Lil Miss Twinkle Toes

Movie Monday

2010-07-19T19:08:00.000-05:00

Today I realized that this past week I had watched a lot of movies. So I thought I would share my cinema insight, with some reviews of each movie. These are just MY opinions of these movies and you might feel otherwise, but I thought I would share.

Hot Tub Time Machine - I LOVED this movie. It was sooo hilarious. Basically these friends get in a Hot Tub that happens to be a time machine and go back to 1986. It definitely made me want to get a Hot Tub Time Machine to go back into the 80s. If you enjoy cheesy, period pieces, especially the 80s, this movie is for you!

Our Family Wedding - This was a cute movie. I probably wouldn't pay to see it again, I rented it from On Demand for $4.99, but I would definitely watch it if it were on HBO or Showtime. This was your typical wedding movie about a bride and groom from different cultural backgrounds. The bride is Mexican American and the groom is African American so they have to deal with all the headaches of planning a wedding that reflects both of their backgrounds and traditions. On top of that they have to try to get their fathers to accept each other. Very typical ending, but definitely a feel good movie with some funny one liners.

All About Steve - Sandra Bullock is in this movie and she received a Razzie for it. That should be enough explanation, but like a train wreck, I couldn't help but watch the whole thing. I probably laughed the whole time, so I would suggest watching it if you have some time on your hand and can watch it for free, like I did. If you want to watch a dumb and cheesy movie, you might like this one.

Remember Me - 2 words, Robert Pattinson. If you love all things RPatz, like myself, you will definitely want to watch this movie. This is your typical college romance/love story. I did feel like the script could have been a little better, but the overall story line was a good one, with a definite "surprise" ending. They had a good cast, besides Robert Pattinson, Pierce Brosnan & Emily DeRavin are also in the movie. I'm not sure of her name, but the girl that played the little sister did an excellent job too. RPatz fans and sappy love story fans will probably like this one.

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

xoxo

MIA

2010-07-09T13:05:00.000-05:00

Hi there! Did ya miss me? So I took a little hiatus, these last couple of months, but I promise to get back in the habit of blogging more frequently. In the last 2 months I have studied for the LSAT, taken the LSAT, been depressed by my LSAT score, taken a wine tour in Southern Illinois with Bunny, started planning a trip to Europe in November, and have brainstormed different ideas about traveling/living oversees and about starting various businesses. See, I wasn't totally avoiding you, I have been pretty busy.

As the great rapper T.I. said, "I'm back." I look forward to keeping you updated on my shenanigans.

xoxo

Weighty Wednesday

2010-05-19T21:13:00.007-05:00

This week I finally got back to Jazzercise after about a 3 week hiatus. The first week was due to me having work obligations and just being lazy and choosing to do other things. These past 2 weeks our classes were canceled due to flooding in the building. The first few days of this "excused" absence I was content and kind of enjoying not feeling guilty about not working out. Now I know I could have easily done some sort of other workout, but I really didn't want to think about that especially since I had a get out of Jail Free card. Into about the 4th day of not Jazzercising, I really began to feel the effects of not working out for almost 2 weeks. I could actually tell that I was getting sluggish and I would sometimes find myself out of breath after going up the stairs. The 3rd week was killer, I was getting anxious and I guess getting cabin fever, so I attempted to do something else. I planned on walking/jogging around my neighborhood, but wouldn't you know that once I actually tried to be productive, it rained. So much for that idea. Monday could not get here quick enough. Never thought those words would come out of my mouth, but I really did look forward to going to class on Monday, not so much the having to go to work aspect of Monday, but definitely Jazzercise. So I'm finally back in my exercise routine again.

A lot of people kind of snicker when I say that I do Jazzercise because they envision 80's Jane Fonda in a leotard and leg warmers, but this really is a great workout and it's fun. I was a dancer most of my life, so this allows me to relive my glory days as a petite dancer and most importantly, I don't feel like I'm actually working out. I'm so happy to be back!

Here is my weight update:

This week: +1.5

Total: -8.5

I can honestly say that I'm not disappointed because I had actually anticipated more weight gain since I've been on hiatus. I will say that I have been eating pretty healthy lately, so that probably helped me out. Hopefully now that I'm back to working out I can post more losses than gains.

xoxo

Weighty Wednesday

2010-05-12T06:15:00.002-05:00

I've been really really bad about updating my adventures in diet and fitness. I could give the excuse that I've been busy, which I have, but that is still not a good reason for my slacking. There has been a lot going on in my life, but as I reflect back, there were many times that I chose not to work out or prepare my meals because I felt I didn't have "enough" time or I was "tired". I was just being lazy, plain and simple.

Even though I've been on a diet and fitness roller coaster these past few months, I am actually seeing results. I may not have been fully committed to the plan I laid out for myself, but even just committing to some of it, I have been successful.

Total Pounds Lost (March 9, 2010 - May 9, 2010) = 10 lbs

March 9 was my start date because that was when I was weighed at my doctor's office and she expressed concern about my weight, even before my cholesterol results came in. Although I was upset about my weight, sadly it wasn't until I was told my cholesterol numbers that I decided to take things seriously. I started out strong with this new lifestyle, but slowly started letting my old lifestyle sneak back in.

Reflecting on my mistakes has helped me to come up with a new game plan and get refocused. I know I shouldn't focus on what the scale says, but seeing that number on my scale was a great motivator. I now know that if I do fully commit myself to this plan, I will definitely see the FINAL results I'm seeking.

xoxo

Nashville

2010-05-10T06:18:00.014-05:00

The first weekend of May, Nashville experienced a historical amount of rain, 13.53" in just 48 hours, which caused devastating flooding throughout the Middle Tennessee region. The May-July average rain is 12.92" in Nashville, so we basically received 3 months worth of rain in 2 days. It's amazing how one event can turn everything around in an instant.

I was very fortunate and my home wasn't affected by the flood waters. Where I work, wasn't as fortunate. Our office and warehouse is located on the Cumberland River so we had substantial flooding, 10-12 ft inside. No one was able to get inside of the building until Wednesday and even then, there was still water in the warehouse part of the building, with fish swimming around in it. The office part of the building didn't have any water left in it but had about 3 inches of mud all over the first floor. This week has been crazy because we've basically started a new company from scratch. We had to find a temporary location and then apply for all the appropriate licenses and permits, this wasn't all finalized until Wednesday afternoon. We didn't have any of our product, because it was all inside the old warehouse, so we had to wait for deliveries from our suppliers, which began to come in Wednesday evening. Our next problem was technology, our server that controls pretty much everything and has all our files saved was located in the old building. We use computers for everything, including our phone service, so we've had to go back to the basics of writing tickets out by hand and having only one phone line without any extensions. Having to do everything "old school" has definitely made me realize how dependent we are on technology. It will be interesting to see how things progress each week and how long it will be before we are able to go back "Home".

Here are some staggering facts about the Nashville Flood:

179 cars and 24 tractor trailers were completely under water on I-24 in one area across town. I-65 and I-40 were also closed at several points.

Over 1000 boat rescues. They were asking people to bring their personal boats to help out.

23 schools flooded in our Metro area alone.

20 reported dead, so far.

Normal water level for the Cumberland River downtown is 20'. It reached 53'

About 1,200 people are being sheltered by The Red Cross

This has been an unimaginable event. I never would have thought I would ever witness something like this unless I lived near the beach or around the gulf. It's very surreal and saddening to see so many people lose everything they own. Their homes were literally swept away. The worse part is that most of these people don't have flood insurance and couldn't have got it even if they wanted to because they aren't located in a flood plain. These people have really lost everything. This has been declared a Federal emergency, so they will receive some assistance from FEMA. If you've visited New Orleans since Katrina, you've probably seen how much "help" they received, so as you can imagine, there will still be a lot of things they'll have to figure out how they will pay for.

The Nashville Area Red Cross is in need of financial support to continue providing relief to victims of local disaster flooding.

There are several ways YOU can give:

www.nashvilleredcross.org
Mail a check to the Nashville Area Red Cross - 2201 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203
Call (615) 250-4300 to make a donation by phone
Text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation on your mobile phone. Donations will appear on customers' monthly bills or be debited from a prepaid account balance. Message rates may apply.

xoxo

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T06:45:00.001-05:00

I'm looking forward to spending a wonderful day with my Mom, Bunny. She's driving down for the day and we are going to lunch and then to see A Chorus Line at TPAC. I wish my grandmother could come with her, but she was just released from a week long, precautionary stay at the hospital. I'm so grateful she is back home with my grandfather and healthy. I will definitely be visiting with her soon to celebrate a Belated Mother's Day, once things begin to settle down around here.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there, including those that have four-legged babies, such as myself.

Hope ya'll have a Wonderful Day!

xoxo

Birthday Extravaganza Recap - Part 2 (Photo Journal)

2010-05-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

The World Of Coca-Cola Photo Experience

Coca-Cola Loft

The Hub

Milestones of Refreshment

Pop Culture Gallery

Celebrating an Icon Exhibit

Sampling Room

xoxo

Birthday Extravaganza Recap - Part 2

2010-05-03T07:02:00.004-05:00

The third weekend Mo and I packed up again and headed to Atanta, I have to say this was the trip that we racked up our frequent driver miles. This was truly a road trip, it felt like we went everywhere.

On the way down to Atlanta, we stopped in Scottsboro, AL at the Unclaimed Baggage Store. This was the first time for either of us, so we were really excited to get in there and get some deals. Denied! When we started looking through the items, we were excited to find some designer items, but we were disappointed when we saw the price. We were under the impression that the prices were going to be "bargain" prices because obviously most of the stuff in there are used items. This was not the case, most of these items were priced as if they were in a department store. Sorry, but I'm not going to buy a used David Yurman ring at a brand new David Yurman ring price. I don't care if it looks like it has never been touched or what not. I can buy a brand new ring for the same price and get a warranty that guarantees the product and will replace or repair it if something happens to it. Or, I can buy it from them and only get their 30 day return policy for a store credit, only if it is returned in good condition. Hmmm, that's a hard one.
However, I will say that I did get sucked in and I bought myself an ipod Nano. It was an extra 25% off of the sticker price and was still in the box. It was the only one they had still in the box so I asked them why it was discounted and they told me because it had been there for so long, January 2010. So apparently their inventory turns over pretty quickly, I guess that's why they charge ridiculous prices. Once I got home and opened my purchase I saw on the back that it was engraved with a man's name and Best Man. I kind of felt bad knowing this dude lost his stuff on the way back from a wedding, but it's not like I stole it from him, I paid fair and square for that, but I still feel a little weird. Granted my ipod was pretty much brand new, it was missing it's charger, so I had to buy that, so I probably saved about $10 off of MSRP, so I still wouldn't say it's worth going by there unless you are in the neighborhood or just have a lot of time on your hands.

I've been to Atlanta quite a few times, but I've never really had time to do touristy stuff and explore the city, so I was very excited to visit the World of Coca-Cola. This location is the new building, located at Pemberton Place, next to the Aquarium. It is an official "green" building and has only been open for 3 years. The architecture of the building is beautiful and learning about all its "green" features is very interesting in itself, but the history and the artifacts inside of this place are amazing. They have a 4-D movie about the Secret ingredient in Coke, you can get your pictures taken with the Coca-Cola Polar Bear, and you can visit the Milestones of Refreshment, which includes some of the companies most prized possessions in ten galleries.

We were fortunate to have visited when they had a special exhibit called, Celebrating an Icon (It runs through May 2010). It featured contemporary artist, "whose distinctive visions capture the essence of the Coca-Cola contour bottle as a pop culture icon." I think our favorite part was the Happiness Factory Theater. Here you watch a short film, Inside the Happiness Factory, which is about what happens when someone puts change into a vending machine to get a Coke. "You'll get a glimpse of the magic that goes into every bottle of Coke."

My second favorite part of the tour, was the sampling room. In here, you get to sample over 60 different products at tasting stations that are arranged geographically. My favorites were from Asia and Europe. The ones from South America were okay and the ones from Africa were horrible. I just didn't like any of their flavors and I learned that when I visit Africa, I now know to only drink water, bottled of course. The one similarity I found at all of the various stations was that they use a lot of fruit flavoring in their products. I know we have Sprite that is Lemon Lime or whatever, but they had Watermelon Soda, Peach Soda, and Fruits I never heard of Soda, it was really interesting to be able to see and try so many taste profiles in one spot. I highly recommend stopping by The World of Coca-Cola if you are visiting Atlanta or passing through, it is fun and interesting for people of all ages. If you do swing by, when you make it to the sampling room, even if you don't try any of the other flavors, you must try the Beverly.

xoxo

Birthday Extravaganza Recap - Part 1

2010-05-02T07:09:00.003-05:00

Our trip to Lexington was very eventful, to say the least. It was wonderful to go back to Kentucky,God's Country, and I was happy I could share that experience with my friend Mo. Friday night we met up with some of my Sorority Sisters for dinner at Furlongs, which was great because a couple of the girls, that are older than me, I hadn't seen since they graduated, so it had been a while. As soon as we met up, we never missed a beat, it was like being in the sorority house again. Furlongs has a New Orleans flair to it so they had a Crawfish and Shrimp Boil special that night, which Mo and one of the other girls decided to split. When they brought it out, it was enough food for a family reunion, it was hilarious, you couldn't even tell they had put a dent into it.

After dinner, we said our goodbyes and planned on meeting back up for the Maker's Mark Party later that night. We went to Jrods, and wouldn't you know it as soon as I opened up the front door, there sat my ex-boyfriend, lets just call him Mr. Happy. Jrod had told me a while back that he would be staying there too, but it was kind of surreal walking in there and him sitting on the couch like he used to. I definitely started having flashbacks. Somethings just never change and the dynamic he and I have is one of those, but I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, hence why we are no longer together. Once Jrod got home we realized the guys didn't get tickets to the Makers Mark Party so Mo and I decided not to go because we couldn't just ditch the guys. Jrod, Cheeto, Mr. Happy, Mo, and I went to a neighborhood bar and hung out. It was just like old times, except instead of Mo, I would have had either Jem or B with me. Being intoxicated I obviously started to think about those times and then began to think about all the what ifs...What if we hadn't broken up...What if we got back together.

The next morning at 8am Mr. Happy bust into our room and woke us up and then I stopped asking What if. There was no reason for us to be getting up this early to go to Keeneland, so this got me waking up on the wrong side of the bed for sure. The day was pure chaos, I don't know how things got so out of hand, this had never happened before. We were constantly losing people, we would tell people to stay put and they would wander off, and basically this little charade lasted all afternoon. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. I spent most of my day just looking for people, making sure no one was lost or left behind, and of course I didn't get to enjoy the horses or even bet on a race. Lesson learned, don't try to go with more than 4 people to Keeneland, it's just not feasible. As if we didn't have a large group to begin with, somehow we gained a person, so the ride back was miserable. Normally you would have someone with an SUV drives so you can pile in, but we were in a car, with 7 people in it, 2 in the front and 5 in the back. We were supposed to meet some friends for dinner at Malone's at one location and someone decided to go to another location and then when we got there it was decided it was too busy, so we went to a Japanese Steakhouse. Now don't get me wrong I love, love, love japanese food and I used to love eating at this particular restaurant in college, but this was just the icing on the cake to end this wonderful day. When you are miserably squished like a sardine in the backseat of a car and the only thing keeping your sanity together is the thought of a eating a steak from Malone's, eating at a Japanese Steakhouse is the equivalent of eating at McDonalds, there is no comparison. We got home around 8 and everyone pretty much passed out when we got back. The one positive about Keeneland is, I don't care how miserable you are or feel, just looking at all the well dressed people will put a smile on your face. There is something about big hats, bow ties, and seersucker that just puts a smile on my face, so there was one good thing that was able to slip into the chaos.

The next morning I was still upset from the day before, mainly at Mr. Happy because I felt like he was pretty much the ringmaster of the circus on Saturday. I didn't even speak to him or let him carry my bags when he offered. Looking back, I feel really bad about the way I treated him, but I was just so upset that the weekend was ruined, not so much for me, but because this was Mo's first experience to Keeneland and I felt like it was just ruined. Had I been by myself that weekend I probably wouldn't have gotten so worked up, because I'm used to all the nonsense with that group, but I just felt like she got jipped.

It probably seems like this was a horrible time, but I actually had a really good time. Just getting to spend time with everyone was enjoyable for me and Mo was a good sport about the whole weekend and said she had a good time too. Hopefully, she'll come back with me again and I can show her a proper Keeneland experience in October.

The Motherland

Toyota Bluegrass Stakes
(Looks like someone didn't win)

The guys found a bright pink Toyota in the parking lot. Please disregard Cheeto's outfit, I have no clue why he would wear that to Keeneland.

xoxo

Birthday Extravaganza Recap

2010-05-01T07:03:00.002-05:00

April is always my favorite month of the year because I have a month long celebration of me. This year has been especially wonderful because I've had the opportunity to spend time with friends that I normally don't get to see very often. I could probably write a small book about the whole month, but I'll try to spare you all the details and just give you the highlights. After reading over my original draft, I realized that I did actually write a small book, so I decided to split it up into 3 parts. If you just want the highlights read this recap and go on your merry way, but if you are nosey like me and want to know everything, continue reading Parts 1-3, after reading this.

The first weekend of the month I went back home to spend Easter with my mom and grandparents. I always enjoy going back home because it helps me to kind of put everything back into perspective. I've come to realize that a lot of times I let, not necessarily negative people, but energy drainers, consume my life. As I get older I realize how much these people take out of me and I can't be my true self. Going back home is always a little recharge for me and gets me back to who I should be.

The second weekend my friend Mo and I went up to Lexington, KY to visit my college friends and to go to Keeneland Race Track. It was wonderful seeing all my friends and of course going to the horse races. When I was in college, going to Keeneland, was always the highlight of October and April. I hadn't been to Lexington in a little over 2 years, so it was really great to see all the growth and development of the city. When I left Lexington 6 years ago, I never would have thought I would even consider moving back, but after my trip, I can't help but feel that I would love to move back, one day. I never realized how much I missed everyone until I was around all of them. I've spent time separately with them the last few years, mainly when they would come to Nashville to see Kentucky play Vandy or to see them play in the Music City Bowl or SEC Tournament. This was the first time though, that everyone that I love and consider family, were all together, and it was wonderful. Even seeing my ex-boyfriend was nice because it definitely felt like the good times that we all had back in college. I am definitely going to make it a point to try and visit there more frequently.

The third weekend my friend Mo and I went to Atlanta for a festival. We got lucky with wonderful weather, on Saturday, so it was a great day to be outside drinking. Unfortunately, I got my hands on some wine, so my evening was cut short because I was unable to function and I decided that I did not need to be out in public. How I came up with that rational thought, I am not sure, but somehow I was able to make a little sense. Sometimes, well pretty much anytime I drink wine, I start out enjoying a nice glass of wine and the next thing I know it's 3 or 4 hours later and I can barely walk. There always seems to be some sort of time vortex when I drink wine. I very rarely have this problem when I drink beer or even liquor, so I'm not really sure why it seems to happen with wine.
Anywhoo....Mo and I also went to the new World of Coca-Cola. This was awesome! I love exploring cities and learning about history and what not when I go out of town, I even enjoy doing it in my own town, so this was heaven to me.

Drumroll Please.........the last weekend of the month, my actual birthday! Surprisingly, I did something that I hadn't originally planned in my "Birthday Palooza Tour 2010". Originally, I had planned on going to the Rites of Spring concert at Vanderbilt to see Phoenix and Drake perform, but I ended up staying home and visiting with my mom. Normally my birthday is a really big event for me, as my friend Mo put it, "Celebrating your birthday is a big deal, it's just as important to you as Christmas." So for me to do nothing on my actual birthday, is definitely out of the norm for me. For some reason I just felt like I didn't need to go out. I don't know what it was but I just didn't feel like that was how I was supposed to celebrate this birthday. The whole weekend I stayed pretty low key, only leaving my house to visit my mom who was in Nashville, helping my friend with his Leadership Camp. My friend is a professional sports player who has a Foundation whose main focus is on helping youth to survive and persevere no matter where they come from. This Leadership Camp was held at Camp Widjiwagan in Nashville and the participants were a group of middle school age kids chosen from my hometown in Kentucky. My mom volunteered to be a chaperone and help him out, so I went to see and support them. It was really nice to actually go be a part of and see first hand, something that is helping to influence and inspire future generations. Even though I wasn't really hands-on involved with the Camp, just spending the time I did there really got me thinking about my life and what changes I could make to live a more fulfilling life.

Although the weekend of my birthday wasn't my normal throw down blowout, I'd have to say, as a whole, this year was definitely one of my more favorite month long birthday celebrations. Being able to spend time with the people that I love very dearly, was the best present I could have ever received.

xoxo

Happy Birthday to William Shakespeare, George Lopez, and Me!

2010-04-23T09:58:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday, I am 28 and have no complaints. If you would have asked me 10 years ago what my life would be like now, it probably wouldn't be anything like it is now. At that age I thought I wanted to be an interior designer, so I would have probably said that I would be married, living in Nashville, and working as an interior designer. The only thing correct about that is the fact that I live in Nashville. I'm not married, nor am I even dating anyone and I am very content with that. I have a lot of other things on my plate, mainly studying for the LSAT & trying to get into law school, that I focus most of my time and energy on.

Most of the people I grew up with are married and some even have a couple of kids. I'm really happy for my friends and sometimes I do wonder what my life would be like had I taken that path, but I can't imagine not having experienced the things I have. I constantly hear from my other single friends how their parents are always hinting around or even flat out just asking why they aren't married with kids. I can't imagine having that added pressure in your life. Even though their parents mean well, they just aren't very sensitive about the subject.

I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful and supportive family that doesn't pressure me into feeling like I need to be married with kids because of my age. My mother especially, is so awesome, because she has always let me kind of do my own thing. I'm not sure if this is because I'm an only child or because she is just a wonderfully laid back, go with the flow kind of person, but I am so appreciative of everything she has done for me and for bringing me into this world 28 years ago. Cheers to Bunny!!

Who knows what this 28th year of my life has in store for me. Hopefully it will be an eventful one, with lots of wonderful news about my awesome score on the LSAT and getting accepted to my top picks of law schools.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

xoxo

Weighty Wednesday

2010-04-14T17:54:00.002-05:00

So I think I've finally gotten serious on this working out & eating healthy life. My doctor called on Monday to tell me that my cholesterol was very high and "prescribed" me a diet & more working out. I'm not really sure how my cholesterol level got so high because I do eat reasonably well and I do Jazzercise 3-4 times a week. However, I did allow myself to cheat on the eating because I would rationalize that I could work it off at Jazzercise.

These last 2 days I have found myself not really thinking about cheating and when I have, I just remind myself that I'm killing myself, which definitely makes you stop & think. No matter how wonderful McDonald's fries are, I definitely choose my life over those salty, crispy pieces of potato heaven. I think this eye opener, sadly, is the only thing that has really gotten me serious about a lifestyle change. Before this, my whole reasoning for exercising and eating healthy were due to vanity reasons, now there is a little bit more on the line. So wish me luck, I'll keep you updated, and hopefully I can get this thing under control, by my next checkup in 6 months.

xoxo

Working on my Fitness...Sort of

2010-04-08T07:00:00.018-05:00

So, I've been pretty bad this past week about working out and eating right. I can honestly say that my absence from working out is due to my calendar being jammed pack. Saturday I had a charity brunch that I had to attend because I'm on the committee. I went back to Kentucky for Easter, so obviously that is where I threw all my healthy eating out the door. I'm a sucker for a homemade meal! I didn't return back from Kentucky until Monday evening, so once again I missed Jazzercise. Tuesday I attended a Law Fair, to talk to different law schools, which by the way was a total bust, so I missed Jazzercise again. Of course I have tons of leftovers from my grandmother, so I've been eating that, so looks like the healthy eating is nonexistent this week.

I did get a teeny tiny bit of exercise in, my mom, Bunny, brought my dogs, Chloe Lane & Walter Martini, down to visit me, so I walked them. Chloe can walk for days and Walter wimps out after about 10 minutes so I usually have to carry him and he's a good 10 pounds. I guess you could say I got a 30 minute walk in with a 10 pound weight. This week wasn't a total bust. :)

The Divo - Walter Martini

The "Perfect" Child - Chloe Lane

xoxo

Say Cheese!

2010-04-07T23:10:00.000-05:00

Now that March Madness is over, I wanted to share some of my SEC tournament weekend pictures. Better late than never. Hope you enjoy them.

John Wall - #11 & Daniel Orton - #33

Daniel Orton

John Wall

Patrick Patterson - #54

(L to R) DeAndre Liggins - #34, DeMarcus Cousins - #15, John Wall - #11, Eric Bledsoe - #24, Patrick Patterson - #54

(L to R) DeAndre Liggins - #34, DeMarcus Cousins - #15, Eric Bledsoe - #24, Patrick Patterson - #54, John Wall - #11

(L to R) John Wall - #11, Perry Stevenson - #21, Eric Bledsoe - #24, Patrick Patterson - #54, Darius Miller - #1

My friends and I got inspired and pretended we were on the team too, by playing Super Shot @ The Melrose.

Cheeto's motto for the weekend - "Yiggidy yes yallin, John Wallin"

Jrod

Jrod Action Shot

Jrod had the high score of the night - 45pts

I came in a close second

Twinkle Toes Action Shot

Look at that form...Ha!

Cheeto

Cheeto - "John Wallin"

xoxo

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-04-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

Today is one of my favorite days of the year, the first day of April kicks off my Birthday Month. I'm a firm believer in celebrating the whole month instead of just one day, so each weekend I try to do something fun. This year I have a great birthday month line up and am so excited that April has finally arrived.

This weekend I will be going back to Kentucky to spend time with my family during Easter. However, the real fun begins the weekend of the 9th, I'm heading to Lexington, Ky for Keeneland. If you have never experienced Keeneland, I highly recommend it goes on your bucket list, you must visit this place sometime during your life. I love it because it involves a lot of my favorite things, dressing up, horses, gambling,and of course drinking. While in Lexington I will also get to spend time with a lot of my college buddies, so I can hardly wait for this wonderful weekend! The weekend of the 16th I will be heading down to Atlanta, GA for Sweetwater Brewery's 420 Festival. I will leave the details to your imagination, but some of the highlights include a music festival, and once again, drinking. The 23rd is actually my birthday, so I'll hopefully go to a nice dinner and of course enjoy some adult beverages. That weekend there is a music festival called the Rites of Spring festival that Vanderbilt University puts on every year. The lineup this year includes Drake, Ben Harper, & Melanie Fiona so I'm definitely going to try and attend.

So far this is all I have planned but I'm sure there will be a few surprises thrown in. Looking forward to keeping you updated on my exciting Birthday Month!

xoxo

Weighty Wednesday

2010-03-31T07:46:00.002-05:00

Besides wallowing in my sorrows about Kentucky's lost this weekend, I began Spring Cleaning. I cleared out both of my closets and tried everything on and either put it it back in the closet, packed it for storage (winter clothes), or put it in a "get rid of" pile. I usually enjoy this seasonal tradition I've adopted because it gives me the opportunity to make space for new & fabulous clothes. In the past, the majority of the items in the "get rid of pile" made it there because I either didn't like it or just didn't want it anymore. This year however, there were a lot of items in the "get rid of pile", not because I didn't like them or want them, but because I could no longer fit in them. Hello thin body, where did you go? I definitely heard Sarah Jessica Parker's character from 1st Wives Club, when she says to Bette Midler's character, "Why don't you try on one of these in *your size*". Well skinny bitch, these clothes are no longer "my size", so I've got a lot of work ahead of me before I can be a judgmental, self-entitled, skinny bitch, like yourself. I just know we are going to be great friends one day though!

When 2010 rolled in, I started slowly trying to get myself in an exercise regiment, keyword being slowly. I did take a good first step by joining Jazzercise in February and I've been doing that 3-4 times a week consistently. I can tell a difference already, I feel better and I'm more energetic, but the pounds haven't started melting off. This weekend was the turning point/eye opener for me. I am now determined to get serious about working out regularly and being stricter with my eating.
One of the guys from work gave me P90X, so I'm going to start that today so he & I can motivate each other to workout. I definitely feel that if I have someone checking up on me, I'll be more inclined to stick with it. I also hope by documenting my progress on my blog, I'll be motivated to stay on track, so I won't be judged. I'm not gonna lie, I would judge me, which is why I assume everyone else is doing the same.
So, in the left column there is a tracker that shows how much I've worked out for the week, you can also see the month to date, year, and lifetime. If you click to view my entire training log, you will be able to follow along and see exactly which exercises I'm doing daily. So feel free to get all up in my business because it will help keep me on track.
I am also going to do a weekly post recapping my triumphs, and hopefully only those, of the week. This brilliant idea I got from Legally Fabulous, she does a Weigh-In Wednesday and post how many pounds she has lost/gained for the week and then her overall loss since she began. If you aren't following her and reading her post regularly, you are missing out. You must check her out...NOW. Anyways, I will try to do something to this affect and hopefully have some positive posts for you.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

xoxo

March Sadness

2010-03-30T20:33:00.001-05:00

This past weekend was a sad one for myself & the Big Blue Nation. My beloved Kentucky Wildcats lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight game on Saturday night. Although I am sad and had hoped we would bring home the National Championship, I am so proud to call myself a Kentucky Wildcat Fan. This year has been a complete turnaround from the last few years in Kentucky basketball and it all began with the hiring of Coach John Calipari. Coach Cal and the players brought the excitement back to Kentucky Basketball and I feel very fortunate that I was able to see them compete in the SEC tournament that was held here in Nashville. Being able to witness first hand the talent and strenghth of John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Patrick Patterson, is something that can't be captured by a TV camera. I'm sure there will be some departures to the NBA from this talented group, but all is not lost, Coach Cal is leading this program in the right direction and we are on our way to becoming the National Powerhouse that we were in years past.

We Kentucky Blue Bloods are back to our Royal Status!

I'll post some of my pictures from the SEC Tournament weekend soon.

xoxo

17 Again

2010-03-23T09:54:00.001-05:00

The discussion of age was brought up in my Jazzercise class last night because one of the women turned 40 over the weekend. One of the other women in the class said "Didn't you know girl, 40 is the new 30!" Another one of the women chimed in and said "Well I'm 50, so I guess that makes me 40!" So I began to think, if "50 is the new 40", and "40 is the new 30", then obviously "30 is the new 20", but here is where I began to question my thought process. Is 20 the new 10? It seems logical, but realistically most people in their 20s don't look like they haven't hit puberty yet, so I guess if your in your 20s you don't get a cool little catch phrase. However, if "20 is the new 10" I guess I would be considered 17, since I'm 27.

If I could be 17 again, there are a few things I would change, I would definitely continue dancing and not worry so much about what the future is going to hold. I was a competitive dancer most of my childhood and danced with the same group of girls that whole time, so we became a close family. Many of those girls were a year older than me, so when they graduated, we basically had to start from scratch with a new dance group. With it being my senior year, I just decided to quit, instead of starting from scratch. I look back now and wish I had continued dancing and would have auditioned for the dance team in college, but I guess that is all part of growing up. Not necessarily when I was 17, but during college I put a lot of focus on worrying about what kind of job I was going to find. Obviously with the economy the way it is now, I guess it all worked out, because I have been employed, with the same company, since I graduated college. I do meet people all the time though, who I envy, that tell me about how they traveled Europe or even North America before settling down. Don't get me wrong, I do go on some pretty adventurous & fun vacations, but in the "real world" you can usually only take off 1-2 weeks at a time, which definitely fails in comparison to emerging yourself into a culture for a month or more. The only profession that really gives you that opportunity is teaching. One of my close friends is a teacher and last summer she spent it traveling through Spain, just going where the wind blew here, staying in hostels and meeting the locals. No telling where she will go this summer, I'm definitely looking forward to living vicariously through her, because I know it will be somewhere amazing with great adventures.

What would you do differently when you were younger, knowing what you know now?

xoxo

Let the Show Begin

2010-03-21T11:45:00.001-05:00

I have long been an avid reader of blogs and have finally decided that maybe I should share my two cents with the world. I hope to chronicle the events, things, & people I encounter on a regular basis in order to give readers a glimpse into my world. This will also be a way for me to personally look back and reflect (probably more laughing and eye rolling) on my past.

Hopefully someone will enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy reading others.

xoxo