Music Minute

Can I please just tell yall how I am excited for December 2nd? Actually, I will be buying the new Britney CD at midnight on the 1st (which is technically the 2nd, haha). They just released the cover art:

As my music taste is ever-evolving, here are some songs that I'm loving...

Lost by Gorrila Zoe and Lil Wayne (rap song, but I actually like the lyrics alot...haha, sometimes when I am having cheer drama, I feel like I can relate to this song! Here are some of the words...
"I'm lost on a road. Don't know which way to go. I'm losing my mind. Losing control of the wheel. And I'm swerving. On and off the road. I'm lost on a road. But survival is a must. Don't know who I can trust. I'm livin in a rush. I don't understand the fuss. My brain is bout to bust."

Poker Face and Just Dance by Lady Gaga (I love her whole cd...I HIGHLY reccomend it! Plus, it's only $8 on iTunes and it has 15 songs...good deal, huh?)

Decode by Paramore (I might love this one because it's from the Twilight soundtrack!)

Keeps Gettin' Better by Christina Aguilera

Better In Time by Leona Lewis (I think she is so beautiful, but I am really curious as to what ethnicity she is?? I totally can not tell. I do think she looks a little "feline" though, haha.)

Last but certainly not least... Like A Cholo. Haha, I am well aware that this song is horrible. Zac can't believe how much I love this song (or even that I partially like it...he acts as if he is wrenching in pain every time I turn it on in the car, haha). I can't explain it, but I just love it. I can not hear this song enough! I just saw the video for the first time, and it is awful. I dont even know who sings this song, but he is really ugly. I freaking jam out to this song, what can I say?

There are alot more, but those are the main ones that I am obsessed with! :)

I listen to "Movin' 107" which plays "hits from today and back in your school days!" I get pumped everytime they play "My Perogative" by Bobby Brown (Who knew that Britney wasn't the first one to make that song? haha, JOKING!) I do not remember Michael Jackson as a kid (except that one song that was about black and white and getting along), but because of the radio station I listen to, I have a newfound appreciation for his oldies like Billie Jean, I'm Bad, Thriller, The Way You Make Me Feel, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Wanna Be Startin' Something, etc.. For a great Michael Jackson Megamix, click HERE. It's superfun, I promise! :)

Venting about H8TE...

WARNING-This is something I feel passionate about, so my writing is borderline angry. I am sorry to be so negative, but I am more sorry that things are the way they are...
As you know, I was overjoyed last week when Obama was elected President. I felt like America was finally making progress. I am still excited about it. However, my excitement has been somewhat muted by another decision some American's made last week...to ban gay marriage and legally institute descrimination. Tuesday's vote was deeply disappointing to all who believe in equal treatment under the law. All of us are harmed when any of us are discriminated against or have our fundamental rights taken away. As the proud sister of a gay brother, this personally affects me and my family. But I honestly think that even if I did not know a single gay person, I would never vote to make anyone a second-class citizen."Seperate but equal" is impossible...its garbage...haven't we learned that? I have told some of my friends this before, but I fully believe that one day our kids (or maybe our grandkids, but hopefully not that far in the future) will be shocked and ashamed that there was a time America descriminated against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered people. When I was a child and I learned that black people could not vote, and then later learned about Jim Crow laws, I was disgusted and amazed. How were we that cruel? Why wasn't it obvious that ALL humans deserve to be treated with respect? One group of people is not better than another group. We are all the same group...HUMAN (or if you wanna get more specific...American!) I think California's Proposition 8 and all the laws that passed are every bit as bad as those Jim Crow laws. I believe that love should never be forbidden, and I can not understand who or why anyone would choose to deny our brothers and sisters an equal shot at happiness. If you claim it is because of your religion, I dont want to hear it, because I am a Christian, and I was taught the Golden Rule, to "treat others how you want to be treated" and I was also taught that it is not my place to judge anyone...I will leave that for my Maker. Statistics say that about 10% of the United States is Gay. That is a huge percent! 1 in 10 people, y'all! How can we do this to them? We are not only letting them down, but we are letting ourselves down, because we are choosing hate and descrimination over acceptance and equality. It's wrong, and I'm angry. For me, last week was like "two steps forward (electing Obama), one step back (states passing this ban)." Next time this question comes up...please do not choose to deny 10% of American's the rights they deserve and are owed. What if you went to bed married and then woke up the next day not married? What if you spent a ton of money to have the perfect ceremony to celebrate your love and then it was all taken away, and you really just threw a big Valentine's party? What if someone told you that YOU could not be married? I am assuming you are a born-and-raised , hard working, honest American? So is my baby brother...and for that matter, so are most of the people who were just denied the priveledge to marry that we "straight" people take for granted!
Not only were marriage rights stripped in Cali, but Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas passed laws saying that you have to be married to adopt children, which means that both heterosexual and LGBT single adults can't adopt. Since same sex couples can't get married, they certainly can't adopt either. Did you know that Eli could be fired from any job just for being gay? The anti-descrimination laws that were passed for gender, age, race, ethnicity, and religion apperantly exempt sexuality. Why? Did you also know that you, me, or any Texas worker (especially in schools) can be fired for simply being an ally, because of being suspected of being gay, or "promoting homosexuality" (which in Texas can be argued as creating an uncomfortable sexual environment/sexual harassment.) The list of negative consequences these laws have produced goes on, and on, and on. How could we do this, especially in this day and age? It is dispicable. I can't even say anymore because I am already too upset, just from writing all this. It is a shame. To Eli, my gay friends, and every gay person out there...I'm sorry. I hope one day this wrong will be righted, and I hope that day is sooner than later. (I also hope that one day we have a Gay president! Hey, people said we would never have a black prez, and look at the progress we have made! It will happen!)
I'm sure not all of you will watch this video, but I wanted to post it anyways. This is well stated, and is how I feel about the issue. Sometimes it is hard for me to find the right words on "hot topics" like this, so I will just embed this video and hope you watch it. Whether you agree or not, all I ask is that you keep an open mind...

"The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks."
--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Phones and Boys

Friday's football game was in Waco. I rode with two coach's girlfriends and we had some wonderful conversation. :) We met my parents and my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Mel at Texas Roadhouse (YUM!) to eat, then went to the game. Our boys lost, but it was still a pretty good game. It was pretty chilly though...I am glad it was the last game! (for more reasons than just the weather, haha!) After the game, we decided we couldn't come to Waco without going to George's, so us gals went and had a drink before we made the trip home. Here I am with Meredith and Karen at George's...

This weekend marked the first weekend that Zac did not have to work. Since our last football game was Friday night, and there isn't an upcoming game to prepare for, Zac did not have to go in on Saturday and Sunday. We slept late both days and had a very relazing weekend. The kind I might call "boring" if it was every weekend, but since we never get this kind of downtime, it was quite enjoyable...in small quantities. :)

Saturday we went to eat at Schlotzsky's (which I LOVE and never get because Zac is not a big sandwich guy...I know, right...how can you not love sandwiches?) and then went cell phone shopping. Some of you probably know that I have been using a phone that is literally five years old, which translates to twenty, in the technology world! It is the size of a brick and does not have internet or even a camera on it. One time I had it at a football game, and a first grader said "Why do you have that here?" I explained that it was my cell phone, and she just laughed as if I was trying to 'pull her leg' and said "That's not a cell phone! That's a HOUSE PHONE!!" Haha, so now you have an idea of how big it was! :) Anyways, Zac and I have been with Sprint forever, but our contract expired in August. (We've been going month to month since then, since we didn't have time to go look at new phones.) We finally decided this weekemd to go get our new phones and a new contract. We werent sure if we wanted to stay with Sprint, or switch to AT&T. After going back and forth between the stores, looking at the rates and plans and packages and phones and all that junk, we decided Sprint was the better deal for us. We even upgraded our plan to unlimited internet, texting, and all the data stuff you could ever want or need! :) We ended up getting matching phones. Not because there was a buy one get one free offer, or anything, but we just both liked the same phone and it was a good deal, so now we have identical phones. Haha, I begged him to get a different one, but I lost that battle. Thank goodness it comes with an extra back (black with white swirls on it) that we put on mine, to help avoid confusion. In case any of you techies are wandering, it is a Samsung Rant. I love it so far, but I will let you know in a month if I still like it. :) I already set my hotmail up on it, and I love it. Haha, maybe soon I will learn how to blog from my phone!

Last night we babysat for one of the other coach's kids. It was a blast. They have three boys, ages 6, 5, and 18months, and each one of them is sooo handsome and fun. I used to be kindof scared of having a boy, and outright terrified of having more than one boy. I only wanted a daughter and did not even want to think about having a son! Now that I have been around so many special little boys (mostly coaches kids), I think I would love to have a son. Heck, even these three were not bad. They were a blast, and they have such a special bond! If I do have a boy, I hope he has silky hair like their's, so I can grow it out and part it. :) Zac played football with the two oldest boys, Cagen and Conley, in the game room for hours.

There was a bloody nose in the first thirty minutes! We took a snack break and let the boys rest. Check out the tissue in his nose. He must be a pro, because he knew just what to do, before I could even tell him...

Chaden liked to hang out with Zac whenever he could, but mostly he hung with me, and Zac kept up with the two older boys.

Cagen is kinda shy sometimes around me (I think he is playing hard to get, hehe), but he got hurt one time during the football game and came and sat right on my lap. It made me happy, and he was happy in no time. Check out that big smile...

I always thought that boys were not as fun because you couldnt get them super cute clothes and decorate their rooms and stuff, but its so not true. I just pray that when I have a son (or daughter) they are affectionate and not 'too cool' to hug and kiss Mommy. :) Augh...I can not wait to become a mother! Babysitting is a wonderful thing to do, in order to get my "kid fix" until I can get a little litter of my own! :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

***I am very easily amused, so rarely do I criticize movies. I love all movies for the most part. However, Zac and I watched one today (that I was really looking forward to!) that was a real flub. "Leatherheads" with George Clooney, and our boy Jim from The Office (I think the actor's name is John Krasinski). It was not great. I dont know, have any of yall seen it? Thoughts?

***Check out this cool article that a Baptist preacher's wife wrote. Her husband was actually my cousin Matt's high school youth director! I think it is a really neat story, and very well written!

Did you know?

November is National Adoption Month! As I have mentioned before, adoption has been laid on my heart and, I have been fortunate enough to see it happen first hand, both internationally and domestic. What an amazing process. Even though people act as if the adoptive parents are doing the child a favor, I think that the kid is the one bringing all the blessings! :)

Since I found an excuse to brag about Nati, I will go ahead and do it...Here is a video that my cousin Ellen made when they found out that Nati was theirs. They had not met Nati yet, but had received pictures, and made friends through Gladney that went to Ethiopia to pick up their daughter, and filmed this for them. So special! I have not watched the video in months, but watched it today, and it still made me tear up. It's almost even more powerful now, because as he has made the transition, I forget that there was ever a time that he was NOT in our family, and he had a whole other life before Ellen and Breagan and Claire!



They became a family in May, just about six months ago. It seems like it's been longer! Here is a picture of Nati at his birthday party in September...see how much he has already grown?
PS-November is also Alzheimer's Awareness Month. I personally think this is one of the cruelest and most horrible diseases! I think we all know someone who has been affected by it. I really hope they are able to find a cure SOON!
PS#2-If you are ever in a mood to feel happy, go to YouTube and search adoption videos...you will come across some truly heartwarming moments! :)

Election week wrap-up

Of course this week there has been so much buzz and excitement everywhere! I have been surfing the net and seing so many cool articles, videos, and pictures. I just thought I would share some of my favorites with yall...

If you like Lil' Wayne's song "A Milli" you have to listen to this Obama Remix. It is hilarious...just take it tongue-in-cheek. (Is that the right phrase?)

Beautiful pictures from Tuesday Night in Grant Park.

And here are pictures of happy people from around the Globe! As you all know, pretty much the entire rest of the world (our UN allies in particular) wanted Obama to be elected...I feel like the rest of the world can finally like us again!

This video clip comes from Fox News, the most conservative media, and it discloses stuff about Sarah Palin, such as the fact she did not know Africa was a continent, and did not know which countries were a part of NAFTA. Haha, I know both of those, maybe I should run for VP. :)

This probably seems random, but I thought it was funny. Will Smith's reaction to the election.

How amazing was McCain's Concedence Speech? I know we all watched it Tuesday night, but I had to watch it again, just to take it all in. My favorite quote was at the end when he said "I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America."


I have always known that Obama was an amazing speaker, but on this night, the words were twice as sweet! I loved the entire speech, but I had some favorite quotes:
-"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, democrats and republicans, black, white, hispanic, asian, native american, gay, straight, disabled and not-disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals, or a collection of red states and blue states. We are and always will be THE UNITED STATES of America!"
-"This victory alone is not the change we seek...it is only the chance for us to make that change!"
-"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other."
-"And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope."
I could go on and on, as I loved his entire speech, but I will leave you with just one more thought, in the words of Barack Obama...
-"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:Yes We Can!"

Election Day Coverage

If you know me, you know I am NOT a morning person, and it takes something significant to get me out of bed early in the morning. Yesterday counted as a significant day...I woke up around 7 and was so excited that I could not fall back asleep. This was the day I had been waiting for! I went to the Ellis County Democratic Headquarters and volunteered for a few hours, answering phones, and walk-in questions. Alot of people just needed to find out where their poll location was, which was pretty easy, and very fun. I just kept thinking "this is such a neat experience...I might never get an opportunity like this again!" The best part of the whole morning was all the neat people I met, who were also volunteering for the same cause as myself. It is nice to be surrounded by people with your same ideals and beliefs! One man I met was a Nurse Antitheses, and looked EXACTLY like a famous actor. It was mind-boggling how much he looked like him...I kind of wanted to ask if it really was him, haha! This picture is of the actor, but it is also exactly what my new friend looked like. Another one of the fascinating people I met is a retired exec of Boy Scouts of America. He played football at UNT and then played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is best friends with "Mean Joe Green." Another volunteer, Roark is a professor of law at SMU, and used to be a public defender in Washington D.C. It was a neat, neat morning. I was tired the rest of the afternoon, but it was so worth it! :) How often do you get to work together with people who are perfect strangers at 8am, but feel like dear old friends by noon!? It was amazing.
So you either know me personally, of know me from reading my blog, but either way...you have probably realized that I do not mind being a dork every now and then. For some reason yesterday I decided to be a reporter (maybe because I have been watching so much news and CNN lately, haha). I made a reporter style video at 7:30 in the morning, and another one at the end of the night. When I got out of class at 7pm, we headed to downtown Fort Worth to attend a Tarrant County Democrats party held at the Hilton. It was a blast...even better than I could have imagined! Stacy and her dad and friend Rachel met us there, so that made it even better! The ballroom was decorated beautifully and there was such a neat mixture of people there. Anyone who says that "only black people voted for Obama" (I have heard people say that with my own ears!) is sadly mistaken. There were all different walks of life and several different races, ethnicities and socio-economic status's represented at the party...kinda like America! ;) Everyone cheered and cried, jumped, and hugged...I cant imagine watching it at home. This was such an amazing and historical night. Words obviously cant explain how I felt and what the ambiance of the room was (lots of excitement, anticipation, and HOPE). I had an amazing and eventful Election Day, and took lots of pictures. Enjoy this little video montage I made of pics and vids:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Since my friend Stacy and I literally went to all the same rallies and parties, our "Journey with Obama" is quite similar. You MUST watch this amazing video that she made, as she is MUCH more talented than I am! (plus I am in it alot, haha) Check it out...it serisouly gave me goosebumps! :)

Yes We DID!

Yes, I am so excited and relieved with the turnout of the elections! Barack Obama is our new president, y'all! AMAZING! I have lots to say, and plenty of pics, so i will be posting soon. But I just had to post one to say how HAPPY I am! :)

QVC Maverick

I gotta give it to John McCain...he was very funny on Saturday Night Live last weekend. Of course, I think it helped that he had Tina "Sexy Sarah" Fey by his side! :) Here is the clip:

I LOVE Snow White & Wonder Woman!

How Blessed am I? I have two nieces, and I do not think they could be any cuter!! Here are Madeline and Eliza in their Halloween costumes...don't you love it?

I hate living so far away from both of them! Thank goodness for technology, digital cameras, pictures, etc! They grow up so fast!

Quick Trip to Austin

Friday night was our last home football game (HALLELUIAH!), which means it was also our last pep rally and last time I had to supervise the girls selling programs! What a relief! :) It was also Halloween, but since I was not home to give out candy, and had to work at the game, so I couldn't do anything cool, it didn't really even feel like it to me. I was just focused on getting through, and celebrating the last game! ;) We have one more week of football, and we are going to Waco this Thursday AND Friday. Phew...I am ready to quit making all these trips to Waco. It is a tease to get that close to Austin and not be able to go the rest of the way! This Saturday I went to Austin to see Tatem and Scott and Eliza, and Eli and Danny and Ryan. :) Zac had to work Saturday and Sunday, so I went solo, but I missed him!! Eliza has grown so much, even since they were here in September! I am glad Zac and I will be going back to Austin in two weeks for Ellie's 1st birthday party, and Hardwick Family Portraits! :) Here are pics from my fun trip this past weekend...

Ellie laughing at her phone call. She has started showing SO much personality! At one point she reached out to hand me a little cheerio type snack, but when I reached to get it from her, she jerked her arm back and starting laughing! She totally knew she was tricking me, and thought it was so funny! It was precious!

I think Ellie is going to be musically-inclined like her Grammy! She loves playing the piano and smiles/laughs the entire time. She has long fingers, so who knows...she could be the next (wait, who is a famous piano player?....oh, i know...) George Winston!

Eli's roommate Danny invited me to go with him to his work party, and it was SO nice! They had rented out the Renaissance Hotel Ballroom and lobby (an employee told us it cost $60,000 for the room alone, not including food and entertainment...isnt that bananas?) and they had an amazing dinner and tons of desserts to choose from.

It was a masquerade ball, and the centerpieces were these gorgeous bouquets of masks, free for the taking. It was so cool, and very pretty! They also had a photo booth, which we hit up alot, since it was free and FUN (I will have to scan those in, because they are not digital, of course).

They had a DJ playing music, so of course we danced, but there was also gambling. They had real tables, like BlackJack and Texas Hold 'Em and Craps, but we did the slot machines. It was all included in the party. Since you couldn't win money, you cashed in your chips and tokens for raffle tickets. At the end of the night they gave away a million (it seemed) cool prizes like Wii's and massage gift certificates, and free airline tickets, flatscreen TVs, laptops, and I forget what else, but lots of cool stuff! It was the best work party I have ever heard of! I want to get a job there now that I know how much they appreciate their employees, haha!