November Flew By!

I can't believe December starts next week! Wow where has the time gone?! ;)

So November has flown by. My weight loss has progressed very very very well. I am down 18.2 pounds as of today and still going! My goal was to be 20 pounds down by the time we leave for Florida and I only have 2 more to go! :-) So exciting!! :)

Thanksgiving we spent in Gastonia at my aunt's house with our family. Grandpa looked good and was alive and well kicking! Both of my grandparents could tell I had lost weight and was shocked to hear how much! :) My uncle's mom, my grandma Lay, joined us also. 91 years old and doing wonderfully! :) KoKo was just as wacky and nutty when I am there visiting. I took him for a walk and we had to stop 100001 times for him. HAH! He got so mad when I didn't take him the 2nd time and was howling and whining at the door while I was gone. Dinner was fabulous and I watched my intake, but enjoyed every piece of food that there was! :)

So oddly enough I got more of my Wicked mail back this month. Still got a list of some out, but this weekend's ones have a funny story. I got a letter back from Jackie Burns (Wicked First Tour) and I saw the envelope and it was stamped from New York and I was like oh its gotta be from one of the 3 I am waiting for that aren't with the show anymore. I looked and thought of who it was, but looked inside and found the pictures I sent to be signed weren't there. Wasn't until I opened it that I saw it was from Jackie! hahaha Oh yeah, I forgot what I said exactly about me working on my picture taking; but she said it would be bad if she had to fire me a 2nd time. Just wait till I see her in Wicked or another show, I want to mess up big time just to throw her off! ;) Then the 2nd one, I was aware it could be coming, but wasn't sure, but my friend informed me she got her's this week so I was like ok mine was in that same envelope! ;) It took me all day to read the durn letter too, for whatever reason. But I opened it; it came from Libby Servais (Wicked San Francisco/2nd Tour); and I started giggling cause the paper clip I used to attach my letter to the SASE came back! This has happened once before, but I giggled at it happening again. ;) She's such a sweetie, I got her u/s slip from San Francisco too signed! Ah! That was a surprise for me! :) So all of this stuff got put into my ever epanding scrapbook! Wow it keeps growing and growing! :)

So that's it. December I hope flies by and the next thing I know it will be time to go to Florida! Oh yeah, cannot wait!!! :)

October :)

< Gotta love finding that in your backyard! ;)

October has flown by!!! Seriously I was just in Charlotte again for another musical and now Halloween is this coming week. :-O And plus I never update this blog it seems like. HAH!

So backing up to early October; Kate and I made the track over to Charlotte to see 9 to 5 the musical. :) Before this I had never seen the movie or really heard anything about the musical; and really enjoyed it. Diana Degarmo is AMAZING as Doralee in this show! She sounds alot like Dolly Parton in parts. Incase you don't know who she is, she was an American Idol runner-up to Fantasia back in 2004. :) She is also one of the sweetest people you will ever meet, I was so happy I got to meet her after the show. :) And she confirmed what everyone thinks about Simon Cowell, that he is a jerk! ;) The show also stars Mamie Parris as Judy, who is tiny looking onstage, but her vocally is mighty! She really belted it out in the song "Get Out and Stay Out." She was also very sweet, none of us knew who she played, except for one guy and so luckily she stopped! ;) She said no one ever knows her off stage. ;) Dee Hoty plays Violet and she she also is amazing in the show and like the other 2 very nice. Her family/friends were at the show, but she still took time out at the door, which was wonderful. :)

I cat sat for Kate's neighbor's while they were out of town. The cat is diabetic and has to have insulin shots twice a day. He was very easy to take care of, greeted me at the door each time I came over to take care of him. He was no problems, he ate his meals up and I gave him his shot and it was all good. :)

I got my hair chopped off last week also! It feels great to have my hair cut short again though. :) I like this hairdresser that Kate found and probably will start going to her to get my hair cut. :) I also got my first massage in over a year this week. Ah!!! Heavenly!!! It felt wonderful to get that and I wish I could get one every day! ;) hahaha

Well that is all, minus having some allergy/sick bug for the past week, all has been good. Getting more excited about going to Florida in December and even more so being down 6.5 almost 7 pounds! :)

Bullying....It has to end

I remember last year hearing my niece was being bullied by some kids at school about who her parents voted for and also her beliefs. I was miffed by it and couldn't believe kids are still as cruel as ever today for one little thing wrong. But now kids are taking it to extreme...

3 teenagers who were openly gay have commited suicide recently because of the tormenting. Its so sad to think that it was that bad they chose to end their life and you can only imagine how bad it was for them to choose suicide. Another bullying story was about a boy in Ohio cheerleading and bully's at school broke his arm over his choice! Hats off to the mother for pressing charges against those who broke this little boy's arm.

In 4th grade; I rode a bus with a girl and also was in the same class with her also, who bullied and teased me the entire year. It was over my front teeth being crooked and my hair color. Two things I couldn't control and daily I remember her asking me when I was getting braces. Oddly enough, that year was when I first went to an orthodontist and didn't get braces until 2 years later. But I have never forgotten what she did and never have forgiven her either, doubt I ever will.

I am thankful for how my parents raised me and never judging some one for the color of their skin, their beliefs, their sexuality...etc. I am not saying its the parents fault that their kids bully, but something isn't right. Bullying played a part in Dylan Klebold and Eric Haris going on a shooting spree that left 13 people dead.

It needs to stop before another family suffers a tragedy....period amen.

Florida here we come!!!

< Celebrating Christmas with those guys!

So yesterday's blog post about me rambling and being mad about having to choose what I wanted to do and then sleeping on Discovery Cove and blah blah blah....you get the picture!

So basically its a 2 day drive down there; well 6.5 hours from here to Jacksonville, NC and then we are going to stay the night and then head toward Orlando the following night.

Day #1: Kennedy Space Center- How can you go to Florida and not go to the space center? Its educational and I enjoy going there. :) Gaia has never been there and from the website, it looks like they have new attractions to see.

Day #2: Animal Kingdom- My niece loves going to the zoo and so why not go here? I want to see this place too. :) Its got rides there and many things to go see. My brother gets in this night also.

Day #3: Univeral: Islands of Adventure- HARRY POTTER!!!!!! Two words!!!! I was in Orlando the year this Universal was being opened and it wasn't open at the time I was there, I can't wait to go!

Day #4: Discovery Cove & Sea World- Swimming with the dolphins. :) I am not sure how enjoyable this will be for me and my brother; but my niece will love it! Sea World; eh I can live without going; but haven't been to the one in Florida since I was a kid. :)

Day #5: Disneyworld- Mickey, Minnie here we come!!! Gaia has seen Disneyland and now its time to tackle Disneyworld!!! :) 9 years old seems to be the right age to take her there.

Day #6: WHATEVER I WANT TO DO!- Jeremy and Gaia go home this day; which is Christmas day; so its whatever I would like to do. Probably will hit the other Universal park or go back to Disney. Who knows. But we are also going down the coast before heading back to North Carolina.

So there it is! Gaia is coming the 18th; yippee for having to sit in a car for DAYS with her! ;) I love my niece, yes I do, but you get what I mean! ;) hahaha

Here's a ramble riddle for you!

So planning Christmas trip has become a headache!

Why is that?! I want to do stuff, my brother wants to do stuff and take my niece to places; but some of the crap I don't want to do, but I am trying to be a team player and do what everyone wants to do! Right?! Well now my mother is like you don't have to do everything they do, you can do whatever you want also. Ok that doesn't help the guilt part of that comment! :-/

I wanna see the Harry Potter part of Universal and I want to go to Animal Kingdom, two parks I have never been to. Well my brother wants to go to Sea World and Discovery Cove. Well the last time I went to Sea World was when it was in Aurora, OH and that was ancient times ago! Discovery Cove really looks interesting, but its not cheap also! Plus my brother wants to swim or do something with sharks; IS HE NUTS?! I don't think its swim, lol. Gawd people be nuts to sign a paper to go swim with them! =p Also going to Disney World is must for my niece. We took her to Disneyland when she was 3 and it was mine, her's and her momma's first time ever to that park and this time it will be her first time and my who knows what time! I know she likes Harry Potter, but UGH why ask me what exactly I want to do? SURPRISE ME AT THIS RATE!

Rant over, anyone want to tell me which of these suggestions are the best places to go to???

Where has August gone???

< My latest project. :D

I never seem to sit down and write a blog entry anymore. I read other people's more than do my own. LOL

Backing up a bit, Gaia's visit was wonderful as usual. We spent the majority of her visit down at Myrtle Beach and then we spent a day, a very hot day, at Carowinds in Charlotte. Gaia had a blast at Carowinds, and I am not too sure she's a daredevil anymore. She was so hesitant about roller coasters and she was never like that. But oh well, I took her on her first upside roller coaster and she liked it but didn't like going backwards. LOL

So Ohio was wonderful as usual, my only complaint is my aunt's heavy smoking! I love her dog to death, though. Don't miss the 7:30am wake-up calls and her scratching at my door until I opened it. ;) She is so full of energy, I have a Jack Russell and people say that breed has alot of energy? HAH! They haven't seen Angel! ;) J/K She's not even a JRT, but she's absolutely adorable!!! :)

So Wicked the 5th time around was totally amazing and the cast I saw was amazing also. I saw the 1st National tour, which before I had only seen the 2nd National tour. This tour has Jackie Burns and Chandra Lee Schwartz as the two witches; both of who are very talented and amazing in their respective roles. Jackie is the newest Elphie to Wicked and she was just mind blowing amazing! I found myself picking my jaw up off the ground after her numbers. Chandra does Glinda so very well and is adorable when she has to be and serious too. I loved her "Popular!" As for Annie's opinion of if she liked it or not, all I got was she liked the books better. But she went and saw the show the following week with her mom, and I never heard anymore. :shrugs: The stage door was so weird for me this time, cause I had ZERO clue who any of the faces were in this cast...really! (SHOCKING I KNOW) Some of the faces I recognized but didn't yell for them to come over, I called it chickening out! ;) If this tells you how bad I am, the person that played Boq (Justin Brill) walked right by me and people stopped him and I was like who did you play? :smacks head: I mean thats how bad it was! Chandra and Jackie came out almost together; Chandra let us all know who she was and who she played, again I never would've known! I found out how terrible I am at using other people's cameras that night too. LOL ;) 3 attempts for this group with Chandra, 3 failed attempts with Jackie and the 4th time some one else took the picture and I got fired by Jackie for my horrible job! ;) LOL Yes she said to me "your fired" after my failed attempts! :)

So since I have been home, my latest project has been putting all of my Wicked mail into a scrapbook. I haven't gotten it all back yet, either! =O Shocking I know, but its filled up 10 pages so far! I got mail back this week, one from San Francisco, and I had just mailed a package to Felicia Ricci and I mailed Libby Servais a letter when I was in Ohio, but put a little package in with Felicia's for Libby, and oddly enough they both were doing their mail the day the package got there! Talk about great timing! hahaha I love the pictures Libby sent me, espeically the one of her and Felicia together. Their ghetto fabulous pictures! ;) I also learned that buckeyes are good luck, and yeah well I will do a blog post about that after I hear back from Felicia. ;) LOL

So that's it! Here are pictures from Ohio. :)

Palmer!! Annie's cat that she's had since we were in middle school! I love her to death!!!

One of many attempts to get a picture of Angel with a bow in her hair. Isn't she cute?!

Our view of the Wicked stage. These seats were pretty awesome if you ask me! Defying Gravity was awesome to see from this view! :)

Me with Jackie Burns!!! Ah she is amazing in Wicked. So talented and so sweet! I could've gone on for hours about how much I loved her as Elphaba, but I cut it down to only 5 minutes! :) Some one that was there had seen Eden Espinosa in Wicked in the same role and told her she was better than Eden. I was like wow! ;) I got a hug from Jackie after I quit rambling! LOL

Me with Chandra Lee Schwartz!!! Amazing onstage and so sweet off. She, thankfully, let us know she played Glinda, cause heck she could've walked right by me and I never would've known it was her! I started to ask if Mariand, the tour s/b, was coming out...but quickly corrected myself. LOL I dunno why I thought the s/b was going on, duh!

Summer Thus Far....And Coming Events!!!

< Something I did recently, and Anne's was the first one that I got back. :)

Ok so what's been going on since May 30th, when I saw Wicked? Not much! Well kind of sort of, but been trying to keep busy!

A little bit a drama went on and has resolved itself. :rolls eyes: Some of the things that happened and was said, I wish wasn't, but thats all in the past now. :)

So I have been swimming a bit each day, or trying to! ;) Its been so hot outside and so the pool water is either really hot or really cold, but this week it has been just right and felt great! The no diving board thing is fine now, still dive on the side of the pool. :)

So Gaia is coming in 10 days. Am I excited, yes am I not yes! :) Confusifying yet?! ;) I love my darling and adorable niece, but sometimes I could just scream! Who the heck knows what the plans are at the moment, I am really hoping one day will be at Carowinds. :) ;)

So August guess what I am seeing again?! Oh I dunno its a little show called Wicked!!! :) This time via tour #1, which is the other touring company. BUT I heard a very familar face is coming to this tour and will be excited to see her for sure. Annie is going with me and it will be her first time and my 5th! EEK! So excited!!!

I went and saw Rent for my 4th time last night. Great group of performer's and I really enjoyed it! :) The show that is, some other stuff happened that I rather not mention. :shakes head: But it was well worth another 2 hour drive to go see a great show! Rent ranks up there with my favorites. :)

Well that's it. I am worn out and about to climb into bed.