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:

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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!

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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