The Original Blanksta

Oscar Night!

2010-03-07T19:42:00.005-06:00

So here are my 2010 Oscar picks:

Best Picture
Having only seen 5 of the 10 nominated movies I am going with Avatar.

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges: Loved, Loved, Loved Crazy Heart and he did an amazing job!

Best Supporting Actor
I have not seen any of the movies that the nominees were in, so I am going with Woody Harrelson because he's my fave!

Best Actress
I'm torn with this category...Meryl and Sandra both did AMAZING jobs in The Blind Side and Julie and Julia, but if I have to choose, I'll pick Meryl Streep, her portrayal of Julia Child was phenomenal.

Best Supporting Actress
The only movie I saw in this category is Crazy Heart so I am pulling for Maggie Gyllenhaal. She did a great job and I love her, so go Mags!

Director
I am kind of pulling for Kathryn Bigelow, for one because The Hurt Locker very moving and also I am a little turned off by James Cameron. He's seems very arrogant, even though Avatar was amazing!

Animated Feature
Not because it is the only one in this category that I have seen, my pick is for Up because it was WONDERFUL! I LOVED it.

Original Screenplay
I again am going to go with Bob Peterson and Pete Doctor (Up), however would not be disappointed if Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) wins.

Cinematography
The Hurt Locker

Visual Effects
Star Trek... I guess.

Original Song
"The Weary Kind" Theme from Crazy Heart.

Good luck to all my faves....."love your hair, hope you win!"

My thought process.....

2010-03-04T00:43:00.003-06:00

So, I made a resolution not to let to much time pass between blogs and 2 months later here I am. Procrastination is my middle name so I am blogging....12:45 am and this is what is on my mind...

I sometimes feel like I am no where near where I should be and I sometimes feel like I am exactly where I should be.

I am really curious to know what makes and molds a person's work ethic...is it role models, schooling, money?

I am in complete awe of my husband.

I really wish that I was a musician.

If I could meet one famous person, it would be Dirk!

I want to retire at the age of 30.

I can not believe that within the next year I will attend my 10 year high school reunion....where did all the time go?

I can't wait to BE Santa Claus.

I wish I could see the world as Chloe sees it for one day.

I would love to go back to school and be a high school English Lit. teacher.

I would go to every Avett Brothers concert if time, money, work allowed.

I miss girls night.

I wish I could be one of those people that said exactly what's on my mind, always standing up for myself, and never leaving a situation being a "wish I would have said" person....

I wonder if I will ever feel like an "adult".

I really think that if we could have a camera follow us around for a month, me and my friends would have a hit reality show....it's just a crazy little world we make for ourselves.

I am very thankful for the people in my life that love and support me....I don't know where or whom I would be without them.

Natie and Lori are my heroes.

I promised Rudder a blog every day until we leave on vacation...so here's blog one....just a little look into Blanki's brain....it's a crazy place.

HELLO 2010!

2010-01-06T19:15:00.003-06:00

Hello and Happy New Year to you all!!! It has been an awesome holiday season and as always I hate to see it come to an end! I just took my Christmas decorations down, I know it is January 6th, but I have some very good reasons for the delay. I am really excited to start a new year, with many goals ahead to hopefully reach I am taking 2010 on head first! I know I have mentioned my list before so I am now ready to post it on the blog for everyone to see so hopefully I will be held more accountable and can beat the procrastination once and for all. We had an awesome Christmas and I just have to say that I am very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in my life! We went to eat at Pepito's and bowling for my birthday. I had a blast and I just have to say that I still got my bowling skills...go YABA! We attended our many family functions and had a wonderful time getting to spend time with the family! We spent New Years Eve in town this year. It started with dinner at Outback and then to Brown's Corner where we rang in the new year with friends. It was the best New Years Eve in years. I woke up New Years Day and enjoyed some Auburn football and then hit the road for Atlanta to see Avett Brothers at the Fabulous Fox Theatre! They were amazing! It was my second Avett Show and it just left me wanting more and more and more! I can not get enough of them! Which leads me to now. Back at work full swing and sick...for the third time in the past few months! Which is part of my excuse for the delay in taking the Christmas decor down, the other reason is pure laziness! Check out the list and my new reviews! I will blog soon!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!!

2009-12-08T18:48:00.011-06:00

Okay, so I know that I am very late on this blog, but hey, it's the holiday season and I've been a busy little bee! The good thing is that I have so much to tell you!!! On November 18th, Natie and I saw The Boss in concert in Nashville and it was LEGENDARY!!!! He was amazing! I mean, when a 60 year old man rocks the house out with a 3 hour concert (no breaks) and crowd surfs, it's gonna be amazing, and to top it off he played Santa Claus is coming to town. I couldn't have asked for more!!! Being that Natie is borderline stalker level when it comes to Bruce, it was a dream come true to get to see him live. I really hope that we can see him again one day! We didn't get to see much in Nashville since it was such a short trip, but we did get to visit the Grand Ole Oprey House. They had their Christmas decorations out and it was so pretty! I would love to be able to see a show there one day! Natie had to fly out of Nashville the next day to go to Chicago for work so I got to conquer another thing on my list...To take a random road trip alone!! I headed home from Nashville after dropping Natie off and took my time, stopping whenever and wherever I felt like it. I stopped at Old Time Pottery (love that place) and at Unclaimed Baggage in Scotsboro. I really wanted to go to Ruby Falls because I passed a sign for it every half mile, but decided against it because their website said to allow for 2 to 3 hours for the tour and I didn't want to go that long. I do want to go there one day though, just not by myself. The trip was actually really fun. I totally jammed out most of the way until right in the middle of my rendition of "Stay" by Sugarland, I got pulled over for speeding...woops! That happened right outside of Birmingham so I mellowed out the rest of the way. We hosted Thanksgiving this year and it was great. Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday...I mean family, friends, and all the food you can eat, it doesn't get better than that!!! I didn't do the the Tofurkey, instead I opted for "Turkey" Loaf made out of veggies and soy stuffed with dressing. The guy at Whole Foods said it was way better than the Tofurkey. It was good, but didn't taste like turkey so much as meatballs, but hey it worked. Natie and I are the only ones that liked it though, Landon had trouble even swallowing it. It may have been compared to an armadillo, but I'm not sure! Like every year we made way to much food, but it was all delicious! Especially my homemade carrot cake if I do say so myself!!! The next day we hosted the Iron Bowl at our house and it was a blast too! Even though we lost, I was really proud of my Tigers!!! War Eagle! On a sad note (to me, not anyone else) I helped Natie and Megs move into there new apartments...it is definitely the end of an era. I will say though, that both of their apartments are super cute and I can't wait to see them now that they are settled in and unpacked! I will forever miss the house though! I also did my most favorite thing ever, put up my Christmas tree and decorate the house, I only did it a little early this year, I mean the week before Thanksgiving isn't to bad, right? I have been a painting machine these days too! I did a few paintings to hang in our bedroom after I paint it in January and I painted the Mavs logo for Landon. Oh, and I did a few Christmas paintings too!!! I mean when I do something I really do it! Addictive personality much? The next few weeks are gonna be super busy as we get into all of our family Christmas celebrations. We definitely experience our own version of "Our Four Christmases"! I also have my birthday coming up, in 8 days to be exact!!! Not really sure what the plans are gonna be, but Blanki's Birthday Bashes are always excey!! We are going to see Avett Brothers on New Years Day in Atlanta!!! I can not wait! I really will try to do better on my posting, maybe I'll make it my New Year's resolution...we'll see. Until next time.....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

I'm still here...

2009-11-03T21:32:00.007-06:00

Hello world! I know, I know it has been a long time since I have blogged!!! Since my last post, I have been doing lots! Oh where to begin...

Landon and I celebrated our third anniversary on October 14th. We had a nice romantic picnic at Capitol Park (the place where we got married). It was so nice, just me, him, and a million mosquitoes!!! They were taking over the place. Besides the mosquitoes it was very romantic and fun! Lori, Lamar, Ellie, and Natie came over and we made Halloween cookies and had some great family fun...much needed family fun! I have continued with my scrapbooking and I am almost finished with my third one!!! BTW, I am totally addicted to it now!!! I have become that person, the one who hits up all the craft stores; Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Home Accents, ect. several days a week to try and catch all the sales and deals on scrapbooking material...I think it is definitely safe to say that I need help:) I started a new painting, but it did not go as planned so for two weeks now a pink-painted canvas has been on my kitchen table taunting me every time I walk by, I will finish it, but I haven't decided what to do yet, maybe a Christmas painting of some sort, we'll see. Speaking of Christmas, it is right around the corner and that means Christmas decorating!!! YAY!!!! I can't wait to put up the tree and all of our decorations...I absolutely LOVE this time of year!!! I am already starting to plan the Thanksgiving menu for this year. We host Thanksgiving dinner at our house every year and since I no longer eat meat, I am contemplating cooking a Tofurkey!(Tofu turkey) Of course I will make the real thing to, because my family would probably kill me if I tried to serve them tofurkey for Thanksgiving, but I am very excited about changing it up a little this year. Speaking of no meat, I have been a vegetarian for 72 days now!!! I think I'll stick with it! We have seen a few new movies too, so check out my movie reviews. I gave up on the Harry Potter series, just couldn't draw me in like I wanted, so I moved on and am now reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and it is very good so far. I will post my review as soon as I am done. Besides the holidays and my birthday coming up, I really have no big plans except for one...The Bruce concert!!! Nov. 18 Natie and I are going to Nashville to see The Boss and I am totally stoked!!!! Haven't technically conquered anything new on the list, but the ones I have started, I have continued to stick with...the recycling, painting, reading, scrapbooking, ect. I am brainstorming and thinking of other ideas to add to the list...I would love some feed back on this if anyone out there has any suggestions. Oh, I almost forgot, we went to Natie and Megs for Halloween this year! It was a blast. Landon and I went as Mr. and Mrs. Freddy Kruger...we were hideously awesome! The costumes this year were amazing..robots and robot hunters, coalminers, witches, Medusa, William Wallace, Spock, vampires, pirates, and so many more. It was definitely spooktacular...cheesy, I know, but I couldn't resist! Until next time....

The procrastination continues....

2009-10-09T01:34:00.003-05:00

Hey!!! I know it has been too long since my last post but I have not been inspired to write about anything, even now, but I want to fulfill my obligation to the blog world and try to give my updates...so here goes. Where to begin? I have finished two of the four scrapbooks I have planned to do. They actually turned out pretty good! I will post pics of my finished products soon.
I have also continued with the cooking...the dish for this week...the most amazing bread pudding that I have ever had!!! I was really excited to finally get the recipe and decided to make it this week. I started it Tuesday so that it would be ready Wednesday (it is supposed to sit over night) for my and Landon's dataversary ( 8 years since we started dating) because I wanted to do something special. My plan didn't go quite like I expected. I cooked the pudding exactly like the recipe called for but it did not turn out. I ended up with bread soup! For some reason it didn't combine and thicken like it should have. Landon ate some and said it was good, but after a couple of bites I couldn't eat anymore, the consistency grossed me out. Definitely the worst thing I have ever cooked!!! Oh well, I will try again and mark my words, I will perfect it!
I have not painted anything lately but since the holidays are coming up I have lots of ideas that I am excited to put on canvas.
I did go to the West Alabama State Fair this week with Rudder and Lydia. I haven't been to the fair in over ten years so I figured I was overdue for a fair experience. When we got there we bought tickets and began our search for our first ride...I quickly learned that in my adulthood I have become a huge chicken!!! All the rides scared me, either because they were loopy and fast, or because the accident to death ratio was to high! That is my way of saying that if something did go wrong and there was an accident, then it would be very likely that I would be killed. Crazy, I know, but hey are you really surprised...it is me were talking about! Anyway, we decided on the COBRA...it was definitely an experience. Lydia loved it, Rudder was terrified, and I was trying my hardest to not throw up on all of us!!! Needless to say that it was the only ride that I rode. Lydia and Rudder rode the farris wheel but I did not want any part of that....they have always scared me!!! To high and to wobbly for me! We ended our fair experience with some fair food. I had fries and they had hotdogs and we all shared a funnel cake. The funnel cake was the highlight of the night for me for sure! I probably won't go back to the fair until I have kids.
The procrastination is on an all time high right now, but I am trying to fight it. The scrapbooking has helped get me back on track but I haven't even attempted anything new on the list...I've been praying for motivation so hopefully the motivation will kick in soon!!!
So that's all I have right now, not very exciting I know, but don't give up on me! The list will be conquered, I PROMISE!!!!! Until next time.....

The Best Weekend Ever!!!

2009-09-22T23:13:00.011-05:00

What have I been up to....let's see....SO MUCH!!
My feelings can best be described in a poem...hee, hee..no but seriously, I did write a poem about my day in Auburn....which happens to be another thing on my list...to write poetry. I didn't necessarily mean rhyming poetry about football, I intended to write deeply about my thoughts and feelings, but hey when the mood hits you, you just got to put it out there so here it is....

I rose before the sun to get ready for the trip,

Packed up the car and got my caffeine drip,

Picked up Sean and hit the road,

A short stop in Birmingham for the rest of the load..

A mere 3 hour drive and we would be there,

To Auburn University...the place of Jordan-Hare.

Starting it off right with great company and great food,

A little Coors light put us right in the mood.

It's a little before kick off so we begin our trek,

First stop the Tiger walk and then on to the upper deck.

Up to our seats and were ready to see play,

But we get postponed by a horrible rain delay...

At first it doesn't look good, no defense in sight,

But in the auburn way we fight fight fight!

It comes down to the fourth quarter, we need to pull through,

And of course we do in our orange and blue...

We leave the stands the chant rising like fire......

I say its great to be an Auburn Tiger!!!!!!

The trip was amazing. Natie, me, Sean, and Freiger road down together and met up with the tailgating crew from the good ole' days. Daddy, Debbie, the Kornegays, Frankene, Jerry, and more. My aunt, uncle, and cousin from West Virginia came down for the game too, of course they were cheering for the Mountaineers...which is to bad for them. It was such a long trip to see them lose to Auburn:) It was Sean's first Auburn game and Brit's first college football game ever. We all had so much fun, even though it rained on and off all day! Natie and I figured out that this was the first Auburn game that we had been to in 13 years!!! Way, way to long!!! Can't wait to go back and see my tigers again soon!!!

After the game we headed home, which put me arriving back in Tuscaloosa at 5 am!!! Up for almost 24 hours...needless to say I slept most of the day Sunday. I woke just in time to get ready for the Avett Brothers concert. Avett played at the Bama Theatre here in T Town and they were absolutely AMAZING! It was the best concert that I have ever been to! The whole crowd was on their feet and singing along the whole time! They put on an amazing show, so full of energy! Although I was completely exhausted and worn out from the day before, as soon as the show began, the tiredness melted away! From the time they walked on to the stage to after the encore I was awe-struck and amazed. All in all, Avett is definitely a concert that I want to attend again!!!

Besides my very exciting weekend, I have tried to continued with my painting, reading, and cooking. I finished the second Harry Potter- The Chamber of Secrets, and have ventured on in my cooking some more, making homemade pizzas and sour cream enchiladas. I have slacked on my drive to conquer the list and the go get 'em attitude that I has been pushing me the past few months is nowhere to be found. I feel as if I am getting stuck in a rut, but I am trying to fight it. I hate the feeling of having so mush stuff that needs to be done and that I actually want to do, and having absolutely no will and drive to do any of it. I am hoping to push past this nothingness feeling and continue on my journey. I have slacked on my writing and have not picked up the next book to read yet, but the procrastination stops here, I mean if for nothing else, I can't let the blog suffer because of my limbo, so I am pushing on. Wish me luck, I may definitely need it!

I don't really have any plans for upcoming events in my life, so hopefully spontaneity will kick in and deliver many great and exciting adventures. I do have one thing to look forward to...my 3 year anniversary! October 14 is mine and Landon's 3 year wedding anniversary...3 years married, 8 years together!!! We decided to keep it low key this year since we did the whole Vegas thing last year in October. Anyway, that's what's going on with me, I'm just being Blanki!

2009-09-19T09:38:00.001-05:00

Hi from the road!!! We are on our way to Auburn to watch the game!!! I am very stoked...haven't been to a game in probably 10 years! Gonna do it all....tailgating, tigerwalk,...good food...good company....great football! War Eagle!!!! Jordan-Hare here we come!!!!

Chaos breed life......

2009-09-10T23:52:00.014-05:00

Okay, so I have been out of touch in the blog world for a few days and after you read this, you will know why. So, you know how I am trying to conquer my list and have all these new and exciting things to try and do....well I think I am drowning in projects, but in a good way. If you were to walk into my dining room right now you would see 6 paintings that I have done and don't really know what to do with and the pile o' crap that is my scrapbook project!!!! Oh, well, who needs a functioning dining room anyway, right, I mean we only use it twice a year anyway so I'm good until Thanksgiving at least. Now, on to what has been keeping me so busy! I attended Olivia's first birthday Saturday in Birmingham and it was a blast! I made her cake and by the pictures I would say that she thoroughly enjoyed it. I also stayed up there and watched the Auburn game with my sis and Sean...my new Auburn crew!!! It's so nice to be able to watch football with people who are for the same team as me!!! War Eagle, btw!

I also have ventured out and started on #53 on the list: to cook one new dish every week...last weeks dish was eggplant parmesan (because I have decided to stick to the vegetarian diet...so far so good). To put it nicely, eggplant parm. was a pain in my ass!!! It took over an hour to prepare and then an hour to cook, but I have to say it was very yummy, but way to much work!!! I printed out the recipe from the internet and it was rated as easy on the difficulty scale, so I figured, hey, I have a degree in culinary arts, this will be a walk in the park for me...wrong. It wasn't necessarily hard, just tedious. I mean who wants to cut and batter and pan-fry eggplant, whilst making a marinara sauce whilst mixing together the cheese concoction that then has to be neatly layered in a pan just so it can bake for an hour and bubble over onto the bottom of the stove and make a smelly, smokey mess! Not me, that's who!!! I also made chicken parmesan that night for Landon because I wasn't certain, but I figured he wouldn't be a huge fan of eggplant and I was correct! It ended up being very good but I think it's safe to say that I will not be making eggplant parm anytime soon!

#46- to write more, I have been doing this too, which by the way has been so much fun!! I am currently reading Living a Literary Life and it has some amazing tips on writing that have been very helpful to me thus far...I'll keep you updated on this one!

For a very exciting one, #45....learn how to play the piano...and ta-da, thanks to Hilary, I am able to start on this one!!! Keep in mind I just got it and I am trying to teach myself, which is more like the blind leading the blind, but whatever, baby steps right. I can already play Let it Be, well kind of play it!

#4- the painting one...I have done two new paintings, one is a Wendy Lovoy original that I painted for Natie and the other is Jessica Lea Mayfields album cover.

As i mentioned before, I have started tackling the huge job that is organizing my photo albums, which for some unknown reason I decided to make even more complicated by not only organizing them, but turning them all in to scrapbooks....why oh why do I do these things?!? Anyway, I am about halfway through my first one, which is everything that happened in 2006...I'll upload photos of my photos when it is complete!!!

After reading what I have just written in its scattered and chaotic form, the perfectionist in me wants to rewrite it all, but I think it represents exactly the jumble of ideas and events that are my life right now, so I'm going to leave just the way it is...ENJOY:)

With eyes wide open, you never know what you might see...

2009-09-02T20:59:00.012-05:00

"Now each visitor shall confess the sad valley's restlessness." After tagging along on Lydia's photography practice the other day, I now have a better understanding of Poe's words in The Valley of Unrest. Let me start from the beginning...

I went with Lydia the other day to take some pictures with her new camera. We went to the Riverwalk first and then decided to drive downtown to see if we could find some old buildings that she wanted to photograph. We did not find any buildings that inspired her, but happened upon something so much better! We came across Greenwood Cemetery, the oldest still used cemetery in Tuscaloosa. It was absolutely amazing. I was completely awe-struck. The graves were marked back as far as 1821. The cemetery also housed several unknown Confederate soldiers' graves. The cemetery sent me in a whirlwind of emotions. Sadness, of course, but also anger because the cemetery was not well taken care of. The grass was up to our knees in some places and weeds completely covered many of the headstones. Also, there was garbage sporadically on the ground throughout the area including on the some of the graves. Another almost bittersweet sadness was that many of the headstones were broken and falling apart. I say bittersweet, because to me, it made the cemetery even that much more special and unique, because without knowing anything about it, one could walk through Greenwood and know that they were walking through a part of history. The broken pieces gave Greenwood so much character and the years and time were literally right there in front of my eyes, laying on the ground. However, walking through all the broken pieces and unkept landscaping made me sad because I felt as if these people and this amazing place had somehow been forgotten along the way. Greenwood is filled with so much iron work and stone work that can only be described as art. The details on some of he statues and headstones are absolutely incomparable. I must say that walking through Greenwood that day made all of that pesky history stuff that we all had to learn very real to me. I was reading actual names and date of births and date of deaths of people who fought in the Civil War, names of wives and children who lived in those times. The headstones were so old that many of them were no longer legible, but they were all so beautiful. Some of the graves were even completely surrounded by stone walls. The Greenwood Cemetery was one of the most amazing places that I have ever just happened upon.

Thanks to Lydia's amazing photography, I am able to include some pictures of our discovery!! Hope you enjoy, and if you ever get the chance, go by and see Greenwood for yourself, it really is breathtaking!!!

I'm just a work in progress....

2009-08-26T19:32:00.007-05:00

So, I have made some progress this week on my short term goals for conquering the list. They are as follows....I have finished Harry Potter and I am starting book two tonight (check out my book review). I went by the recycling drop off that Hilary told me about and found out that they take cans, plastic, newspapers, magazine, milk cartons, and cardboard. I went and bought my bins for the house and I can now proudly say that I am a recycler...if that's a word! I also have done pretty well on the vegetarian diet, keep in mind it has only been three days, but it isn't as hard as I thought it would be. For example, tonight I cooked country fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls by request, and I made grilled portabella mushrooms for myself and they were delisioso!!! However, I did burn my finger pretty badly and had to eat with ice on my hand. I received a confirmation email from Habitat for Humanity and I am supposed to fill out the bio. form so that they can know what my interest are, ect. I have not done that yet, but I am planning on completing that and signing up for my first volunteer project tomorrow. I also have painted two new pictures this week. One was from a photo I took in Virginia and the other turned out to be some sort of Christmas tree...not my intention. I am hoping to get better with practice, but I think I can safely say that painting is not one of my God given talents! On a totally different note, I am attending the Avett Brothers concert in September and I am super excited!!! It's all I have been listening to and I still just can't get enough! If you haven't heard them, you must check them out....it will be worth it, and that is a BLANKI GUARANTEE!!!! Until next time.....

November Blue...Because my hair is yellow like the sunlight....and I've fallen like the leaves...

2009-08-26T00:24:00.004-05:00

If I weren't leavin', would I catch you dreamin'
And if I weren't gonna be gone now, could I take you home
And if I told you I loved you, would it change what you see
And if I was staying, would you stay with me
And if I had money, would it all look good
And if I had a job now, like a good man should
And if I came to you tomorrow, and said let's run away
Would you roll like the wind does, baby would you stay

My heart is dancin', to a November tune
And I hope that you hear it, singing songs about you
And I sing songs of sorrow, because you're not around
See, babe I'm gone tomorrow, Baby follow me down

I don't know why I have to, but this man must move on
I love my time here, didn't know 'til I was gone
November shadows, shade November change
November spells sweet memory, the season blue remains
November spells sweet memory, the season blue remains

Your yellow hair is like the sunlight, however sweet it shines
Bit by the cold of December, I'm warm beside your smile

Oh lady, tell me I'm not leaving, you're everything I dreamed
I'm killing myself thinking, I've fallen like the leaves
I'm killing myself thinking, I've fallen like the leaves

Plans for the week...

2009-08-23T23:17:00.007-05:00

So I am tackling the list hard this week, at least that is the plan. Being the queen of procrastination, I thought if I went ahead and blogged about my plans then I would be more inclined to follow through, so here they are...

#3-To read a new book every week...I have been reading Harry Potter for two weeks now, so my mission tomorrow is to go to Books-A-Million, get a cup of coffee and sit outside and finish the darn thing already. I have a dentist appointment at 11:00am, so i figured that if I went around 9, I should have plenty of time to finish it before my appointment....at least that is the plan!

#28-To keep a dream journal...I don't always remember my dreams, but when I do they are usually very strange and often funny, so I have decided to start a dream journal. This way I can write my dreams down as soon as I wake up, when the details are fresh and I can remember the most. Who knows, maybe I will have them analyzed one day and maybe finally get the explanation of my craziness...hee hee!!!

#37-To volunteer...I have signed up to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity via the Internet. My goal for this week is to call or go by there restore and get some more information and sign up for my first project...I am very excited about this one, but this is the one that scares me the most! I am always scared and nervous about the unknown, so I am really hoping to conquer this one!

#44-To start Recycling...I did some research last week and found that there is no recycling center in Tuscaloosa!!!! How absurd and sad is that! This town is too big and has way to many people living in it for recycling opportunities not to be readily available to anyone and everyone who is willing!!! No wonder the earth is in the shape it's in!!! Whilst complaining about this to my friends at girls night last week, Hilary told me that there is a place behind TMS where you can drop of your recyclable items. She wasn't sure of the details as far as what they take, when they pick up, who sponsors it, ect., so my goal this week is to find out the answers to these questions and get my bins necessary for the recyclable goods, and begin recycling!!!

#52-To be a vegetarian for a week...I often think that I should be a vegetarian because for one, I think that it would force me to think about and plan my meals ahead of time, therefore hopefully causing me to make wealthier decisions about what I eat. Also, I have read quite a few articles on the abuse and mistreatment of animals in the raising and killing of animals for food and have decided that even if a quarter of what I have read is actually true, then I would rather not be a part of that and definitely do not want to support it any longer. Having said all of this, I must say that I love food and I LOVE eating, so this task, with all of my convictions pushing me to do it, will be very difficult for me! The goal is to make this a lifestyle change, just one week at a time; I do better with short term goals!

#4 and #43-To paint more and to bake more...

I love cooking and baking, especially birthday cakes (it's the decorating that I really enjoy) and want to do it more so that I can get better at it (practice makes perfect). This week I made Jackson's birthday cake (the one that he got to dig into) and all in all I think it was a success! Jackson seemed to enjoy digging into it, literally!!!

I also love painting, keep in mind that I am not that good at it, but I enjoy it so much that I have decided to keep up with it and who knows, maybe I'll get better, I'll let you be the judge.

Can't Believe a year has passed...

2009-08-20T14:41:00.006-05:00

This is just a little note to wish my sweet little Jackson a Happy Birthday!!! I can't believe he is a year old!!! Time has flown by! It seems like only yesterday that I was driving to Birmingham to meet Lil' Jack for the first time!!! That little boy is so amazing and I hope all of his dreams and wishes come true on this birthday (as many dreams and wishes a one year old can have) and throughout his life. Aunt Blanki loves you Jack!!!!

#34 Going to the movies alone!

2009-08-17T20:58:00.006-05:00

So I have officially completed #34 (to go to a movie by myself) on my list of things to do, and also technically #20 (to take more chances and get over my fears). The latter includes a broad spectrum of things, but doing pretty much anything alone is definitely taking a chance. I planned on going Saturday, but some things conveniently came up and I was unable to go; or in other words I totally chickened out. I decided today would be the day! On my way there, I was a little nervous and, as silly as it sounds, scared. As I pulled in, the thought of turning around and going home crossed my mind, but I fought the urge and and put one foot in front of the other and walked up to ticket window. I bought my ticket and made my way to the theatre. I made my way to the back row, middle seat, and just breathed. The hard part was over. So I relaxed and and waited for the movie to begin and come to find out, going to a movie alone...not so scary after all! Actually quite the opposite... I enjoyed myself so much. The movie was GREAT! I laughed, I cried, and sometimes did both at the same time. I loved it so much, I think in part because Julie reminded me of me in so many ways. Very funny, very relatable, and very inspirational, especially to someone like me who is just looking for my niche in the world, for my something that is just mine. I also would love to read and learn more about Julia Child, because if she was the way she was portrayed in the movie, then she was nothing short of amazing. She seemed so happy and full of life, so dedicated, and so very loving, especially to her husband, whom she absolutely adored. All in all, this movie is a MUST see!!! Don't take my word for it, please go find out for yourselves...I hope you do! As small as it may seem, I feel like I made a huge leap today in facing one of my fears. I hope these feelings of accomplishment and courage will stay with me as I continue to face, and hopefully conquer, my long list of fears! Keep your fingers crossed just in case.

The Negativity

2009-08-17T06:48:00.005-05:00

So, have you ever noticed that there are those certain people that you come across at different times in your life that seem to just ooze negativity? Why is that? I started thinking about this yesterday when i noticed it rubbing off on me. I realized that these types of people are all around and very toxic. Why do some people always look for the bad in situations, or worse, the bad in people? I admit that I tend to be the "glass half empty" kind of girl sometimes, but that usually relates to me and my feelings of insecurity and the "I should be doing more" thoughts that cross my mind. I try to always see the good in people, not questioning their motives until I have a reason to. My mom always said "you have to play the hand that's delt ya" and it drove me crazy when I was younger, but it's true. As I've gotten older, I have realized that that "teenager" attitude that "lifes not fair" and "why do I have to do that" isn't neccessarily a "teenager" thing at all, it seems to be the way a lot of people go through their entire lives. I for one think that this way of thinking is sad and very unproductive. Sometimes in life we have to do things we don't want to do or don't see the point in doing, but it still has to be done, so why complain? Why take it beyond complaing to saying cruel, hurtful things? I would love to let one day pass where all the negative thoughts and words and attitudes ceased to exist....wow, what a day that would be! Maybe sometimes my opinions on people or situations may come across naive, but who cares! I love looking at the bright side of things. After yesterday and my new found realization that negativeness sucks, I am going to make a life goal of mine to not be one of those people...ever, in my personal life or my professional life. I know that I am rambling, but i just had to put this out there. Until next time.....

My first official blog!

2009-08-12T22:06:00.003-05:00

So my wonderful and patient hubby set my whole blog up last night for me and all I had to do was fill out my about me and interests parts of my profile...easy enough, right? Wrong! I went to change the picture he had uploaded and ended up clicking something (I am very click happy with the mouse) and waited a good 15 minutes for something to upload and guess what it was....nothing! No picture was there at the end of all of that. People think that I make these things up, but i don't...computers do not cooperate when I am around, it's like they know it's me or something! I digress, blogs up and functional...let's hope I don't break it! I am embarking on a new project and I plan to use this blog as an outlet to share my experiences with you...hope you enjoy it! I have recently made a list of things that I have always wanted to do, wish I could do, been afraid to do, ect. and I plan to experience/conquer each and every thing on my list over the next few months. As of right now there are 53 things on my list. I am very excited and nervous about pushing past my comfort zone and just doing it...hope it goes well....I'll keep you updated!

2009-08-11T21:29:00.001-05:00

Hello world...this is my first blog....im already confused:)