will have to live our own lives. Who wants to do that? My latest theory is that nothing in life is truly real. Everything is something we saw on TV or just a figment of our imagination.

Walk Left, Stand Right

2007-05-04T10:09:00.000-04:00

To increase my cardio, I have been trying to make the effort to walk up the escalator when riding the metro. During the morning commute this is rarely a problem. Everyone is just pushing along, trying to get to work. This morning I could see that I had a clear path up the escalator, when and old man cut me off as I was getting on and decided to stand on the left side. That's right. The left side. As I have witnessed from the masses of tourists, not everyone knows the Walk Left Stand Right rule. I don't really understand why people don't get this. It's not like there aren't escalators all over the country. I can feel the commuters behind me encroaching. I politely say "excuse me." No response. I say again "excuse me sir." The man turns around, looks at me and then turn back. I turn around to the people who are buzzing behind me and they are all giving me looks like "what is this guy's deal?!!?!" I can feel the pressure. I decide that I'm going for it. I again say "excuse me sir." The old man turns around and looks at me not saying anything. I then say "sir, you have to stand on the right." With that he moved and I could hear everyone behind me simultaneously sigh in relief. When I reached the top I felt kind of bad. It wasn't like I yelled at this man, but still. I'm sure karma is going to bite me big on this one.

Top 5: Boston

2007-04-25T21:43:00.001-04:00

The girls and I headed up to the home of the Red Sox to cheer on our favorite bride to be and get a taste of the town (ie Dunkin' Donuts). We had an amazing time. I could definitely see myself living in Boston. Keeping with my traveling tradition, I will now list my Boston Top 5.

1. Everything about the Gay/DeLuca Wedding, including my very special duties.
2. Touring the town with my dear friend, Steven Tyler.
3. Flower boxes, small doors and purple door knobs on Beacon Hill.
4. Dinner with Paul and Stef in the North End.
5. Vanilla pancakes at the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro.

Check out the pics of the wedding and my tour of Boston.

A Sad Sad Day

2007-04-16T13:19:00.000-04:00

As many of you may know, there was a horrific shooting this morning at my alma mater. 22 are dead as well as the shooter(the AP is reporting that the death count is 31). My phone has been ringing off the hook with people making sure that I have heard the news. I know a hand full of kids who are there and am trying to make sure that they are all alright.

I can't imagine being a freshman at Tech this year. The first day of school was cancelled because a shooter was on the loose. This was extremely troubling to me because he shot a cop on the trail that one of my best friends walks her dog on. Now, this. I am interested to see what the transfer rate is at the end of this semester. This is a very sad day. My thoughts are with the families of those affected by this travesty.

The Back Breakdown

2007-04-12T19:44:00.000-04:00

Without detailing all that happened today, I would just like to thank all my girls that put up with my breakdown when I was having major back trouble and a minor breakdown today. They helped me out and even put up with my stubborn streak when I refused to go home. After taking a nap at Miriam's place, I feel much better and headed to bed soon. I may even make a doctor's appointment tomorrow. At the end of the day things turned out fine. Lis found the "stolen" shower gift, Meaghan enjoyed her shower and I am able to get out of my chair. Again, thanks ladies and goodnight.

Getting in to Trouble While Mom is Away

2007-04-09T10:21:00.000-04:00

...formerly known as: This is Your Brain on Easter.

The Pam was out of town for a "girls weekend" over Easter. We really only have one tradition for Easter, dying the dog's tail pink after we are done with the eggs.

As we sat down to dye eggs on a snowy Saturday in April my dad asked "why don't people dye raw eggs?" We sat there and thought a bit. The Pam wasn't home to make deviled eggs so we would really just be wasting the eggs if we hard boiled them. The Star Wars dye kit that we had picked up for my dad had those egg wraps that you have to submerge in hot water. We decided the older eggs would be used for those and we would then throw them out. The new eggs would be placed in cool water with the colored dye so we could use them for cooking later. My dad had one more egg to shrink wrap and found that his water had cooled off too much. He decided to place the egg with the wrap in the mug with water and put it in the microwave. As we sat there dying eggs, I heard a funny noise and told my dad to go and check on his egg. As soon as he got up we heard an explosion in the microwave. Oh yes, the wrap had constricted and crushed the egg shell. Since the egg was raw, is splattered all over the inside of the microwave. The Pam would not have been pleased.

After we cleaned up the mess and finished dying the eggs it was time to move on to our Easter tradition of dying the dog. Dying the dog originated from everyone thinking that my sisters beagle, Jade, was a boy. She is a girl. So on Easter we make it very clear by dying her tail pink. This year we got a bit carried away and dyed her paws purple as well.

Now don't get all PETA crazy on me. The dye is perfectly safe and she really doesn't have a problem with it. We feed her treats while we are holding her tail (or paws) in the dye. One lesson we have learned though is that it is not an indoor activity. The Pam would not have been pleased.

After we cleaned up our mess, we decided to make our gourmet pizza. It was going to be great. Whole wheat crust, orange peppers, pesto, ricotta, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and onions. It turned out well except for the crust. My dad had a bit of trouble spreading it out so the crust ended up being thicker than a biscuit. The Pam would not have been pleased.

Finally, Sterling and I stayed up late watching TV on my computer. It was very late and we decided to go to bed. Sterling's comforter was in the dryer and she went to get it out so she wouldn't wake up a frozen popsicle of her former self. As she was pulling it out of the dryer her hand slipped and she ended up punching herself in the mouth and giving herself a nice fat lip. The Pam would not have been pleased.

All in all it was a good Easter. The Pam came home Sunday afternoon and we had Easter dinner waiting for her...she was pleased.
The end.

Top 5: Rome

2007-04-04T13:54:00.000-04:00

1. Trevi Fountain Roman Holiday style
2. Palentine Hill (see self portrait)
3. Bethany in a bib
4. Opening restaurants night after night.
5. Italian lessons: Bacio means kiss, ciao means we're friends...

Check out all my Rome pictures here.

Top 5: Paris

2007-03-29T13:18:00.000-04:00

1. Watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle!
2. Momartre district. (neighborhood of our hotel)
3. Lunch of bagette et fromage every day.
4. Getting to brush up on my Francais.
5. Louvre at night. (and everything in it)

Check out my Paris set of photos here.

Virginia is for Lovers

2007-03-19T11:44:00.000-04:00

It's a great lesson that JT taught me this weekend. Unfortunately it was not a lesson taught in person. Last night was amazing! Pink opened up the show. Her voice is so strong. She's super goofy and seems like someone you could be friends with. She is totally jacked. We later found out this is probably because she can do this. I know you can't really tell, but the whole time she was up there she was belting it out. She didn't miss a beat.

After Pink "got the party started" JT came on in all his yummy goodness. He opened up letting us know how happy he was to be back in the south and that he had heard that Virginia is for lovers. That got the crowd all fired up. Then made the mistake of mentioning that he was from Tennessee. For those of you who may not be aware, UVA lost to Tennessee earlier that day. The crowd erupted in a wave of boos. It was hilarious. He got a kick out of it as well. JT proceeded to put on an amazing show. He danced all over the stage. He also played the piano, guitar and (my favorite) the keytar. Yes, the most amazing instrument out there, the keytar. He started Dick in a Box but stopped shy of the chorus saying that there were youngins in the audience. Timbaland was there and jammed out during intermission as well as a few songs with JT. Sterling and I squealed like little girls when JT played some of his older songs. We only sat down for one slow song that we didn't know the words to. Our section wasn't very enthusiastic. Sterling and I made up for it by dancing the night away and singing at the top of our lungs. All in all it was amazing. I'm totally on a JT high today and (big shock) not getting anything done. Thanks to Sterling for the best Christmas present ever!

London Top 5

2007-03-13T20:17:00.000-04:00

We watched High Fidelity Twice on our European vacation. This inspired many a Top 5 list. Now, I will share a few with you.

London Top 5
1. First passport stamp ever
2. Double decker bus tour (48 hour pass)
3. Accent of Chinese restaurant manager (The best British accent ever)
4. Telling the time via Big Ben (Bethany has trouble reading her watch)
5. Getting to Trafalgar Square before the masses arrived for Chinese New Year

Check out the full London photo set here.

A Mean Hand Dealt By Mother Nature

2007-03-02T14:32:00.000-05:00

**If you don't enjoy mean hearted rants, you should not proceed to read this post."**

David Beckham is unquestionably a beautiful man. Women from all over the world lust after him. It is as if Mother Nature really took her time to create him and all his gloriousness. This is why I was quite perplexed to read that this girl is his younger sister.

After a brief period of research, I was unable to find much information on Joanne other than this. She is Becks' sister and she just turned 25. It appears they have the same mother, Sandra. The fact that they both have the last name of Beckham, brings me to the conclusion that they have the same father as well.

So let's revisit the acts of Mother Nature. Did she feel that she was a bit too generous in the form of David, so she had to even out the playing field with Joanne? Was she just having a bad day on Joanne's birthday? Is Joanne just inactive and David has had a lot of work done? I would have never guess that Joanne was Becks' sister. This girl looks like she would be Owen Wilson's sister, not Becks'.

I guess I just have to accept the fact that siblings do not always look alike. Come to think of it, my brother and I look nothing alike. Still, her life has to suck. Can you imagine what it has to be like to grow up in his shadow looking like that when he looks the way he does? You know that Posh is making non-witty, ugly jokes behind her back constantly. I would say that maybe Joanne is really smart, or successful in other areas of her life, but I would have found some mention of it on Google. So for now, I will just feel bad for her...and possibly email Bethany about working on getting LA Galaxy tickets.

Back in the States

2007-02-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

Wow! I am wiped out. It's about 5:30pm in DC and 11:30pm in Rome (the city in which my day originated). I have been in three different countries today and totally feel like that was possible. I can feel my brain is turning to mush already. Instead of posting nonsense, I'll just post when I am feeling a bit more lucid. Can't wait to share all the details and pictures with everyone.

Buono Sera

2007-02-24T13:00:00.000-05:00

Good evening from Rome. I apologize to those of you who have been checking for updates. Bethany and I have been busy taking in all the sites. Stay tuned for posts regarding our adventures when we return to the states.

For now,
Cioa!

PS. We saw Britney shaving her head on MTV news in France but the commentary was in German. We just now figured out what was going on. We were super concerned.

A Lunchtime Cheer

2007-02-13T13:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is only my third post and I already have a cheer. It goes a little something like this...
We're the lunch crew
Couldn't be prouder
If you're gonna shush us
We'll shout a little louder!

There are no motions yet, but I was all ready to bust this bad boy out at lunch today. The "girls" and I were out to lunch today at our local diner. We were all just chatting it up and inevidably all busted out in laughter when one of the men sitting behind us shushed us. Really. He literally shushed us. At first we didn't know what was going on. We weren't being that loud. We weren't even being vulger. We were just a table of ladies having a good laugh over lunch. As I turn around (my back was to the shusher) I saw that it was a table of middle-aged men having lunch. I can only assume that we interupted some important congressional meeting that would result in world peace. Unfortunately for the world, our laughter has ended any hope at world peace. Beauty queens everywhere may now shed a single tear. If you don't believe my "world peace" theory, you may want to roll with my alternate discrimination theory. These men were discriminating against us due to age and sex. Yes we are young and yes were are ladies. Really, whatever theory you believe in, it's a diner people; it's not the boardroom. We should be allowed to have a good laugh from time to time.

Countdown

2007-02-09T21:16:00.000-05:00

I think Scarlett said it best "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." Well, I feel like that's how I have been approaching all things Europe over the past few days. Researching details like where to eat or shop are getting me all worked up. We won't even talk about the flight. Pretty much, because I can't. I just can't. It may cause a panic attack. Instead, I have been taking a few deep breaths and moving on with my day. This of course results in me being off track for planning which causes that feeling of my heart being in my throat. Due to that feeling, I have watched way too much TV, started a blog and cleaned my house from top to bottom.

My well-travelled friend Meaghan is coming over this weekend to help me pack. She will keep me on track. I have faith in her. I'm sure that I will get my act together when it comes down to the wire, but until then, I'll think about it tomorrow.

Yes, it's true...

2007-02-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

I am now blogging. I figured this was the best time to start blogging. I'm about to embark on my first European vacation so there is qutie a bit to discuss. Stay tuned for updates on my trip and life thereafter.