TV Talk

Because apparently, I've got writer's block.

Also, Madison (my little sister) ? This post involves a show that I never want you to watch, not until you're much much older. I'm afraid your perception of love and dating will be permanently damaged. Plus, mom will kill you.

First up... The Bachelor.
My girl Meagan usually does a post on Tuesdays, following The Bachelor, full of her thoughts on the episode. She's been a bit busy which is understandable, what with being in the middle of potty-training (among other things) and all. So I thought I'd hijack her idea and share my reactions. Hope that's okay with you, Meags.

Ben: I liked him a lot at first. He seemed super cute and real. Then he went all typical-male on us, got blindsided by a floozy/model, and completely lost all forms of comprehension. I mean, really, Ben? You know whoever you end up with in the end is going to be watching this, and it most likely will not be Courtney (oh please oh please oh please). Are you just a glutton for punishment? Because that's what's going to happen once your "future wife" sees you run off into the ocean with the girl everyone hates.

Courtney: Oh Courtney. Please stop whining about how boyfriends in the past didn't appreciate you and didn't treat you the way you wanted to be treated. I don't think anyone should be treated poorly, but so far your shallow tactics for "winning!" a boyfriend are a big indicator of what kind of relationships you've pursued. Just sayin'. Respect yourself, so that others will too. I'm sure somewhere in there lies a very nice girl. Try that approach. And for goodness' sakes, put some clothes on.

Jamie: First off, where did you come from? You were basically invisible in all of the other episodes. Secondly, that had to have been the most awkward moment ever. You know the kind of moment where you get embarrassed for the other person? Yeah, that.
Couple of things we can take away from this:
1. Do not give your potential significant other kissing instructions.
2. Do not wear a tight-fitting, short dress if you plan on riding a horse.

Kasie B: My favorite. Of course. She's sweet. Makes me worry this may be another "Molly and Melissa" moment. Because we all know ABC had nothing to do with that.
Other Casey: I get your strategy. I do. But didn't you think at some point this all would've come out? And really, ABC? Nicely played. Wait to throw the curve ball in the middle of the season.
Blakely: You thought you had that date in the bag, didn't you? Honestly, I thought you did too. I have to admit, I didn't like you much at first, even though I like rooting for my hometown girls. But you grew on me. Maybe you should move. Charlotte's single scene really isn't all that great. :/
Other girls: Nikki, I like you. I think you're cute. Emily, I'm glad you've kept your mouth shut about Courtney, for your own sake. You seem like a cool girl. I'm not really sure what to think of the rest of them, since they don't get much screen time. As far as I can tell, they're really cool, especially to avoid getting super catty with each other (as long as Courtney isn't involved). That's probably why they're not getting much face time. They're nice and don't make for great television.

Do you watch The Bachelor? What did you think?

Random other tv opinions...

The Big Bang Theory: I heart this show. Brad and I have been watching since the beginning. I still like the show, but I do have one complaint. They're normalizing the nerds. I adored Howard's insane outfits and super aggressive/chauvanistic womanizing tactics. And has anyone noticed how much Sheldon has changed from the 1st and 2nd seasons? He's certainly still weird, but much less odd than in the beginning.

How I Met Your Mother: Who doesn't love this show? Did yall watch the Christmas episode (where Robin finds out she can't have kids)? What did you think? Of course, it made me all teary. But I read where others didn't like it because it was too serious. The writers "took it too far". I personally like that they deal with real issues every once in a while. Of course, it wasn't very Christmas-y. :)

New Girl: Can Zooey do anything wrong? This show just gets better and better.

What are your favorites? Anything I should be watching that I'm not?

Accent V-log

Yep. I'm jumping on the bandwagon.

Y'all have probably already seen these vlogs floating around in blogland. I usually steer clear of vlogs (something about that word is gross), mainly because it takes me forEVer to record, upload, then upload again (368 minutes, to be exact). But this one looked like fun, and since y'all don't really get to see me much, I figured... why not?

Accents crack me up.

I think the reason this particular vlog has been so popular is because it's fascinating to see how all of these people, who live in the same country, pronounce words so differently.

So some background info...

I've lived in NC my entire life. I've been to PA once. I've never been further west than the NC mountains (unless you count Cancun). I grew up with a very thick Southern accent (read: redneck). Over the years, it's gotten less intense. I blame all those northerners that moved down here (jk! don't send me hate mail!). So during most of my younger years, I heard phrases like, "I think I seen 'em goin' down yonder". Ironically, English/Lit turned out to be one of my best subjects. Go figure.

My husband's parents are from VA, but they moved out West when they were young. All of the kids were born and raised out there, for the most part. They moved here when Brad was like 7 or 8. So Brad doesn't have much of a twang, but he definitely says southern phrases.

(sidenote: I did a little shout-out to my SIL Sara who is from ID and calls soda "pop". Brad and I teased her a lot about it.)

I kept this quick, just because I don't have a fancy schmancy webcam. Had I made it any longer, you might not have seen this until next week. I also realized I don't have any great spots in the house to record myself. I had the camera propped up on top of the toaster, a cookbook, and a few magazines.

So here's me in my first vlog.

Be nice.

I'm rockin' the mom look (go tarheels!) , and I naturally feel a little weird talking to the camera.
(Link up, if you want to play along too!)

(another sidenote: those are golf balls on the floor behind me. and I've since learned that some people answer #2 as a "tank bug". never heard of that before. I forgot to mention that we're calling my stepmom "Mama D" for Noah. we'll see what he actually ends up coming up with for everyone, though.)

The instructions are to say these words:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

What do you call gym shoes?

What do you say to address a group of people?

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

What do you call your grandparents?

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

What is the thing you change the TV channel with? 

Tuesday Confessional

I confess...

- I let Noah eat these for breakfast this morning:



- I'm completely scatterbrained. I lose everything. And it never fails. Whatever I lose? It's always something of importance. Like checks. Or bills. Or the lens cap to my camera (sshhhh!!! don't tell Brad, or he'll never let me upgrade. and I can't say I blame him. I just use the thing so darn much and forget where I put the cap).

- I'm one of those "jack of all trades" types. I never can focus on one skill. Don't get me wrong; I'd love to be fantastic in at least one area. But I don't like limiting myself to one thing. So as a result, I'm fairly good at several skills.

- Don't try talking to me for at least 30 minutes after I wake up. I'm not a morning person. I guess this is more of a PSA than a confession...

- I want to learn how to dance... and not like "in da club" type dancing. Ballroom dancing... salsa, waltz, etc. In high school, one of our teachers taught ballroom dancing as a second job. At our "Elegant Evening" (we didn't have a prom), he taught us how to swing dance (he also was a black belt in karate, so he taught us that in PE) the correct way, and it was a lot of fun. I've wanted to learn other dances for years. And I think it'd be a really fun couple thing to do. Maybe that'll be one of my goals to accomplish before I turn 30.

- Noah finally mastered the spoon last night... with banana bread batter. He prefers finger foods, and for him, it's always more efficient just to pick it up. However, last night, he spent 45 minutes perfecting his spoon technique. We had about 15 bananas left over from the party, so we're drowning in banana bread. So yeah. I taught my kid to use a spoon by giving him banana bread batter. I guess there are worse things.

- I buy gifts and then don't give them to people. For example, I have a baby shower gift in my closet. I was supposed to go to the shower, but Noah got sick. Instead of being all proactive and mailing it or something, it has remained in the closet. I think the baby is now 8 months old. I can't help it. My mom does the same thing. Sometimes with me. Six months will go by after Christmas, and my mom will call me up and tell me she found a present of mine, it's wrapped, and she doesn't remember what it is.


Well, I feel better.
Anything you need to get off your chest?

random tidbits about moi.

Yep, got nuthin' else to blog about. So you're stuck with useless info about me. Maybe I'll do a series. Me first, then Brad, then Noah. Sound fun? Everyone excited? K, great.

So here we go...

- I love anything sweet. I'd much rather have a big honkin' piece of chocolate cheesecake than steak and potatoes. Or whatever most people like to eat.

- I'm so not a city girl. I like trees and grass and flowers and birds. I need green. The city makes me all depressed and claustrophobic. I don't mind visiting every once in awhile, but for the most part, I'm happy where we are. I grew up wearing overalls, riding my family's tractors, and had a reeeally thick Southern accent (which has since faded a little... probably a good thing). However, this doesn't mean I want to live in the boonies. I need to have a Target within 20 minutes from me. It's required for my sanity.

- I made my dad give up hunting when I was little. I grew up with deer heads and ducks mounted on our walls. Then I saw Bambi, and it made me really sad to think my daddy was out killing somebody's mommy. So he quit.

- I grew up in a very, very small private Christian school (about 180 students). It was directly linked with the church my family went to, so it was an obvious choice. It had its moments. But overall? I loved it. I ended up with more Biblical knowledge at the age of 12 than most adults I encounter now. Which I swear is not me being all high-on-my-horse or anything. I certainly don't think I'm any better of  a Christian than anyone else. It's not a competition. We continue to learn and struggle and grow thoughout life. At any rate, I loved my experience there. I had one massive family, and to this day, I'm good friends with the same people I went to school with in preschool. Incidentally, this is how I know several of my bloggy buddies. :)

- I can't snap my fingers. I don't know why my fingers don't work right. They just don't.

- I'm a total goody-goody. Brad has always been Mr. Spontaneous, and every single time he wanted to do something crazy when we were younger, the first words out of my mouth were always, "I don't wanna get in trouble..."

- My high school/college celeb crushes were Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Josh Hartnett, and Brad Pitt. I actually cried when Heath died. So sad.

- When I was born, a certain muscle was torn in my right eye. So when I look up, one eye will go up and the other won't. Always a super hot quality in a girl.

- I will forever be known to my childhood buds as "the girl who couldn't eat sweets". Not just sweets, but junk food in general. I wasn't allowed to have candy, cookies, soda, sweet tea... none of it. My mom made my baby food, was a BF nazi, and tried her hardest to feed me organically (which wasn't as easy back then). And my mom had to hear some serious criticizing. People told her she was depriving me, that a piece of candy wasn't going to hurt me. That she was being mean by not letting me have soda. Well, as an adult, I gotta say, I'm pretty grateful she didn't give in to the pressure. Because I've never had a cavity, I've never been obese, and to this day, I don't really like soda. Sweets on the other hand? Yeah, that might've backfired on her just a little. I'm all about some chocolate.

- I was in college the first time I saw a rated R movie. And it was terrible (Vanilla Sky... snooze).

- I hate cleaning the shower. The tub, I'm fine with. But the shower? Hate it. I mean, there's no good way to clean it. No matter what, you're going to get soaked. So I have to resort to cleaning while showering. And then it smells like cleaner in there, and I want to pass out from the fumes.

- My favorite candy is a KitKat. After that, it's dark chocolate. And a dark chocolate KitKat? Mmmm...

- One day I will own a horse. But I won't board it or pay someone else to take care of it. It will live on my property, and we will be best friends. Like Flicka. Or Seabiscuit.

And there ya go.
Pretty useless info that didn't better your life in any way. But at least it gave you something to read, right?

Useless facts about yours truly

I don't really have much to write about right now. It's been rainy and gloomy most of this week, so we've been spending a lot of time indoors. Not doing much. Nothing really worth documenting anyway.

Jess did a post recently mentioning random facts about herself. And I thought I'd do one too. Because I'm all about being a copycat.

So here we go...

Completely Useless Information About Me.

- For most of my childhood, I towered over everyone. I was like a whole foot (exaggerate much?) taller than Brad when I developed a crush on him in 7th grade. The pediatrician predicted I'd be 5'10". Ummm.... what happened? I'm 5'4". I guess it worked out for the best though. Otherwise, I'd still be taller than Brad.

- I'm semi-fluent in sign language. My mom is an ASL interpreter (and so is my stepmom) and growing up, I was surrounded by deaf people. Actually, my little sister's godfather is deaf, and my mom produced and starred in an educational video. I took ASL in college for my foreign language (yes it counts. Interested? Look up your local community colleges and see if they offer it). I've gone to a deaf church, silent dinners, and been on double dates with other young deaf couples. I was one of 5 students that they pulled aside and asked to make a career out of it. I always wonder if I should've pursued it. I really did enjoy it. My mom is able to set her own hours, accept whatever jobs she wants, and makes pretty good money. Maybe one day.

- I have a weakness for anything chocolate. It's sad, really.

- From middle school until after college, my average weight was between 105-110 lbs. I wore size 0-4 clothes. I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I didn't even think about food. I was active, but definitely not hooked to exercise. Yep, I was that girl. Fortunately, I was a nice person, so nobody ever punched me in the face for it. While I don't think being that small would be healthy now, I'd love to go back to not thinking about it and just being skinny again. Wouldn't we all? Anyone with a miracle pill or a time machine is more than welcome to email me with their solutions.

Here's me back then (I was 18). Heaven help me, I can't believe I'm posting this...

(who put their shoes on the coffee table?? Gross!)

Dude, look how skinny Brad was too!

I'm sure he'd love to go back to the days where all he ate was nachos and still looked like this.

- I would love to be one of those really hot, fashionable moms. At one point, when I worked full-time, I finally spent my own money on nice clothes. Then I got married and my money ended up going other places. But my favorite stores? Anthropologie, Belle Ville (got a Groupon for that one yesterday!! it's a small local boutique here), White House Black Market, Victoria's Secret (online), J. Crew, Ann Taylor Loft, and The Jewel Box (old employer).

- Growing up, my school/church was about 30 minutes away from my house. Every single morning, my mom and I would drive through Hardees, and she'd order a large black coffee. After awhile, we knew all the workers. They knew my mom's order, our names, and sometimes got a free biscuit. Somehow in the super quick time it took to get her coffee, we ended up swapping stories and becoming friends. Good times in a small town.

- I grew up very sheltered from the world. Looking back, it was actually kind of nice. But when life comes crashing down around you? You're so unprepared. While I love my mom to death, I do think she tried a little too hard to keep us in a bubble. Still is, actually. Currently, she (and a couple other moms) are going through To Kill a Mockingbird and marking out all the bad words. My little sister is in 8th grade, and she doesn't feel a Christian school should be allowing them to read offensive language. I can certainly see her point, trying to live a certain standard, be a light, etc etc. But here's what I did when it was me... I didn't tell her about it. lol. I made the point yesterday to her that even though I read it word for word back in middle school, I never used the words and I'm pretty sure I turned out okay. Actually, I don't even think I knew what the words meant. Went right over my head.

- I'm (still) a Mary Kay consultant. But I don't go to meetings, don't pester people, and am not super motivated by all the "encouraging quotes" Mary Kay thought up. *did I just hear the sound of pink Cadillacs crashing all over the nation??* Honestly, I just like the products. End of story.

- I grew up in a very small town. However in the span of like 10 years, it went from this:

(Photo source)

to this...

(Photo source)

- I have an incredibly diverse group of friends. All very random. I believe that everyone should have friends that fall into these categories: a couple that are high-on-life to keep you motivated and encouraged, a couple that are total realists to keep you grounded, a couple that make you laugh till your face hurts, and a couple that are a combo of all those.

- I secretly wish I was born with a British accent. Or Spanish. I guess I'll just have to be content with my hillbilly drawl.

- I'm naturally very shy and quiet. Over the years, I've learned to get over it and just be myself. I think that's one of the best parts about growing up... getting comfortable in your own skin. For so long, I wanted to be the outgoing, fun, everybody-loves-me type. As a wife, I'd looove to be that Martha Stewart type. The kind that has everything planned out, a perfectly clean house, and "oh look what I did today, honey. Made new lampshades out of egg cartons and dog poo!" and somehow they look gorgeous. But I'm not, and that's okay. I enjoy projects and making my house nice. But I'm no Martha. It's so easy to look at others and wish you had their qualities, only to realize you spent all that time not recognizing what great qualities you already have. Loving who you are. Who God designed you to be. Because when you think about it, He spent so much time weaving every intricate detail of your personality and looks, and He loves every bit of you. So to wish you were something other than you are? Totally pointless. Ok, sorry... that was more of an opinion than a random fact.... I'll get back to what I was doing.

- Speaking of, I get distracted easily.

- I've spent my whole life hearing how much I look like my mom. Which is certainly not a bad thing. When we were kids, Brad told me he thought my mom was hot. And then he decided that when I'm her age, most likely I'll look like her. So then he'd have a hot wife. And that's how he decided he wanted to marry me when he was 14.

- I'm a total nerd. I do my best to hide it. But I like learning. One of my favorite classes in college was statistics. I enjoy reading and hearing other viewpoints and dissecting sentences. I like to read my Bible and write and think. And my proud moments are when I've spent so much time trying to teach Noah a new concept or word, then suddenly, he gets it. Maybe I'll give this whole homeschool thing a shot.

- And yeah. I plan on homeschooling. At least to try it. Because it's either that or private school. And we're not made of gold. So homeschool it is. Plus, I kinda like hanging out with my kid a lot and being able to choose what I want to teach him. We'll see how this goes.

- I love art. I used to love sitting in my room and drawing. I'm better at seeing something in front of me and copying it, rather than drawing it from my mind.

- I haven't had my hair done in over a year. Brad is giving me some money to get it done soon. I'm not sure whether to be insulted or excited? I'm choosing excited. Here's what I'm thinking:

(except without the extensions. Or blond.)

And there you have it. :)

Because they're just THAT good...

Don't mess with my Thin Mints...

***
Hersha Howard busted for beating up roommate Jasmin Wanke over Thin Mints Girl Scout cookie
By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, February 22nd 2011, 3:47 PM

A Florida woman allegedly went ballistic on her roommate because she believed the woman had gobbled her Girl Scout cookies.
Hersha Howard was arrested Sunday after a battle royale that ravaged the entire apartment, according to police.

The 31-year-old Naples resident allegedly first attacked Jasmin Wanke around 1 a.m. while she was sleeping – launching an angry rant about missing Thin Mints, Wanke told authorities.
The chocolate-coated mint wafers are one of the most popular of the Girl Scout varieties, and are only available once a year. The two argued about the cookies, then Wanke claims Howard – who according to the police report weighs 400 pounds – jumped on her and hit her in the face. They fought until Wanke's husband pulled them apart. Howard then allegedly chased after Wanke with a pair of scissors, police were told. Howard ditched the cutting implements, however, and instead picked up a board and whacked Wanke.
The fight moved into the kitchen, where Howard allegedly hurled her heft at Wanke again. As they fought, Howard bit Wanke's breast and struck her several times. Wanke's husband once again separated the pair, and kept Howard restrained until cops arrived, police said. Howard was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Read more: here

better

Doing much better today.
I forgot to mention that yesterday was the day Brad's oldest brother Rob passed away. It's been 11 years, which is crazy. I can still picture every minute of that whole event like it just happened. I wasn't super close to him or anything, but he was a really great guy. And it breaks my heart to see Brad at his worst when he gets upset about it. Brad handled it really well, though. We went over to his brother Ben's house to watch some college football and play with the kiddos.
Anyways, I just had one of those irritable days. They don't come often, but when they do... yikes.

Plus, I gained a new follower on my recipe blog. So that's always a nice little ego boost. :)

However, I AM a little perturbed at this Steelers/Ravens game.
*boring football talk coming... feel free to skip this if you want.*
Harrison alone (Steelers player) has racked up $125,000 in fines for stupid fouls. Stuff that, for the most part, was unintentional. So far in this game, Roethlisberger got his nose broken and a tight end was totally taken out (defenseless helmet to helmet that could've broken his neck, and he didn't even catch the ball)... and just now as I'm writing this, another player is lying lifeless on the ground. Beyond the extreme aggressiveness, the refs haven't called a thing. No fouls, no fines, nothing. Even Al Michaels is trying to figure out what's going on.
And I know Favre is Mr Scandal lately and most fans are itching for him to just retire already... but he still doesn't deserve to be taken out from behind (he's like an old man in NFL years) without a foul being called. Especially when Harrison got fined like $50,000 for the same exact thing.
What the heck, refs??

Ok, football rant done.

Tonight, my fabulously wonderful parents (and little sister) came over to watch Noah while we went to a Christmas thing at church. It was like going on a date. A church date. We're just super cool like that. It was basically just lots of Christmas carols, a good message, tree lighting, and some Christmas cookies made by the ladies of the church. :)
We haven't been to church together, without having to worry about Noah, since I was pregnant. Brad still isn't cool with him going to any nursery (apparently, everyone else's kids carry all sorts of diseases), so church gets a little complicated. I have to sit out in the "play area" and watch it all on a screen. Which is fine. But it was really nice to actually go in the sanctuary with adults... and not be carrying a diaper bag.

Then we came home, ate some dinner as a family in the loft, and watched the game. Noah only watches two shows on tv... Curious George and football.

So yeah. Christmas fun + date with hubby + family time + Polamalu on the tv screen = happy Hailey.