Praise God

I know it's been over 2 months since I've updated this thing, but I thought this was worthwhile.

Last Friday, my family left for vacation to New Jersey. About 5 hours into the trip in Ohio, they ran into some traffic from an accident on the interstate and were at a standstill. Apparently a semi behind them didn't notice that everyone was stopped and plowed right into the back of our van. The van was totaled, but miraculously no one was hurt. Since they were driving 16 hours, they took the middle seat out for the TV and the xbox, and Jack and Amy were sitting in the very back seat. My brother blacked out for about 5 seconds, the TV flew around and broke, and everyone has a sore neck. But everyone walked away! Praise God.

There were so many things I've thought about since I heard this. Usually I'm in the back seat by myself on family vacations, but work didn't allow me to go this year. Usually Ross has his bike strapped to the back of the van (which would cause even more damage), but this year he took it apart and put it inside.

We talked about suffering a couple weeks ago at church. People ask, "why does God allow people to suffer?," and "why doesn't God keep things from happening?" One of the things that stuck with me the most was wisdom from a 12-year-old girl in the youth group, who said, "God doesn't stop everything from happening, but think about all the things He does stop that you don't even realize."

God was definitely watching over my family last Friday. He is good!

You won't regret watching this.

Meadowbrook

Ok I'm done with my "I hate blogs" hissy fit and will post something that's actually real. Josh and I went to Meadowbrook Park tonight for a little 2 mile walk. That place is great. Plus it has a pretty big proposal record (Ty & Karrie and Stew & Jenna), so it can't be too shabby (no, I did not get engaged). Here are some pics...enjoy!

The naked lady.
I stared at her butt (which I was quite jealous of, I might add).


Josh and the giant, limestone rabbit.


Awww...
Note the giant rabbit behind us...holler.

I'm Over It

The blog, that is.

American Idol

Tonight's show is not even over, but here is what will happen for the rest of the series:

- Brooke is going home. As you know, I loved her at one point, but she's run her course. She has nothing exciting to bring and can't take criticism. She's done. Sorry, Sarah.

- Syesha vs. Jason will be a big week. If Syesha wins, talent will overcome popularity. If Jason wins, well it's all because of his fans. And I am one of them...let's hope for that.

- And finally, everyone knows the top 2 will be David Cook vs. David Archuleta. Cook will take it all. Who ever saw that coming at the beginning of the show? Not me.

The end. Go Idol.

Bridesmaid Makeover!

With yesterday being the official TWO MONTH mark until Ali's wedding (ahhh can you freaking believe it?!), I decided it's time for me to start my bridesmaid makeover. This includes (but isn't limited to...ha) the following:

- Tanning
- Whitestrips
- Weights
- Running (I started an 8-week plan on runnersworld.com. Let's see how that goes...)

Holy crap! I need to hold myself accountable and I probably need other people to hold me accountable also because, well, we all know I'm not so good at the self discipline.

Ok now let me show you how much of a dork I am. Here's a picture of me taken today. Pale skin, not-as-vibrant-as-I-want teeth and chubby cheeks. I'll take one at the end of the 8 weeks to see if I was able to keep that discipline. Please don't judge my hair in this pic...I just got back from a long walk. And everyone always has ugly hair in their "before" pictures, right?

Leilani

I'm sorry about all the YouTube videos lately but this one is NECESSARY. This girl is so freaking cute! If you don't have the patience to watch the entire thing, please just make it through the first minute and 30 seconds. Love her.

[Sidenote: check out this girl's whole collection (hilarious, especially if you can tolerate country) at www.youtube.com/cpnmary.]

I miss college.

Lately I've been missing college a lot and not really diggin the whole "REAL WORLD." I've been looking at pictures from senior year and getting so sad that all my friends don't live in the same town, yet alone the same HOUSE (no offense to Linds...she knows what I mean). La Hacienda was amazing! And now we're all growing up and out on our own (4 out of 8 of the girls are now engaged...weird). Anyway, check out the video if you dare. To any of those who have seen this and DON'T think it's funny, I'm sorry. To those of you who haven't seen it, enjoy. And to the ladies of La Hacienda, I love you!

Postcards from Yo Momma

You may have noticed the link on my page to a blog called "Postcards from Yo Momma." Very briefly, this is the most fantastic website I've ever seen. The description at the top of the page says it best:

...............................................................................................

Does your mom still have an AOL account? Does she email you her random, yet charming, thoughts on life and love? Does she wish you called more often?*

Send us your postcards:
postcardsfromyomomma@gmail.com

*Yes, they're real!

...............................................................................................

You can tell by reading the posts that all the emails are real. And they are stinkin' hilarious. Whoever owns the site is very quick in posting emails and updates it several times a day. My mom (yeah Libby!) and Anna's mom (yeah Susan!) have each made an appearance twice, which makes it even funnier (if you want to know which ones they are, ask me). It's fun to see how long it takes before your mom's email gets posted for the world to see. Libby's first appearance? 20 minutes.

Check it out: www.postcardsfromyomomma.com.

P.S.: I do not take credit for finding this site. Anna found it in an article on USA Today. Diablo Cody (the writer of Juno!) has emailed a couple from her own mom. So cool!

Goodbye Ham and Bacon!

Last night we had to say farewell to some morbidly obese pigs that my friend Aaron (Roberta's boyfriend) has been keeping at his farm. He named the pigs Ham and Bacon so he wouldn't get too attached (hilarious) and then cooked them yesterday. They threw a big party in their barn with several hundred people, complete with barbequed PORK sandwiches, beer and beanbags. Josh's brother and sister-in-law came up for the day and went with us. It was a great time and Ham and Bacon were absolutely delicious. RIP.

Here's a picture of Roberta and I after a few drinks. Pay no attention to the fact that I look like a HUGE goober.

Oh Oh We Need Each Other

I'm sure most of you have heard about the killing in Iowa City on Monday (and if you haven't then you just aren't up to date on your current events and I won't judge). To sum it up, a man killed his wife and their 4 children with "blunt force trauma" to the head, most likely caused by a baseball bat. After calling 911, he then (purposely) crashed his van on the side of I-80 and died. (Full story and picture on CNN.)

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!? Things like this are so horrifying that I can't even begin to fathom in my head what is going on in their minds. So this guy got caught up in a brutal embezzlement scandal. SO WHAT. While I obviously don't know the situation, what in his head would EVER go off and say "I think it's perfectly acceptable to kill my family today."

I get it that people are messed up...I get it that people don't feel like they have friends or that there's no way out. But that's the part that's so sad. There ARE people out there that want to help and there ARE people out there that love them. It's selfish to think that they are alone and can figure it all out on their own. NOTHING is done without the love from God and the people He puts in your life to help you pull through.

And after that little soapbox, here's part of a song I love. When I get mad at people (which is a lot) I need to realize that my friends and family will always be there. And for that I'm VERY grateful.

((We Need Each Other - Sanctus Real))

I think I caught a glimpse of
Life without friends
Bitter, empty, hollow, dark and lonely
We never meant to hurt each other
So can’t we trust again
And take it as a chance
To keep on growing

I don’t know why it doesn’t come easy
But I know that we could be happy
If we’d only learn to love

Happy Birthday to Josh! Happy Easter to Jesus!

This weekend was busy. Here's a recap:

Josh's birthday was on Friday so I had a big day planned for us. This being our first birthday as a couple, I wanted to make it special (insert "awww" here), so I invited all of his best friends and their wives to TGI Friday's for dinner (he has been talking about the Jack Daniels steak for about 3 straight weeks). We had about 15 people there with friends from Rockford, Peoria and Indianapolis, and we even got to see one of our friend's baby for the first time. Afterwards we came back to my apartment (sans Lindsay who went home for Spring Break...lame) to play games and eat a strawberry Cold Stone ice cream cake. I know...best girlfriend award goes to me.

Saturday and Sunday were even crazier because we went to Josh's parents house for birthday/Easter festivities. Josh's 2 brothers and their ladies came up and we played Wii all day on Saturday which was amazing, but tiring. I'm never one for a big cardio workout and anyone who has played the Wii knows it is one. Anyway, Mario and Sonic Olympics is where it's at (see Exhibit A below). You can do everything from skeet shooting to hammer throwing to fencing. Awesome. And to top it off, that night his mom made us steak and potatoes and lots of good food (I won't hold it against her that she made fruit pies).


((Exhibit A))

And now for Easter. Jesus is risen, yay! I went to church with Josh's fam and we headed to his aunt's house for lunch. I seriously bet I gained 10 pounds this weekend but it was so good. My mom called me around 10pm and said their Easter was "dull" since I wasn't there. It's kind of weird...the first Easter I haven't spent with my own family. But it was worth it (another "awww").

Happy (Belated) Easter to all!

Longest Post Ever

I've discovered I'm not very good at blogging. I'm not married so I can't write about my husband or my house that I own. I don't have any kids so I can't just post pictures of them and talk about how cute they are. I don't have a super cool job (I do have a job, just not a super cool one), so I can't even write about that. And I don't want to keep writing about my favorite TV shows because that makes me very lame. So what do I do?

In an effort to make my blog a little more interesting, I've decided to write about the two things that take up a majority of my day: my boyfriend and my mind.

First things first: Josh is my boyfriend and he's hot. He's "mad" at me for not yet mentioning him since I've had this blog, so I thought I should give it a shot. I don't want to get all mushy, gushy, vomit-inducing, boyfriend/girlfriend talk, so I won't. But just know that he is wonderful. In fact, he turns 24 on Friday so I'm sure you'll be getting some birthday posts very soon. Here's a picture of the crazy guy out at Curtis Orchard last fall. (It was a little bright out, don't judge.)



And now a peek into my mind. I should warn you, I'm a freak...but here goes. I'm a hypochondriac and think on a daily basis that I have everything from a brain aneurysm to a bloodclot (aka deep vein thrombosis) to a stomach ulcer caused by H. Pylori bacteria. I'm 100% convinced that my medical records are a few inches thick and full of my dictations and notes about my insanity. I once went to McKinley (the University's medical center for students) and told the doctor I wasn't peeing enough. Here's how the appointment went:

Me: I'm not peeing enough, I think something is wrong with me.
Doc: Are you drinking enough water?
Me: Well, no I don't drink that much water. And I just recently gave up pop.
Doc: I think you should just drink more water and you'll find that you will start urinating more often.
Me: But what about kidney problems? Is that a possibility?
Doc: Well it's a possibility, but I highly doubt that's why you can't go.
Me: Are you sure you don't want to do a blood test then? I have time...we can do a blood test.
Doc: I mean I could do one but I really don't think that's necessary. You really should just drink more water and come back if you're still having problems.
Me: Ok...

...and I left. All diseases aside, I'm extremely OCD and want everything to be straight and in line, documents to be typo-less with proper spacing and margins, and the volume on a TV or radio to be on an even number. I know I need help, but I think it's part of my charm.

So that's me. If any of that seemed random and you wondered why I told you everything about myself, keep this in mind...I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BLOG.

The end.

RIP Teal Beast

After weeks of deliberation, I bought a new car! Josh and I test-drove it in Bloomington a few weeks ago and it took me a long time to finally make a decision (let's just forget the fact that I almost peed my pants/vomited when I finally said yes). It's a 2005 Pontiac G6 and full of fantastic features that I'm not used to, aka keyless entry and a sunroof. Yes, I'm now a high roller.



And for the sake of comparison, here's the old one. I sold it to a girl from my church so I know it's in good hands, but I'm still kind of sad that it's gone. But then I think about the fact that it's TEAL and I get over it quickly. Rest in peace, beast.



Which brings me to my final point. My new car needs a name. It's kind of a pearly white, therefore the logical suggestion would be Pearl; HOWEVER, I don't like the predictable. Any thoughts?

All for now.

My birthday is June 19...

...in case anyone was wondering what to get me. And also I'm obsessed with the song.



On a slightly similar note, I might finally be getting Adobe Creative Suite! I asked for the money for my birthday, but I can get a 75% discount if I order through U of I. Not that any of this means anything to you people, but I can finally start doing my graphic design stuff at home now...and on a more regular basis. And who knows, maybe even start doing some freelance on the side AND GET PAID FOR IT. We all know I love to get paid with food, but sometimes that just doesn't cut it (believe it or not).

But in case you were wondering, it will take a lottery win for me to be able to purchase a new Mac and the software. I just like the commercial.

Addicted to Idol

So I was getting crap for not updating this blog enough, and I agree...I need to step up my game. That being said, I feel it would be great to talk about this season's love: AMERICAN IDOL. I watched it back when it was Kelly & Justin and Clay & Ruben, but then there was about a 5 year break where I didn't really care (Taylor Hicks = nasty, prematurely gray-haired man with acid washed jeans = not good TV). This year I've been watching since the auditions and I'm totally hooked. Here are my favorites:

Jason Castro
Sounds a bit like Jack Johnson with his guitar and his unique, fantastic voice. LOVE him.


David Archuleta
This kid is freaking 17! He has a completely mature voice and his version of John Lennon's "Imagine" was amazing. All the judges say he will win, and last week he had 63% of the total votes. YouTube him...he's a good one.


Brooke White
In order to get out of the all-male favorites list, here's a girl. She sang "Love is a Battlefield," acoustic version last week. Pretty much that's all you need to do to win me over.


Call me a loser, call me a follower, call me what you will. This show is good.

All for now...gotta get back to the show (not kidding).

The Good Ol' Days

As you can see, I added several links to some of my friends' blogs to the right. I also wanted to keep all my avid readers up to date. "Apt.201" is the apartment I lived in sophomore and junior year of college with Anna, Rachael and Ashley. "La Hacienda" is from senior year of college when I lived with seven other girls in a half seafoam green/half white house (and I'm sure if you click on either of those blogs you can find a photo of said house). Anyway, we were (and are) the funniest people EVER, so feel free to check out the blogs.

Ciao!

Day One

So I started a blog. I didn't want to do it for the fact that I might a) have no time to actually update it, b) not be interesting enough to make people wanna read it, or c) be considered a tool; but alas, here I am. It's all thanks to my good friends Amy "Harhausen" Woodrum and Sarah "Matherly" Wickersham, both of whom will be linked to their own blogs as soon as I figure out how to do that. It might take some time.

But aren't you proud of me that I have a pretty brown background and a photo?

In the meantime, let's pray for no snow tonight so we can get that 60 degree weather back as soon as possible. Here's a photo from a forward I received this morning, and I think it sums up my thoughts quite nicely. Enjoy.