Getting closer...to CHRISTMAS!!!

Well it's only about 3 days till Christmas!!! I absolutely LOOOOVE this time of year. First off,it is the time of year where we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. But I love that people are so giving,kind,charitable,& loving. The decorations are beautiful,the snow (when we get it) is wonderful,and having friends and family near is one of THE BEST parts. I love traditions that my family has..one of my favorites is when my mom,sister and I make HOMEMADE CHOCOLATES a couple weeks before and we send out boxes to friends and family. Not only is it fun...& nit to mention DELISH..but I love giving them to people because they always love them and are grateful. :)

I just wanted to write this little post and wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and enjoy spending time with friends and family,& remember the REAL reason for this time of year!!! Oh,and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! ;DDD

Pictures of a car named Eddie...

Yes,my car has a name. And it just so happens to be Eddie. I don't know WHY I named him that..it just came to me one day.

I was surprised last year on my 16th birthday with the fact that I was going to get the car I've always wanted! I couldn't BELIEVE it!!! I searched for 3 months online,around town,etc but couldn't find "THE ONE"...then I saw the Craigslist ad. Soooo...my family and I went up around the KC area and got it!!!! It was a JOYOUS day!!! LOL

Soooo...here are some pictures of my car...close-up pics..for now. Eddie is a 2007 Ford Mustang Pony Package with cold air intake,sequential blinkers,louvers,dual-exhaust with Shelby pipes,& flowmaster aftermarket exhaust...& some other little minor things. And I still have more in store!!! This is Eddie...

(These pictures have a slight vintage wash to them.)



Front fender




Pony grill..gotta love it. :)




More grill-age ;)




Mustang badge on the back

HAPPY BDAY SKIPPY!!!

Skipper with a faux hawk




Skipper with a beanie on!




Mr. Skipper...tie and all!!




Skipper...picture perfect. :)




What a cutie...even with his ears flopped over the wrong way! Love his little hair sprouts!


Well,today is the day of the year that my baby boy's bday JUST SO HAPPENS to be on!!!!!!!!! My baby boy???.....is a puppy!!!!!! Skipper is 3 now,& it seems CRAZY that I've had him for about 2 3/4 years!!! Boy how the time FLIES!!!!

Skipper is the best dog ever. He is ADORABLE BEYOND mental capacity...but I may be a wee bit biased. ;) Of course he could LISTEN to me a bit more,but,hey!!!...even the best of kids aren't perfect!!!! He is loving,very good about sitting whenever he wants a treat,& is just ALL AROUND sooooo darn CUTE!!!!!!! He is literally like a TEDDY BEAR!!!

Soooo...HAPPY BDAY Skipper!!!!! You are the best cutie pie!!!!! :D

--Vintage Pics--

Vintage Netflix package





Stack of books





Pen & paper




Books


Well...as you know,or should know. I loooove photography. So I was playing around with some editing the other day and TA-DA!!!!! I actually took these pictures with my iPhone...which I do kind of often because I don't always have my nice digital SLR Canon Rebel camera with me. Therefore,you'll get iPhone pictures sometimes!!!!

This editing makes the pictures look vintage...giving them that "toy camera" look that was ever-so popular back in the day. Annndddd I really like it. So,you will probably see more like these!! :)

Long Time No See.....

Well hello there. I know it has been too many months,but boy what a CRAZY summer it has been!!!!!!!! Of course a great one though. I just thought I would say hi again..and I PROMISE to write ALOT more!!!!!! Soooo....here goes the beginning of a new era in blogging..... :)

A Day Full of MUSIC

Well....today at Orchestra was a day full of practicing pieces for our end of the year concert. We are doing songs such as "Jesus,Name Above All Names" all the way to a "Disney Classics" medley. In the chamber orchestra we are playing Pachelbel's "Canon in D"...one of my ALLTIME FAVORITE classical pieces & a "Richard Rodgers In Concert" medley piece too.

Richard Rodgers was a famous American composer who wrote over 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. You MIGHT have heard of movies made by "Rodgers and Hammerstein"????...YUP that's HIM!!! He wrote songs for movies with Oscar Hammerstein II and the movies are now CLASSICS. (The picture to the left is Rodgers.)

Some of the bits of songs in the "Rodgers" piece we are playing range from "The March of the Siamese Children" from "The King And I" to "The Sound of Music" from "The Sound of Music" to "June is Bustin' Out All Over" from "Carousel". All the ones in-between are "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" from "On Your Toes",The Surrey with A Fringe On Top" & "Oklahoma" from "Oklahoma","There Is Nothin' Like A Dame" from "South Pacific","Do-Re-Mi" from "The Sound of Music","I Whistle A Happy Tune" from "The King And I",& "My Funny Valentine" from "Babes In Arms". Our AMAZING choir will be singing along with us.

In the "Disney Classics" medley the bits of songs are.."Chim Chim Cher-ee" from "Mary Poppins","It's A Small World" (I know...your VERY FAVORITE SONG EVER right?????) from "It's A Small World","A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" from "Cinderella",& "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" from "Song Of The South".

All of the songs we're playing are really fun...despite some tricky parts...but we will work those out!!!!

Sinatra Night on Idol!!!!!!!!

Well....last night was the night that the contestants sang the songs of the ONE and ONLY...Frank Sinatra!!!!!! Annnnnd...not only a good night for songs but a good mentor also!!! The mentor was the AMAZING Harry Connick Jr!!!! So let me continue on with my reviews of the night.

Aaron-His performance wasn't bad....better than some weeks for sure!!! He has kind of an "old soul" so this week suited him to a "T". Overall....not bad.

Casey-WHAT. THE. HECK. I usually LIKE Casey...but last night?!?!?!?! What was up???!!?? I think my ears were screaming and bleeding during that performance. Ok,not really.....but I DID NOT LIKE IT!!!!! He was wayyyyyy off on pitch and Kara was RIGHT!!!....he sounded like a sheep. His vibrato is really.....ODD. Sorry Casey...I didn't "dig" it.

Crystal-Ok...so it didn't seem like the judges liked it very much.....I disagree. I thought it was good. Yes,it was "sleepy-ish" as Randy said...but COME ON!!!!! It's big band Sinatra era!!!!!! She looked quite "RAVISHING" last night and I thought her vocals AND song were quite nice.

Mike-Definitely the best....at least SOOOO far....(see next contestant) LOL. His performance was ROCK SOLID and he had nice vocals. He brought the "Big Mike energy" & it will probably pay off this week!!!! Great performance.

Lee-Ok....now THIS WAS the BEST of the night!!!!!! Lee has come out of his shell little by little over the course of AI...but SOMETHING happened this week. He seemed to take a HUGE leap in his confidence. I've always liked his voice but I didn't particularly like his PERSONALITY in the beginning. But after a week or two on AI I liked his personality ALOT better. And now??? He is doing amazing stuff. He could DEFINITELY WIN THIS THING. Amazing vocals,outstanding energy,great overall. Harry Connick Jr......you worked WONDERS on this boy.

My prediction???? ...Casey.....sorry dude.....you're gone.

Goodbye Siobhan.....

Well....I know this is a little late.....but nonetheless. Siobhan Magnus was voted off American Idol last week. I have to say that I was QUITE SAD. Siobhan was one of my FAVORITES. But I KNOW she is destined for great things and I am SURE someone will pick her up for a record deal VERY soon. So.....goodbye for now Siobhan....AI is just a notch-in-the-belt!!!! I can't wait for the REAL start of your career!!!

My Baby Boy..Skipper..

Kansas City

My Mustang

My Girl...CRAZY KELS

Phil Stacey came to my Homeschool Co-op!!!!

Phil Stacey came to my homeschool co-op not too long ago. It was amazing and he has such a great voice! Super nice guy and I was able to get his autograph!!!

Some Captured Moments of the Loverly Tatum

LaRaya's Mini-Photoshoot

These are all of my beautiful little sister LaRaya. Love ya!!!!!

A Bit of Photography Perhaps???...

Ok so I'm a photography LOVER!!!!!!!! I'm not brilliant...but I enjoy it. Here is some of my stuff.

Obama says "NO MORE DAY OF PRAYER"?!?!

Ok....I don't know WHAT Obama is doing but it's STUPID. He has officially cancelled the holiday know as "National Day of Prayer"...because he doesn't want the atheists,MUSLIMS,etc. to be "offended".

Well GUESS WHAT Obama!!!!! The MAJORITY of AMERICA is Christian &/or aren't offended by Christian standards and beliefs and THEREFORE have been OFFENDED by your act of STUPIDITY!!!!! I AM OFFENDED because YOU act like the minority of religious believers (ie. ATHEISTS,MUSLIMS,ISLAMIC....etc.) OVERPOWER the HUGE number of Christians &/or others who don't have a problem with Christians!!

I just DON'T get Obama. He has made SOOOO many decisions that are TEARING this once great country to PIECES. Does he think he can just get by?? Well so far he kind of has...BUT...does he WANT to even TRY and get re-elected in 2012?? I can tell you that I DO NOT WANT him in 2012...or EVEN NOW for that matter. Well guess what Obama!!! I will be able to VOTE next election and you can COUNT on this conservative teen to NOT vote for you!!!

I just had to let you all know what was goin' down and I had to put my take on this matter of business. I hope Obama will START making SOMEWHAT decent decisions in the NEAR FUTURE. But....I highly DOUBT he will. Oh well.....we just have to stick it out for another 2+ years. I say ROMNEY 2012!!!!!

Yeah...I know,it is a bit delayed...

Ok my last post about American Idol is late. I tried to post it this afternoon but it wasn't working...soooo I did it now. I've ALREADY seen AI tonight and I was 50% right about who went home. ANDREW (CHA CHING!!) and KATIE went home...actually I'm happier..because I like Aaron better than Katie!!!! So...America was basically RIGHT ON for this week!!!!! YEAH!!! OH!!!!! And Adam Lambert's performance was AWESOME!!!! I quite LOVED the lazers and fog....and he changed up the song just a bit....nice work.

Elvis week on Idol!!!

Ok,yes I am an AVID fan of American Idol. And I have been watching it for years...call me a diehard. :) So this week I was TOTALLY STOKED because it was Elvis Presley week on AI!!!! I am also an AVID Elvis fan. He was amazing. 'Nuff said. Every week I like to give my opinion on how each contestant did..sooooo here are my own personal reviews.

Crystal Bowersox-(She sang "Saved") WOW...Mama Sox rocks MY SOCKS off!!! I loved the gospel-y/blues-y feel to the song and I like how she changed it up with an electric guitar instead of an acoustic. GREAT vocals & wonderful performance. I literally felt like I was at a concert. Great job!!!!

Andrew Garcia-(He sang "Hound Dog") Hmm...def not his best...not his worst either. He has only had like two or MAYBE three good nights so far...which ISN'T good. In my opinion he should have been gone about three weeks ago. I loved him in the beginning of the season but he has failed to impress me. His version of this Elvis CLASSIC was boring and mediocre.

Tim Urban-(He sang "Can't Help Falling in Love") HOLY SMOKES...LOVED IT!!!! I loved the sincerity of his performance. Beautiful vocals,emotional,& nice guitar playing I must add. One of my faves of the night.

Lee Dewyze-(He sang "A Little Less Conversation") I loved his version...it sounded very "him". But I REALLY want him to open up more and RELAX!!! He would be a superstar if he could just boost his self-confidence!!! But awesome song.

Aaron Kelly-(He sang "Blue Suede Shoes") Well...it was OK for me. There were parts that I really liked but the rest was just kinda iffy. He almost seemed a little tense last night...which is unusual for him. He could be in trouble tonight.

Siobhan Magnus-(She sang "Suspicious Minds") I liked it. Even if the judges were riding the fence I was totally on her side. I DID LIKE how she started off soft and sweet and then went to "powerhouse Siobhan" vocals. I disagreed with Kara on the "two voices of Siobhan" and that she was "confusing". And I was really impressed with Siobhan's honest,quick come-back statement. I love ya girl.

Michael Lynch-(He sang "In the Ghetto") Niiiice performance. He kept it sweet and simple. He was back to soul-filled Big Mike!!!

Katie Stevens-(She sang "Baby,What Do You Want Me To Do?") Not a bad performance. One of my faves of the night??....no. Solid vocal...yeah,pretty much. She did okie dokie last night.

Casey James-(He sang "Lawdy,Miss Clawdy") Another solid Casey performance....nothing outstanding or spectacular...but a good vocal. He needs to switch things up a bit I think...otherwise people might get kinda bored with his performances.

Soooo...overall night...not bad. Two people HAVE to go home because the judges saved Michael Lynch last week.....soooo the people going home??? Probably Andrew (HOPEFULLY!!..he just ISN'T improving.) & Aaron. That is my speculation.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians:The Lightning Thief

Ok..so I saw this movie for the second time about a week ago. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED it the first time....and then I bought the book. I started reading the book and even on the FIRST page it differed from the movie...& I was like "Oh noooo...is it gonna be totally different?!" Well,the answer is....sorta. The movie is different from the book in quite a few respects. Lemme expound.

First off...Percy is 12. Yeah,he's not the more teenage-y boy that Logan Lerman (the actor who portrays Percy) is...but I'm thinking that they cast Percy as an older boy to draw in a bigger audience. Because seriously...who wants to see an awkward little 12 year old save the world and Mt.Olympus??

Second...Annabeth has BLONDE hair....I know,minor detail...but STILL. In the book it doesn't just say that she has blonde hair ONCE.....it says it multiple times and it even says on page 103 that "Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking kids,all with her gray eyes and honey-blonde hair." Thus....some of Athena's other kids. Oh,and Athena is the goddess of Wisdom and Warfare.

Third...is Grover even BLACK in the book???? It doesn't say ANYTHING about him being so. I don't care if he is or isn't but I can only picture him as so.

Fourth...Poseidon DID NOT build Percy a place to stay at Camp Halfblood..the "Big Three" were not even supposed to HAVE kids...you will have to read the book to know what I mean. ;) And I sooooo wish they would have shown the cabins that the campers stay in....would have been cool to see each demigod in their own "rightful" cabin.

Fifth...why wasn't Dionysus in the movie??? Too minor of a character???? I dunno....he SHOULD HAVE been in the movie since he was basically the camp director of Camp Half-blood.

Sixth and LAST...there are alot more things that differ from book to movie.....and I'm actually only about half-way through the book. BUT I must say that both the book AND movie are great. It might have helped that I saw the movie FIRST and wasn't expecting anything because I read the book.....so I might recommend SEEING the movie first,LOVING IT (as I DID/and STILL DO),& then moving onto the book and enjoying the more IN-DEPTH story!!

Oh...and Logan Lerman makes the movie sooooooo much better to watch!!!! heehee!!!

I'm a wee bit sore......

Well as you can tell from the title above....I'm a wee bit sore. Why,you might ask??? Well..let me take you back to yesterday. I got up and went straight to work!! Not literally....just downstairs on the patio. LaRaya and I swept the patio...& I took a hose to it and washed the dirty thing down. We also picked up little "presents" left by our beloved furballs of love and joy...although the "presents" they leave AREN'T so joyful. We then moved on to a game called "pick up sticks"...but it wasn't quite a game....and there were branches involved too. But it wasn't too bad.....we hooked up our 4-wheeler and little trailer and loaded 'em up!!! Then I went around the perimeter of the house and in this little circle-y thingy-ma-bobber in our front drive and pulled weeds...I think that was the start of this nagging (but not horrible) soreness in my hamstrings. Then most of the work was done!!! But I continued to stay out in the most BEAUTIFUL weather and washed down some things that were dirty as Mom cleaned out the garage. Also,LaRaya and I played some badminton & tennis,frisbee,& bounced around to some music on the trampoline...and laid out to tan too!!! So I think it was a combination of everything....but totally worth the fun & beautiful day...even if we did have to WORK a bit. :)

A New Beginning

Well..here it is. The blog I have been putting off creating. But it is now up!! YEAH!! So....in this blog of mine I will post my photography,write about everyday life,put up reviews of movies,books,music,tv shows...*cough cough* American Idol,& soooo much more. I hope I will bring smiles to your faces and joy in your hearts.....heehee. Live long and BLOG ON!!!!!