The Best Acapella Group Ever...

Since I'm stupid and STILL forgot to get on my acount at school and post my word docs, here's something festive for everyone's liking! This is a men's acappella group orginating from Indiana University. They used to do a lot of performaces when they were in college together. They all graduated and went their separate ways, until one of the guys posted their "12 Days of Christmas" on YouTube a couple years ago on Christmas to share with the other guys. Well, they got 6 or 7 MILLION hits, including the head honcho from Atlantic Records who called up his assistant ON Christmas morning and said, "Look these guys up." And they were signed! They have A TON of amazing videos on YouTube and here they are for everyone's enjoyment!
I came across them while in the car with my father on the way to work the other day. We were amazed (and humored) by "12 Days of Christmas." My dad went home and looked them wp. When I listened to it, I heard it and thought there were probably about six or eight guys. My dad thought there were about four, like The Nylons. Well I was closer! (Haha Dad...just kidding!) Something that doesn't cease to amaze me and my father is how these guys will go from one song to another in a slipt second, in the same key or not. Basically, they are MUSIC GENUISES! They didn't even have a teacher or instructor. They did this all on there own (music AND chorography!)
I thought I'd upload so videos for everyone's enjoyment! If you like 12 Days of Christmas you'll LOVE the rest of their stuff (holiday and not!) P.S. they guy who sings "Draddle" actually is Jewish for all the non-Christians out there! :)

12 Days of Christmas (Never gets old...)



Christmas Can-Can (This one never gets old either...ahahaha...)



Teen Sensation Medley (For all those who can remember this...)



Staright No Chaser (They're own theme song...haha)



Hi-De-Ho (This song is just amazing...the one guy practically sings as high as me...and I'm a soprano 1)



The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Does anyone agree with me that that guy's a musical freak?)



NBA Game (This one's just a short funny little commercial)


I'm Yours (This one's pretty cool...)


Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours (I LOVE this one!)

KITTENS INSPIRED BY KITTENS!

I love this video!

Chase, My Life Savor (for my tummy)

Chase Sullivan is the coolest person in the whole entire world. I was sitting here thinking of what I could possibly blog about when my stomach starting growling. I was like “Holy cow! I’m famished!” (Not starving kids, it’s famished. Little kids in Africa are starving.) So I turned to Miranda and Chase and said, “Do either of you guys have food? I’m hungry.” Chase did and asked what I’d do if he gave me some. I told him I’d write a blog about how awesome he was. So here we are.
He has a very good sense of style. He likes Bob Marley, (but then again, who doesn’t?) He has the coolest house (and pool house) I’ve ever been too…or snuck in:) He has the yummiest Mike and Ikes I’ve ever eaten. He also has the cutest picture of a cat I’ve ever seen! He’s basically the coolest guy I’ve ever met:)

Only For Your Awkwardness...

Soooo...we had our fulfillment of Wal-Mart? How about some awkward family photos for everyones enjoyment?

For everyone's Christmas enjoyment: the favorite onesie!

"Now we know how he plans to get down the chimney"


And then there's the Easter Bunny...
"What do you get when you cross an Olympic speed skater with the Easter Bunny and throw in a stripper for the hell of it?"


I know it's legal to drink with parent supervision, but I still think weed's illegal...
"You can only eat so much dip."


Just tilt your head a little further...
"This is jsut what people had to do before they discovered the 'headpile.'"


Let me just adjust myself...

"Marriage can be an adjustment for some people."


I don't even know what to say about this picture...hahahahaha?

"What family reunion wouldn't be complete without Lester, Dick, Gene, Thelma, Ida, Mary and Roberta? And yes, those are their real names."

Gotta Love That Wal-Mart!

I just recently got on peopleofwalmart.com and awkwardfamilyphotos.com again, and here are photos for everyone's enjoyment (or horror)

People of Wal-Mart!

Numero Uno: My personal question is: Is that a man or woman?
"Pull them up, pull it down, wrap it around. There are several different options for your stomach not to play peek-a-boo with my lunch as you are standing in line."

Numero Dos: I honestly thought the picture was horrid, but what I really loved was the quote:"Alright buddy, we are going to look past the hair, but let me give this to you straight. Not only are you going to wear all denim, but you are going to wear women’s denim that Stevie Wonder could see is too tight on you?"

Numero Trois: (Yes I switched to French...I don't know how to spell "three" in Espanol) This one's here because it's from Iowa (we should be so proud...)"For the sake of all men in the world I’m just going to assume that you forgot to put on the other 90% of your Chewbacca costume."

Numero Quatre: Here's another horrible picture with a hilarious quote:"I hope you are picking out some nice underwear for us to look at since its pretty obvious you like wearing your skirt high enough to let us study what you got going on back there."

Numero Cinq: I changed my mind...I'm getting my hair cut JUST like this:"Oh snap, it’s like Rupaul and the Grinch came together for a seriously crazy night"

Numero Six: Why did the chicken go to Walmart?

"I’m not sure why a chicken would buy a microwave. It actually seems quite counterproductive if his main goal is to avoid being eaten."

So You Think You Can Dance (Season 6...so far)

Just as a note with some of the videos: The longer ones (from 4-7 minutes) if you don't care about the extra information and just want to watch the dances you may have to fastforward about a minute into the videos to get to the dancing!:)

This is Jakob, who I've kind of predicted to win...he's basically AMAZING! You'll see why:


Here's Ellenore and Ryan, doing a dance corographed by the AMAZING Travis Wall (my all-time favorite dancer on SYTYCD!)


MOLLEE AND JAKOB! I love, love, LOVED this dance! They were soooooo great together! But Mollee got kicked off:( I really loved Mollee she was AMZAING (but who's not on this show?)


Here's the other dance they did together which was (am I repeating myself repeating my self?) AMAZING! I LOVED this dance and TOTALLY agree with Nigel that Mollee should DEFINATELY go into Broadway!


This is my favorite dancer RUSSELL! I love him. He's a krumper!!!! And amazingly great at everything! He's done almost everyy single style on the show and has KICKED BUTT at them all. He looks like he's trained in all of those styles and here's a video of my favorite contemporary dance with him!


Mollee and Nathan! This dance was amazing! I've been thinking about his dance since they've done it! I'm so sad both of them are gone now, but I think this was their best dance together!


I think this dance was adorable! And Legacy has never had formal dance training, he looks a little awkward sometimes, but they looked AMAZING together! He made me teary afterwards when he started crying! I so sad Legacy's gone now! We love you! He's such an insperation!!!


Here they are AGAIN doing the pasodoble! AMAZING!


This dance was done by Ryan and Kathryn...it was the BEST cha cha I've ever seen! (I feel bad for Ryan's wife Ashleigh who's in the show tho...)


Here's another really good dance with Nathan and Mollee. All I can say about Bollywood is that it looks hardcore. I think this was their second best dance together as a couple!


Tied with their bollywood dance is this disco dance that Mollee and Nathan did. I really enjoyed it! I think the last lifted turn was ridiculous (you'll see why!) :)


This is my favorite dance with Kathryn and Legacy! This was probably one of my favorite dances from the whole season!


Here's the first group dance which was totally different and I LOVED it! So awesome!


Here's probably the best hip hop dance I've ever seen with the three hip hop boys from season 6: Kevin, Legacy, and Russell. I LOVE IT!!!! (This dance is soooo dangerous!)


AMAZING routine chorographed by Travis Wall with Legacy and Elleinore! Seriously the most dangerous dance I've ever witnessed! Anyone agree with Nigel (and me) that this is definately Emmey (sp?) worthy??


One of my favorite dances from this season with Mollee and Russell! Doin' the jive:)


This is Jakob and Jeanine (who won SYTYCD season 5). They've danced together and are really good friends too:)

Dieting

Dieting. It’s one of those subjects you either love or hate to talk about. Me? I’m pretty indifferent as long as you’re one of those people who talks about it rationally. If you’re one of those 98 pound girls who want to loose five pounds, I say I want to tape you a chair and feed you a double cheeseburger from McDonald’s. Then I tell you to shut your face, because obviously you know you’re not fat. DUH! You have two perfectly good eyes and a mirror.

But the real subject I want to talk about is good, healthy dieting. You know, where you eat three balanced meals a day and exercise AT LEAST one or two times a week (three to four is better)? Yeah THAT kind of dieting! Or maybe we should call it “being healthy”?! As Americans, we are the unhealthiest country in the world in so many ways than one! We’ve got high schoolers (and even MIDDLE schoolers) who starve themselves and throw up ever calorie they consume! (What the HECK has the world come to?)

About a month ago, the gym I work at hired a nutritionist for people to meet with. As employees, my mom and I could meet with her for free, so we decided it couldn’t hurt any. She asked us how active we were and what types of things we ate and how many servings of each food groups we ate daily. Because I’m a teenager and active with dance and show choir four days a week, she told me that it’s pretty average for me to consume 2,000 calories a day. Then she gave me healthy snack ideas for home, because I already eat my fulfillment of unhealthy snacks at lunch (yay for Swiss Cake Rolls!) It was really eye-opening for me, because I really thought I did a good job of eating healthy, but she showed me how to take it to the next level. I was extremely happy I went because my family has a history of cancer, diabetes, and other heart-related problems.

Because of these obvious reasons, I think we should have programs like these at schools, because I really don’t think pre-teens and teenagers area aware of how many delicious and healthy choices are out there. I’m NOT saying that we can’t eat some unhealthy snacks (I love them just like the next guy) but teen obesity is a scary issue with Americans nowadays. I heard one in THREE kids under the age of 18 are obese. That is a CRAZY stastistic! I think it’s time for American schools to take charge. You can’t just change the lunch menu and what’s in the vending machine. Two meals kids eat a day are at home. We need to educate them on these topics now. Even starting with fifth graders! Start young, so they have the right ideas and have practice what they think is healthy and should be eaten daily. Even monitor what children are eating, and sit them down to talk to them one-on-one. It’s like drugs or drinking underage. It’s unhealthy and bad for people!

We just had three snow days in a row. I ate junk food the whole three days. Everyone’s guilty of it! You can eat unhealthy foods, as long as it’s not a huge percentage of your intake everyday. I think it’s time for schools to take an active part in making the younger generation of America healthier!

War

War: a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air. (Source: Dictonary.com)

So war, it’s a tough subject. It’s different for every person. For someone like me, it’s more real. Like I stated in a previous blog, “A Day and Two Years to Remember” my dad was in the Army Reserves and fought in Iraq in the war against terrorism. He was there for six months, and every 159 days he was gone I woke up in a panic of worry. Every morning the first thought that went through my mind was: Is he alright? Did something happen while I was asleep? Did experience something horrible while I was sleeping soundlessly without a care or worry in another dimension? Every morning I would sigh with relief as the phone rang for my dad’s daily call. He would call before Crystal and I went to school and before he went to bed.
One morning I awoke with same thoughts as I’d always awoken to, but by the time I left for school I had not sighed in relief to hear the phone ring. He hadn’t called. My anxiety mounted all day. I watched the clock the entire day worry about whether the attendance office would call me down to find my mother in tears with terrible news. By the time school was out, I ran to my mother’s car to find that Dad had called an hour late. But then it happened again the next day, and the next, and the next. Finally my mom asked him why he was calling an hour late, and it turned out that Iraq had daylight saving a week before we did. That was the only big scare, for me, and I’m glad that he came home safely in mid-September. The transition from no dad to a full-time one was a little awkward, but it was a big weight off everyone’s shoulders, especially my mom’s.
So, I guess the reason I think the way I do about the whole war idea is that I experienced it first-hand. Many kids my age, and younger and older don’t know what it’s like to go through what I went through. I know there’s a lot of them out there, just not that many around me. Some kids have an uncle, or a cousin, or a brother (or aunt and sister!) who have done what my dad did, but it’s not as REAL when they leave YOUR home and don’t call YOUR phone in the morning. I know what it’s like to go through not having my father there for Christmas or my birthday. My mom didn’t even celebrate her anniversary with my dad for ten or so years (because each year he’d have drill that weekend).
So I say bring our men and women home where they belong. I think we’ve stuck our foot in foreign affairs for eight years too long. They are big boys and girls over there, and they don’t want us there as much as those of us here don’t want our men and women there fighting. It’s not our war to fight, it never has been. You can fight the War on Terror, if you don’t know who the terrorist is. YOU CAN’T IDENTIFY A TERRORIST BY LOOKING AT HIM!!! Animal right’s activists (like the ones that have happened here in my own town) who set animals free from testing plants and trash their computers are considered “terrorist” for doing I think is completely rational.
But, that is beside the point. America, I think it is time to bring our men and women home. Iraq can live without us; my dad WORKED with training their men one-on-one and says that all the need is the right training and knowledge. WE’VE BEEN THERE FOR EIGHT YEARS NOW! I think they’re good. And all the nonsense with Afghanistan (that I honestly have no clue why it’s going on, I haven’t stayed updated in the current events lately) is probably just a COMPLETE overreaction.
It pains me to know there’s hundred’s of kids out there right now, dealing with what I went through. It’s practically a form of torture! So, America, let’s bring our men and women home safely.

Okay chillins...

So I discovered George Michael yesterday, even though I've known about him for awhile without really knowing it was him...:)

SO! Here's some really great songs by him that I recommend you all listen to!

These will be followed up with some music videos (if none are disembedded, in which that case I'll give you the link to listen to them!)

1.Kissing a Fool

(My personal favorite!) all the videos of this one were disembedded so here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSCn_5cJ5No

This song is like no other of his songs, very jazzy and cool...I LOVE IT! I would even go as far as to say that it's probably tied for my favorite song ever!:)

2.Jesus to a Child

Also, very calm and emotional, very sweet and deep! There is a little bit of someone (I'm not sure who's...) butt in this so if you don't want to see it, don't watch it!:)

3. Cowboys and Angels

Also a very, very good song! It's also pretty calm compared to his other stuff...but you gotta love it!

4. Outside

I don't know about you, but I see disco with this one...I think you will too (?) :)

Okay, so this music video is a little weird...but you can watch it, nothing bad happens, like you think it might at the beginning...so just calm down!

AND all these music videos got disembedded, so here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSqI3ve_rgY&feature=PlayList&p=1B17B8E95C744002&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=22

5.Praying for Time

This is a really good song. I think one of the things I love about him is how much emotion he puts into his music...He wrote almost all of his songs, so you can tell jsut how passionate he is about what he's singing. :)

6. Faith

If you're going to watch the music video to "Freedom 90" you have to watch this music video first.

This one was, of course, disembedded so here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSvHpvHFXU0

7. Freedom 90

Here's somethings I have to tell you before you watch this music video

a. WATCH "FAITH" FIRST! I forbid you to watch this one if you haven't watched it first and here's why: George Michael tried to recreat himself, and in this music video at times 2:18 & 4:12 & 5:55 you'll see why...:)

b. George Michael doesn't even appear in this music video. All those people are SUPER famous models, and I'm sure you'll atleast recognize the one in the long white dress

now...watch it!:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTugeLRZ6GI

8. Wake Me Up (Before You Go-Go)

This song was originally sung by George Michael when he was in the band Wham!

I'm SURE you've heard this song before!:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hksil-KkebQ

9. Careless Whisper

This was the song that started this whole thing...because I heard it on the radio at work, and wrote down the lyrics. I then googled the lyrics and listened to the song on iTunes. My curiousity brought me to listen to "Faith" which was the #1 song and "Freedom" which was #2 and when I heard "Freedom" I thought I'd heard my dad play that song before, when he works out. (Since his workout bench is right behind me as I sit on the computer, I hear a lot of music from my dad). Anyways, he said yes, and told me, what I told you about "Faith" and "Freedom 90"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4LUSUv8AXc

Hope you liked that. And if you didn't listen to any of those songs, than all I can tell you is: God, you're missing out!

:)

I was in the car with my mom coming home from work the other day, and I heard this song, and loved it! I wrote down the name of the song and downloaded and I can't stop listening to it!:)

The Mummy

My dad’s work has had a Halloween party every year for the past couple years, except for last year. The children wear costumes (some of the adults do too), they have cookies to decorate, music, pictures, pumpkin bowling, door prizes, those jars filled with candy that you have to guess how many are in there, etc., etc. Anyway, I want to say it was three years ago, we went, as always. I was “Foxy Cleopatra” from Austin Powers (I had a gold jumpsuit for a dance costume a few years before that, so I bought a huge afro and decided to be Beyoncé). Anyway, the theme that year was “The Haunted Pyramids of Egypt.” And they had these six foot tall mummies in front of this huge pyramid. There was a male a female mummy. Their eyes glowed (the male’s red, the female’s green) that moved back and forth, they mumbled and made scary noises and scared the crap out of me. They were motioned detected, and whenever something hit them, or they saw movement or heard noise they went off.

Of course, with my luck, we got the female mummy as our door prize. My dad was laughing his head off at my misfortune. He took it apart (it split into two at her hips) and put it in the trunk of the car. When we got back to the house, he put it in a box (thank the Lord!) and left it in the garage.

I don’t remember exactly how much later it was, but it was a Monday night, and I was at dance class. By this time, the mummy was out of the box (filled with Christmas decorations) and put together, standing in front of my mom’s car in the garage. I still wasn’t used to it at that time, so every time I saw it in the garage when the door opened, I jumped. I guess I wasn’t paying much attention to the fact that it mysteriously disappeared that night. I walked up to me bedroom and saw my door was closed. This was the first sign that something was not right because I always left my bedroom door open. Crystal, was following me down the hallway, bothering me, like she knew something I didn’t. I half expected my grandparents, or a friend to be in my bedroom, waiting to yell, “SURPRISE!”

Oh no. It was not a loved one. I flung my door open and it hit something. The light from the hallway fell on the mummy as its eyes glowed green and started making noise. I screamed, and booked it down the hallway, knocking Crystal over and down the stairs. My dad was laughing so hard he was crying, and my mom was exasperated. I yelled at him to get it out of my room, and he did, laughing the whole way. Apparently, my dad and sister decided it would be funny to pull a prank on me with the mummy. The set it up while I was at dance.

My mom said when she came in the door, as I was walking up the stairs, my dad said “Shh! Wait for it…wait for it…” Then they heard a scream and my mom said, “That’s not funny!” Needless to say, that night I could not fall asleep for HOURS! My dad told me that in the middle of the night, the mummy might just come up to my bed, to be cuddled with. Of course, this hasn’t happened yet, but I am worried that it will happen.

The cardboard recycling is right in front of it now. The other day I went to recycle some cardboard from a frozen pizza. I didn’t even know I was within two feet of it until it was too late. I shivered and ran away as fast as I could.

Maybe a year ago, when Jermey came over, and my sister was home, he decided to take the mummy (since he was practically it’s height) and chase me around with it. Obviously, I was not happy with him.

But, I still keep my eyes open when the garage door’s open to make sure that it’s still in its place. But believe me, one day I will get someone else’s hands on that mummy and burn it.

Ahhh Hahaha...

Oh god do I love this website.


"Some mothers want their kids to grow up to be doctors. For others,pink togas will do."
Personally, I thought, you've got to be kidding me right? No, they were dead serious the whole time.


"Awkward Rule #372: Souvenir Barrel Photos."
My question is: ?


"You don't get to hold the cat for nothing."
Why the cat? WHY?! What even goes though your minds to want to do that? Really? Really?!


"Due to budget constraints, the Easter Egg Hunt has been cancelled."
HAHAHAHA! I think this suit needs to be burned. Seriously.

Here's a good song that I would like to share with all of you via video! I'm listening to this right now going "You know what's a really good song people probably should hear?" Here you go:
"I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family

Question Marks at Dance Competitions

We were at a dance competition last year when I was in the middle competing group. We had finished all our dances when these little three and four year old girls came on the stage. At first we were like “Aww! They’re so cute!” Minus their tube tops and mini skirts. We didn’t want to say anything out loud because one of their mom’s was sitting behind us yelling “YOU GO GIRLS! YOU’RE AWESOME! KICK SOME BUTT!” We all looked at each other like “Oh….kay?”
There were probably fifty dancers on stage and they had a cute little dog house. They started dancing and they were REALLY good for three and four year olds. But then they started doing some questionable moves, like “pop, lock, and dropping.” We have a rule at my dance studio that there are no belly-showing costumes. There are some dancers and teachers who are uncomfortable in them and make some girls very self-conscious. I got the feeling that at this dance studio, if you were not a size zero or two you were expected to get to that size or you were out. I know the logic behind it, who’d want to watch a normal sized girl when you could watch one the size of a Barbie doll? One thing I’m grateful for, is Jeanine (the girl whose solo I posted), who won “So You Think You Can Dance” on season five was actually normal sized. She had a nice “hourglass” shape and was still an AMAZING dancer. She made girls of all shapes and sizes feel good about themselves. There was a girl out there who looked normal, and had the title “America’s Favorite Dancer.”




Anyway, these toddlers (because really, that’s what they were!) got done dancing, and a cute little girl from the dance went to her mom, who was sitting behind us, and started crying. I can’t recall why she started dancing, maybe because she messed up, or was tried (girls this age still take naps sometimes!) but she was very upset. Her mother started getting mad at her for no apparent reason, except that she thought her daughter was being stupid. She ignored her, and talked to her son, and totally ignored her daughter. One of the girls I danced with thought the girl’s mother was being stupid and said out loud (loud enough for the girl’s mother to hear) “Does she see her daughter crying? My mother would try to make me feel better if I was crying. I feel so bad for that little girl.” Obviously, she was trying to get the mother to comfort her daughter. Of course, the mother immediately picked up her daughter and put her in her lap.
I just shook my head (and still do) at these crazy mothers putting their daughters through this, and depriving their children a childhood. I started dancing when I was three years old also. My first dance competition I went to, I was maybe nine. All other girls at my dance studio go about the same age, sometimes they take seven year olds, and it’s all for the girls to experience if they like it, and see if, at that age, they would like to compete in the competing groups. We do not put them though the drama, and chaos of dance competitions at the age of three. It’s completely unnecessary and crazy.

Well...

I was just listening to my iPod on my way home from school, and just singing along...and since I just figured out how to put videos on here (thanks to a certain language arts teacher...) I thought I'd share this wonderful song with you all. Even though you've all probably heard this song before!

Here's Another!

Okay, so while I was just editing my previous "So You Think You Can Dance" (SYTYCD) blog, I ran across Jeanine's Finale solo, which was AAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG!
Here you go!


Ahhh...jealous!

DANCE!

So, I’m just going to assume everyone who really even cares about my blog has figured out whom I am. So, I decided I could talk about dance! At my dance studio, there are three competing groups: the youngest, we’ll call Baby Troupe, consists mostly of middle schoolers (but when I was in it, I was one of three freshmen, and there was one sophomore, and the rest were eight graders and a few seventh graders). They compete at three competitions a year, in the area around our city. My sister, who is in seventh grade, just made the group. They do one dance that they work on all year, a jazz dance, that’s usually very upbeat and age appropriate. (We never have any inappropriate dances at our dance studio. Always rated “G” maybe every one in a billion do we maybe have a “PG”).
So! Then, the next troupe, we’ll call them Midway Troupe. This year, they consist of a seventh grader, a couple eight graders, quite a few freshmen, and a couple sophomores. They compete with three dances, a lyrical, jazz, and tap dance. They go to many competitions, the same three Baby Troupe go to, around this area, and other big ones in other parts of the state.
Then, there’s my troupe, that I just made this year called Contest Troupe. We compete with the same three dances (tap, lyrical, and jazz), and this year, Midway and Contest Troupe have teamed up to do a lyrical/contemporary production number. One of the girls who used to dance at my dance studio (she actually used to baby-sit me!) started a dance competition, and choreographed the dance. She had some professionals (well, she’s one too!) to choreograph solos and such. It was an awesome experience! Contest Troupe goes to all the same competitions as Midway Troupe, and some ones out of state.
Last year, there were a lot less dancers in each troupe (for complicated reasons I will not talk about on here) and last year, when I was in Midway Troupe, we actually went to a competition out of state in Minnesota. I think that was the weekend when we all became a family. We all bonded and did lots of things, like going to The Mall of America, and in my room, there were three of us who didn’t have parents come with us, and we stayed up late talking about all kinds of things. Then, last year, a lot of the girls previously in Contest Troupe didn’t try out (for a lot of ligitamant reasons, like they were just too busy). So only one girl stayed, and we’re glad to have her! But, through the tough times, we’ve just become a tight family!

Ahh...Wal Mart...Hahahaha!

Okay, just a note from me, I think I wore a costume with this same design (except in green) for my jazz dance last year!
"No, I don't know where the twirling ribbon is. Yes, he added his own glitter to that outfit."

I love the quote of this one. Probably because it's so true!

"I'm confused, and non of it's good. The hair says 1940's, the shoes say 55 year old man, that shirt says, 'I'm a male figure-skater,' and those short are not saying anything because she is suffocating them to death."

Um...this is one of those speechless pictures...

"I can neither confirm nor deny that she id Storm from X-Men"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I think I just died and went to heaven! I LOVE llamas....seriously!

"I have a great idea! I'm going to dress up my llama as the Easter Bunny to freak out and confuse all of the little kids. Seriously, where does one come with idea of dressing up their llama to take to Walmart?"

The heading on this one says: "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time" ahahahahahahaha....

"She must be on her way as a back-up dancer for SAlt-N-Peppa"

Hopefully I'll be back to add some more later!

H1N1 aka The Swine Flu (OH MY GOD!)

So this whole Swine Flu business is getting completely out of control. People are freaking out right, left, and center. OKAY CHILDREN! Yes, people have been dying from it, but we all need to but on our big kid panties and deal with it. Do you know how many people die each year from the actual flu? WAAAAAAAAAAAY more than the amount people who have died from H1N1. So let’s all calm down and take a big breath and continue with no freaking outs (at least on your part). Here are some statistics for all you people who do not believe me.

THIS IS FROM THE ACTUAL H1N1 FLU VIRUS WEBSITES: http://h1n1.flu-virus.org/H1N1-US-deaths.php
(States) (Cases) (Deaths) (Fatality Rate) July 24, 2009
AL: 477
AK: 272
AZ: 947 15 1.58%
AR: 131
CA: 3161 52 1.65%
CO: 171
CT: 1713 8 .47%
DE: 381
FL: 2915 23 .79%
GA: 222 1 .45%
HI: 1424 3 .21%
ID: 166
IL: 3404 17 .50%
IN: 291 1 .34%
IA: 165
KS: 204
KY: 143
LA: 232
ME: 145
MD: 766 4 .52%
MA: 1370 5 .36%
MI: 515 9 1.75%
MN: 670 3 .45%
MS: 252
MO: 76 1 1.32%
MT: 94
NE: 313 1 .32%
NV: 467
NH: 247
NJ: 1414 15 1.06%
NM: 232
NY: 2738 63 2.30%
NC: 483 5 1.04%
ND: 63

OH: 188 1 .53%
OK: 189 1 .53%
OR: 524 5 .95%
PA: 1960 8 .41%
RI: 192 2 1.04%
SC: 244
SD: 45
TN: 283 1 .35%
TX: 5151 27 .52%
UT: 988 16 1.62%
VT: 59
VA: 327 2 .61%
WA: 658 7 1.06%
WV: 243
WI: 6222 6 .10%
WY: 111

Now that we see the statistics, aren’t we a little less frightened (yes right?) Okay, now if you compare them to that of the ACTUAL flu, I’d be more scared of that, and what do most people say when you go “Oh, Bob’s not coming to work, he’s got the flu.” You don’t go “Oh my God! I hope he’s in the hospital! Did you see to him? Because if you did stay away from me!” No! You go, “Oh that sucks! I hope he gets better soon!” Now don’t you feel a little foolish? Because you should! Yes, it’s odd how it’s affecting the most random people, and yes, it’s waaaaay too early for the regular flu. Yes, there ARE differences, but what you’ve go to keep in mind is that this will mutate and yes, it kills people. Almost anything can kill a person. But look at those percentages. I think we’ll all be okay. Okay? I found out yesterday that I worked at my church with a girl who was just diagnosed with H1N1. Did I freak out? No. Yes I do have some of the symptoms. Yes, I did stay home from school on Monday. Yes, I felt WAY better yesterday and am feeling worse today. Chances that I have it, or am going to have it are pretty high, since I work with children three to four days a week. Yes, it’s likely to happen. But I am healthy and exercise, I take multi vitamins and do all the good things I’m supposed to do, so chances I’m going to die from it? Slim to none. So, ME, of all people, who should be worried about my life because of my jobs…I’m not.
I had dance yesterday. I help teach a class of four and five year olds. I called my dance teacher Kayne* and told her what information I just got. I had had a scratchy throat by then and didn’t want to risk it. I wasn’t worried about ME, I was worried about the potiental kids I could be getting sick. I was think of OTHERS not myself. This may come as a shock to many of you, but the world does not revolve around you!
Now that we have that established let’s get over this “Swine Flu” business and grow up, build a bridge, and get over it! If you get it, get better quickly! If you don’t, great, but don’t think you’ll never get it. It will probably mutate and get you! Don’t think you can’t get it!
The END!

FOOOOOOOOOOOTBALL!

This weekend was Iowa’s homecoming, and my mom usually marches with the alumni band that always performs. This year it wasn’t in the budget, but we still went to the parade and hung out with all her friends. I think this is seriously my favorite time of year! I don’t know, it may be the cool days where you can wear sweat shirts and jeans with moccasins (my favorite things to wear!) I also just LOVE Iowa City (maybe it’s the atmosphere, or the beautiful campus? I don’t know I just love it!) Anyway, my mom, my sister, Crystal*, Jeremy, and me went down there after school on Friday. I’m not a band geek or anything (unlike my parents and sister…I’m more of a singer/dancer person myself, but my mom and sister dance also) but I love listening to the marching band. I think it’s something in my veins maybe? (Sound cliché enough for you?) But I really love the feeling the fight song gives me, like “Yeah football!!!”



Speaking of football, I’ve been having my dad and Jeremy explain it for me the past couple years. It’s really not as complicated as I thought it was. Like I can ligitamently say “What was up with our quarterback throwing the ball twenty yards behind him yesterday?” (I feel so smart saying that!)



No offense to my school or anything, (I love the school and my friends, the teachers are awesome…especially my English teacher…nudge nudge) but I CANNOT wait to get out of here and go to Iowa. I already know what I want to do and how I’m going to do it (maybe I’ll leave that for another blog…) But I know not much, except the class I’m doing THIS for, and my science classes are doing me much good…Anyway, I can’t wait to go to the Hawkeye games every weekend instead of just once a year! Ah…but the two years I have left…



*Names have been changed

Chocolates for Sale

Every other year, our top three choirs go on a trip and compete. This year our two show choirs (one for sure the other we’re not sure about yet) are going to compete too. This year, over spring break, we are going to Chicago. I was planning on going, even if the show choir doesn’t go. But, there’s one tiny snag: the price tag. *Drum roll please* $599. Yeah…well, my family’s on kind of a tight budget, so I’ve donated one hundred dollars of my own money (just because I wanted to be a good daughter in the tough times, and I have a job, so it’s not like a HUGE deal for me to pitch in a little). But, there is still $499 left. So I’ve been fundraising as much as I can, since I have a lot of other nasty price tags (along with my sister). Since I’m in the highest competing group at my dance studio, we compete out of state a couple times, and I’m also doing a duet with one of my best friends, Jennifer* which is extra cash. SO, like I said, I’ve been doing fundraising. So far, I’ve only really been selling these chocolate candy bars (which are really super good!) Surprisingly, I’ve probably made more money selling these than other fundraisers like the food magazines we get. I think it’s because the prices for those pizzas and cookie dough are like somewhere between five and twenty-five dollars. These chocolates are a dollar a piece, so kids are like “A dollar? Yum! I’ll take one.” I’m already on my third box, and it’s my third week selling them.



There’s almond, crisp (like crunch bars), caramel, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate with almonds. I’m not much of a dark chocolate person, but the ones I’m selling are seriously the best kind I’ve ever had! My grandpa loves these kinds and he bought like 5 or 6 from me the other week. Jennifer has probably bought twelve dollar’s worth of chocolate bars from me! But you won’t hear me complaining.
I’ve always been a chocolate-lover, but since I’ve started selling these, some days chocolate seems a lot less appealing! It’s reminded me why I didn’t apply for a job at a restaurant. I’ve had friends tell me that they worked at restaurants they loved, and years later have never even considered going to that restaurant ever. Anyway, there are fifty chocolate bars in each box, and we get twenty-five dollars for each box (well, fifty dollars) we turn in. So I think it’s pretty nice…I just hope this doesn’t make chocolate less appealing for me permanent. But, I have already bought three chocolate bars from myself, but I’ve allowed one candy bar for myself per box. We’ll see how well that works…

*Names have been changed

Well Here's Another One For You:

Here’s another question mark for you, and another rant for me. So at my work there are two families, probably of about the same descent (no, I’m not being racist, I think it may just be different customs or something?) But one family is Indian, and the other maybe from the Middle East? (It’s hard to tell, but they have similar accents) Anyway, the Indian family has a daughter of about 4, and a son of 8 months. Before the 8-month-old could sit and crawl, he would cry, and I’m not talking just some ordinary baby cry, like bloody-murder crying, ear piercing screaming. It was HORRIBLE! Two of my co-workers, Billie* and Becca* were talking about how it would be so bad they’d go get his mother, who would usually be taking an aqua class. She once just told Billie to go get his father. She didn’t get his father, she told Billie to go get him herself. And then a second time, when the 8-month-old needed a diaper, she made Billie go in the locker room and get it out of the locker. The mother, though, didn’t remember which locker the bag was in, so it was basically more of a hassle then it was worth. But the parents will just leave us to deal with his screaming, and do nothing about it. Then, the past little while the four-year-old will cry and not do a thing unless she gets food or candy from her parents, which is against our policy…ahhhhhhhh!
THEN! The mid-eastern family has a boy, possibly the age of one-and-a-half or two, and a 10-month-old who will cry, just about as bad as the 8-month-old used to be. She will cry and cling to one person. Do nothing else BUT that. Her half-brother or step-brother (a brother from another mother?) was really sick yesterday when I worked. Coughing and sneezing on everything, and everyone. He was fascinated with the water fountain and stuck his hands (his nasty, germy, icky hands) all over the mouthpiece of the water fountain and then got everything all wet. I just don’t know…I mean, if you cannot financially (which shouldn’t be a problem for these families because it’s $65 or a month for the membership and two kids in the daycare), mentally, or physically take care of kids, then don’t have any, because they are better off not existing, then in the environments their parents put them in! It’s horrible! I just don’t know sometimes…

Well Here's a Rant For You:

Okay, I might’ve lied when I said that I would talk about politics, but here’s a different sort of one: So Last night I went out to Olive Garden with Jeremy, and the night before we went to a Chinese restaurant with his family. When we were at the Chinese restaurant, there was a huge group of old people. Really loud, annoying old people. They talked really loud, and this one lady seriously laughed like a hyena. We were sitting at the table right next to them and it was SOOO obnoxious. I said to myself, “Lady, nothing’s THAT funny. Seriously! I know you’re old and probably half-crazy but quiet down! We don’t care what happened to you fifty years ago! Your friends might care, but we care about hearing each other over here!” It was very exasperating.
THEN! Last night when we were at Olive Garden, it was another school’s homecoming, and there were too booths opposite us with kids. The one booth further away from us was quiet and talked in an indoor voice (you know that thing you learn when you’re in like kindergarten? They were practically experts at it!) And the kids in the booth closest to us would NOT shut UP! They yelled profanities (which I usually don’t really care about, but in a pretty nice restaurant with kids and families? Inappropriate) and said many inappropriate things like “That’s what she said!” and those kinds of things. I seriously wanted to turn around and give them a dirty look. But I would not sink to their level! All I wanted was to go to a nicer restaurant and have a nice dinner (and the dinner was good, we had potato dumpling soup, cheese ravioli, and spaghetti with breaded chicken with marinara sauce and cheese…YUM! *cue stomach growling*) Anyway, halfway through dinner, they were yelling and laughing obnoxiously, enough for me to go and complain to the manger or something, and these nice old ladies sit in the booth right next to us. They’re having a girls’ night out or something, and these kids right across from them are yelling completely horrible things! Things I’d never want to hear my grandma come out of my mouth. I was ashamed FOR them. *Cue shaking head* I don’t know what’s wrong with people nowadays, but I think it’s something like they might’ve all been pushed down a flight of stairs and are suffering from brain damage? Or they’ve taking one too many hits to the head from football or soccer? Who knows…but I know when WE went to homecoming at Carlos O’ Kelly’s, they didn’t write down our reservation, and there was a huge mix up, and we were totally cool about it. We said it was okay, were seated right away, and got free queso dip (how much better could life get?) But sometimes I seriously have to ask myself, and those around me, “Really? REALLY?!” *Cue shaking of the head again*

So You Think You Can Dance

My mom, my sister, and I have been following this show since season three. It's an AWESOME show that always leaves me with goose bumps! One of my all time favorites is the "Bench Routine" with Travis (who's probably been my all-time favorite dancer on the show) and Heidi. Mia Michaels, who’s basically brilliant, choreographed it. Here's the link for you to watch:


Another one of my favorites from season four is Mercy with Twitch and Katee (you may want to fast forward to about 1:34 because the first half shows how it was made). It's another amazing Mia Michaels routine:


From season four, my favorite was Ivan, who was a hip-hop dancer. He obviously wasn't the BEST dancer but he was my favorite. Here's a video of him with Allison:
(You can fast forward to 1:40, but you can see why I really liked him and his personality if you watch the whole thing!)

The most touching piece on the entire show was done last season with Melissa and Ade. It was choreographed by Tyce Dioiro. It's a dance about breast cancer, which his friend had. On the day of the finale for season five, she found out she didn't have cancer anymore. I think it's a beautiful story and an AMAZING dance.


Another amazing dance was with Kayla and Kupono. It was too choreographed by Mia Michaels. It was about addiction, which really hit home with Kupono, who had a family friend who had struggle with one. It was hard on everyone important in his life. This was also an AMAZING dance.

Two of my favorite dancers from season five were Jeanine (who won the title "America's Favorite Dancer") and Jason. This was choreographed by Travis! (Yay for me!) It was an awesome dance (note: the kiss was not choreographed!:D!)



Many new (and old) styles have been introduced back to America. One of these includes disco. The dance where I thought it was basically amazing was when Janette and Brandon did it to "Love Is Really My Game" (they did disco twice together).

(Just as a note, you can fast forward to 0:52. They talk for a little while, that's when the dance starts.)

Another one of my all-time FAVORITES was choreographed by Wade Robson to "Ramalama (Bang Bang)"


I have lots of more favorites that I may talk about some other time, but I hope you enjoyed these!

Weddings

My third cousin, Sam*, got married yesterday in Smallville*, where my grandparents live. It was a pretty short ceremony (thank God) and really cute. I’ve only been to a handful of weddings, about ten maybe.
My first one was a month after I was born (I don’t really remember it that well…), where my Uncle Chris* and Aunt Andrea* got married. Chris had been married once before and had my cousins Leanne* and May*. Leanne is now twenty-five (May is twenty-two), and got married last October to Ethan*. It was a very small wedding (fifty people total) on my grandparent’s farm. It was a beautiful day, like yesterday for Sam’s, and it was maybe fifteen minutes. I was the designated DJ. I hit the play button and stood on the porch. “Woo” right? It wasn’t too bad though. I felt like actually contributed to the wedding, so I felt better.
Anyway, I basically have my whole life planned out. I don’t know…I’m one of those people that has everything planned out and makes those lists of everything…NO I am not OCD! Anyways, I want a BIG wedding, lots of friends and family. I want to have it in one of three places: my church, my grandpa’s church in Omaha (which is basically the most beautiful church ever), or an Episcopal church in Des Monies (easiest place for both sides of my family to meet: half lives Eastern Iowa and the other half in Omaha). I want my dress to look like Princess Belle’s, except white with lots of lace and detailed, fancy stuff. I would have my reception in a nice hotel ballroom. The end! I know it may sound shallow, but I’ve wanted the Princess wedding. I seriously thought I was a princess from the time I was two to about the age of five. If you ask my parents they will back me up one hundred percent. Here’s a picture of the dress:

Just For Kicks and Giggles

Like my cousins, my dance teacher Renee*, showed me a couple of really funny videos on YouTube. I’m sure at least one of you people out there has seen “David After Dentist”. It seriously makes me laugh for days after watching it. I just got done watching it and it all ready brightened my day. Here’s the link if you want a good laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs. He’s a seven-year-old who went to the dentist and is a little…goofy from the laughing gas. I think it’s pretty hilarious; it gives me a good chuckle every time I think about it.
There’s another video, that Renee showed me, it’s called “Kitten’s Inspired by Kittens”. It’s a book of about kittens, which a little girl gives the pictures something funny to talk about. This one makes me laugh harder than “David After Dentist”. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtX8nswnUKU. Don’t worry, no kittens were harmed in the making of this video.

*Names have been changed

Music Talk No. 1

Over the last few years, my taste in music has changed quite a bit. I’ve been introduced and influenced a lot by my parents. My dad loves rock. Good rock. We’re talking The Who, AC/DC, The Beach Boys, The Eagles, ZZ Top, Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, Sweet, REO Speedwagon, Aerosmith, Journey, ABBA (yes he likes ABBA) etc. etc. My mom has a huge variety in what she likes. She’s likes The Beatles, Queen, Level 42, Chilliwack, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Elvis Presley (dad likes Elvis too, but who doesn’t?), Styx, James Taylor (dad likes him too), Seal, The Eurythmics, etc. etc. Of course, I love all of these bands and music too. My sister is a totally different story. She loves that crap that’s on the radio nowadays. I hate almost all of it. There’s only a handful of good music on those stations. I used to love it too when I was her age though, so hopefully she’ll grow out of it. I listen to the “80’s 90’s and today”’s music, the rock stations, and the OLD SCHOOL stations. You know the ones that play the Beatles, Elton John, and The Partridge Family? Those ones. LOVE IT!



Anyway, my best friend, Jeremy* has introduced me to a lot of really good music too, Nirvana, Pink Floyd (my dad and grandpa love them), UFO, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones, etc. He goes through phases in music. A year ago he was jamming out to rap, you know, like, Lil’ Wayne and Tupac. Now he’s started playing guitar and loves all that grunge stuff. But I’ve also introduced him to Aerosmith, The Who, and Van Halen. Kudos to me right? Music really influences his life and it really influence’s mine also. I take nine dance classes, tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, lyrical, contemporary, a technique class, and I’m learning a duet with my best friend Jennifer*, and I help teach a combo class (four and five year olds). So music is a big part in my life too. I love listening to happy and fast music, but I also love the slow songs that make you relax, like Enya. I really think I have good taste in music, and lots of people will vow that I do too, so pardon me if I sound big-headed over here.
I will warn you now, that I am about to go off on a tangent (this will happen A LOT): I hate people who wear band shirts who know like, one song by them. I will NOT wear a band shirt unless I know AT LEAST one or two songs by them that are not on the radio. Like Nirvana, I own a shirt by them and I know almost every song by them from just hearing it. I’m sure only the big Nirvana fans have heard and liked their first album, “Bleach” which, is nothing like their later stuff. I used to own a Beatles shirt, but out grew it. Band shirts I need to get (not want, NEED) are: Aerosmith (probably my favorite band), Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones (BUT! I need to listen to more of their music to know if I like them and are allowed to own a shirt. Yes, I follow my own rules). Maybe an AC/DC one and Led Zeppelin one if I find I like more of their stuff. I also have a Bob Marley shirt, and I had a friend ask me if I actually liked him and listened to him (because I do not seem like the kind of person who would listen to his songs about getting high). I said yes, in fact my ring tone is “Keep On Moving” by him. But I will admit that I need to listen to more of his music. It just goes to show that everyone who wears a band shirt doesn’t necessarily like or listen to that band. They just wear it because it’s a fad. I am NOT one of those people. Thank you.

*Names have been changed