The Harvest is Plentiful, the Workers Are Few - Matthew 9:37

Backstreet's Back Alright! - Day 2

2010-12-10T18:41:00.000-08:00

So our day began in sunny Key West. What a nice change from semi-cold, rainy Miami. Ew. Key West was beautiful and warm. So nice. So Megan and I got off the ship and went to explore Key West. It's pretty small so we could walk everywhere. We found Duval Street, the original Margaritaville, and the sign where the interstate system began. No lie. Mile 0 starts there. Kinda crazy. The southernmost point of the United States is there too but it was a little too far to walk to. Anyway, we went to an internet cafe for a good hour haha. I had some key lime pie. It was good. That's about it. We met some BSB fans from California that took our picture for us. They were super nice. Back to the ship we went.

We went to the Question and Answer session once we got back. It was about an hour and a half long. Fun stuff. Not much to say about it honestly. It was formal night on the ship that day too, plus the BSB Masquerade party. So we got to wear our fancy dresses. Vanity night as Megan called it haha. I was excited. My dress was new with pockets! So we got all dressed up and went to dinner. P.S. Carnival has this warm melting chocolate cake that is unreal. No lie, I got it 3 nights for dessert. It's like brownie soup. Amazing. I want it now. Anyway, after dinner, we went to the Masquerade which was a lot of fun. Everyone was dressed up with fun masks. Megan made both of ours and they looked amazing. So awesome. I can't believe they turned out so well. So, let me just tell you, these deck parties that were every night, didn't start til midnight or later. So we were dying by that time and weren't super pumped to party. But we stayed til about 2am I think and decided to call it a night. We weren't sure when the boys would start door knocking anyway.

That's another thing! A staff guy told us in the hall that Nick would be coming around to knock on fan's decorated doors to meet them after the Masquerade. Well Nick even told us this during the Q&A session earlier. So we were super excited. Well, we didn't wanna stay up all night and no one show, but we also didn't wanna take off our makeup and be in our pajamas if they did come. Solution? Sleep in our dresses. That's just what we did haha. It was so funny. Here we are in our formal dresses with hair and makeup done laying in bed with the covers over us. So the hallways and walls weren't sound proof, so we heard people all weekend long up and down the hallways. About 3:30am I hear someone next door somehow. I jumped out of bed and yelled at Megan to get up! I went and opened the door to look and there was security guard standing next door. He said, "Shhhhh....Shut your door." So I did and ran back in the room and got Megan to zip my dress up, fixed my hair, and for some reason realized my breath probably stunk, so we both stuffed some mints in our mouth. By that time, someone knocked at the door. We both opened it and it was AJ! Simultaneously we both gave a high spirited "HI!" It was so surreal let me tell you. So he came in and Megan went to shake his hand, and he took it and kissed it, along with mine :D Then, he looked around and told us our room was messy. I wanted to say, well, I'm sorry, we don't have a suite like you, but I bit my tongue haha. he asked if we wanted a photo and for some reason we didn't bother getting individuals, we got a group shot, but it was SO good! I was very pleased. After that, I said, "Hey, do you have a second?" and he said sure. (side note) All cruise long they were rushing them here and there to do stuff so we never thought we'd get actual time with any of them, thats why I asked beforehand. Anyway, I had my BSB pages out. I almost didn't give them to him, but I thought, Cortney, you've been working on these for your entire adolescence almost, give him the f-ing pages. You said you were going to all of those years, now grow some kahunas and DO IT. So I did. I prepped him by saying, "Now, you're gonna think I'm insane, but...." And he stopped me and said, "No, trust me, I won't" haha. So I started flipping through the papers and told him in a round about way that I had written I Love BSB 100,000 times and had counted them all. Megan, God bless her soul, she thought to take a picture as I was talking to him, now I have actual proof. Love her. Anyway, about this time, I started to shake. When he first got there I was just really excited, but not nervous. Well, I could feel my hands shaking and see it in the papers. I was anticipating his reaction and thought, what if he hates it? Well I didn't have to worry about that because he responded with a "This is pretty fucking cool." I could not of asked for a better response :) So after that I somehow found the page that has like 3,500 on one side and showed him. I don't know why, but I did. He blinked a few times and said, "That hurts my eyes." Haha! I said, "I know mine too, I don't know how I wrote that small back then." I think that was all. I wish someone could of filmed the entire thing. So then he signed some autographs for us. He signed Megan's cd and I didn't have anything, so I got a piece of paper out of my purse and he wrote, I Love You 1,000,000,000,000 times. SO GREAT! After that he left and handed the pages to the security guard. I kind of handed him him the manila envelope I had them in so they wouldn't get messed up and he took it graciously and said that would probably be a good, safe place for them. He was quite nice about it, I was surprised.

After he left and the door shut, Megan and I both screamed! Ohhhh we sat and reveled for a good 20 minutes about it. We replayed the entire thing over about 5 times. She took a picture of me with my autograph too. I look so giddy haha. We were so glad we heard it, woke up, and had slept in our dresses. Such an amazing experience. And of all of the members to come knocking, AJ came, and I got to give my pages to him. I don't know if Nick's reaction would of been as good as AJ's. Who knows. I was thrilled with the entire thing. So, we put on our pajamas and went back to bed about 4am. I think I laid there a good hour, not sleeping, running on adrenaline.

Backstreet's Back Alright! - Day 1

2010-12-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

So I definitely forget I even have this blog until I go on a trip somewhere and want to remember every detail. The Backstreet Boys cruise is one of those trips. AMAZING. Such an unreal experience I tell you. Jesus was on our side the entire trip. Everything was in our favor somehow. Praise God for it!

So our trip begin Wednesday night. Megan came to the house and we got stuff ready for the cruise. I was quite nervous about this because we're only acquaintances, not even really friends, minus facebook. She went on my trip to Italy and Greece with me, but we didn't really talk. She was with Interior Design. But we became facebook friends regardless and I saw that she loved BSB as much as I did! So other than facebooking each other, I saw her last April when she came and gave me a check for her airline ticket. Then she came Wednesday night. Haha. I prayed we got along alright and we did :) So anyway she came and we got stuff together for our door decorating contest and talked for a while then went to bed early since we had to get up at 2:15am. Ugh. It was more of a long nap than a night of sleep. We went to bed around 10pm I think. So then dad took us to the Groome Shuttle place for our shuttle to Atlanta. Our ride was good, only us and another guy so we had plenty of room. We made it to Atlanta fine, no issues checking in, finding our gate, etc. Our flight went well and we made it to Miami in one piece WITH luggage intact. I was so afraid we'd lose it and have nothing for the cruise.

We got a taxi to the ship then and checked in. We were early so we had to wait about an hour and while we were, we heard screams! We jump up and see Backstreet walking by! Ah!!!! We about crapped our pants with excitement. We were taking pictures along with other fans and some people next to us asked who that was and we told them and they said, Oh crap. Let's go home now. Haha. So we checked in and went to eat lunch. About an hour later, we see Howie waltz in the door, no big deal right? We were like WTF!??!!?!?! ITS HOWIE! He was with his wife and child obviously but there he was eating like anyone else. We just kind of assumed beforehand that they'd be under lock and key the entire cruise and we wouldn't see them unless it was at a scheduled event so it was crazy to see them out and about. Well then not 20 minutes later Brian walks in too! We were sitting next to some Latin American fans and they FREAKED OUT. Woah. Like me and Megan were excited and were giddy, but these girls about had a heart attack. One went over to Howie to show him something and came back weeping. That would of been me 8 years ago haha.

So Brian starts signing some autographs and taking pictures so me and Megan run over there to wait. Well then he stops and says he will a little later. Well we wait about an hour and he starts again. We had been there the longest and somewhat expected to be first, but people kept crowding in from all sides. No lie, I was kinda scared. I couldn't move and people kept pushing. So finally Megan gets to the front and pulls me up there for a picture. I apologized since I almost stepped on Brian (he's short) and I said, I'm so sorry, thank you so much, we've been waiting a while. And he said Oh I'm sorry and I didn't want him to think I was complaining cause I wasn't, but I said oh no no no you're fine! So our picture is UBER close to our faces since the security guard was right there and there was no room either. But it's good and I love it!

So after all of the excitement, we had to go check in and get our wrist bands and stuff. That was an incredibly long line that we got to the front of luckily. Afterward, we go to our room and wait for our luggage. While we waiting we see the cruise has put on a BSB channel full of interviews, concerts and music videos. We watched like little girls for a while haha. Then it was time for some BSB events. It was Backstreet Boy Family Feud and the Dating Game. We went to the theater that all of the events would be at and we had the last row, last 2 seats. No lie. Plus the seats weren't real, they were folding chairs and hurt like crap. But any seat was pretty good since the place was so small. But they had picked girls out of the crowd to play these games and stuff beforehand apparently. We thought it was random but it wasn't.

We went back and decorated our door for the door decorating contest. SO much fun! Our door looked awful compared to other doors we saw. People put so much effort into them and we just didn't plan like they did. We'll know better next time.

After that we got ready for the cocktail party that was on the deck outside and for dinner. It was fun, but not a lot going on. We sang to songs and took lots of pictures. We got lucky and Nick, Howie and AJ all walked right by us and shook Megan's hand! We went to dinner afterward and were greeted by 6 other people at our table. Weird people. I joked with Megan that if she had turned out weird, I'd been stuck with weird people the entire trip haha. We had a mother and daughter from Florida, two girls from Virginia who were yankee transplants, another mother and daughter from Pennsylvania, plus a weird creeper dude who was middle aged from New York, on this trip ALONE, AND had been on the New Kids cruise before. Woah. We got him moved the next night lol. So during dinner, we were about to fall over from exhaustion. No lie my face almost landed in my food. So, the deck party didn't start til 11pm and we opted out because we figured if we didn't sleep again, the next day would be shot too. So we went to bed.

Slacker

2010-10-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

What a slacker I am! I haven't updated since Thailand, which was, unbelievably, a month ago already. Wow. Time has flown. Nothing important has happened really either haha.

I've just been working, midterms, working out, finishing my bedroom, halloween costume. I finally moved into my new room! Yay! It looks great! SO much room. I can't get over it. I could have a disco in here. We just ordered my chair this week too, and it was on sale! Success! We got my dresser mirror too. It's all coming together. Then, I'm gonna have to figure out how to decorate. Eh. Not real sure.

I'm gonna be a garden fairy for halloween. So exciting! I made my tutu, pink, ivory and blue. It's quite poofy. Much more than I thought. Almost too much. Kinda makes me look fat. I'll just have to flatten it some. The tights I ordered don't match. The color chart was wrong, so I'm irritated. I'm gonna dye some I think. I need some pink flats. I got the fabric for my top, blue, shiny and sparkly. It was on sale too :) So pretty. I'm gonna make it one-shouldered. Kinda toga-like. I got lots of flowers, butterflies and bees to put on the top too. Hence, garden fairy. Yay! I've been practicing my makeup too. That's the hardest part actually. There's so much to choose from and so many ideas. I've been trying to wittle them all down. We'll see. Something pink and blue. Of course :) I'm excited. I got pink wings at Walmart for 5$ too. That was great. Not much else to say. I'm quite boring I know.

Christin is in town! Yay! She'll be leaving soon though. Quick trip.

Going to Gatlinburg this weekend with the girls! Becca, Allison, Sam, Sarah and Julie. Hope it all goes well with no drama. And I hope it's chilly weather :) I'll update about that when I come back. Pics to come!

Thailand Day 7: La Korn

2010-09-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

So, the Thailand trip has ended. Yes, folks, that's right. I'm heading home. I'll add some more on here when I officially get back into the States, but I figured now is as good a time as any to update on my last full day here. I sure do hope I can make it through the plane rides and that they're magically shorter going home. That happens sometimes right?

So I met Christin at Healthland today for an oil massage. I was hoping to get Jed? as my motorbike driver for the last time and tip him well and say thank you for driving me all week, but I got some other guy instead. He was nice, but smaller than me and much older. He seemed to have a hard time balancing me on the bike haha. Anyway, we got to Healthland in one piece considering he went a new way than I was accustomed to and I'd only been there once before. But Christin and I got 90 minute oil massages. I had no idea what to expect. All I knew is that I didn't wanna be naked in front of anyone, regardless of if it was a woman. Well I went and had to shower first for some reason and then laid down on my stomach on the table. And I guess I also didn't realize for a while that it was a total body massage, not just a back massage. That's what I'm used to seeing everywhere.

Anyway, all was well until she started digging into my back! What is with these people and trying to dig your bones out of your body? I mean honestly! The rubbing and partial kneading was great, but not in certain areas. I would cringe and almost yelp when she dug into my lower back. Apparently it's MUCH more sensitive than I realized. So are other parts of my body. I know this now after having them rubbed and kneaded to death twice. I had to tell her to be soft on my back. She wasn't as soft as I would have liked. So then, I kept my underwear on, like I thought I was suppose to. Well apparently not. She pulled them half way down my butt. That wasn't embarrassing at all. I didn't necessarily mind her massaging my butt over the sheet, but not sans-sheet. Then I had to flip over and I covered myself fine and all. Well, then she lifted up the towel covering my boobs to massage my waist. I wasn't okay with that. At all. I haven't ever felt that violated actually. It's not like the gynocologist. I prepare myself for that and know what's gonna happen. I didn't here. Ugh. Anyway, it was pretty good overall I guess. Not sure how it'll compare to a massage at home. I don't know if I'll ever dish out the money at home though compared to buying one here for so cheap haha.

Christin and I decided to go hang out afterward and pack up. We ate dinner at a little street cart thing next to her apartment. The guy who owned it spoke great english. I had spaghetti haha. It was okay. Pretty good for Thai standards. Christin hated her food. It wasn't that great. So we went to the 7/11 and got sandwiches haha. Off to the airport to sit and wait soon. Not looking forward to that. I sure do hope I sleep most, if not all of the flight to Japan. Say a prayer. Update more later on the 2nd half of the trip.

Thailand Day 6: Yin Dee Tee Dai Ruu Jak

2010-09-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

So today was much more eventful than the past couple have been. I got to hang out with Christin at school for the majority of the day. I got over there to eat pizza with them at their party, but it was all gone by the time I got there :( Anyway, Christin and Andy told me to eat the pizza sitting at Chris' desk. Haha. I thought he wasn't there at all for the day, but apparently not. I found out later from Camille and Stacie that he was asking around who ate it! He was asking when Christin and I went on a lunch break to get a foot massage. So funny. Christin just died laughing. That made the day great.

So the foot massage was much better than the thai massage. Much less painful. We're gonna go get an actual oil massage tomorrow I think. The masseuse better close her eyes is all I have to say. Anyway, I went with the student teachers to their apartment after school while Christin tutored. They all live in tiny rooms with a bathroom. Kinda sucks. But it was cute.

So we went to MBK and met Christin at McDonalds for dinner. They had a tuna pie on the menu. Yummy. Anyway, we went and shopped for a while. I'm so excited! I got one of those awesome Thai dresses that are beautiful and it fits great! I also got a mint green silk robe, a thai shirt, and 2 vases with those pretty flower arrangements for my new room. I hope it all fits in my luggage! Ah! Gotta pack tomorrow and get ready to say adios to Thailand. Back to the States and to the real world. Ugh. I'm not looking forward to work. Blahhhhh.

Thailand Day 5: Sa Yan Sa Was

2010-09-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today was good. Christin originally had to be school until 5:15pm! Ugh. But, as it turns out, she didn't have after school duty or something like that. So I got to roll in to BCC at 3pm. Earliest yet! Jed (#7 haha) flagged me down and took me to school again and he didn't even ask this time where to go, he just took me haha. So I sat and waited for Christin to come get me and I loved marveling at all of the boys in their uniforms and their socks pulled up so high on their legs. Good times. I guess it doesn't matter there since everyone looks the exact same. That's a good thing right?

So Christin got me some mango and sticky rice! Yummmmm! It came with coconut milk to pour over the top and it was awesome. I see why she ate her weight in it last time she was here. She took me to her office area which was quite fun to see. I wasn't expecting the layout at all. Long rows of desks all together with individual areas for each teacher. Quite cute I must say. I got to meet Christin's Hawaiian friend, whose name I can't pronounce. But she gave me a hug and was the nicest person ever! I wasn't expecting all of the affection but it sure was nice even if she was a stranger. Camille and Stacie had desks over there too so I sat and talked with them for a while. Then they invited me to go to the salon to get hair and nails done. Teacher Knock sp? was taking them over by her house so I went with them and let Christin go tutor. Well, it took forever to get there because of traffic and then the salon was tiny with 4 girls working, 1 of which only did nails. Thank goodness I wasn't getting a pedicure. I just got mine painted. They look awesome too! My hair was another story. It looked really pretty but I feel like I lost half of my hair from the process. She washed it and scrubbed my head so hard it was horribly tangled when I sat down to get it worked on. Well she started combing through it and then quit. She instead started brushing it with a round brush and drying it that way since I was getting it curled. It took a while but it looked beautiful when it was done. I felt like a million bucks. I've never gotten my hair done before just because. I didn't have any special occasion obviously. It sure was nice though :)

Afterward, Teacher Knock took us to her house and we had dinner with her and her husband. They are the sweetest people ever. I absolutely love that her husband doesn't speak a word of english but he will sit and have a full conversation with you and you'll understand what he's saying. So fun. We found out he LOVES cowboy stuff too. How ironic is that? Belt buckles, cowboy hats, country music. You name it. So Teacher Knock called us a taxi and we all left. She explained to the driver to take the student teachers to BTS and then take me to TIT Tower. So all was well and then the taxi driver got lost. Ha. He pulled over and asked someone where to go. We were on the right road, we just hadn't gone far enough yet. It was kinda funny and nerve wracking all at the same time. But I got back okay. That's all that matters.

Ohhh and FYI randomness. I was talking to Camille about Matt, just in passing and her and Stacie both tried to convince me to not pursue that. I was kinda shocked honestly. They proceeded to tell me how nice and great of a guy he is, but that he's lazy and I could do WAY better. Well I wasn't really gonna take their word for it but all 3 of the girls were kinda adamant about it, so I guess I will. Plus, Camille said she has a friend from Cleveland she wants to set me up with who she thinks would be perfect for me. He's cute and a big guy, kinda like Adam. She said he dates a lot of girls like me. So she's gonna set something up and we'll see how it goes :)

Thailand Day 4: Yin Dee Ton Rab

2010-09-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Today was good. I always get excited to sit and relive all that's happened while on this trip but then I realize most of the excitement has already happened since we did all of the major things this past weekend. I'm fine with that, I kind of knew that coming in to all of this. I'm glad I got to do it period, regardless of when.

So, today I went and met Christin at school around 4pm. I had to go get a motor bike alone again but today was good because Jed and the Thai Mama were there waving me over haha. They were funny and super nice. We didn't die and I got there in one piece, dry. That was a major thing. Jed slowed down at each puddle which was nice of him. So I sat and waited for Christin on a little bench and got to stare at all of the Thai kids running wild. Woah. That place is crazy with 6,000 kids. That's still unbelievable to me. I saw all sizes and ages. The uniforms of all Thai students everywhere makes me laugh. I guess they don't ever get to wear what they want like some schools do back home? I see that in a lot of foreign countries actually. Maybe that's why they're grades are better, they take it more seriously than we do. Oh well. Not worrying about it.

Anyway, Christin showed up and Tiffany, Stefanie and Camille were there too. I found out they were coming with us! Yay! They're super fun. Then they called Matt and he joined us as well :) We went to a mall of some sort that I can't remember the name of to eat. I had noodles and pork dumplings. Quite good, minus the noodles, which made me sad. They were kind of fishy tasting. Matt suggested I get them, but forgot to mention that they're cold. Ah. But oh well. I'm glad I tried it. We ended up going to get Christin's iphone fixed again and went to see waiing Ronald McDonald! Ah! Success! I was quite thrilled with it. Something so American that has been made Asian. I love it. So we had a photo op there and went to a nice coffee shop to grade papers.

It ended up being more of a heart to heart about boys than grading actually. Love those. It was good. Afterwards, Christin took me to the Red Light District. That's quite the place let me tell you. She informed me about the ping pong shows. I don't want to ever see that. All of those poor girls though just waiting for some guy or girl for that matter, to come along. A lot of it I just can't imagine. That's how people live. They do they for their families or are forced to work that way. It definitely makes me thank God for not having to do that. Praise Jesus again.

We headed back after that and I was quite proud. I stayed up til 10:45. That's the latest I've been up all week. Yay! By the time I get accustomed to it I'll be heading back home. Bleh.

Thailand Day 3: Yai Puan

2010-09-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

So today was much less exciting than the past two have been. Christin had to go back to the real world and go to work. Work sucks. It's ruins my fun. Boo. Oh well. So basically I sat in her apartment most of the day. It actually went by pretty quickly though. I was pleasantly surprised.

I walked over to the 7/11 and got some coffee. Came back and called mom and dad. They were thrilled. Did some homework and went to the gym. Even though it's nice to have a gym here, it was comical I must say. I tried to use the treadmill and it didn't work. I found out later from Christin that it required 10 baht to work. Shut up. So I used the bike for about 30 minutes. The weight machines were all inclusive and were somewhat difficult to use. So my workout consisted of cardio and a few bicep curls. Oh well. Better than nothing right? Anyway, it's set up real pretty with glass windows and doors all around so it makes you feel like you're outside. Well, the doors were open too, so that made it 80000 degrees inside. Not that I don't in general, but I sweated like a pig. I was literally drenched. I'm sure people walking by were laughing. But afterwards, I walked outside to look and there was the glorious pool! So nice! I'm gonna have to try that out when Aunt Flo takes a hike soon. It sucks to be a girl.

Well when I came back to her apartment, I decided I'd be a great friend and clean her bathroom for her. Well I cleaned most of it but then started feeling horribly sick. So I almost finished it. I think bending over the tub is what finished me off. I drank some water and tried to eat some pizza. Bad choice. I spit it out. So instead I ate some cheez-its and took a shower and took a nap. I felt much better after that. I think not eating consistent meals is making me dizzy. I don't know how Christin eats a cookie a day. Oh well. I felt much better once I ate some more.

So I got ready and had to meet Christin at school. Ah! On my own in Thailand! I had to find a motorbike person, tell them where I wanted to go and not get screwed out of my money in the meantime. I'm not gonna lie, that's the most nerve wracking thing I've done thus far here. Well I walk out and see a bunch of guys sitting there. No one even approached me for some reason. So I approached them. I had a piece of paper of where to go and how much money. He kinda looked at me. He obviously didn't speak english. He handed it to another guy and he knew where to go and said 40 baht? And I said a definite yes. So I hiked my dress up and we went. No side saddle for me. He didn't bother giving me his extra helmet though which I found quite odd. But I made it there in one piece, paid 40 baht and found Christin. SUCCESS! So I have to do it again tomorrow. Hope it goes as well. I hope I can find Christin's Thai mama or Jed. Haha. That name cracks me up. They're super nice.

Oh, so I met Christin and David. It's nice to finally meet all of these people she talks about. He's from England. We went to Paragon! Crazy place I must say. It was full of lots of tourists too like Christin said. We ate the infamous cowmanguy for dinner. It was quite good, especially the soup. Yum. Then, we met Joey and went to the phone place. Then on to MBK, an indoor mall market thing. It was great! It was huge too. I got a beautiful scarf (that I didn't need at all considering I have like 4 blue scarves) for $2! I'd pay like 15 or 20$ at home for that. I also got a really pretty silk/satin Thai maxi dress. It will barely cover my boobs, but it was cute and it fits. It was cheap, like everything else is here. The baht is my friend. Oh, funny story I have to laugh about or i'll cry instead. We saw those pretty dresses that Christin bought me before but didn't fit. Well the one I picked up the woman motioned it would be too small because my boobs are too big. Yay. She pointed over to the dresses that were bigger, and more expensive for me. Yay. It's nice to be called fat twice here. I need to start keeping a tally. It looks like it's gonna be an ongoing thing.

Thailand Day 2: Kop Koon Kah

2010-09-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

I am quite proud. I must say. I'm forcing to update this blog about every single day of this trip so I don't forget a thing and I'm actually doing it! Success!

So today we went to a floating market with the student teachers and Christin's boss and husband. Teacher Knock and her husband are the sweetest people. SO kind and her english is great. So Christin and I had to be at BCC to meet them and we ended up having to take the motor bikes there. Well I got to meet her Thai mama and the guy that takes her to school almost every day. They were super nice, but we had to go separately and they each went a separate way. Well, it was fine but then I started to get worried because I realized Christin may not be there when I got there and I could get lost, plus the driver kept trying to ask me something and I thought he was asking me where to go! AH! I was kinda crapping my pants at that point. So he stops on the side of the road and I was like, are we here? There was a set of stairs and he told me I had to walk up the stairs and across the road and there the school was. I was okay with that because I could see the school. So I get over there and see no Christin. I ended up waiting about 10 minutes and I was drenched after walking that short distance. So the hair immediately went up. *Note to self: Don't wear hair down in Thailand. Ever. So she shows up and she said she was freaking out not knowing where I was. Ha. I had no phone either if I did try to call her somehow. Oh well. We were good.

So we drive a while to floating market. There were little vendors/shops around there with people selling EVERYTHING. I can definitely see why Christin doesn't buy food and keep it in her apartment. There is food everywhere, always, on every corner. And it's cheap. It's good too! The coconut pancake I had was awesome! I could get into that. So, we go and get on the little boat and buy a watermelon smoothie. By far my favorite food so far here. It was incredible. Who knew straight watermelon could be so awesome? This little boat was so neat and so very Thai! I definitely feel like I'm getting the most amazing Thai experience. Very Asian, which is what I wanted. Let me tell you about this boat though. It's not made for tall people, nor is anything else in Thailand. I feel like the jolly green giant everywhere. I had to sit sideways because my legs were too long to sit straight forward. Crammage. Minus that, the boat ride was perfection. Little Thai homes all along the water, people going by that were actual floating markets with all of their goods/food to sell. It was amazing. The Thai people sure are nice too like Christin said. I feel like I'm in the south :) People wave constantly and smile. Part of me thinks its because they are that nice, but another part of me thinks it's because we're tourists. Either way, it's great that everyone is so friendly. So this boat ride took us on a number of stops to see awesome stuff. We went to a temple first that was amazing. Exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to see. We went to a flower garden that was cool and a few other temples. Oh, something funny. At the flower garden, all of the Lee girls, Christin and I took a picture together and there was a little Thai girl on the tour with us who was probably 9 or 10. She was watching us and asked to take a picture with everyone. She was so excited and said, "Thank you" in english to us afterward. She was all smiles. It still amazes me how people are so interested in us. I don't know if it's an American thing or a foreigner thing in general. Like at the Crocodile show the other day, there was another little girl who looked to be 4 or 5 sitting a row down from Christin and I. Every time I looked that way she was staring at me. It sounds conceded but all I could think was, "Do I look like Barbie to her?" I assume she's never seen or seen very few blonde people in her life. I'd probably stare too if I hadn't. I kind of like this attention considering I don't get it at home. If you wanna feel good about yourself, go to a country where your looks are minority. Watch people stare then.

I know we, or just I, sweated like a pig the entire day. I had quite a few people comment on my sweating, which means it was REALLY bad and worse than I thought. I should have just foregone makeup and worn a bandana on my head to absorb it all. Ah. Oh, I bought some stuff today too. Got a green bracelet for Ashley, a pair of owl earrings that are UBER cute for myself and an Asian fan. Super excited. My first souvenirs. Can't wait to find a cute Asian top/dress like Christin has. I love finally coming to a country where the dollar is king and I can get a lot of stuff for cheap. Yay! After the boat ride, we came back to the floating dock area and had lunch. We got noodles! YAY for noodles finally! They follow me wherever I go around the world and it's amazing. So good. Oh, and back to being tall in Thailand, it blows. We sat at these cute little Thai tables with little stools and all. Sounds fun right? Wrong. I had to contort my legs in order to fit and eat my food haha. It's all good though. I had a good time.

Christin and I were deciding what to do after we left the market and Christin had the bright idea of getting a massage. Yay for massages! Camille and Tiffany came with us too. We went to Health Land right near the BCC. Let me tell you, when you walk into that parking lot, all you see is nice cars. NICE cars. You see where the people with money go for sure. They were valeting them left and right. The place was super nice but packed. We had to wait a little bit in order to get a private room for the 4 of us. I got to wear those crazy huge scrubs too. Very comfy, even though they weren't super huge on me considering I'm huge to begin with. But anyway they were good. So, I had no idea what to expect. A 2 hour Thai massage. Well, it was painful let me tell you. Kinda scary considering it was my first massage ever. My little lady was fierce too. I wish I had known the word for, not so hard, but all I could remember was "lang, lang" which means harder. I definitely didn't want that. I just kept thinking about as she worked on each limb or area of the body, about how sensitive certain areas where in general even when I wasn't being massaged. Gah, I had to cringe and hold on to the bed sometimes. The real sensitive part of my calf where I have a hematoma, she kept kneading. Ugh. I wanted to cry. My inner thighs are more sensitive than anywhere else and she kept kneading those too. Meanwhile, I kept thinking, I can't wait for her to get to my back because that's where I really need the massage. I wish I could turn over when she did finally get to it. It was the most painful thing. To make it worse, she kept using her elbows in my lower back and at one point it hurt so bad I moaned and to make it worse, she laughed! I should have farted on her like the girls told me to. Lunch must have given me gas because I really did have to fart the entire time. I had to concentrate on holding it in. Well to make it even better, at the end she patted the area near my boobs and my waist and said, "Big big". Gee. It's nice to be called fat here. I didn't want to tip her. Maybe I should pat her head as I look down on her and say, "Short, short". Is that as insulting? Or I could be real mean and point my foot at her as Christin says is like giving the finger. I'm not that mean. Only sometimes. *Be like Jesus Cortney. Be like Jesus* I keep telling myself that.

We headed home after that on a red bus thingy. That was interesting. Out of all of the transportation so far, I think I like the tuk tuk best. The motor bike is cool too, but I'm more comfortable on the tuk tuk. My butt and feet don't hurt at the end. It's odd not being in a car all of the time. It sure does make me appreciate my car at home though. It's real easy to hop in and go wherever I want, whenever I want. That's not an option here. It costs money to go places. People here don't have a lot of money. I get that. Praise Jesus for my car. I got a ham and cheese sandwich for dinner that Christin likes to eat all of the time. It was good with ketchup on it. Yum. Oh and I love Thailand more now. We ordered pizza the other night and it came with ketchup packets taped on top. I freaked out! I didn't bring any because I ran out of time to get some at home. I'm glad I didn't know obviously. Christin said they put ketchup on a lot of stuff. Yay for my condiment of choice. I think that's about all we did for the day. Came back here and attacked the internet like I've been doing lately. Forced myself to stay awake later so I wouldn't wake up at 3:30 again. Boo to jet lag.

On to tomorrow!

Thailand Day 1: Sawadee Kah

2010-09-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

So the Thailand trip has officially begun! Finally, after months of waiting and thinking September was never gonna come, it did. So we'll just begin with the fabulous 28 hour flight schedule I had.

I slept about 5 hours on Wednesday night (8th) to get up at 3:00am. Woah. It came quick. So I finish packing, and head over to the airport and get there around 4:10ish? Sounds good considering I have a 5:40am flight, right? Wrong. No one even showed up there to take my luggage til 4:45am. I about crapped my pants. I was so irritated, but then again it is Chattanooga, so people aren't bustin down the doors because the airport is so crowded. So I go to check in and I'm holding my breath because I'm worried about my luggage being over weight. Well, Christin's bag was 37 lbs or so, no big deal. Well, my suitcase was 55. AH. I about crapped my pants. The guy put a heavy tag on it and said, "We don't care here, but Japan might." But then he says, wait, why don't you put some stuff from that suitcase into this one?" What a novel idea! And it worked, so no baggage fee for me. Yay! Ohh and he also informed me that since i wouldn't be getting to Tokyo until the next day technically, I couldn't get my boarding pass until I got there. WTF is that? I tried not to worry about that just yet.

Anyway, as I'm sitting there waiting, Emily and Carter walk up! How funny. I had no clue they were gonna be there and they were going to Atlanta too, but on a different flight. They were going to a wedding in Seattle and were shocked when I told them I was going to Thailand of all places. Let me just make a little side note about that, I absolutely LOVE to see people's faces when I tell them I'm going to Thailand. It ranges from shock, confusion, and envy. It's great. No one understands why I'm going haha. Anyway, I fly to Atlanta, no big deal right? Wrong. I've never been in Atlanta airport alone before and I got lost at a time when I didn't have the luxury to get lost. I had about 20 mins to find my gate before boarding began. So I got off the plane and booked it. Well, I had to take that stupid subway, concourse changer thing. So I think I get to my concourse and walk all this way and I end up right back where I had started. How does that happen? I went back again and saw where I had missed the escalator to go upstairs, dumb people put it where you can't see if you're walking from the opposite direction. Anyway, I made it in time and all was well. Well, then I started to worry that my luggage wasn't gonna make it with me since I didn't have alot of time between planes. Ugh.

So I get on the plane and have an exit row seat on this flight. Success! I forgot I had picked one out. It was so nice and roomy. Well, I had this semi-cute guy, who got less cute as the plane ride went on, sit next to me. He didn't say a word to me for about 10 minutes and I was like, okay, this is gonna be an ipod flight. Well, I was wrong. He started talking and did not stop for like an hour. I heard his entire life story, more so than I wanted to know and all kinds of other stuff. Ah. But he was nice none the less. So, that flight to Minneapolis went by quick, it was only 2 hours. Well then I get to Minneapolis airport and have 6 hours to kill. Bah. So as soon as I walk off the plane I turn right and see, A. A gate screen B. A bathroom C. Starbucks. Life is good right? Everything I need right there together. And to top it off, the Starbucks had a sitting area with it that had outlets to charge your stuff! So I basically parked myself there and ate breakfast at 10am, when I had been up 7 hours already. I was hungry. I called the folks and reassured them I was okay. 2 flights down and not even 3/4 of the trip was over. Boo. So I sat around and then wandered around for a while. Marveled at all of the Brett Favre/purple Viking stuff that was everywhere. Those people are just as bad as TN with orange. Haha. So I find my gate that's suppose to be my gate in a few hours, I was a wee bit early, and took a seat. I had the chance to sit and listen to all of the Minnesotan people talk while I tried/pretended to read my book. I actually listened and tried to keep a straight face since I wasn't suppose to be listening obviously. It was great. Sounded like something straight out of Fargo. Oh, so while no one was around, I walked over to the stewardess and told her about the boarding pass drama for Tokyo and she printed one right out for me. Apparently I had waited enough time to be able to get it. She sure did save me some worry. Thank you lady!

I went and had some Subway later on even though I wasn't hungry. I didn't know how long it would be or when I would eat again on the plane. After a while, I noticed people trickling in for the flight to Japan. I guess I never thought about it, but most people were Asian. Duh Cortney. I think I assumed that would just be on my flight to Bangkok. Wrong. So I board the plane, which let me tell you, is usually 30 mins before on domestic flights. Well, for international, boarding time is an hour before. Well holy crap, if you think you have a lot of time in between flights, you don't, unless you've got like 5 hours to kill. So I didn't have to wait as long at the airport. Yay. I was worried the entire time about this flight, not because it was 12 hours, but because I picked a window seat that had 3 people to a row aka I have to crawl over 2 people to pee instead of just one. Boo. I hate doing that. But luckily, the 2 ladies next to me were UBER nice. One was a Christian too! Praise Jesus! Well then she ended up moving seats so me and the other lady had an empty middle seat which was the best possible option really. We weren't crammed in together. It was great. This flight did suck, but not nearly as much as I thought it would. I didn't watch any of the movies though and they played effin 4. I didn't wanna see any of them, not even a little. Boo. Ohhh and I was planning to have my own personal tv on my seat. Didn't happen.

12 hours later I arrived in Tokyo. Yay right? Yay wrong. If I thought I had little time in Atlanta, I had even less time in Tokyo. I was kinda sad about that too. I wanted to people watch a little and look for a Harajuku girl haha, plus I wanted to stand and not sit for a while. Well neither one worked out for me. It took so long to actually get off the plane that when I got into the airport, my next flight was already loading. BOO. Oh and to make it even better, the Japs think it's best for some reason, to make everyone who has a connecting flight, go through security AGAIN. WTF is that? I'd already been through, why do I need to do it again? Ugh. That took more time and they took my water which pissed me off since I had bought it in an airport. Whatever. So I'm practically running to find where to go, which is not easy to find btw. I had someone white and American help me. Ha. So I make a quick pee stop and then as I get to my gate, I'm one of the last people to board! Ah! So all is well, minus me worrying about luggage transferal again. Oh, and each seat this time had a personal tv. That was a welcome sight considering it was a 7 hour flight. Well I sat next to Kim Jong il's brother, also known as little Elvis on this flight. He had these gold glasses with this detail on the side that looked remarkable Elvis like. I don't know, but it was funny. He didn't say a word to me. Ha.

So this was by far the WORST flight out of the four. No joke. I kept thinking it was a different time then it was and I was wrong. I thought I had 2 hours left and I had 4. Oh the distress I felt at that was awful. After an eternity, I made it, only to see the pouring rain and no thing to connect our plane to the airport. Great. We had to get on a trolley that took us to the airport, then go through Customs, then go get baggage, then exit. This airport is insane and I don't like it. Christin kept saying how it wasn't very big. Negative my friend. I disagree. It's got the oddest layout ever. So as I finally find my baggage claim area and find my luggage! YAY! That was the first task, now the second was to find Miss Christin. So as I walk out, she just happens to be walking by. Lucky me, she said she had been pacing because there were several exit areas. So I stopped and dropped my luggage and we had our airport moment like she likes to talk about so much. It was so great to 1. See her since it's been a while and 2. To FIND her so easily. I was truly worried about getting lost there. It all went so well I couldn't have asked for anything better. PRAISE JESUS. So we make our way out and get a taxi. Yes, they have those pink taxis everywhere that I saw while she was student reaching. Unreal. And let me tell you, she said she can't speak Thai. She lied. She was awesome at it. We had this funny cab driver too. So we head to her apartment and I had someone carry my luggage for me to the elevator. How nice! Kop Koon Kah!

It's about 1:30/1:45am by this time. So I call my mom on Skype and she screams with joy when she finds out it's me Hahaha. It was great. She goes, "Are you in Japan?" Japan mom? Really? I was like no, I'm with Christin. I'd shoot myself in the face if I was just now to Japan. So I talked to her for a few minutes and then played on the computer. Well then it was 2:00 or 2:30 and I was informed we were getting up at 5:30 to go to the Tiger Zoo with the other student teachers! Success! So I worried about only sleeping 3 hours, well I slept 2, maybe. Jet lag is fun my friends. I was up at 4:15am, staring at the ceiling. I just knew I was gonna keel over by 11 or 12 that day, but amazingly enough I didn't! So Christin and I get a tuk tuk to take us to her school. Now, that was fun. That's a good way to travel. So we meet Prateep at school, our tour guide for the day and the other student teachers. There are 5 of them, 4 girls and 1 boy, but someone was sick, so there were 6 of us for the day and they were all SUPER nice and the boy was cute too. I'm still trying to see if he's single, I'll keep you updated :) I'm really glad we got to go with them. So, in a nutshell, I got to experience all of Thailand in one day. It was amazing. If I had to go home the next day, I'd be satisfied. I got to see that much. So we sat on the bus for a while and drove out of Bangkok to Pattaya for the beach. Well we stopped to pee along the way and my first experience with Thai bathrooms had squatty potties. Yes, squat over the pot. No comodes. I about crapped my pants, I forgot Christin mentioning this a while back. Well, I sure am glad I had been practicing squat peeing at home anyway just for hygenic purposes because it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Then we headed to the beach, which wasn't much of a beach really because it was road, sand, water. Not much to see, but it was nice. Christin and I went picture crazy. Prateep got us cute little chairs and a table to eat at and he ordered all kinds of Thai food. Woah. We basically had 'lunch' at 9:00am. It was all great though. I was surprised I liked so much of it. We cleaned up and headed to the Tiger Zoo!

So the Tiger Zoo was amazing. There aren't other words to describe it. It was just amazing. Oh and btw, I've noticed, most Thai zoos will cater to one animal type, but have 50 million more. Like there were elephants, crocodiles, pigs, bunnies, etc. here, even if tigers are there main animal. So we first went to the elephant show. That was funny and kinda sad. I don't think they have animal cruelty laws here like they do at home. A lot of the elephants had been branded with a number or symbol. So sad. But it was like watching Dumbo haha. The show was good and then we headed over to see some tigers! They were all in pens obviously but I was kinda bummed because I thought they would be more out in then open I guess, or more accessible like when Christin went before. But we found baby tigers in a separate area. They were in pens too and they had bottles to feed them through the cage and I was like, ohhh no no no. I want to hold them. But they had one over in another area where you could pay to hold it and feed it so that's what we did. Christin and I did it and split the cost, then they took it away and we paid again so I could hold it and we got a little baby one! SO PRECIOUS! AH! It was adorable! By far the best thing ever. It gave Christin a sloppy kiss haha.

After that we went to the Crocodile show. How boring. Those people are dumb. Those crocs wanted to do nothing but eat their faces off. We looked at our tiger pictures instead. Then we went to the tiger show. Now that was good. Very entertaining. After the show we went to see the monkeys! SO funny! Naturally, we had to get a picture made. Then we left to go back the city. Christin and I made a pit stop outside Paragon to check on her iphone. Holy crap it was typical Asia! I've never seen so many people! We took a motor bike back to the apartment. I was VERY apprehensive about it at first but it was actually quite fun. We came back to her apartment and crashed afterward. So, funny story, kinda. I was on the computer and saw the time was 9:00pm. All of a sudden the jet lag and only 2 hours of sleep hit me like a ton of bricks and I was about to pass out. So I told Christin I was gonna go to bed and she said, "Cortney, it's only 8." I said, "Is that a cruel joke?" I realized the time on my computer was from home, not here. I wanted to die. So I forced myself to stay up later so I wouldn't wake up at 3am. I finally went and to bed and Christin said I was out cold. I didn't move. I don't remember moving either until about 6am this morning. It was the best sleep I've had in a while. Yay. On to day two!

Edward Cullen. In The Flesh.

2010-08-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

So yes, it happened. I. Met. Robert. Pattinson. No lie. Words cannot describe this momentous event. It was as great as my future meeting with the Backstreet Boys will be in December. Who would of thought? I get to meet my 2 favorite 'people' in the world, less than 5 months apart? Life is good. Jesus is good. Maybe I'm not his little joke anymore @CWalk430.

So, I know I'm a slacker for my posts on here aka my trip to New Orleans I've done nothing about that was 3 weeks ago ha. I figured I'd better blog about this NOW since I need to remember every detail possible. So let's begin on Friday night.

I met Megan and Sarah at the mall to carpool. We decided to go to the Railroad Museum to see what was going on. They had already gone to the house in Georgia earlier in the morning but said there was about nothing to see since you had to be so far back from the set and the trees were in the way. So they didn't see much of anything regarding Rob. Well we went over to the railroad and there was nothing there. It looked like a ghost town. We thought maybe they'd have crew or set up or whatever going on, but nothing. Megan had already been there earlier in the week and saw them putting the circus name from the book on the side of the cars, but no one even acknowledged her presence honestly. They weren't allowed to say anything. They eventually told her, yes we're filming a movie, we can't tell you anything else. So, we went back and nothing was there now. We will see today and tomorrow. Anyway, we head down to the Read House. We heard/figured he was staying there since it's so nice. Well we parked and started walking around the hotel. Eventually, we see groups of girls here and there. We all smile at each other and nod because we know why we're all there. We ended up talking to this group of girls who had been there a while and they didn't know much. Well not 5 minutes later, someone walks by and goes, Rob just walked in. So we RAN in to the lobby and he was gone. They said he'd gotten on the elevator. Okay, strike one.

Well we go around the hotel lobby a while and kinda wait, stalk, poke around, ask some people if they know anything. Well we ended up over by this window in the back that overlooked the valets. We figured he'd be getting in or out of a car right there. Well we got nothing and saw a pizza man show up. Well we decided to get on the elevator with him and see where he was taking it. Yes, very stalkerish I know. Well it ended up not being his room, we asked the pizza guy. Plus, a girl answered the door. Anyway, we realized he's probably on the 6th floor because it was the preferred floor and there was only one room with a balcony. We figured he'd stay in there so he could smoke whenever he wanted. Well we went back downstairs and saw some policemen outside by the valets. People had started to gather and we heard them say they had to leave. Well we kinda hid and didn't have to go. Well, Megan was over by the lobby and she ran over to us and said, "Come on!" So we ran over there and he was being escorted into a back door that was covered in paper (the door was all glass windows). All I see is the door shutting. My heart broke. Strike two. Throughout the night I realized I was always 2 seconds late every time.

So, we go into the bathroom and who walks in? Ashley Campbell! We both did a double take for a minute and had a moment of recollection. She had previously invited me to hang out with her and her friends at the ChooChoo because they had gotten a room. That's before we knew they weren't really staying/filming there. Anyway, we told her our story and she goes, "Oh crap! He's in the back room of the bar where we are." So we went with her into Porter's Bar. She knew two or three of the workers in there, plus they were Rob's waitresses in that room. You could see through the door where we were sitting, but no Rob. He must have been on the other side of the room. Anyway, there were flat screen tv's in there and mess, plus a lot of people. The director, producer, crew and obviously Rob. Well he had a body guard sitting outside the door so no one could go in. Well we stayed for about 2 hours waiting to see what would happen. People in the bar with us slowly started to trickle out. You also knew the people there were stalking because it was a bunch of girls our age. P.S. Sarah Warren, Emily Broyles and Libba (dont know her last name), who all went to Boyd, were there. Kinda funny.

So we leave the bar and notice the body guard and security are on their phones saying something about a police escort. Well we decided he was gone already and we missed him, plus they were making people leave who weren't hotel guests. Then Megan comes running over to us and said he just went to the bathroom with like 8 people and came out and left! We missed him again by a minute! Strike three. I was so sad. Both of my friends had seen him at least and I hadn't. Well then a guy who was sitting near the bathroom said he heard someone near Rob mention something about Big Chill. So we went over there just to see if he would show. Well, he never did, but some of his crew did and that got us all excited. We all made stops at Hair of the Dog, Market Street Tavern and Big River. No such luck. We called it a night after that.

So I went with Ashley Spurling back down there last night and Megan ended up meeting us. Candace and some friends were also driving around to see what they could find. Well, I honestly didn't have a lot of hope for last night. I thought, we got lucky on Friday by him coming into the hotel when we were there. We had no clue about him last night or any info. So we went back to Porters Bar and the waitress remembered me from the night before. She told us she was sorry but he wasn't coming down there tonight. They had all the paper off the doors and stuff. She also said he had ordered room service earlier in the day and that was all. Grr. We weren't happy. We didn't know to stay there or go out now. Well, we're drinking our wine and Megan comes running in and says Candace is at CBC (Chattanooga Billiards Club) and he's there! So we leave immediately and walk over there, bad idea. It was described as being really close but in reality we should have driven and there was parking. Bleh.

Well, Megan informed me that they were upstairs and she could see him. She was looking at him. She got there literally, 5 minutes before us and they had let her up. When we got there, there was a rope and a woman standing in front of it not letting any one through. She said something about waiting 45 mins to an hour. I. Was. Fuming. To top it off, Jessica was there somehow before us with her friends so she was in front of us in line when we had told her where to go. She had no clue about Porters or CBC. We told her. If she got to go up there and I didn't, I was slitting someone's throat for sure. Well, Megan came down and tried to tell the woman that we were with her but she said no. Well, I'm standing there looking like a hot mess, literally, I was sweating bullets from walking so far so fast. Well it was probably more like 20 or 30 mins and like 15 or 20 people came from upstairs and left. Well she let us in and I ran up there and found Megan and Candace. They all cheered and I immediately said, "WHERE IS HE?" Nicole said, sit down right here and look to your right. So I did and there he was in all of his glory. So close. So perfect. He was in a black baseball hat, white tshirt, dark colored button up shirt that was open and jeans. He looks just as good in person as he does on tv.

So I sat there and stared for a while, I was in shock. He had SO many freakin people around him too. And I noticed it wasn't necessarily fans or anything, it was people from the crew/movie and body guards. Woah. These body guards were something else. They made Adam look small. They were probably 6'5 and up, huge dudes. Well there were 4 of them or so and they faced away from Rob's table toward the crowd. They were blocking him basically. No photos were allowed either. If you tried, someone said they got right in front of you and stood or put their arms up or whatever. We were even threatened not to look at him or stare or they'd ask you to leave. Well, Jessica somehow got a table next to his that was empty. So we went over there since we had such a good view. A few minutes later a crew member that was with Rob's party came over and started talking to us. After a while he goes, "So are yall Rob fans?" We were kinda quiet and didn't wanna freak out obviously, but we just said yeah and shook our heads. Then he says, "You want me to bring him over here?" My heart stopped. We were kinda non-chalant about it and said well sure. So he goes over there and says something to Rob, who looks over at us. He comes back and says he'd be over to say hi in a few minutes. Well we about crapped our pants.

Well it was about 20 minutes later and lo and behold, here comes Robert Pattinson over to us. Not us to him, him to us. It was unbelievable. I know we were all just holding our breath. He said hi and we all simultaneously said Hey! With too much enthusiasm I'm sure. So, we're basically in shock and screaming all at the same time because it's so loud and we can't hear anything. Well I've got Jessica on one side, Megan on the other and another girl next to me basically hogging him the whole 5 minutes he was there. We kind of just asked him about Tennessee and how he liked Chattanooga. He said it was good, but he'd only been here 2 days so this was the first place he'd really seen. This girl and Jessica told him some places to go see or eat or whatever. We all were hunched in and listening/screaming/staring the entire time like little obsessed stalkers (I know we are). So he's talking off and on to us and the crew guy he knows. He's cutting up, laughing, smiling, joking. He was real personable and nice, but also clearly wasted. You could tell he was half there. Like he was in his right mind and all, but just really buzzed/happy. His eyes were real heavy and half open when he blinked. It was kind of funny. Well then he asked us what we all did for a living or in general. I was screaming, "I'M A TEACHER!" but Megan kind of took over and was talking about having a classroom and starting Monday. Ugh. I was a little irritated I couldn't get much in the convo, but then again I was so amazed I couldn't have thought of much to say. When people were talking I told myself not to look at them, but look at Robert. Look at Rob Cortney. Rob. So I stared like everyone else in amazement. GOSH, he was gorgeous! His jawline that I love so much looked amazing. Ohhh me. What else is there to say? He left after that a few minutes, we all said bye.

Oh, and I almost forgot! The first thing Megan did when he came over was ask if we could get a group pic with him. He said, "I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to." or something along those lines. So he wasn't taking pics with anybody. But I decided I was gonna take one before we left, regardless of what happened because if they kicked me out, who cares? I was going home anyway right? Well we started talking to a new crew guy who was super nice and after a few minutes I remembered Rob and looked for him and he was gone! He had left completely! I was so mad! I thought he'd gone to the bathroom, not the back exit. Ugh. So he was gone and we decided to leave too. We walked back to the hotel and there was a mob of people outside the valet entrance waiting for him. Well we decided to wait too just in case but he never showed. Someone on my yahoo group said he went to an undisclosed location or bar and she was there. It was after he left CBC. But I don't know about that. I felt so bad though. We walked up and people were speculating, asking where he was, and I go, "I just met him." This poor little girl's face, who was about 8 or 9, just sank. She ran over to her mom and goes, "Mom! That woman just met him!" I kind of felt bad. But I know I put it on facebook right after it happened and I was bombarded with comments and all like 2 mins after I posted it. No joke. It was so funny. Most people were like, you're stalking paid off huh? Yes sir it did indeed.

So, before all of this happened yesterday, Sarah Hurst and I decided to get a room at the Read House for tonight. They were kicking people out if they weren't guests. So we got one in the hopes of seeing him. And now I almost wish I hadn't since I had a full conversation with him. But oh well. Sarah wants to try, especially since she's driving an hour from Loudon. And my new goal is to get a picture of some sort. Everything else is icing on the cake, I know I know. I wouldn't change last night for anything. So we shall see. Wish me more stalking luck! It's only gotten better every night!

Go Fetch A Space Heater or Something

2010-07-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm a major slacker, yes I know. The midnight Eclipse premiere was almost a month ago and I have yet to update/put pics up of it. So sad. So here we are! Better late than never.

So obviously I don't remember as many details from that night as I should (shame on me I know, that should teach me to blog as soon as something happens). But there were 9 of us I believe. Amanda and I rode together. She borrowed my Team Edward shirt and loved it. It was so funny. And yes, I did dress up as Jane. And let me toot my own horn for a second, because in the words of my Papaw Cutcher "Honey, go ahead, if you don't then no one else will." So funny. I looked DAMN good. I was so proud. I felt like Dakota Fanning was looking at me in the mirror. Needless to say I was nervous to get out and walk around like that since everyone was gonna stare at me, which is exactly what happened. I saw NO ONE else dressed up and I was hoping there would be. Wrong. I could see the eyes follow me haha. The best line of the night came from these 2 girls who were probably 9 or 10. They were standing in front of me and one of them says to the other in a whisper that I could hear, "Look. directly. behind. you." It took all I had not to explode with laughter right then. Oh it was good.

So this year they got smart and lined people up outside. We were lined up according to our theater number and sat outside the outside door entrance, which was fine. But we overhead some girls say someone in their party was sick so they were let in early to their theater. Well we got smart and said Sarah was ill since she has fibromyalgia, which is true, it just wasn't flaring up haha. But we just got to sit in the little tv/waiting area since there was a movie playing in our theater. But we got to go in early before everyone. I don't think I'm gonna go back to Rave next time for Breaking Dawn. All of my other friends go to Hixson and it's SO much better. They don't do the theaters by numbers and just let people in til it's full. Oh well. The movie was amazing! No complaints here. I was thoroughly pleased. And angry Edward was ultra yummy :) The flashbacks of Rosalie and Jasper were AMAZING along with the battle scene. I couldn't believe they showed a decapitated Victoria. I mean it wasn't gory obviously, but it was surprisingly great. Fun times.

Trips, engagements, and vampires, oh my!

2010-06-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

So after weeks of looking and OCDing, I finally baht (haha) my plane ticket to Thailand yesterday. I must say, I am glad I finally have one so I can't stressing about it. And now that I think about it, I don't know why it was stressful at all to begin with. I guess the idea of spending nearly 1300$ on something kind of got me stressed. That's the largest purchase I've ever made! Hope it helps my credit score. Anyway, I fly from Chattanooga to Atlanta, Atlanta to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Tokyo, Tokyo to Bangkok. Coming back I do all of that again, but I go to Portland instead of Minneapolis. I have a 6 hour layover in Minneapolis and I found out the Mall of America is 5 minutes away with buses that run to and from. Visit the largest mall I've ever seen: Check. I'm excited now. September will be here before I know it.

Oh, speaking of September, it reminds me of school. I got my graduate assistantship! And not only did I get it, I got it full time instead of part time, meaning ALL of my school is paid for for all of next year. No more tuition to UTC! And I get paid! How is this fair to the school money suckers? It's not, but hey, I'll take it. Oh and I got my professor that I love so much. I'm hoping this will be good. Praise Jesus!

So I finished my math workshop this week. Glad that's officially over. I always dread these things because it's ALL day math, but I end up enjoying them in the end because we have a good time and I have friends there. Well, I didn't hate this year, but it wasn't as fun as previous years even if I did have a fun table. The crazy Nasa man was my favorite. He was wild and on something I'm sure. Who gets THAT jazzed about science, other than Christin Walker?

So I attended an Eclipse party last night that was KILLER! This place was awesome! I saw pictures of the New Moon party they had and was amazed at all they did/had. I'll get some pics from FB soon and post them. All of the food was Twilight themed in some way, they're was a photographer to take your picture with the Jacob and Edward cut outs, black and red everywhere, people dressed up, movies playing, etc. So much fun. I kinda wish I had gone as Jane now. I figured everyone would stare and I didn't know most people, so I didn't wanna look like a fool. But I guess I will know less people Tuesday night and everyone will stare? But we're all fools there, so it won't matter, right? Haha oh well. Anyway, it was a good time. I wore my Team Cullen - Vegetarian Vampire shirt. So fun. I wish I had my Team Edwisle shirt made with the "Who's your daddy" on the back. That would have been fun. Next Twilight party, next time.

Oh, on a lighter note, my friend Leigh Anne asked me if I was talking/seeing anyone last night and I said that was an obvious NO. She told me she had someone she wanted to hook me up with from church :/ I was skeptical but she said he's 22, just graduated from Tech, he's an engineer at TVA now. I saw a picture of him on FB and he's CUTE. He also has massive arms, which got me excited. I'm suppose to go to her house for Farkle night and meet him there. He said he was interested, but we'll see just how interested once he sees me. Bleh. I'm huge. Dad agreed to pay for us to join the gym in Ooltewah, so that's what we're doing next week. I'm kind of excited. I'm not paying for it which is a bonus. Oh and Kerra is now engaged, so I will be in her wedding next June, so I NEED TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT. And I just realized, that means I need to lose it earlier than June because dresses will have to be picked out and ordered. Oh yay. I hope skinny Cortney resurfaces. She hides and reappears every few years.

The oil is coming.

2010-06-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

So I know it's a little late, but I've had a busy week. Anyway, I went to the beach last week with Becca and her parents and my parentals again like last year. Good times, good times. We went to Oliver's house in Destin too. We beat the oil too! We thought it would hit right when we got there but it didn't come in at all until Friday and it was just a tar ball or two. It's probably coming in good now.

But there's not much to say about it. We went to the beach everyday and out to dinner at night. I came back at lunch when everyone made a sandwich and stayed there to take a nap. That was so nice. I had to recooperate from New Mexico. Sleep was definitely my friend. Can I just BITCH for a minute please? I love her to death and she's one of my best friends, but I want to take Becca's phone and throw it in the ocean. She doesn't stay off the freakin thing EVER. And it's always to talk to Kevin. He's a whole other blog. She even texts while she drives and that REALLY bothers me considering I'm the passenger. She can do that while she's driving herself. I wish she would just quit him for a week or whenever we're busy/doing something. She did that at Bible study the other night too. I couldn't concentrate on the lesson because her phone kept buzzing with texts! UGH. She needs to learn to prioritize her boyfriend and friends separately. We don't want to hear about him 24/7 or see you talking to him or texting him. BLEH. I remember those times with Dustin and know how first love is and feels and how amazing it is. I also remember him consuming my life and I dropped everything to do whatever he wanted and was there at his beck and call. That's the part I will change next time. I WILL change it (if there is a next time). Becca doesn't see that unfortunately because she's in the bubble. We've all been there and seen the outside of it as well. You can't explain the outside bubble view unless you've been there. It's like talking to a brick wall. Sorry had to vent.

Otherwise, I had a great time, but I was ready to come home by like Wednesday. I was tired of the beach because that's all we do and was sick of sand being everywhere. I was also getting tired of seafood. I was mostly ready to be home since I'd been gone for a week already. I wanted to play with Elvis :( I felt bad for leaving her even though Adrian had a marvelous time. He will be my next cat sitter for sure.

Now I'm on to math workshop this week. Monday-Friday, 9am-3:30. In the words of Christin, BONK. I know I get paid a crap ton of money to eat good food, get free stuff and socialize with friends, but I hate doing math all day long. I think this will be my last summer to do it all week. 2 more days.

ECLIPSE COMES OUT NEXT WEEK! YES! Costume dress up here I come! I will be Jane! Don't laugh. I've become one of those Harry Potter people *coughchristincough* Don't hate.

New Mexico Mission - Days 5-9

2010-06-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

So, let me tell you a little bit about the Navajo people to make this blog a little less confusing.

1. The Navajo Nation is comprised of 170,000 people, living in 4 states. New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

2. The vast majority of people are alcoholics, especially the men, who are non-existent in the home. We all know how that turns out.

3. The children are abused. At Bible school, we would give them hugs or rub/pat their backs, etc. to show good affection. Some of them would flinch or jerk if we moved too close or fast near them as a reaction to being hit I'm sure. Made us all so sad. At the end of the week, when they realized we wouldn't do that, they were all over us. Climbing in laps, getting hugs, etc. So sad.

4. Their is none or very poor dental care. Most people were missing teeth and the children had mouths full of silver.

5. The Navajo received 9$ billion dollars before Obama became president. They now receive 6$ billion and hate him for it. The money is given to the chief/tribal council and is dispersed how they see fit. That means, the chief lives in a mansion and flies around on his jet while the rest of the nation live in shacks.

6. The Navajo live in trailers or other poorly developed homes that could blow over if the wind blew hard enough. They're made up of plastic, wood, tires, any scrap material they can find. Most also have round homes called Hogans that most people use to live in. Three families use to live in them and they compare to the size of a dog house practically.

7. People live on welfare/food stamps/government funding so they don't work or don't want to work. If they do, they make the same amount of money they would get from the government, so why work at all?

8. People don't fix broken cars, they buy another car instead. So they're homes look like car parks.

9. 40-50% of the Navajo don't have electricity or water.

10. The suicide rate is extremely high. Within a 2 week period, 15 people had killed themselves. They have no hope for anything.

11. The rate of pregnancy is 70-80% of all high school senior girls. The more babies a family has, the more food stamps/welfare they receive.

12. The altitude is 7,000 feet. Needless to say, you need a lot of water. To add to that, you swell. BIG time. My feet looked like a pregnant woman's. When I got off the plane in Albuquerque, my chacos were tight. I loosened my shoes all week continuously. I'll talk about this more later.

So, on Tuesday, Bible School began! We waited in anticipation to see how many kiddos would show up. Well, to begin with, we had about 4 or 5 SUVS that people had rented like vans and tahoes. These kids can't get to the church usually because the family may have just one car or have some other reason, so, people go out and pick them up and take them home. And you have to realize, these kids live so far out on the reservation, it takes a good hour to pick everyone up and get back. So Bible school usually started at like 10am instead of 9am like it was suppose to. But anyway, we kept looking for the vans to get back to see how many we would have and we had arguments about what age each child was to see if we had more kids than the other groups haha. So it turns out on Tuesday we only had 14, which seems very low compared to last year when they had 50+. And we decided that since there were so few, we would have all elementary ages together instead of separate, which worked out great.

Is it sad that we kinda hoped less kids would come so it wouldn't be wild? We all were torn because we wanted more kids to witness to, but less to take care of haha. So Bible school ends every day at 12:30. And we give them breakfast and lunch. We heard stories from the adults helping with the older kids (middle and high school) about the students asking to take food home to their parents because they just knew they're mama would love it. So they would eat half their lunch and ask to take the rest home. It was only peanut butter and jelly. It was so sad. Needless to say, we gave those kids an extra lunch to go home with. And the little ones would save a sip of juice they had or the scraps of their sandwiches to take home. And what makes it even worse is that some of the teachers would tease the kids and say, "Are those M&Ms for me? I'm gonna take them!", obviously kidding, and they would hand the entire pack to them and say here you go. Or, when they got something like that, they would immediately start handing them out to all of the other kids so they would have some too. They all know what it's like to need, want, be hungry and have nothing. They don't want others to feel that way. Sad day :(

So on Monday we didn't have an afternoon activity to go chaperone on for the big kids. So we went out to eat at this restaurant called Earl's. It's in the "downtown" area of Gallup and is suppose to be great. I was not impressed at all. The food wasn't bad, but nothing like I was expecting. Bleh. But anyway, we stopped at this store beforehand and I got some moccassins! SO EXCITED! They're so pretty with little beads on them. Beautiful. Just beautiful. So we ate and went to the hotel and went to bed. I was in bed every night around 9 or 9:30. I was zonked. Getting up at 5:30am blows, just so you know. Anyway, Jennie and I met some SUPER nice ladies that worked at the hotel named Della and Eugina. Well we tried to witness to them/invite them to Bible school or anyone they knew or their kids, etc. So Eugina ended up having 2 kids who came to Bible school for 2 days and at the end, they accepted Christ! Praise Jesus hallelujah! We also invited Eugina to come if she wanted. We heard stories of many adults, parents, grandparents, etc. coming to Bible school to drop their kids off and they would stay and make crafts and eat lunch. They were so thrilled to do that so we offered for Eugina to come too. She ended up coming on Thursday afternoon to bowl with the kids. I know she had a good time :)

So on Wednesday we had about 16 kids at Bible school. We lost a few and gained a few. But most of the kids were the same ones all week. And I forgot to mention earlier that I was in charge of games. So I had a bunch of games planned that we had to do in the classroom because it was dangerous outside with wind, heat, and gravel. We had accidents already. So we played musical chairs, over/under, simon says, we did the "freeze" song. They had the best time playing those simple games. And of course the teachers had a big time too acting like big ol' kids. After Bible school officially ended on Tuesday, the big kids had an afternoon activity to go to the aquatic center. It's kind of like a YMCA. We later found out that it would probably be the only time that year that they would get to swim. And it had been a year for some of those kids since they had last swum at that place from VBS. Sad day. They had the biggest time. We also realized later that there is no water anywhere in New Mexico. There are no ponds, lakes, streams, etc. Nada. Zilch. So those kids were dying for a pool obviously.

Oh, Christin will be pleased to know that on Wednesday I grew some kahunas and decided to practice singing to see how it sounded in that little church. Well, amazingly, it sounded good. And I wasn't near as nervous and Eric and Jennie were in there the whole time! So I sung it twice and I definitely notice that I sound WAY better on the second time. I have to remember that from now on. So I decided on Wednesday that I'd sing at church on Thursday night.
That was about it for Wednesday. Jennie and myself took Eugina's children home that day too, Bryant and Orrianna. Let's just say their home had tired on the roof holding it up and barely four walls. So sad. So after that, Jennie and I decided to take a van to walmart and buy Eugina and her children food, toiletries and other essentials that they normally wouldn't get. We felt so great about that. We split the cost and filled up a huge tub, bin thing they had. Water, bread, ramen noodles, potatoes, juice, toilet paper, etc. Oh that's another thing, Walmart apparently is always out of white bread, water and ramen noodles because it's cheap and feeds a lot of people. We left it for her on Friday morning before we left. I'll come back to that in a minute.

We went out to eat at Cracker Barrel that night I believe. I talked to HOTT wolfpack boy: Jaime. 20. Wants to be a pastor. Yum. Wish I could have found more like him on that trip.

On Thursday it was our last day of Bible school and we had 16 little ones and 1 or 2 accept Christ! Yay! We had a great day. Me and Jennie also went bowling with the middle and high schoolers for their afternoon activities. We chaperoned again. Initially, the adults watched/helped the kids, but then we decided to bowl too haha. Let me just tell you, I beat Eric in 2 games! That is quite a feat I must say. Eric is like 6'1 and 215 lbs, big guy, Mr. All American, can sing, has 2 kids, good at everything, HANDSOME, and I beat him. I felt so proud. He called me the dress lady since I wore one almost every day. He also told me that was why I was so good at bowling haha.

Thursday was also when I was suppose to sing. I had the runs all day long. I'm not kidding. I don't think it helped that I had coffee and mini wheats for breakfast, but I was going all day here and there. That made me decide to wait to eat dinner too, which was pizza. I didn't think that would go over real well. It may come out one or both ends. TMI I know, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want. Anyway, I felt like my doom was coming all day long. I was dreading it. The time was coming closer and closer. So I practiced after bowling. Three times. And I have to admit, I felt much more confident than I ever had. If anyone was in the room, they all told me I sounded great. I was just worried that since I always sound better after I sing the first time, I wouldn't sound as good at the actual performance since it was time 1 again. Does that make sense? Anyway, I felt guilty about singing anyway, I was gonna chicken out earlier in the week and Angie said to me, "Cortney, you're singing for the glory of God. It doesn't matter what it sounds like." Great. Thanks Angie. You make me feel so good. So I'm assuming God wants to hear me sound like a dying cat?

Well we went to church and were waiting for people to come. I swear, people kept coming, kept coming, and kept coming! AH. I thought I was gonna pass out from the sight of everyone. I had to keep turning around to look so I wouldn't be so shocked when I got up there. Well it turned out to be around 50-60 people, MUCH higher than the 20 or so from Sunday. Well the time came and I walked up there and prayed HELP ME LORD, please don't let me forget the words or my voice to crack. I had worried about that. I also worried about looking like a deer in headlights while singing, even if I did sound okay. When I practiced at home, there were only 2 people in the room and I had to look at the floor with locked knees. SO nervous. So I made a conscious effort to look around and move my body some instead of being an ice cube up there. So, can I just tell you, I was somewhat amazed when I got to the chorus that my voice came out like that. No joke. I was like, "OMGOSH! I SOUND GOOD!" So Angie sat in the front row and cried the whole time. During a musical break, which was after the first chorus, she mouthed to me, "You are amazing." Her face the entire time was in shock haha. Made me feel good! I sang in front of the hott wolfpack boy too. Life is good. Everyone also knew how terrified I was since I'd never sung in front of people like that before and when they found that out, they were like, you're kidding me right? They also told me I looked like I was a professional up there. Someone told me I didn't just sound good, but I had stage presence. So no deer in headlights for Cortney. Anyway, I had like 4 people immediately turn around and tell me how great I had done. It was such a high. I was so glad I did it. It had been gnawing at me all week to do it or not. I knew if I hadn't, I would have regretted it so much and always wondered what would have happened. Praise Jesus for the help! Oh and I sang "Tanzania" by Alli Rogers. It's a song about two different cultures on different sides of the world who are different but both children of God and who will both live on ground that doesn't shake one day. It also mentions Chattanooga. Cool points for that. I'll post the lyrics at the end of this blog to make it massively longer.

So after the service, I had numerous people come and tell me how great I sounded. And to top off the night, we had a final mission trip meeting and Eric (our preacher) made a comment about how great I did and everyone cheered :D Now, to make this night even better, let me tell you about an awesome story. Someone had mentioned there was a box of boots we could buy/take. I was like, nah, I didn't need any boots. Well, I found out they were real Ugg boots. For. FREE. NO. JOKE. All of us ladies ran over there to see and sure enough there was a massive box full. We all got free Uggs! But that's not the crazy part. Apparently, the church/school we were at receives donations and stuff all the time. Well, a truck driver from Cleveland, TN comes out every year on his own, and gives them stuff. He got Ugg boots from window displays and such for free. So these boots have either never been worn or worn once by people who returned them. How cool is that?

Oh, Jennie and I tried to take our tub'o food to Eugina on Thursday night. Well, we went down to the lobby and started talking to a lady at the front desk. She was like, you're leaving that for Eugina right? And we started talking and she was eyeing that tub of stuff and saying stuff like how great those honey buns, chips, etc. looked. I was thinking, how sad is this? Everyone is dying for food here. Just basics to live on. Well we decided Eugina may not have any food left by the time she got the tub, so we decided to take it another time. We took it Friday morning and left it with a note. And she called Jennie and said she got it and thanks. So praise Jesus for that. Hope that family enjoys it. On Friday, everyone on the trip split up to go different places. So, me, Jennie, and her son Daniel took a van to Santa Fe. It's about 45 minutes from Albuquerque. The scenery was beautiful. We decided Santa Fe was the Gatlinburg of New Mexico. It was all shops and such. But everything was made of adobe bricks, so cool. So expensive. And can I just tell you how convicted and awful I felt for being there at all? I saw people walking by holding their Starbucks, wearing their hats, dressed nicely, etc. I just kept thinking, you have no idea. You have no earthly idea what's 3 hours down the road. It hurt my heart so much. It hurt even more to realize that I was one of those people. Buying crap I didn't need at whim because it was "cool" or "pretty" and throwing money away here and there when there were people I had met that lived in shacks. Those Navajo homes made the slums of Chattanooga look like palaces. No joke. Makes me rethink everything I have and what I should be doing with my life to help others. Such an eye opener. I've never seen poverty like this trip.

So we went to see the Miraculous Staircase. I'm not gonna go into the super long story about it, you can google it. But it was cool. Jesus may have been there working :) We also went to see the Georgia O'Keefe museum. Boring. Jennie loves her and wanted to go so badly, so she bought my ticket actually, which was good, because it was very disappointing for $10. After that, we headed back to Albuquerque to the hotel. Early to bed, early to rise. 10pm to 4am to be exact. Woah 4am came early. We also had a long day of flying before us. 2 hour flight from Albuquerque to Dallas. 2 hour flight from Dallas to Nashville. 2 hour drive from Nashville to Chattanooga. So I came home and packed again and went to bed, got up and went to Destin! Here I am now! So I'll have more to blog after this trip. Nothing near as exciting as New Mexico I'm sure.

I do have to say though that I left a piece of my heart in New Mexico with those Navajo people and how awful they are treated. I'm glad the church goes every year. I definitely wanna go back. So here's my last super cool Jesus story. God was at work. There are a lot of rocks behind the church. We went and climbed on them. Well a man lives back there and came to the church and cussed everyone out, drunk, saying to get off his land. Well some people had not been up there yet and were gonna go one night after dinner. They were obviously stopped from going for safety. Well, Eric decided to go on a drive through the reservation, way back in there, to show people. Earlier in the week, he had met a family at the gas station and witnessed to them. Well, he had no clue where they lived at all. When they were driving way back on the res, they saw the family they had met at the gas station. Here's what's wild: They said, We've been waiting for you. We knew you were coming. They accepted Christ right there and then. If that man hadn't come down and cussed everyone out, our group would have gone climbing instead of driving and not met those people. SO amazing.

God has a plan. We have to remember that.

"Tanzania" by Alli Rogers
It’s eight hours later in Tanzania.
When Jen lays down
Mary’s just opening her eyes.
Her child’s feet land on the ground
and dirt scatters,
And she feels left out in the open,
always left out in the open.
She says, “son, wear my shoes to school today”.
He turns and smiles and walks away,
and she thinks to herself…

Someday I will wake
where the earth is clean and safe.
My children have a place to play,
not here in Tanzania.
And someday I will live
in a house that’s built by
hands that hold the world.

It’s eight hours earlier in Chattanooga.
Mary sits down and Jen’s just put the coffee on.
Katie Couric is talking news and fashion,
and Jen feels pushed into a corner,
always pushed into a corner, she says
“Baby I know what girls at school are like”.
And her daughter rides off on her bike,
and Jen thinks to herself…

Someday I will wake
where my children get a break,
And there are chances that they’ll take,
not here in Chattanooga.
Someday I will live
in a house that’s built by
hands that hold the world.

Well it’s hard to be mother,
and it’s hard to be a woman,
and it’s hard to live in Africa sometimes.
It’s hard to be mother,
and it’s hard to be a woman,
and it’s hard to live in America sometimes.

But someday I will wake
in a body that won’t break,
On ground that doesn’t shake, not here.
And someday I will live
in a house that’s built by
hands that hold the world.

New Mexico Mission - Days 1-4

2010-06-14T06:57:00.001-07:00

And the adventure begins! New Mexico finally arrived after so much waiting. So I get to church to hop on the bus and I see Angie who says she is driving separate and I can go with her if I want, so I jumped on that train quick. So we beat everyone and drive to Nashville quick and check in and all. Then I meet the other 5 people going with us on the Friday flight. We had others coming in on other days. And just a sidebar, 80% of this trip was full of old people, just so you know. So I hung out with old people all week :) So we flew from Nashville to Dallas and stop to have dinner. Then we flew from Dallas to Albuquerque. And the plan was to get to Albuquerque, rent a car, drive 2 hours to Gallup and sleep on the reservation - fail. The last thing I wanted to do was drive 2 more hours and then sleep on a whatever was there. Very humble of me I know considering I was on a mission trip. But Angie thought it would be great if we rented our own car and spent the night in Albuquerque, then we could go do whatever we wanted the next day. So that's just what we did. It was so nice to go to bed early too and sleep. I don't think I got that much sleep for the rest of the trip.

But anyway we got up and ate breakfast at this awesome, hole in the wall diner we found. This place looked kinda sketchy and had bars on the windows. But nonetheless we went in haha. This place probably only held 20-30 people max. The food was AWESOME though and you got a crap-ton of it for cheap. I think everything on the menu was 7$ and under. I got a whole plate of french toast that came with eggs, 4 pieces of bacon and hashbrowns. It was great. So then me and Angie decided to head to Gallup. The scenery was breathtaking. I could not get enough of it. It amazed me how something so bare and desolate could be just as stunning as my green Tennessee. So we arrive in Gallup and meet the other ladies at Walmart. Big mistake. Can I just tell you that we later found out, it was the first Saturday of the month which means the Navajo had received their food stamps/welfare money and went to town for food basically. So here me and Angie are, 2 blondes, walking around Walmart with only 5 or 6 other white people in the entire store, probably 1 other blonde. So needless to say we got stared down big time. The entire store was Navajo. Everywhere. More. Navajo.

So after our fun Walmart adventure we went to the reservation. I learned some interesting facts along the way. Let me share with you.

1. There is a stretch of highway called a Safety Corridor. It is the only part of the road that is well lit with street lights and a big shoulder on the side. This is for the alcoholic indians that need to get home at night and can't drive. The lights are for them to see and the shoulder is to walk on. There are also sobriety check points almost every night.

2. I have never seen more hitch hikers in my life. To make it even better, they hold up money to catch rides.

Anyway, the reservation is apparently the most desolate, ugly part of the area. Obviously. What else would the government give the Indians? The place we did all of our work was a church/school. This itty bitty place has been there for 20+ years. Bayside goes every year. But anyway, we spent most of our time in the gym/kitchen area. The school's gym floor was cracked and uneven. So the men's construction job this time was to tear it up and put a new floor down. P.S. They tore that floor up and cleared it out in 1 day. Amazing. So for half of Saturday, most of Sunday and Monday, we sat there and did a lot of nothing. I'll remember next time not to volunteer to go early on the trip. If you're not fixing food, buying food or cleaning dishes, you're sitting, staring at the wall. So that's what we did a lot of. But the other 7 people showed up Saturday afternoon. And my person for the trip was Jennie. She's 30 and awesome! She brought her 9 year old son, Daniel, who was an amazing 9 year old. Plus, he went to Boyd :) So we became BFF on the trip. We were originally suppose to room together, but she brought Daniel, so I ended up rooming with Joyce for a night and my OWN room for the rest of the week. Now let me tell you how nice that was :) All the ladies were worried about me and were like you can stay with us, etc, etc, and I said ladies, I want my own room lol.

So Saturday I believe we just all had dinner and then went to the hotel early. I was so tired. It was hard work doing nothing all day haha. So I shared a room with Joyce that night who was so fun and sweet. We got along so well the entire trip.

We got up Sunday and headed back to the Res for church. Okay, now the entire trip, none of us knew what kind of denomination the church was. They sang out of ancient hymn books, with a few instruments, and some other odd stuff. The ladies all wore skirts every day too. Eric told us they were some sort of independent Baptist. But, church was quite an experience. There were only about 25 people there, 14 of those being our group and the others were Indian, but related to the preacher and his family. So not very many Indians had come on their own. It looked kind of pitiful actually. But they had some sort of super old school wooden board that had how many bibles were brought, offering, people, etc. The offering jumped from 65$ to 236$ from the previous week. Guess all of Bayside gave well. Anyway, we sang songs, split up for Sunday School and then sang some more songs. The whole service was kind of weird. But it was good nonetheless. This gave me an idea of how singing would be for Wednesday night church. I was toying with the idea of deciding to sing again after seeing how few people were there.

So I believe after church we all ate and then sat around. Me and Jennie were so bored so we went to Walmart. We stole a rental van lol. I'll definitely remember this important tidbit next time: If you wanna go anywhere you want and not be at everyone else's mercy, rent your own car. We couldn't do anything unless we had a car. So I think we did that and that was about it. We had church that night at 6pm. It had about as many as Sunday morning. Not much interesting.

So on Monday we went and had to plan for Bible school. There were 6 of us doing the little ones. We were gonna split it up Prek-K, 1-2, 3-4. The year before there were 50+ kids and 3 teachers total. Fail. Ugh. They said it was wild. So we expected a large crowd. The day is basically full of food, crafts and games with a little Jesus thrown in there lol. So we planned and made stuff, then we all went to eat at Earl's restaurant, which was suppose to be some great place. It definitely wasn't. I was so annoyed the whole time, Indians come in and show you jewelry, etc. to buy while you sit there. The food was okay, but not nearly as good as they all described it being. But I also bought some moccassins before dinner! They are gorgeous! I was so excited! My other cheap, mall ones were falling apart. So now I've got some new ones from Indian land :)

Waiting.

2010-06-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping New Mexico actually looks like this.

So I finally finished posting all of my other entries from my livejournal. Glad to have it done, it took a lot of time! So I figured it was important to start this again and force myself to blog. Since I'm gonna be going on so many trips in the coming months I figured I needed to document them starting now. This is all in part to my BFF Teacher Christin. For the record I wanna be Teacher Cortney. Just saying.

Anyway, I thought I would begin my discussing my dread for part of my New Mexico mission trip. I for some reason thought that since I sing karaoke, I could sing a real song with a real track in front of a lot of real people. Wrong. As it turns out, the track I fiddled with does work, so I could sing it, but now after practicing on a real mic, I don't want to. And I'm pretty much making myself sick over it. I sounded awful on the mic, even though 2 people told me I didn't. They also informed me that I'm doing this for the Lord, not for anyone else. So, it really shouldn't matter if I sound like a dying cat, I need to sing to glorify God, not myself for my semi-musical abilities. Ugh. When someone puts it into that perspective, I feel even worse. I almost don't wanna go because of it. Like I'm worrying about it that much. I wish I had more time to practice there at the church, on that mic, on that sound system, on that stage. Ugh. Vomit. I guess I'll take the CD regardless and see what happens. Pray about it. I know I am.

Other than that, I'm gearing up to go! I am pretty excited, minus the changing of rooms and roommates situation. I was kinda looking forward to a room alone. I don't have to worry with anyone. Sharing bathrooms, TV, hearing snoring, loud sleepers, when I/her have to crap and smell the bathroom up, etc. You know. All the roommate things you worry with. Oh well. I'll have a nice bed and shower. That's all I need. But I was informed yesterday that after our 2 hour drive to Nashville, 2 hour flight to Dallas, 2 hour flight to Albuquerque, we have a 2 hour drive at night to Gallup. Through the mountains. Yes, through the mountains. Help us. I can just picture what's going to happen. All those movies in the West along a dirt, desert road, have people who get stranded on the side of the road when they have car trouble. They get abducted by those deformed, incestuous people who suffer from the effects of the nuclear bomb test. You know. Think the Hills Have Eyes. AH. That's what I imagine the desert West as being. Pray that doesn't happen.

So I'm interested to see how just me and another girl are gonna teach 40-60 PreK-K kids. Just two of us. Pray for that! Kinda scary. I guess I have to realize that if it's the Lord's will for all of those children to come, then He's providing a way to teach/take care of all of them as well. This certainly will test my love for Prek.

So I took Lauren to the shuttle at 5:30am this morning. Meaning, I had to get up at 4:45am, but my body decided to play pee pie and wake up at 4:30am instead. Bleh. Granted, I came home and slept for 2.5-3 hours, I still wanna take a nap.

Excited to go to Destin when I get back from New Mexico! Yay for vacationing with the Capetezzzz. Boo for getting home at like 6pm on Saturday evening from NM and going to Destin at 9am the next morning. Yay for washers and dryers in FL.

There better not be any oil.

2010-01-22T09:51:00.000-08:00

So it says I haven't updated in 32 weeks. It seems like that long too. Well I know I said this last time but I do need to force myself to update much more. Christin has motivated me immensely lol.

So I'm trying to see what's gone on in the past 32 weeks. Hmm...

I started Nutrisystem and I love it! It's gone well. I've lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks. The food has been good, which I didn't expect and I eat ALL day long. That's the best part, plus dessert every night :) I'm still learning how to eat right though on the days I don't eat the actual food. I still try to follow the right amount of carbs, fats, dairys, fruits and veggies. It's a pretty simple process. It makes me eat all of my vegetables and fruits, plus drink my water. That's a great thing.

So I finally graduated with my undergrad degree! On December 13, 2009 I believe it was. Now I'm doing my Masters in Elementary Ed. So I'm still a full time student. No job for me yet lol. It was me, mom and dad, Michael and Lauren. Good times!

And I just realized I haven't blogged about student teaching yet. UGH and Yay! So after I left the amazing Apison, I went to the craptastic school in Cleveland that I won't name. Anyway, the school wasn't necessarily bad, it was my 2nd grade teacher. The thought of the entire experience still irritates me. So in a nutshell, I didn't like my teacher who also didn't like me. I didn't like my PIR who tortured my life and then my teacher took her side. So I went down to UTC and had a meeting with Raus, Rutledge and my mom. I decided to go to another school in the fall and redo my 2nd placement. The only bad part was that I had 8 days left at my school :( It was that bad.

Anyway, I held my breath for a great school and grade. I was beyond blessed and got McConnell Elementary in Hixson (almost Soddy Daisy) and was suppose to have 1st grade. Well luckily, UTC or McConnell messed up and I ended up with KINDERGARTEN! I thought that it was too good to be true and just knew that they would move me because I needed an upper grade to complete my student teaching. Well Rutledge said I could stay there as long as I did some observation hours in the upper grades. So needless to say I had the most amazing teacher that helped me tremendously every day and loved having me. The kids were just as precious as Pre-K too. And just a few weeks ago she basically told me I was her favorite student teacher ever. She's had like 20 in her career so I felt very honored and made my mental state so much calmer since leaving my old school on such bad terms. It felt like a weight was lifted that told me, "No Cortney, it's not you, it's them. You weren't wrong." Ah. So needless to say, things went well with my PIR too. I had an amazing time at McConnell, met lots of new friends and teachers there. Even more so than at Apison. God is good.

I believe I will be getting a kitten soon! YAY! It will be named Elvis :) I'll put a pic up when I get him or her.

OH and we definitely went on our first family cruise to Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman Islands this past October. 4 nights, 5 days. We flew there bright and early from Chattanooga to Ft. Lauderdale. Got on the boat and it rocked from then on. Adam was sick the entire trip because we walked around like drunks the whole time since the boat wouldn't quit rocking. Overall we had a good trip, it just wasn't as thrilling as I thought it would be. I wish now I had blogged about it when I got back :( Mexico was my favorite. Beautiful beaches and water. And tequila :) I even found my name spelled correctly into a handmade bracelet! Beautiful!

Hmm..I'm trying to ponder if there has been any other BIG things happening in 2009...I'll re-blog later if I remember any!

Twilight Convention

2009-06-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

So I know I went to the Twilight Convention about a month ago, but I just decided to make myself start blogging about it so I will remember. I probably should have been smart and done this while on the trip during spare time, but never did. Nevertheless, here's what I got:

So, I head over to pick Becca up Thursday morning about 8:30am. She is almost ready, not on time, as usual lol. She had made us fun weight watcher twilight muffins! They were SO cute. There's a picture on my Facebook of one of them. It was chocolate with little eyes, nose and teeth. It was suppose to be a vampire, but looked more like a werewolf actually. It was so funny. Super cute.

So we were off to DeLand to see Vicky! Yay! Love her so much. Her and Chip are so funny. So anyway, we drive for a while and stop for gas somewhere in Georgia. Then we stopped for lunch at a rest stop and ate our lunches we made. And then we drove some more and made a pitstop to pee and get some gas. I could definitely feel the heat as we stopped in Florida for gas. We found out later on that there was a record breaking heatwave that weekend we were there! It was like 95-99 degrees! Craziness for the beginning of May! But anyway, It suppose to be like a 10 hour trip or more, but me and Becca got there in about 8 haha. We drive faster than necessary so our trip was short lol. So we can't go to Vickys house until 7:30ish, so we drove to Daytona and ate at Bucca Di Beppo Italian restaurant. Becca said there was one of those in Nashville and the food was fab. And it was! Our waiter was hott too. Super yummy.

So we headed off to Vickys and got there and talked to Vicky and Chip for a while since I haven't seen them in years. They're so funny. Well then we headed to bed kinda early since we were beat from driving/riding all day. The convention wasn't until Friday afternoon, so we got up Friday morning and met Vicky to go to the flea market and eat lunch. The flea is always great. Lots of fun stuff there. It was so hot though. But I got 2 fun rings to match some dresses and a picture frame. After that we drove down by the beach and ate at a restaurant on the water and got fried fish! SO yummy! Then we drove to the beach and stayed there for about 15 minutes, literally. We didn't have alot of time because we had to drive to Orlando. But we put our feet in the water and took some pictures. It was fun to say i'd been to the beach haha.

So we headed back and drove to Orlando! It was about 40 mins but we hit Friday afternoon traffic. Ugh. It took us like 20 minutes to go 2 miles. But we made it to the hotel! The convention was at the Florida Hotel and Convention Center. So it was a great hotel attached to a huge mall. It was super cool. So anyway, we got there and went to check in. Then we took our luggage to our room on the top floor. Our room was super nice and it was just a regular room. It had a flat screen on the wall and a desk and couch and a pretty big bathroom. We were pleased.

So then we ate some dinner and got dressed to go to the Cocktail Party that was at 8. So there was never any dresscode for the weekend or for these events and all, so we dressed semi-formal/casual, if that makes sense. But some people were in jeans and others in dresses. So anyway, it was an open bar, which I didn't know, so drinks were free! We got lucky and sat down at a table since there were so few and there was a mom and daughter sitting there and another girl came up and sat down. Well the mother and daughter were odd, but the other girl was super nice. She came to the convention by herself! I said, you came alone to all of this? And she was like yeah I didn't have anyone to go with me. So I volunteered and said she could hang out with us all weekend if she wanted and she jumped on that offer quick. But she was super sweet and was thrilled to have some friends. She lived in Fort Meyers a few hours away. From the way it looked, me and Becca had come the farthest of anyone we talked to the whole weekend! Woo! 10 hours! People were amazed when we said Tennessee lol.

Anyway, we were sitting there waiting and all of a sudden, Peter Facinelli (Carlisle) walked in! Ah! I was like, wow, he's here. I knew he was coming obviously but it was very surreal. And all of a sudden people hounded him. Omgoodness it was crazy. Then Edi Gathegi (Laurent) came in and so did Kellan Lutz (Emmett). You should have heard the screams and squeals. People just pretty much attacked them. They were there like an hour, but once they were gone, everyone else left. Me and Becca sat at our table and didn't want to bother them, but then they left! But we had a good time anyway. So after that we called it a night and headed off to bed.

Well sleeping was quite an adventure. I was tired, but couldn't fall asleep. I laid there a good hour and a half and then started hearing loud people next door. I knew Becca was asleep but then she rolled over and checked her phone and I asked her if she'd heard all of that stuff? She said no, but I told her I heard someone screaming obsenities and something like, "F**k you! F**k your mom's a**hole! Stuff it! Stuff your a**hole with salad! And lettuce and tomatoes and dressing! Stuff it in there!" OMG I was about to bust out laughing, and I thought, who is wasted in there? My word. Well the noise didn't stop and got louder, so I told Becca if they werent any quieter, I was calling the front desk to complain. And I didn't want to be one of those guests that complain about everything, but it was ridiculous and like 2 in the morning. So I called and said what room we were in and that the people next to us were very loud. Well it turns out, other people had already called and complained and that they were sending security up. Haha!

So I heard security come and snuck to the door to listen. I don't really remember what they said they weren't happy. So then it got quiet. And then I finally went to sleep. So we got up and started getting ready on saturday morning. We pretty much primped all weekend long. Me and Becca just laughed and said how vain we were since we wanted to look perfect all weekend lol. Plus we had our photo op with the Cullen boys that day! So we tried to look our best. So then we head down to the main room and there are probably 500-1,000 seats. We were flabbergasted. But we had reserved seats and got to sit near the front! Woo! Our seats were awesome and we got to sit there all weekend! We had some weird girl next to me though and she was there solo, because the other 2 girls next to her had come together and she had no one to sit with. But she semi-big and I had to cram next to Becca. Anyway, we were awaiting the question and answer session with Peter! It was suppose to be an hour long. So they introduced him and he walked in all cool with his shades on. He's so hott. O.M.G. haha. He was gorgeous actually. I decided all weekend he was my favorite. We were pretty much team Jasper on the way to the convention, but changed our minds.

Peter wore this blue shirt and his eyes matched it perfectly. SO hott! Becca's pictures of him were gorgeous too. Ahh. Anyway, he picked fans and they got to ask questions. I could of asked one, but I got too nervous and never thought of a decent question to ask. So anyway, that ended and we walked over to the vendor's hall to look at the Twilight stuff and were somewhat disappointed. They didn't have that much. I was hoping to see a crapload of stuff but was disappointed. But I did buy a little button that says Cullen Baseball to put in my car.

So we went back to the room and ate lunch and primped before our big photo! Ahh! We were so nervous! We had paid to get a photo with Kellan, Jackson and Peter (Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle). So we stood in line and we noticed they ushered the fans in quickly. They herded us like sheep actually. So we didn't stand in line very long. Well, we got up there and started hyperventilating. They just tell you to come in and stand in with them. So I was first and stood by Jackson and Peter. Well they were crammed in pretty close and I stepped on Peter's foot! I said, Oh I'm sorry! And started giggling. He said it was alright and he and Jackson put their arms around me! Jackson was kinda short too. Woah. That was the first time we'd seen Jackson too. Ahhh, Becca said that Kellan was rock hard when she touched him haha! It was a fabulous moment we savored lol. So after that we rehashed every second of the 20 seconds we were there lol. After that we went to the mall for a while. We had some time to kill so we went shopping! I got a cute dress at Delias and that was about it. After that we went back for the Q&A session with Edi. He was SO funny. Edi cracked us up. It was great.

Well after that we had alot of time to kill because they were having autograph sessions for like 3 hours or so and Becca and I hadn't bought any autographs. So we went to the vendor hall and I saw some earrings I liked. Well I left my wallet in the room and we had to go back and get it. So we're unlocking the door and Becca looks down at the other end of the hall, the FAR end of the hall and says the guy down there looks like Kellan! I looked and sure enough it looked like his shirt he'd been wearing. So we got all excited and went in the room and spent about 4 minutes and then I opened the door and held it for Becca. Well I look over in the hall and there goes Peter walking by! I was stunned. I choked out a "hey" to him and he said hi. And then Jackson and Kellan come walking by too! Ahh!!! It was fabulous! We flipped out in the elevator! We decided that they were staying on our floor! Ohh how lucky were we? They all were staying at the other end of the hall. Wow. Fun stuff.

So we went to the autograph session to stare at them. Becca became a paparazzo and took I don't know how many photos since they were so close. Well we were asked to leave a while later and we killed some time before the Banquet dinner. We changed and then got in line to go into the banquet room. There were like 8-10 tables that held about 8-10 people each. Sandra had gotten in there early and saved us 2 seats at her table which was a "Peter" table. That meant he'd come around to our table and talk with us! Kellan sat at the table across from us for a while too. So we ate our food and then Peter came over and sat down. He looked at me quite a few times, but I never could find anything interesting to say. Becca talked to him for a few minutes about a movie! Lucky thing! But it was great. He was super nice and gorgeoussss! So then later on, we saw some of the celebs getting photos made with their tablemates and we wanted one! Well we found out it had to get cleared first but it would be fine probably. So we all stood behind the table and waited for Peter to jump in.

Well there was a girl there that was from another table and was getting her pic made with us since her table had left. Well I was on the end and wanted to be in the middle, knowing Peter would probably be right next to me. Well she switched with me and LO AND BEHOLD here comes Peter and he slides right on in next to me and put his arm around me AGAIN! Ah!! I was so excited. Well then, all weekend, the goal of everyone was to get personal photos made with personal cameras rather than paying for them with the professional photographer. Well Becca was sneaky and got someone to take our pic with him before the photographer did. Well lucky us, Peter, me and Becca looked at her camera! Therefore, we didn't have to pay for the pro photo! Woo! It was great! How lucky are we? We had a great time. The girls at our table were really cool too. No drama or weirdos lol.

So after that we chilled in the room again and changed for the concert that night with The Nova Echo and 100 Monkeys (this was Jackson Rathbone's band!). So there was drama before the concert and we had to wait a good hour before we could go in, which sucked. The only peeve I had all weekend was the time. They were late for everything. The company that is. Nothing started on time. But anyway, The Nova Echo played, and they were good, but the lead singer was odd. Very odd. But then the 100 Monkeys performed and they were good too. It was funny because each member would switch instruments and sing. They all did everything lol. And then everyone kept turning around and staring and I saw that Peter and Kellan had come in and were standing on their chairs. They took out their lighters during one song haha. It was funny. Well since the concert started late, it ended around midnight and we were beat. The 100 monkeys were also playing a second show later that night at Ruby Tuesdays but we decided not to go. Sandra later told us that she went and got to talk to Jackson and get a photo! So awesome.

Well after we went to our room, we decided to walk down the hall toward Peter's, Kellan's, Edi's and Jackson's rooms just in case we saw one of them. Well lucky us we saw Peter and Becca said hi. Then we saw Edi from a far. So funny. How lucky could we get being on their floor?

Oh and another note. I followed the company who held the event on Twitter and they posted a few tweets during the weekend. Well the night after the loud people were next to us, the tweet said that the 100 Monkeys were getting restless and they had to find them another room to jam in, and they were up till 4am. So we had some 100 Monkeys bandmembers next door to us. We had the celeb floor. So awesome.

So Sunday we packed up, and checked out. Then we had lunch in the mall with Sandra and then went to the Q&A sessions for Jackson and Kellan. They were back to back and there was loads of screaming for Kellan. Well, Jackson's was very quiet. For one, he held the mic too close to his mouth and we couldn't understand a word he said and then he was different. Definitely a band guy. He was super nice and all, but everyone else was so funny and had a very sociable personality and he just didnt seem to. But anyway, Kellan was last and his session was fun. He's so gorgeous. After that, they had more autographs and we stayed to watch. Well, so many fans had asked Kellan for hugs during the session and he said afterward. Well, there were a bunch of lingering girls after the autograph session and they announced that Kellan was willing to give hugs if we stood in line! No joke! There was like a 30 person line and he gave awesome 2 second bear hugs! Me and Becca about had a heartache. He was so strong. I told Becca I now knew what Bella felt when hugging Edward, because it was like hugging stone. Haha that left us on cloud nine. I was so glad we stayed to chance getting a hug. It was so worth it.

So after that we headed back to Vickys and went to eat at a Mexican restaurant and got ice cream! Yum! We swam in the pool that night too. And then we went to bed. We got up and left about 7 in the morning I believe. We thought we'd try and miss Atlanta afternoon traffic. So we drove and stopped a few times again, but poor Becca was driving through Atlanta and got a ticket. A big FAT ticket. She was going 28 over and we of all cars got stopped. Everyone else was flying but we got lucky. Ahh. Not fun. The policeman wasn't a douche which was good, but it blew. Ahh. No fun. Other than the ticket, the trip was excellent and I could not have asked for a better time.

Theres a new Twilight Convention in Nashville in January! Ah! We're SO going! We'll have wolfpack members this time too! Maybe Mr. Jacob will come :)

2009-02-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

So I'm pretty sad to say that I only have 2 weeks left of student teaching at Apison! I started thinking about last weekend and I was like, hmm...you know, I only have 3 weeks left and one of those weeks is very short. And then I got sad! I really am going to miss those boogers! I love them like my own children! And it makes it worse because I don't want to change schools and especially don't want to have a higher grade, 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Bah.

I've never had any experience with those ages and I know I need that. I've had lots of time with my 3-5 year olds and now I know I need some time with 7-9. We'll see what happens. I hope I love these new kids just as much as I love mine now. I know that I'll probably have to get there early, stay later, do more work, and have bus duty or something like that. Ah, i'm not looking forward to it. And then to top it off, I'm at this school longer because of the way the calendar is! So if I hate it, too bad. That sucks for me. But we'll see. I want to be optimistic about it.

2007-12-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

Woah. This is weird. It says my last entry was 108 weeks ago. Ha! Is that possible? Apparently so. I'd for some reason gotten so lazy that I decided I wasn't going to write anymore for a long time or ever for that matter. I think I just decided yesterday that I might need to start writing my life down again. Don't know why, but I do. So I'm back!

Let's recap my last what 2 years? My last entry was about me just starting to be with Dustin. That's a whole year and a half relationship I could write 4 books on alone. Drama, love, heartbreak. Such a soap opera! But anyway, in a nutshell, he was my first boyfriend, my first love, my first heartbreak. Basically, we were going to be married, and now we're not. Which is the best outcome the way I see it now. But no more Dustin! Woo! And here I am 6 months later, waiting on my husband.

Any major updates in my life since my last post? Yes.

1. Both of my grandfather's died. One of cancer, one of a heartattack.
2. I went on a trip to Italy and Greece on my 21st birthday.
3. I'm going to graduate school for the next 2 years.
4. I got my ESL (English as a Second Language) endorsement and I'm pretty positive I want to teach that when I get a job.
5. I'm almost 85% sure I'm going to the Czech Republic in Spring 2010 for a semester of study abroad.
6. Twilight has come into my life and changed it :)

That's really the big stuff. More later.

Me and Dustin Day!

2006-12-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

So Dustin came to town yesterday! YAY! We had a great day. I felt bad though cause he got up at 5:30 and left at 6 and drove and got here around 10. Yeah there was a bunch of plans for him to stay the night here and blah blah but we decided he should just come for the day since it was the first time he was visiting. Well I met him in Ooltewah and got him to follow me home. So I cooked him breakfast which ended up being late brunch because we didn't eat till about 11:45 lol. But anyway we hung out in my room for a while and listened to some music.

Then I took him to the mall for a while. It was insane. Boo. So many people. But it was good cause he met all my close friends except Lauren who wasn't working on the one day I wanted her to! GRR! But Jillian, Ashley and Drew were wrapping gifts today so he met them and Jillian really liked him which made me happy. And then we went and saw Christin for a bit in American Eagle and she loved him. She loved him because he's a big UT fan lol. So we wandered the mall for a bit. I think we walked the whole mall which I haven't done in a very long time. But he was super tired which I hated, so we left and went back home for a while.

So he was like do u have any movies that aren't girly that we could watch lol? So we watched Fever Pitch which is semi girly, but it's no Notebook. Anyway, my mom made him lay on the couch and take a nap lol. He fell asleep for a little while though. So then my dad came home and he met him. Good times lol. I was worried about him meeting my dad just because he's my dad. But I asked them both later and my mom loves him. And my dad said he liked him too. He was like, he's a very nice boy Cortney lol. So I got approval from everybody! Yay!

Oh so then we got ready to go out to eat. And I was super pumped because I got a new long sleeve, red, collared shirt from New York and Co and it was SUPER cute. It was one of those really long shirts and I got a massive belt to go with it. And then I curled my hair, which didn't work very well and I wore my new heels that I got. I felt very Christmasy cause I don't think I own anything red. Anyway we got him a shirt at Expressmen today and he wore that to dinner. It was a robin's egg blue collared shirt. Woah, he looked so hott lol. But i'm pretty sure I cracked up because when I came downstairs in my outfit, he goes, "Bam!" lol i just about died. But we went to Shogun for dinner which was really good but the service was trash. They were SO slow and screwed things up. I was mad because they're usually really good. I took Dustin there because they don't have one of those in Nashville and I wanted him to do something new lol. And then i'm pretty sure we were in the parking lot of Shogun for an hour saying goodbye lol. It just kept getting longer and longer. And my mom was so worried about him driving back so late and all, so she was like, you're gonna stay the night next time even if I have to call your parents lol. But he called me on the way back and he got home in record time somehow. He doesn't drive very fast either though. I don't know, but I know he said he was super awake and wasn't sleepy which was the main thing. But i'm going to see him in 2 weeks! I'm gonna go stay with Kerra again the weekend before school starts back. Yay!

Oh and I forgot to mention that I got all excited and made him HOMEMADE chocolate chip cookies. Not the peel and bake, but homemade yo. I was so pumped because they turned out sooo well. I made some with christmas colored M&M's too. And I got a little basket and put Christmas tissue paper inside and filled up that basket to the brim with cookies. There were probably 20 cookies or more in there, decent sized too. I made them for him as a surprise on the way home! Yay! But then I found out when he got there that Macadamia nut was his fav, but oh well. Next time i'll make those. Ok talked too long, gotta go.

First Boyfriend!

2006-12-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while, but this is probably one of the most important posts i'll ever do in my life. I also am gonna make it pretty detailed just because I wanna remember everything when i'm old lol. So anyway, I have a boyfriend after 19 years. Dustin is Kerra's cousin who is absolutely AMAZING. Kerra is one of my magnificently good friends from school and she decided that me and Dustin would be perfect together one day and she was correct.

So anyway heres the backstory. Me and Kerra were talking about boys one day and she randomly goes, "Cortney! You'd be perfect for my cousin!" And I was like what? umm...okay lol. She told me some stuff about him and we talked a bit and that was kind of the end of it. I didn't really think anything else much about it till a few weeks later when she called me and said that she had talked to him about me. So she sent him my myspace and he was like wow, she's hott lol. And he told her to give me his number so I could call him if I wanted. So yeah we started talking on myspace a bit and then one wednesday night me and Kerra were having dinner at school and she called him to tell him something i forgot what. So then she goes, "So u wanna talk to Cortney? She's right here." And Kerra said he goes, "Umm, yeah, um, sure, if thats okay with you." Apparently he said it REAL nervous lol. So I talked to him for a few minutes and he was great! He was very talkative which was good. Well Jillian said my face was bright red when I came back to the table after the convo lol. So then he called me the next day while I was babysitting and we talked for a few hours on the phone about EVERYTHING. And then he called me everyday and we sat on the phone for hours. So then I had planned to go home with Kerra one weekend and meet him. Well it ended up being this past weekend. We had an AMAZING time. I could not have asked for a better weekend.

So Saturday morning I went and got my hair highlighted and my nails done the day before and bought a 40$ shirt I didnt need lol. So I went and met Kerra at her apartment and we headed off to Hendersonville, real close to Nashville. And by this time, I have talked to Dustin on the phone about 3-5 times a day. So we pretty much are dating before we even meet lol. But we get there and hang out a while at her house. I'm pretty sure the thought of food sounded good cause I was starving, but also made me wanna puke because I was SO nervous. I was anxious the entire day. So I got ready like super early cause I had a lot to do. I brought my set of rollers to curl my hair and all my make up and stuff. So I wore my awesome new striped blue button up shirt and jeans with my white flats, which was somewhat stupid because it was freezing outside and I wore no socks, haha oh well. So me, Kerra and her sister Lindsay went to Dustin's work to pick him up since Kerra was driving us all night. Dustin works at a nursing home, isn't that adorable?

Anyway we get there and we don't see him because it's black outside and then they both see him and I still don't and i'm like what? Where is he? He's the main reason I'm here and I don't even see him lol. So then I finally see him and he looks SO good. He had on a black button up shirt, jeans and a leatherish looking jacket. He looked very nice. So Kerra and Lindsay gave him a big hug and then I hugged him last. He SMELLED SO GOOD. Omword I told him that all weekend lol. So we head to downtown Nashville for dinner to the Spaghetti Factory and we're sitting there trying to make conversation and I can tell he's nervous because he's not even looking at me when he's speaking lol. I'll admit it was somewhat awkward cause we didn't really know what to say, but it went well. So we get downtown and we start walking to the restaurant and I can tell he's trying to find reasons to touch me because he asks to see my class ring and our phone conversations consisted of me telling him how cold I was so he grabbed my hand and was like yeah, you really are cold lol. It was cute. So we have an hour wait to eat and we can't all stand together really, so me and Dustin stand there talking and Kerra and Lindsay take the 2 seats and we switch a bit later. So he was looking at my purse and I let him go through it just because we were bored and I was looking for a conversation catcher lol. He got a kick out of my keys with the mase on them. The set of keys is more like a weapon because it's so heavy so he liked that lol.

And then we get seated for dinner and we all try to make conversation the entire time. I was somewhat not in the mood to eat/grossed out by the thought of food/starving/anxious and nervous as crap/didn't want bad breathe and didn't want to spill food on my shirt. I was all of the previous things lol. So dinner ends and we leave and I grab onto his arm as we walk to the car cause there are some SUPER sketchy people in downtown Nashville I must say. There are SO many homeless people begging as you walk by. I've never seen that many ever. Kerra, Lindsay and Dustin all just ignored them and I was kinda like well we can't just act like they don't exist but we did. I felt really bad. But anyway I was on his arm most of the night lol. He walked me to the car door too. Punto por Dustin.

So we leave and head to Opryland Hotel to see the decorations. They were beautiful! If you've never been to the hotel, you need to go PRONTO. It's HUGE and decorated with every kind of decoration ever made. So me and Dustin wandered our way around. It was really hot inside and crowded though. It wasn't as great as I thought. But I held onto his arm the whole time so I wouldn't lose him in all the people and then there were some times when we couldn't walk side by side because of the crowd so he'd put his hand behind his back and i'd take it and he'd lead me. It was so sweet. So then it took us 10 mins to find where we were in the beginning to meet Kerra and Lindsay. So I called her and they were gonna be a few more minutes so we found a coach and sat together and flirted a good bit lol. Ohh it was pretty funny because I had sent him a picture message earlier in the week of me and he loved it and made my pic his background so I saw that on his phone lol. And then I let him choose a ringtone for himself when he calls and he picked, "This Magic Moment" by the Drifters lol. It's really cute. So whenever he calls I know it's him. So on the way back we're holding hands in the backseat and he keeps staring at me. I can see him out of the corner of my eye, he is blatantly looking at me lol. Well this amazing cd is playing that Kerra had burned. It was all acoustic/love songs and this awesome song comes on by Adrinna Thorpe called "Did You Think" and I asked him if that could be our song because I had mentioned before that it would be somewhat hard for us to have a song. So he said yes. Yall should download it. It's awesome.

So then we left and headed back to his work. Well on the way to eat, I saw this beautiful place in Hendersonville that was covered in lights. You could not believe how beautiful it was. Well I mentioned that to Dustin and he was like okay we'll go there and gave me this look lol. Well we went there and I gave him his Christmas gift (yes we did gifts). He forgot mine at his house lol. So I gave him a Tennessee sweatshirt cause he's a major TN fan. So I think he liked it. So we parked the car and looked at all the lights and then suddenly the lights went out! You should have seen my face cause I was so disappointed lol. It was completely black. Well he had said on the phone earlier that he was gonna ask to kiss me whenever he planned to do it. So he was looking at me and asked me if he could kiss me and obviously I said yes. So we sat there about 5 minutes and kissed and then his dad called lol. It was so funny. It was like midnight and he was like where are you? And he told him that he'd be home in 25 minutes max. Well we had a mini makeout session and we didnt leave for about 25 minutes lol. But he kept putting his hands on my hair and face. It was great. So he takes me home and I tell Kerra all about it and then we go to bed. Well I kept smelling his cologne all night which was fabulous but I didnt know why because I wasn't wearing anything I had worn on the date. Well I woke up and realized my hair smelled like him because ya know hair holds scent. My hair was in a ponytail so I smelled it all night lol.

But ladies let me just tell you about this amazing man. He's gonna be a special education teacher. He's 20. He's a Church of Christ Christian. He's a virgin and has never fooled around. He's had 1 girlfriend that treated him like trash. He tells me just about every day the reasons why he likes me. He'll sit there and go, so I like you alot and he'll say let me tell you why. The he names off reasons. He's unbelievably awesome. I could not ask for more in a guy. And what's crazy is that every question I ask him, he answers it just like I would, but he doesn't know my opinion on it beforehand, so those are his real answers. We match so well it's scary.

So anyway he ends up coming over sunday afternoon while Kerra and her sister go to the Christmas parade. We sit and watch the Notebook!!! No I'm not kidding! He said before he'd watch it with me just because I wanted to. Well we didn't watch much of it, if ya know what I mean lol. Oh and he gave me my Christmas gift, which was jewelry. Very cute. And we were laying on the couch and he asked me to be his girlfriend! Yes folks I'm no longer single. Its great and well worth the wait.

So then he leaves a few hours later and me and Kerra hang out a bit. He had a Michael W Smith concert to go to, but we ended up going to over to Kerra's roommates' house cause she was bored and so were we. Well Dustin lives literally across the street from her, so he came over and we all watched Elf together. Well I met him outside in the dark and we kinda stayed outside and picked at one another and made out for about 20 minutes lol. Then we went in and watched the movie and then we kinda snuck away and made out some more. It was pretty flippin awesome I must say. Well then we finally left.

Monday me and Kerra packed up and met Dustin for lunch before we left. Well we're somewhat discreet about our goodbye because we were out in public and he kinda didn't kiss me for a long period of time because of people watching. Well I told him he better kiss me longer than that since I was leaving and he did, well right when he did an old couple walked by us lol. It was pretty funny. So then we came home. AMAZING weekend I must say. It could not have been better. Well hes coming to visit next week! YAY!

2006-11-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

So yeah I definitely didn't get a chance to update while I babysat last week. Sorry guys. Not too much going on right now though other than me having no time to breathe. I will thank Jesus once this semester is over. Its so much.

Oh so the biggest thing going on right now is that I found out I can take a trip in April for 5 days to Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Washington DC and this trip takes the place of a class I have to take before I graduate! yay! We'll go to each state and do different stuff. Well apparently this trip counts for 2 classes, but i dont have to have the other one anymore. And the other class is American Architecture, which is why were going to DC and Pennsylvania has to do with the Amish. Im not sure why Kentucky though. I know PA's Amish deals with the class im going for, something about family and community. Dunno. I just know it'll be great. Lauren's gonna go too! yay!

Oh yeah and this sorority isn't pleasing me too much right now. We're gonna have to reconsider this whole thing after next semester. If its no better after im a sister, Cortney might be leaving. Boo.

Too busy to breathe

2006-09-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Goodness, I never thought I would want more time. Im usually the boredest person in the world, lookin for things to do. Not now. I have too many things to do. I now have my 4th family to babysit for EVERY tuesday. Yes, EVERY tuesday. Its only suppose to be from about 6:30-8:30 but still. I went this past tuesday and i felt like trash since id gone to school all day. Boo. It was a long day. But there are 2 kids for this family though lol. They played well together though and with me. So it was good. And she told me she's gonna refer me to some of her friends. Im going to die. But there moving to Nevada in December, so i wont have that family anymore cause they'll be moving obviously.

Ahh and im rushing a service sorority with Jillian. Alpha Pi Omega I think. I had to stay after my 7:30 class last night till 9 for the meeting. Boo. It was an EXTRA long day cause i despise wednesdays anyway cause im at work from 12-3 and then class 3:25-7:30. And that meeting just added to it. Ahhhh. But it should be fun. But I have to go back tonight at 8 for a 5-10 minutes interview, wearing my sunday best. Grr. I hate getting home at like 3:30 and then leaving again at 7:30. Its just a waste of gas that I dont wanna use. But yeah i've been lacking sleep this week and i decided to skip my statistics class this morning cause i havent missed it yet and he doesnt take roll. I decided to sleep in and what do u know? I woke up the same time i usually do for class. The one day I wanna sleep, i cant. Grr.

Boyd's homecoming is friday!!! YAY!

I met Fonzie!

2006-09-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

WOO!!! I met Fonzie on saturday at the mall!!! Well his name is Henry Winkler if u didnt know, but everyone knows him as Fonzie lol.

So I asked Jillian to come with me and of course she did (shes great lol) and we met and had lunch. We then ran into Megan Humble haha I thought she was there for him too but just for lunch lol. But yeah we walked around for a while and then we went to where the stage is and had to stand cause there werent many seats and they were all full already. So then he came out wearing a little suit and a pink tie!!! And Jillian goes, aww hes so small lol. Hes very little if u didnt know, cause i didnt lol. And he spoke for a while about his life and all this stuff like, u can do it, dont let any one tell u u wont be anything yada yada. It was good though.

Well then afterwards I didnt think he'd stay for pics or anything cause he said he had to go. Well we went into a store and come out and everyone is practically mobbing him. So i decided to squeeze myself in and get an autograph lol. People were just holding stuff up to him so thats what I did. It says, Enjoy - Henry. Haha its cute.

I wanted him to say "Heyy!!!" like Fonzie, but he never did :(. But he did talk like him a few times, it made me laugh lol. Fonzie is much more Yankee New Yorker though than Henry really is. You could hear the change in his voice and it was distinct. But yeah, fun stuff lol. 2 famous people in 1 week!!! What a record!

More on the AJ phone call

2006-09-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

o yeah since obviously I was thinking about talking to AJ all day and night, I had to call Mackenzie again and get more details lol. Well it turns out she has the best heart ever. She said she went up to him, didnt even ask for an autograph or a picture or anything for herself. She first asked if he'd talk to me on the phone and handed it to him, THEN she got a pic with him. I was like AWWW!!!! Mackenzie bless your soul! Thats the sweetest thing! Well then she after the call, she said something to him along the lines of, you have no idea how much that means to her, shes the biggest fan AND she told him about my i love BSB pages!!!! She was like yeah, she's written I love BSB 100,000 times, and he was like aww thats sweet lol. I was like haha sure, he probably was thinking, man what a freak lol. Yay!!!! If u wanna see the pic of her and him, its on her facebook as her main pic. But im gonna try and post it on here if i can.

I JUST TALKED TO A BACKSTREET BOY ON THE PHONE!

2006-09-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

I JUST TALKED TO AJ FROM THE BACKSTREET BOYS ON THE PHONE!!!!!! AND NO IM NOT EFFING KIDDING!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, just had to get that out of me, I hadnt screamed yet. So yeah heres the story.

So Mackenzie told me this past weekend that AJ was coming to Belmont to do some sort of concert for some reason, dont know why, didnt care why, he was just there lol. So yeah she calls me like 20 mins ago and just leaves her phone on for like 3 mins while he sang. So I was like YES!!! I got to hear him sing!!!!! She thought of me lol. Well then about 10 mins later she calls me and goes hey, I was like hey babe! thanks for thinking of me lol. And she was like, well, if u wait a minute, i'm gonna put somebody on the phone. And I go, are u kidding me? And she goes, no, dont scream Cortney, dont scream. I was like ooookkkaayyyy, what do I say? And she was like umm...how about hello? So yeah all of a sudden I hear, hey could u say hello to my friend Cortney? And he was like, Cortney? And she said yeah. So then all I hear is, "Hi Cortney!" and I go, "Hi AJ, how are u?" And he was like "I'm fine, how are you?" I was like "I'm good." And he goes, "Well why aren't you up here at the concert tonight?" And I said, "We'll I didn't really know about it, and I had class tonight, so I couldn't come." And he goes, "Well that's a pretty good reason then lol." And I said, "We'll Nashville's about 2 1/2 hours away so it's kinda far, but I usually come to Atlanta to see you perform. But you sounded really good on earlier when I heard you sing." lol. And he goes, "Well, it was good talking to you. Have a good night! Good night SWEETHEART!" and I said, "Thanks, you too! Night!"

I'm pretty sure my life is over and I can die happy. I cant believe I talked to a Backstreet Boy on the phone. I LOVE MACKENZIE! I literally could not breathe when I got off the phone. My heart was little coming out of my chest. Ahhh...need air...

School has begun...boo

2006-09-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

So its been like a month since ive updated lol. It just never seemed interesting for me to make an update. But I need to update on my first 2 weeks of school.

So yeah my teacher for Heco 350 is a NUT. Shes INSANE. I already had 1 test in there yesterday and u know what we've learned? NOTHING. Thats because we play musical chairs and do show and tell in class. Grr.

I guess my favorite class if I had to pick one is Heco 340, its Family relationships. It goes by really quick. But Im lost in Statistics, but I have a friend in there from last year's Western Humanities class and she knows how to do it all and Tiffany Norman is in there too and she can do it lol. Oh and Jim Stone is in the class too lol. Its a 100 person class so theres alot of people. Umm..I have 2 night classes, one of which I despise with every fiber of my being. Its Children's Literature. Not because of the class, because of the length of the class. Its 2 1/2 hours and she wont let us out early. Goll i was so antsy in there and thats not usually like me!

Ummm I have my 3 classes with Lauren which is fabulous lol. Tuesday and Thursday is Lauren/Cortney day. The carpooling has worked out well too. Minus the fact that parking blows big chunks at that school. Oh yeah one day we were leaving, I see a ticket on my car and im about to flip out cause I have a permit, and i look, its gone. I SPECIFICALLY REMEMBER PUTTING IT IN MY CAR. MY DAD WATCHED ME. So i dont know what happened. But I got a new one for 2$.

Boo, gotta go, update more later.

Nose ring

2006-09-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

So I definitely got my nose pierced last night lol. Yay me!

Christin went ahead and got hers done friday, and she stayed with me last night so we went and got mine done! yay!!! My chickeness finally ended after a year lol. Oh and i wasnt nervous at all. I dont know why either. Im usually shakin in my boots about that kind of stuff but i was fine. It didnt hurt really. Christin said it was a 2 on a scale of 1-10 of pain, but id say a 3 1/2 or so. When the needle popped my skin, I let out a soft ahhh. Not too bad. It bled alot though. Still kinda crusty lol.

Oh yeah they pierced it with a straight stud that has a ball on the end, which means is almost impossible or horribly painful to pull through the hole again. Boo. So the piercer said I could come back and they'd cut it off so i could put a new one in in a few weeks. It looks good though. Not as good as Christin's though, I must admit lol. My studs kinda big too. Not real big but ive seen much smaller ones to get. Oh and they make clear ones to put in to hide it too, i'll be wearing those whenever I see my grandparents.

Oh yeah and heres the kicker: my parents havent noticed yet.

I win.

First date!

2006-09-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

So yeah I had my first real date last night lol. Yay!!! Finally at 19 Ive had a date lol.

So me and Tony went out last night. I don't think ive really talked about him at all so heres some info: He's 23 (yes a bit older i know lol), I met him through Christin and her church friends, he goes to Seminary.

So he lives kinda far, in Rossville, so we decided to meet in East Ridge at 6 at the Cracker Barrel. So I left at like 5:30 cause I figured traffic would suck since it was Friday. So yeah I get there and I literally saw 2 spots to park in. It was WILD there. So i got there at like 10 til 6. So im waiting, and waiting, and at 6 I decided to call him to tell him he wouldnt be able to see my car so he'd have to drive around. Well he finally got there at 6:15, i had been waiting 25 mins by that time since i got there early.

So yeah he apologized alot for being late, but I was fine with it, no biggie. But he has my car EXACTLY, its just white. So he was all excited cause he just got it and apparently he was psyched cause he washed it for the date and all lol. But anyway so we headed downtown and ate at Chilis. I got a chicken caesar salad, remember that for later. And then we went to Coolidge Park and walked around, and then we walked the bridge and then we walked the newer bridge to Hunter Museum. That was nice cause i havent been on that yet and it was glowing green lol. It was a great night out too, not too hott with a nice breeze. Kinda messed my hair up though. But yeah he mentioned going to see a movie before he picked me up so I said yeah thats fine. And I had talked to Christin earlier and she said something about Dan and Shrum and people were gonna go see a movie so we decided to go do that after the park.

So we went and saw accepted, which was a waste of 8$ but then again I didnt pay lol. Man he dished out the bucks for the whole night. He paid for dinner obviously, and the movie, and then he stopped to get gas cause he was almost on E. Well he stepped in gas apparently and didnt know it, so we kept smelling it in his car and it wreaked. So it started to make us sick. Well I already had started to get a headache by then so this made it worse. Well by the end of the night, I looked at Christin and said, I could throw up on u right now my head hurts so bad. Well haha that was a little hint as to later.

So we saw the movie and then he took me back to Cracker barrel and I went over to spend the night at Christins house. Which was almost pointless for the sheer fact that I was sick the whole time. I was literally seconds from puking in my car and I was praying the whole way, "Jesus, please let me make it to Christin's house, please let me make it." Well I parked my car, opened the door and then it came up quick. I puked in her driveway. It was not pretty. Man it smelled horrible too cause I had caesar dressing on my salad obviously. Well I stumbled inside, somehow managed to take my make up off and laid down. Well I wanted to take some medicine badly but I knew that was a bad idea cause I didnt have much in my belly so i thought it would make me sick. Well i ate 2 crackers and water, and Christin just happened to give me a bowl to put next to me just to be safe. Well I thought it was done, but I ended up throwing up like 4 times in a row. Not good to look at or smell. Well then I felt better and went to sleep. Still had my headache when i got up. But now its gone, praise Jesus.

So yeah I kinda felt bad during the date cause I felt like I was on the phone the whole time. I kept calling Christin or she kept calling me lol. But it was so funny, during one of the calls, she goes, "Ok, if its going well say blue, if its bad say red, and if its ok/mediocre, say green." So i randomly said green on the phone, im sure he was like wha?? lol.

Oh but he was great. He literally opened EVERY door for me. Like he would walk in front of me and open my door at the car, EVERY time. And the cutest part of the night was at dinner. He said a prayer before we ate and the one thing I caught was, "Please bless us with the knowledge of conversation Lord." I was like awwww!!! isnt that cute? lol i thought it was funny. Good first date overall. Not sure if I wanna go on another one though. I thought last night might change my feelings somewhat but it didnt really. I dont think I really like him. Like theres no reason why, i just dont think I like him. Too bad. Now i dont know what to do. Boo.

Busy, busy

2006-08-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

ey hey, havent done an update in what a week? I think I updated on Nashville last time and I could go look to see what I wrote but that would just be too easy now wouldnt it?

So anyway I have barely had a moment to breathe lately. Ive been working and babysitting out the butt. Im making more money than my parents at the moment, bahahaha. I babysit for 4 hours tuesday afternoon and make 28$ and then i work from 8-12 on wednesday, work friday 8-12 and babysit saturday night from 7 to whenever, 21$ but probably more. That was my exact schedule last week too. Same families to sit for too. It was pretty good cause I sat for the family that has the 6 month old who goes to bed when I get there and I watch movies and play online and get paid to do so. Its fabulous.

But school starts in 2 weeks, boo.

Wild trip

2006-07-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

Woah have I had a wild weekend or what? So me, Sally and sarah went on a road trip to Nashville on friday. There was a concert for some Christian artist there at a baseball game we were gonna go see. So we leave at like 9 friday morning and head to Opry Mills mall!! The best ever! Oh yeah by the way, I drove and we took my car. First long trip, did fine though. So we go to Opry Mills and eat lunch at TGIF with Sally's sister who was great! She was like me made over haha it was so funny. She loves Elvis and pink too!!! Sally and Sarah dont like to shop and hate pink, girly stuff. So yeah we went around the mall after that and I somehow made my way into all the girly clothing shops, Charlotte Russe, Rue 21, yada yada. There were some others I wanted to go in too but they didnt wanna go in so I didnt push for it.

So after the mall we went to Sallys house. And we stayed there for a few hours and then we left and got some food before hte game. Well by the time we got to the game, it was pouring. And we got in line and we were like, its not gonna stop and we dont wanna sit in it. Well we left and didnt know if it was gonna go on or not but we went to the movies. We went and saw John Tucker Must Die, haha that was probably the highlight of the whole trip. It was so funny. I recommend it to all lol. So yeah when we got out it was like 7:30 and we were like what should we do?

So Sarah just randomly thought, well since we have alot of time, why dont we drive to Knoxville tonight? We were planning on driving to Knoxville for a wedding for a couple in our sunday school class. So yeah we got excited and decided to do it and find a hotel room. So once we get back to Sallys house and after a bunch of "i dont care what we dos" and arguing, we finally agreed to go on the condition that I pay for sallys part of the hotel room cause she couldnt afford it, which i was fine with cause i offered. So yeah we head out and everything is fine. It was like 9:30, 8:30 Nashville time, but Knoxville is Chatt time, so we lost an hour already. So we knew we wouldnt get there till like 1 or so cause we had to get gas. Well lets just say about 20 mins into the trip it started POURING again. It was HORRIBLE. I mean i couldnt not ask for worse weather conditions than we had. The interstate was soaked, which caused the lights to reflect off the road, the water would splash up on the car, and the fog and the semis. The semis' water off their wheels was like a wave. I was so scared. And then my eyes were burning cause they were tired already. And it was night and I had absolutely no idea where we were going. Sarah and sally did though. And I couldnt drive as fast as I wanted to cause of the weather and roads so I think it took us longer. But the rain eventually stopped so I had a good hour for the whole trip of decent weather. So we found a Best Western to check into and it was like 1:30 i think by the time we got in the room with all our stuff. So we checked out at 11, and had to find where the wedding was, that was an adventure. And I was already ready to go home.

So after it was all over i think we got home about 6:30. Lets just say I wont go on another trip with Sarah or Sally alone or just with them.

haha fun night

2006-07-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

So im pretty sure i went out with Wendy and Jennifer tonight to the Acropolis. And we had the cutest red headed waiter lol. So yeah were talking about stuff and Wendy dared Jennifer and I to write our numbers on our tickets for him lol so we said yes. Well we all were talking and somehow came across the fact that ive never been on a date. So they both were like well were gonna find u a guy then! lol it was so funny.

So then Jennifer decided it would just be me to leave my name and number on the ticket, and yes i did lol. But anyway they kept embarassing me all night about him, of course which made me laugh and turn red since i laugh when im nervous. It got me so nervous! Well Wendy decided to write a note to him on her ticket which said, my friend Cortney thinks your cute, u should call her. Yay me. Well we went to the bathroom as we left and when we walked out the door, Jennifer saw him reading over it lol. So who knows. I know he was gorgeous, probably too old and taken lol. Who know though, it was fun lol. Got my mind off seth, i know that.

And then we went and played putt putt, good times since i havent done that in ages lol.

long week

2006-07-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

im pretty sure i work EVERY DAY this week, which I have never done period. Not only have I not done it at this work place, but NO work place. Its killing me lol. Such long days suck butte (haha Montananess there lol). But thankfully tomorrow is my last long day, 8:30-5:30, but i have a 2 hour lunch from 1-3. So not so bad. And Friday i work from 10-1 which is awesome, but i have to babysit from 4-6 or 7. Haha i dont think ive updated since my babysitting experiences and add ons.

I babysat last saturday a 6 month old girl who was asleep the whole time. She goes to bed at 7 which is when I got there and didnt make a peep the whole time i was there lol. Well actually I got there and they hadnt left yet, so I sat there 30 mins and got paid to watch tv. Awesome I must say. And then they left and probably wouldnt be home till 12 or after, but ended up coming home at like 10:30. But anyway I watched tv and got online like they said I could and got 30$ for 3 1/2 hours of work. That was actually more than I had worked but I didnt know they gave me more till I got home and looked. Very nice of them. I get 7$ an hour when shes asleep and 8$ when shes awake, they decided the extra dollar for me lol. Apparently shes rotten as can be and doesnt like any one holding her except her mother, not even her dad really. I held her for like 7 secs and she was fine, which was amazing actually cause she didnt freak out immediately lol. But yeah all hell will break loose when shes awake and I babysit. Oh well.

Oh and I got a new call from a new family to sit for. They have a 2 1/2 year old girl to sit for. Its kinda funny cause her mom said she wants me to sit when shes there in the house so she can get housework or whatever she needs done lol. She said her daughter needs to be entertained constantly and gets bored easily with her lol. So i'll be sitting there friday. I tell ya man I make more sitting than at work. If I get enough families i might quit my job. I only make minimum wage at work. And besides when school starts i'll probably go back to 3-6 hours a week which is only 30-45$ a pay check, which is fine with me cause its just some money comin in but its not worth it almost if im sitting and making more than that during the school year. Oh well.

Oh yeah and im definitely not going to Baton Rouge anymore. Boys can kiss my ASS. Ha.

Drive Inn Movie

2006-07-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

Woo!!! I went to my first drive inn movie theater last night!! It was great!! Well I think im making it better than it actually was. It was cold, yes we went more north to Trenton, so it was cold, and then the ground was wet cause of the dew. We couldnt understand half the movie cause it was hard to hear everything from the huge speakers. We saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and it was good from what I understood.

So I worked all day yesterday, 7:30-3:30, got home at 4, talked to Sally at 4:05, showered and out by 4:20, left the house by 10 till 5 and met at church. Quick, long day. But anyway me, Sally and Sarah all met at church and we drove to Stephanie's house, whom id never met. We were the only Bayside people who went, Woodland Park people were going, so we kinda crashed their shin dig cause Jonathan and Brian invited us lol. But we met over there to watch the first Pirates movie. It seemed longer than usual. Probably because I was cold and starving. So then we went to eat at Taco Bell for dinner. I had a Jonathan and Brian sandwich, got to sit between them at dinner lol. It was great! And I rode with Brian and he was fun. He's actually on the paleness level of Jillian, and hes blonde lol.

And so we had to wait on some people at Woodland Park, so we played frisbee in the parking lot. Its always frisbee or cards lol. And then we finally left at like 9:15 and the movie starts at dark. So we thought we'd be late. But somehow with the interstate down to 2 lanes, we got there in time. Well the only bummer was that the spots were all full, so we had to park on the side and go sit in the grass. That wasnt bad until we got cold and wet. And then the bugs were semi bad. And then we got lucky and found 3 parking spots for the cars, so some of us girls stood in the spots and waited for them to come back lol. It was a double feature too, some guy goes to play soccer in England was the second film, which i would have stayed for but I was running on adrenaline by that time and i was freezing, so a bunch of us went back. It was only 5$ for both films!!! It was great!!! We gotta go back! Next week there playing Pirates and the Lake House. Should be good. Its worth the drive, which went by horribly fast since Brian drove like a freak and went like 80, which isnt bad, he just drove kinda crazy around every other car lol. Good times. Oh and when we got there I heard an oldie playing and i got so excited, but then it went off and the movie started. So i think they play oldies beforehand which rocks. I'll remember that next time and go early to listen and sing lol.

Oh yeah i'm pretty sure my parents are leaning towards NO for me and Christin to go to Baton Rouge. They pulled the, you dont know where your going, crap on me. But then again I dont even know if Christin can go yet, she has to ask her parents. We'll see.

Happy 4th of July!

2006-07-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th everybody! Im listening to the fireworks outside my window now. Ahh my favorite holiday at last.

A bunch of us from church went to collegedale last night and saw the fireworks and listened to the east tennessee symphony orchestra play. It was so great! We met at Rafaels restaurant and got pizza and then walked over to the Veterans Park and laid out blankets and played cards. We were there like 4 hours before anything happened lol. Got eaten by bugs, sweated alot. Fun times i must say. The fireworks were great though, minus the street light that was directly in the middle of the show. That was poo and so was the fabulous traffic at the end of the night. I got lucky and Lucas let me back out so I could sit in traffic a while lol. Who thinks 24 is too old for a 19 year old lol? Just a thought.

So I went over to the Hall's house on sunday night after dinner to watch The End of The Spear with everyone from church. Good times. I'm glad I went. I've made lots of new friends since Montana and have hung out with church people all week and last week. Its fabulous I must say. Me and Sally, Brittany, Sarah and Brian all went to Chik Fil A and to see Bench warmers at the 2.50 a week ago and then we went and played cards at church. And then me, sally, sarah, brittany, brian, jonathan and 2 other girls i didnt know went over to Tylers apartment and played cards lol. And then a butt load of us went to see fireworks obviously, and then today Blaine had a bbq at his house in Mill Run and i couldnt eat cause my family came over for our own bbq, but i went and swam.

Haha it was so funny though cause we all sat after we ate and watched the Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest and the top 2 guys were obvioulsy Kobiyashi who wins every year and Joey Chestnut the American!!! Yes joey CHESTNUT!!! We all almost lost it when we saw that!!! What killed us though was that he was ahead by 1 or 2 the whole time until the end and he lost by 2 hot dogs. It was so sad. We were screaming at the tv cause someone was actually beating Kobiyashi but he was Joey Chestnut of all people too lol. Craziness i say. Its a Montana camp thing lol.

Ahh gotta work tomorrow 8-12, my usual, but i gotta work thursday and friday for a teacher from 7:30-4:30, not excited. LONG days. Ive only worked one of those long days before and now i have 2 back to back. I know the paycheck will be worth it.

Kevin....

2006-06-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

Im glad my life is over since Kevin is leaving the Backstreet Boys. Its not gonna be the same. Its like when Geri left the Spice Girls, 5 is the magic number...

Montana baby!

2006-06-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well I just got back from fabulous Montana this morning at 2 am. We had a GREAT time. I cannot explain how much fun we had. Im so glad i went now. So i got to the church at 1 to leave by 2 for atl. I got on the bus and sat and ended up sitting by Bethany, never talked to her before in my life and Sally sat in front of us. So yeah i dont know many people well in the group so Sally stood up and talked to me and Bethany the whole way to the airport. It was great. Shes a little fireball for Jesus, its fabulous. So we get to the airport and fly to Minneapolis, they were so funny when they spoke lol. And then we flew to kalispell, Montana. Got there at like 12 something there time and we stayed with people from the church we were running the camp through. Me Bethany and Sally stayed with an older woman who was really nice. And so then we got up the next day and went to church. It was a small church compared to ours, but apparently it was big for Montana. But then they fed us and we all hung out and played wiffel ball till it was time to go to the camp.

So we load up on the cheese doodle, which is the church's short bus lol. And then we go to camp and stay in the lodge for the night. I stayed with Kristy and Bethany that night. There so funny lol. Kinda bored that night. Not much to do actually lol.

Hmmm and then the next day we went to eat at a little restaurant where they had elk burgers and then we went and had huckleberry ice cream!!!! Apparently huckleberries are native to Montana and they are EVERYWHERE. They had everything huckleberry u could imagine. Well Eddy bought us all some huckleberry ice cream, it was fabulous. And i got some huckleberry coffee. I hope its good.

So then we waited around a while at camp and then kids started showing up. So almost all of us were counselors, which means we had a cabin of kids. So Kristy and I were first and I got 5 girls. And then we drug our stuff over to our cabins which were carpeted, praise Jesus. And then i saw that there were 2 bunk beds and 1 queen bed, u can guess which one i got lol. They brought an extra mattress in and put it in the floor. So then my girls got there and I had 4 12 year olds and 1 15 year old. So let me just say that these girls were WILD. They asked me if they could move my bed so they would have more room to wrestle. Yes they did. They beat the crap out of each other the whole week lol. They were not girly by any means and kept saying they didnt like those preppy girls who wore make up lol. So i tried to hide my make up from them lol. Oh I had 1 native american girl too, her name was Whisper. I could tell when i saw her she was cause of her eyes. I'll post pics on myspace and facebook tomorrow hopefully.

I'll update more later, kinda bored at the moment.

Ok back to do some more of the entry if not all lol.

So yeah this trip was kinda odd for me at camp. I dont really know alot of people in the youth group so I was trying to hang out with them and make friends, while hanging out my girls at the same time. I just figured they would wanna hang out with each other but apparently they did wanna hang out with me cause I came into the cabin one morning to get my teaching stuff and I was about to leave and they go why do u ditch us? Kinda made me feel bad. But I hung out with them more so during the day later on in the week. Cause I spent an hour with them during Bible study and then before bed and alot of the morning.

But anyway the day consisted of getting up at the butt crack of dawn at usually 5:45 so I could start waking my girls up to get showers. We couldnt get out of the cabins till 6 so I had to start waking them up a bit early so they could be at the showers by 6 cause otherwise there was a line and no hot water haha. But i ran my booty to the shower too. Plus the sun comes up at like 5 and goes down at about 10. Someone told me they dont see the sun for 2 months during the winter. Crazy. I dont know if i talked about the weather yet but it was HORRIBLE. They usually dont get rain from July to September but for some reason it poured and flooded everywhere the week we were there. One day I wore 4 layers cause it was so cold out and then the rain was freezing. I had a long sleeve t shirt, t shirt, hoodie, and then my wind/water proof jacket. One of the girls in my cabin told me what I was wearing in 50 degree weather is what they wear when its like 15 below, not kidding. We kept complaining about it being cold and they were like cold? Its hott!!! It was like 65 one day and they were like wow its so warm! We all kept trying to explain Tennessee heat/humidity to them cause they dont have humidity at all. I was just like omword u think 65 is hott? Please spend one day in TN where its 96 outside but feels like 104. So yeah lets just say everyone was always soaked and had soaked shoes and then everything turned to mudd, so some kids decided to get into mud fights and all during recreation time. I praise Jesus my girls didnt. I would not have been happy with them when they went to the cabin.

And speaking of cabins, we had absolutely NO room to move. They crammed us all in, but all of our luggage was the problem. They were shoes and dirty socks and jackets and hair brushes and everything else under the sun thrown everywhere.

But our days had WAY too much spare time. We didnt think the camp was run very well. But every day was like this:
7:30 - breakfast
8:30 - quiet time
9:15-9:30 - break
9:30-10:30 - Bible study
10:30-10:45 - Break
10:45-12 - Morning challenge, games
12 - lunch
1-4 - Recreation
5:30 - Dinner
7-9 - Worship
9-10 - Break
10 - Cabin devotions
11:30 - In Cabins
12 - Lights out

So lets just say that everything did not take near as long as planned so kids would have nothing to do technically. And they never wanted u to go back to your cabin. That sucked. And recreation was WAY too long too. They need more to fill in time next year. I'm almost 90% sure were going back next year which rocks.

But anyway I had to teach my small group, which was suppose to be gender based. So I thought alright im gonna have all girls. Well the first night they called all the counselors to the front and introduced us and gave us our small group by cabin number. So they called my cabin, so I had my 5 girls and like 21 i think and then suddenly I see these 6 HOTT guys stand up and i looked at Brian (the coordinator) and I go, I have boys? with this look of utter disbelief lol. And the other counselors asked that too and he was like yeah cause they only had 2 guy small group leaders cause the rest of the guys on the trip were in the band or doing technical stuff. So off we went to our first Bible study group. So yeah after moving areas twice and getting crapped on by birds, we finally sat and attempted to learn lol. I was so scared!!!! Well it was better though cause they actually talked when I asked questions and when I was trying to teach. And what was funny was that the boys talked! My girls didnt say a word. I was very surprised but happy. Actually my girls were 12 and 13 and the boys were 14-18. Yes I had an 18 year old who had taught 2 Bible studies before. That made me feel fabulous cause he asked if I had ever taught before and I was like haha no. It was kinda hard all week though cause I have to admit the lessons were long and boring and I just wanted to talk to the kids about Montana and stuff. We got off topic alot, lets put it that way lol.

But yeah there were 2 brothers in my group, Beau was 16 and Caleb was 14, and I have to say their parents must have had great genes cause there eyes were practically on fire. They were the prettiest mix of sea foam green and a light aqua green color. And they were so cute!!! I had to contain myself the whole time cause I kept looking at them lol. But Caleb is kind of in outer space, cute and sweet, but hes really young and now hes like obsessed with me lol. He made me his # 1 friend on MySpace on his top 8 and messages me about every day lol. He did teach and entertain me during recreation though for like 2 hours with new card games. I had never played any of them and we sat and played which was good. He was willing to teach me and I was willing to pay attention to him lol. I think thats what all these kids really wanted. Most middle schoolers only want attention from someone older. My girls were the same as the kids at Hunter when I tutored them. Kids are the same everywhere.

Oh yeah what was so funny was I sat and talked to my group about Montana and Tennessee and all and I was asking them what kind of restaurants and shops they had. I was like, Do yall have Krystal? and they go we have crystal meth! And i was like are u kidding? And they all were like haha no and got all interested lol. I found out that Montana is the number 1 state in the country for homemade meth labs. Which makes sense though cause on the way to camp we saw this horribly nasty graphic billboard of thus woman's mouth that was all decayed and gross and it was a sign for anti meth. Oh and I also made sure to tell them that I was very country and if they needed me to repeat something to tell me lol. They sounded so funny though. If u know what Minnesotans sound like, kinda like that. And they say Pop for their cokes!!! The first day my girls were like u wanna split a pop? I was like what the crap!?!? Crazyness.

More later, bed now.

Alright, back again.

So yeah we were also suppose to go to a water park down the road one day during recreation. Well on tuesday it turned out to be the only nice day and we didnt go, stupid people, so they said as long as it was above 50 degrees on wednesday or thursday and not raining horribly, then we'd go. Well haha we didnt go. Which was good cause it looked crappy and I wasnt gonna get wet anyway and then speak of the devil, i started my period the day we were suppose to go! No joke! A week early!! But all the girls on the trip started theres too, it was funny. So instead there was an indoor heated pool right next to camp that they took us too but none of the counselors swam. Bleh, smelled so much like chlorine.

Hmm..oh yeah the huckleberries. The boys in my group said they had a tradition every year to go down to the little store next to camp and get huckleberry milkshakes and they could go as long as they had a counselor. Well I thought they were kidding and they said they werent and i believed them cause other people had gone before too. So I asked Brian and he said no. He said some people snuck down there and werent suppose to. The boys were so mad, i felt bad for them. I mean it was a stupid milkshake, i dont know why they cared so much if I was going with them. We could walk down there! Well I know if we go back im gonna go get them for them even if I get yelled at, its just a milkshake, the world wont end. But actually once camp was over we went over and got one, it was great too lol.

Oh and the one day we went to the pool, i was dreading recreation time cause it was just gonna take forever to get through and it was pouring the rain so we had to stay in a specific place for 3 hours, well till it was time for the girls to go swim. But anyway card games were a big deal with the counselors. I had no idea why but we were always playing cards. Well anyway they had extras laying around so me and most of my boys sat and played. Caleb taught me like 8 games lol. I knew nothing, i didnt know how to play anything. He had lots of patience cause he sat and told me how to do them all and I was slow at them too, so it was good. Lots of fun. I think he was just happy to have someone pay attention to him honestly lol.

Well once camp was over we packed up and went to Glacier National Park for our hike. Well we got there and found out it was 12$ a person and no one really wanted to pay that for mud and rain, so we decided to go to the Hungry Horse dam, which is the 4th largest in the country. It was great! Great pics, especially the one i got next to the sign haha. I'll post a link to my facebook pics, u'll know which pic im talking about when u see it lol. And then we went to the hotel, the Super 8 which sounds cheap, but honestly was SO nice. We thought we were living in luxury compared to those cabins. And the rooms were so big with nice beds!!! It was 3 to a room and I shared the bed with Lauren, which I thought was a bad idea cause shes kinda big too, but i fell asleep before she got back in the room and didnt move or wake up till my alarm went off. So i didnt notice anyone was there lol. But then we went and had pizza at pizza hut which was good since we dont have any sit down pizza huts in chattanooga anymore. And then some of us went back to Walmart and I got some cards and a cowboy hat, thats what I wanted most from the trip. It was good. It got smashed in my suitcase on the way home, but its good lol.

And then I was out cold for the night and we got up saturday and went back to Glacier for our boat cruise through Lake McDonald. It was beautiful, but freezing. You could sit down below or go up top and take pics which I did some of both but it was so cold. I also ended up wearing my pink hoodie, then my pink rain jacket over that for wind and then I bought a pink and black ball cap haha. And then I had my pink luggage too. Everyone was like, do u like pink lol? I had told Lauren that yes I do like pink, but it just looked like I had alot more pink than everyone else cause the main pieces of clothing and accessories they saw were pink, i dont have more pink than any other girl, i dont think at least. But anyway we went to eat lunch at Jammer Joes after that which was italian, so we had pizza again.

And then we had a car tour in these awesome cars from the 30s that looked like hummers. Well these are made to take the top off and the windows down so u could take pics of the mountains as u went by. It was raining and cold, but our car decided to be bold and put the top back anyway lol. I dont think I was that cold the whole trip lol. It was fun though. And I also got to cuddle with Jonathan for 3 hours!!! Ahh!!! I was FABULOUS!!! Jonathan was in the band, taking the place of Brittany who couldnt come cause of work. He goes to Woodland park baptist. Hes latino and FABULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL. He also works at Chik Fil A lol. And hes 19 next month. He was so great. I drooled over him the whole trip. Oh yeah and on our car tour the whole car decided to play freeze out, which is where everyone takes off their clothes on top, well the girls went to their t shirts, but yeah it was like 40 outside and then the wind was going and there we all are top less lol. It was SO funny. And amazingly, once we all put our clothes back on in the car, we were warm. It was crazy.

And then we went to eat that night at the Backdoor, which was a place that gave us bbq and more pizza lol. It was all unlimited and fabulous. And they have this stuff called indian fry bread which were these huge pieces of fried bread that were like a cross between a donut, bagel and funnel cake all in one. They were great.

And then we went back to our host homes that night and Emma had made us homemade brownies with chocolate icing!!! Ahh!!! We ate so many they made us sick. They were still warm too. SOOO good. And we then we went to first service the next morning at church, which no one goes to lol. And we went to Arbys for lunch and then on to the airport. We flew to Minnesapolis, then to Atlanta and then we met the other team from bayside that had gone to Montana and we all rode home for 2 hours on a school bus. No im not kidding, we were all crammed onto a school bus in the fabulous GA heat. It was so hot when we got home, we were excited lol. I got home about 2. Felt real good.

Great trip though!!! I was so glad I went!!! Im praying that we go back next year.

Montana is coming

2006-06-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

So I realized I havent updated all week which isnt a big deal though cause not much has happened during the week but i thought i'd update anyway.

So I went out with Becca to a movie and dinner on thursday. I wanted to hear all about her prom night too lol. So we saw Xmen which was good and went to Olive Garden, which was the 3rd time ive been there in 2 weeks haha. I cant get sick of that place no matter how hard I try lol.

And then on Friday I went to lunch at Shogun with Lindley!!! We had such a good time!!! She was already cracking up when I got out of the car to meet her lol. She always laughs at what I say, she makes me feel funny when really my sarcasm that I always use when I speak, makes her laugh hysterically lol. Its really not that funny to me lol. But anyway shogun was great, so much food though. I went to Target before that though and bought a dress I didnt need lol. I saw it a week before and wanted to wait and get it with my parents money but I decided to go anyway and im glad I did cause Lindley ended up being late so it was good I had something to do. Its a cute dress too, short sleeved, stretchy, airy, black with little blue polka dots all over it and it looks semi like a wrap dress around my waist/boobs. Kinda got some cleavage there too, gotta watch when I bend over lol.

Oh yeah Christina Aguilera's new song is good, random I know lol.

Oh yeah I had my disaster relief classes this past friday and saturday. Not as much fun as I had expected lol. So I got there on Friday for class from 6:30-9:30 and it went by pretty quick. The only problem was that I was the youngest person there, which I expected though. So I befriended the older couples who sat at my table lol. They were nice. Oh and it was kinda creepy though cause I met a couple who went to Brainerd Baptist and it was odd cause I went to work there this morning in the daycare, i'll get to that in a minute.

So yeah in order to be certified by the Southern Baptist Convention (Tennessee part) I had to go to that intro class on friday and at least 1 class on saturday, well I ended up going to 3 on saturday. So u have to be certified in different classes to work in those areas if u go to help with relief. Well of all things, child care was not offered at my session for some reason which sucks. But its also an 8 hour thing, bleh. But yeah it was alot of information i couldnt take it all in at once lol.

Well I was kinda bummed to find out that YOU have to provide all the funds and transportation for yourself. I kinda figured theyd gather people up from the area and take them all together on a bus or something. But I was kinda confused by it all. Kinda something about u can get in a group with your church and go and u can also contact the North American Mission Board or something and they can send u somewhere specifically to a group. I was and am still confused on that area. Goll they kept talking of stories and all too and they ALL related to Louisiana, of course.

But on saturday I took 1 class called chainsaw, which sounds scary and it kinda was but apparently they need brush pullers once the trees are cut and all, so I would be doing that, too scared to use the chainsaws. Haha one lady was called the 'drag queen' haha cause she drug so much brush.

And then I went to a flood recovery class which was basically what to do with all the mold that appears in houses. It appears in 48 hours and they talked about all that u do, wear, take. Lots of stuff.

And then I took a laundy/shower unit class. Apparently it used by volunteers and victims to wash and shower cause obviously they dont have a place to do those things.

Oh and I found out that if u go on a relief mission, u take all the food your gonna eat and your bedding, down to what u sleep on, not just sheets and all. U gotta take an air mattress or a cot or something. They promise u a place to sleep, not a something to sleep on.

I dont know if im gonna actually go help though cause Im not sure about the whole team thing and I also dont know if i could afford it. All the supplies u need to help, u gotta pay for. SO MUCH MONEY.

And then I go to Montana saturday, nervous about that. But it should be good. The whole idea of camping does not thrill me still and then I gotta teach too, which shouldnt be scary since im gonna be a teacher obviously, but its middle and high schoolers, so its harder. And on top of that its witnessing, which technically ive never done before in this manner. So its all on me. Kinda scary.

I leave saturday and come back the next sunday, 10-18. Pray for me and my trip por favore. I'm sure i'll have a super long entry when I come back.

Baptism

2006-05-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Well after a year of planning I finally got rebaptized tonight lol. I told Eddy I wanted to last May and we just now got around to doing it. We baptize every month but things just never worked out or whatever and I was about to forget about it but we started doing a study on revelation in sunday school and that got me thinking. So i started bothering the poo out of Eddy about it and the office finally called me cause they put u on the baptism list.

So I go and meet in a room with Eric (hes the pastor, Eddy is the youth minister and he wanted to baptize me) and the other baptizees lol. There was a couple and a little boy who looked like he was in elementary school. Very cute. I know what was so sweet was that the couple got baptized together!!! I was like aww, how nice. They got in the water together and Eric baptized them one at a time. Very nice.

Well I wore a white t shirt, white bra, my white linen pants, and white underwear and then white socks. And then they give u a robe to wear over that. And behind the baptistry theres a male side and a female side so u can change and get ready yada yada. So there are 2 women that help us get ready and who helped us get the robe off and get all the water up.

So I was last to go cause Eddy was only baptizing me and I get in the water, which was very warm, and Eddy starts talking about me and all and I look over and there I am on the BIG screen, I had no idea they were doing that and there are 2 BIG screens on each side of the church, so I looked real good on there haha yeah.

So were suppose to hold our right arm out palm up and then grab their arm with our left hand. And then we squat down semi and they put us back. Well the water went up my nose and burned since I havent had chlorine around me in a year lol. It was good though.

So yeah I walk out and the woman who was there was standing in the tin bucket thing were suppose to dry off in and she was naked lol. She had a towel over her but I was like hmm..I dont really wanna strip in front of u all so I crammed myself in the little room and peeled my clothes off to change lol.

Oh and I was kinda excited cause Eric told us we were suppose to be the first baptism withh the Spanish ministry, there was a guy who was suppose to be baptized too with Spanish translation but he never showed for some reason. That would have been good. But anyway yeah it was good overall. Its about time. Ive been living my life for the Lord since 8th grade techincally so yeah 6 years later is about time to get rebaptized lol.

Woo! 19 Baby!

2006-05-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Woo!!! Its my birthday and i'll cry if i want to!! Haha. Yeah its been a good day. It would be complete if Seth called like he said he would, but i dont think thats gonna happen...

Anyway my dad took me around today, fun stuff. Trip to Walmart and then to the mall. I got some new sunglasses, and went to get a free pair of undies from Vickys but they were out for now, and i got a free smoothie for lunch. I had coupons to use everywhere lol. And then we went and I got my nails done!!! I was so excited about that for some reason cause I havent had them done since last years jr/sr cause theres really no point honestly. I can french paint them myself but they do it so well lol. But I decided to get the manicure too and that was nice. I also found out if I want a mani pedi, its 50$ kinda expensive. But anyway my nails look fab!!! They were really long though and she cut them in half just about and that was fine, but then by the time they file them, there shorter than I prefer, but its all good. There not scratching me in the face all the time lol.

Oh and then we went out to eat at Olive Garden, of course, where else would I go lol? And it was FAB too. Oh and I got the tiramisu, and if youve not had it, it has lady finger cookies dipped in espresso and marscapone cheese (italian cream cheese) and its divine. It was great. Gotta try that guys.

OHH AND THE BEST NEWS IS THAT I ORDERED A DOONEY AND BOURKE BAG ONLINE!!!! AHHH!!!! Well I bought it myself, which kinda blows, but i got a bunch of money from my grandparents for my birthday and Montana, but I wanted the purse more lol. Ive waited 3 years, so i thought I would splurge lol. I got the white, bucket bag with the stars all over it. Its my fave. And they definately dont have it at the mall. They have poo poo ones at the mall. So yeah i should get that in a week or so i think. And I think once i get that and if i ever go to Orlando or Destin, i'll go to the Dooney outlet and get a billfold for cheap lol. I wont pay full price for that, thats practically stealing from someone.

Oh yeah it sounds kinda sad, but im pretty excited about it, there offering disaster relief classes at my church from the Southern Baptist Convention people. So if i ever wanna help in something like a hurricane ie Katrinaish stuff, then im put on a list and called whenever they need people. So yeah I have a feeling im gonna be going elsewhere this summer besides Montana... But yeah I kinda am excited cause i'll be certifed for something. Weird, but its free and makes me happy.

Oh yeah and thanks everyone for sending me a message on facebook and myspace for my birthday!!! I really appreciate it!

Good birthday.

2006-05-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

So i went to graduation at Boyd yesterday morning. Good stuff, kinda odd though since I was like hmm..there seniors now, not me. Its still kinda hitting home that I dont go there anymore even though its been a year. I still know how they felt yesterday though, made me kinda sad. So yeah Christin was definately suppose to go with me but bailed last minute!!! Thanks Christin!!! Buts its all good, it was for a good cause. But anyway I ended up getting a good parking spot (I was worried about parking cause its crap there) and I sat with someone I knew, Adam, haha. He was the only one I had until Megan Watson came in later and talked to me for a few minutes.

So yeah I also wore my new floral dress I love from Target but my boobs spilled out everywhere when I sat down, more so than I thought they would. So my double stick tape didnt work, so I ended up wearing a cardigan cause it was kinda cool in the morning and I just kept it on. I would have looked like a HARDCORE hoe wearing it alone lol. And my shoes were really cute but gave me an awful blister. Oh and Adam's friends let off a blow horn, yay me. And I saw Katlyn and Lindley afterwards. Lindley was 1 of 2 salutorians!!!! I had no idea till I saw her on stage and was like what? So valedictorians were Aaron Leverette and Sam Morris, Salutorians were Lindley and Jonathan Copely. None of the above are surprising lol. Oh yeah when Aaron went to get his diploma he was back at his seat and Mrs. Wood was calling his scholarships out for like 5 mins afterwards. He got 5 or 6, including the TVA scholarship I applied for last year, which is almost impossible to get. They only give out like 15 or 20 for all like 6 or 7 states that include TVA, crazy I tell ya.

Oh my birthday is tomorrow! yay! Ive got a full day planned actually. I'll update on that tomorrow.

Pain.

2006-05-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

So I went to work wednesday and then one of the teachers found out Im not in summer school. So she went into this long shpill about her upcoming trip and that she needs to take a day off to get ready but she needs someone to work for her. So lucky me, I said yes, so I worked thursday from 7:30-4:30 that was the longest day ever. I havent worked more than 5 hours before there and I was there a total of 9, worked 8 cause I had an hour lunch.

So yeah the only problem was that I hadnt planned on working originally and Wendy called me the other day and we made dinner plans. I wanted to fall over when I got home but I had to get ready ASAP. But we went to the Acropolis which was AMAZING. It was SO good. She told me what to get and it rocked my socks off.

Oh yeah I forgot, so I woke up in the middle of the night with this horrible pain in my upper back and shoulders. I just thought it was cause of my boobs and posture, haha funny I know. Usually when I sit at the computer for too long my shoulders and upper back start to hurt because of my boobs and my posture. And I usually just lay flat on my back and it goes away. Well I did that and I woke up later on and it had not but it was a HORRIBLE pain, not like the usual kind. So I got up this morning and thought someone had stabbed me in my upper body. It hurt TERRIBLY and I had no idea why cause I knew then it wasnt my boobs. Well then I remembered that at work all the kids wanted to play this little game with me.

They like to stand facing u, hold your hands and climb up your legs and flip over. Well technically U flip them over. So lets just say when 1 does it, all the other kids wanna do it too and then they wanna do it again and again and again and they get in a line to do it. So basically I was holding these kids up and then bending over to flip them so they didnt get hurt and then rebending to pick them up again. Didnt realize I had used my shoulders so much. Goll. Dont do that. You'll be in pain later.

2006-05-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

woo went to Target today and got the floral dress i loved to wear to graduation and Leighanne's wedding. Very cute other than the fact that my boobs hang out and that i have to pull my bra WAY down in the back so it doesnt show because there is a pretty deep V. Oh and the fact that it fits, accept where the seam is its almost impossible to zip, even when its on the hanger. Its not that it doesnt fit cause it closes fine, the zipper just sticks at that exact spot. It even did it on another dress too, i tried one to be sure and I was right. Its very June Cleaverish haha i love it.

Oh yeah the scale said id lost 2 lbs since yesterday which i dont think is right cause it takes me a week to do that, but i weighed 4 times in a row because sometimes the .1-9 at the end of the big number changes if i shift my weight even a smidgen and it did not! So haha thats all my weight for the week in 1 day. Im hoping i lose more for the week. I've lost 11 lbs now. Woo! I can start to fit back into my old clothes. Thats a relief.

Yeah another random update.

Im watching Everwood, and im sad to say im pretty sure its gonna be over this season since UPN and the WB are combining and canceling some shows. Oh and im also praying that this new channel comes here because we dont get UPN and if we dont get the new one, then I wont get to possibly watch Everwood and Gilmore Girls. BOO. But if we do get it, then i get those and America's next top model!!!! I WISH WE GOT IT FOR THAT SHOW! Theres a new marathon of the current season this weekend on VH1 too. Very good.

2006-05-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

Im bored out of my mind.

I got some instant tan tonight at walmart. I have the jergens lotion that builds a tan slowly but i hate adding the lotion daily cause im lazy and i dont wanna put it all over my body and the smell starts to get to me. So i got the neutrogena build a tan thing. Its kinda the same thing but darker, quicker. I put it all over me so im hoping i dont look orange for church tomorrow haha. I didnt do it on my face or hands though. Cause its gonna come off my face anyway cause my facewash has scrubbers in them so everything comes off. And my hands would look muddy. Boo. I just need to stay white and i wont worry about it.

Got a new cosmo. Interesting stuff.

I only work 1 day next week which is odd cause she said she was always desperate for people during the summer and I put down i could work 3 days. Hmm...Kinda odd i'm working less hours than i do during school...

I got some new earrings at the icing tonight too. I wanted this pearl pair and it was buy 1 get 1 1/2 off, so i couldnt get 1 and not the other. So i got those and a big dangly blue pair. Very cute. I like big earrings.

The smell of this tanner is starting to make me sick. Eghh.

Im tired and the pollen has made my allergies act up. Im getting a cold. Ughh. Now i cant breathe at night except through my mouth which makes me choke cause its not moistened. Boo. I hate allergies.

This is such a random update.

I watched Nickelodeon today. 3 good shows on there for younger teens that I like. If u ever get a chance watch, Drake and Josh, Unfabulous (this is Julia Robert's niece) and Zoey 101 (yes this is Britney Spears' sister). Those are all good though. Drake and Josh is the funny show, the other 2 are not so funny cause they dont have an audience.

Shopping with lauren!

2006-05-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

Woo! I actually had stuff to do today, kinda surprised by that. Well first of all I found out I made an A in 2 of the classes I was worried about, so that means I have 4 out of 5 A's and im almost positive I have an A in the 5th class too so all A's for me! NEVER in my life have I had that. Im very proud.

Oh yeah and I called about working for the rest of the week, not on the schedule, haha yay me.

So me and Lauren went shopping at the mall today for her a dress for the benefit dinner shes going to with Brent this weekend in Florida. Man prom dresses are cheap now, which we knew but they were very limited. The one Lauren got was pretty though, fuschia pink with little diamond brooches on the top sides. Very cute. Yay Lauren!

No more school!

2006-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

Woo!!! I finally successfully finished 1 year of college! My last exam took me a total of 35 mins to do, woo. I was planning on meeting Katlyn for off campus lunch at Amigos too, so i need to take up as much time as possible.

So I went to Walmart and wandered around for about an hour. And then I went to Goodys and got a shirt. And then I got bored, real bored. Theres nothing in Brainerd and i didnt wanna waste gas, so I went and sat in the amigos parking lot for an hour. Not fun.

Oh yeah and then when katlyn got there, all of Boyd Buchanan decided to go eat there too. So everyone was staring at me. Fun stuff. And then I also thought I heard Bronson making a Kerry comment. Thank u again.

hmmm...im boring. I dont have much to say and its not gonna get any better since school is out lol.

Great news!

2006-04-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

I am so stoked!!! I retook the ACT yesterday at school and i got a 24!!!!! I feel smart now since it took all i had to get a 21 before. Haha. For those of u who dont know, u have to have a 22 to get into the teacher education program in the state of tennessee. Goll. I got all my scores emailed to me and let me tell u, i thought science was the hardest and i got the highest on that, a 27. Heres my previous scores and new ones.

Old
English 25 Math 16 Reading 25 Sci. Reas. 18 Composite 21

New
English 25 Math 19 Reading 26 Sci. Reas. 27 Composite 24

YAY!!!! Now i can take the class that i revolved my schedule around haha.

Oh yeah so this is my last full/regular week of class. Im so happy about that cause im getting tired of school. I need 4 months off. Haha that sounds so great. 4 months. Ohh yeah and i figured out I have 4 finals and i only have to study for 2 because theater we have to act, no studying, and Western Humanities is an essay question she gives us on the spot. Oh yeah and let me tell u that I looked on blackboard and apparently my teacher had a hamlet quiz in there yesterday!!!! I told her 3 times i wasnt gonna be there so she wouldnt count as many points off. And i think the syllabus says u can make up something if u inform her before the missed class. She better let me make it up. Its only 8 points but i need them badly.

Schedules, schedules, schedules

2006-04-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

So I dont have to worry about classes again for a long long time. I am very excited about that. I thought I was bad last semester but I was worse this time which I didnt think was possible. So I found out that in order for freshmen to take 300-400 level courses, you have to go and get a form filled out, signed by your advisor and then signed by the department head. Well im a sophomore next year obviously but i dont have credit for this semester yet cause its not over yet. So technically the computer only thinks I have 16 hours.

So I have changed my schedules about 20 times in order to get what I want, when I want. So finally I got up this morning at 5:45 and got my computer ready to register and all. So at like 6 on the dot I attempted to register. And once again, just like last semester I didnt actually register till about 6:15 cause so many people are trying to get on at once that it gets busy or crashes. I was told it crashed last semester. But anyway I am taking 17 hours but I could only register for 9 of them online. Cause then I got to school at 7:20 and waited outside Records and Registration because they had to put me in my Heco 340 and Heco 350 class. So I got in and then went to find out about taking Educ 209. And for those of u who dont know, in order to take education classes above educ 201 Jan Gould (a high up woman in the education dept.) has to put u in the class. So after much confusion I find out that I cant take it yet cause I dont have my ACT scores in. So I take that next tuesday and then if i get the 22 then i can take the class. Goll. So much drama. I literally slept horrible last night worrying about classes. I kept waking up and tossing. Grr. Its over. Praise Jesus.

So after all that jazz, heres what im taking:

MW
3:25-4:40 - Engl 115 (Western Humanities 2)
5-6:40 - Educ 209 (Special Ed) (Mondays only)
5-7:30 - ENgl 228 (Childrens literature) (Wednesdays only)

TT
9:25-10:40 - Math 210 (Stats)
10:50-12:05 - Heco 340
1:40-2:55 - Heco 350

I forgot what the Heco classes are. Oh well. Oh and the best news is that I dont have classes on fridays, i dont go in till 2 on MW, I have 1 class with Leigh Anne, 3 with Kerra and 3 with Lauren! Yay!

Poor Kerra, some ass got all mad cause apparently she was blocking their car by accident cause she didnt have any where to park and she was allowed to park in the lot she was in. She got a call that if she didnt move her car in 10 mins it would be towed. She gets out there and someone had keyed into her car, "Fuck you". She was in tears. I felt so bad for her. And then she called the Chatt police cause its on city grounds, not UTC and the woman was such a bitch to her about it. Goll. What great people there are in this world.

GGRRR!!!

2006-04-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Grr!!!!!! I HATE SCHEDULING CLASSES! Nothing ever goes my way! I had a complete schedule picked out and now its all changed around cause classes i want are full already. I swear im gonna be taking gen ed senior year cause i cant get into those classes now. How dumb.

And I also love how no one in the education department can tell any prek-3 majors what to take or when to take it. NO ONE KNOWS. I HATE IT. I hear this from one person and this from another person. Too much trouble i say. Its a pain in the buttocks, as Forrest Gump would say.

Ahh and i have to take the ACT a week from tuesday. Im not looking forward to that. Please pray that I can make a 22 and bring up my math and pray that i can get my classes i want at a decent schedule.

Stupid college.

On a lighter note, I won my first item off of Ebay! Im so proud! I still dont get the whole pay pal thing, or trust it for that matter, but i got my first money order/cashier check. Ive been looking at 50's dresses cause i want some so bad. I want the flowy ones to wear when i teach and then i can get a crinoline skirt to go with them when i want them poofy. But anyway, its pink with stripes and i found out after i won that it had polka dots on the collar and sleeve cuffs which im not thrilled about but there hard to see so its all good. It was a killer deal too!! It was only 18.75$ for a vintage dress! haha! My parents dont know though and im hoping i can get the package before my mom comes home one day lol.

2006-03-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

Random but oh well.

I called to get info about taking the ACT at school and apparently u can take the kind that doesnt count nationally, thats why u get your score like the next day. But anyway the problem is its only offered Mondays and Tuesdays at 1. Well on Mondays I work from 11-2 and on tuesdays im in class till 1:30. Im screwed because the one girl i have to ask to work for me has her lab the same time i work on mondays in the same room. And labs are for the next 2 weeks. Goll. So of course the class i would have to miss is the one who is a Nazi about attendance and it hurts your grade. Im not happy.

Oh yeah yesterday afternoon I randomly had Willy Wonka singing in my head, the original. When there in the candy room where everything is eatable. Well I had no reason to be singing it cause i havent thought about that movie in a long time. Speak of the devil. It was on that night on 31. Had no idea.

My Western Humanities kinda ruined one of my favorite books. The author of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, was a pedophile. Remember the book is about a young girl. Ew.

Countdown to summer...

2006-03-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

So Spring Break ended, but my first week back to school is kinda gravy lol. I only have to get up one day and I get to leave early that day.

Spring Break was kind of boring. I enjoyed my 2 days of doing nothing except hanging out with my dad, but Wed-Fri sucked. I had to work 10-3 those days. They werent too bad, but I was at the desk 10-1 on Wed and Fri and they drug by. Omgoodness one day I sat there and stared at the wall for an hour and a half. Not fun. But I did get mega bucks so its all good. Oh yeah I worked today too and one kid in preschool, the older kids, peed on himself everywhere. I got to clean that up, yay.

Is anyone else sick? Ive got a cold, not fun.

5 weeks of school left, 6 with exams but that doesnt count lol. Im counting the days. I think its like 24 for me or something. I have about 7 or 8 Western Humanities classes left too! Yay! I do not like that class. Its just so boring and it drags on forever since its a TT class.

Im finally meeting my Advisor today for the first time lol. I made a list of questions to ask her too. Stupid education department people. They cant tell u jack.

Long days ahead...

2006-03-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

So im gonna have some long days ahead. Im not really looking forward to them either. At this point i dont ever remember what i update on and what i dont, so if i repeat myself, just skip it lol.

So i went today to do my 2 hours of volunteering/training at the daycare. Not bad at all. It went by very quickly which i was thankful for. They put me with the infants, which is where many cant walk. Only one could walk and he looked drunk lol. I know my ID badge and lanyard are covered in spit. Im gonna have to like soak it in antibacterial stuff lol. Now that i look at it though, it seems kinda funny cause i was the only white worker in the room. The 3 others were black. haha i must have looked funny. Oh well. But now all the work i do there will be paid so thats good. 30$ here and there is gonna be good.

But i was looking ahead in my planner and i have so much work due in like the next 3 weeks, plus tudoring and work. Goll shoot me in the face. I have like 4 papers due in my classes along with tests and im gonna be tudoring 2 times a week at hunter from 230-330 and those are my long days, so that means i dont get out of class till 130, which means i have to drive home, well i dont even know if i can come home cause i dont think ill have enough time. And then i put down i can work on tuesdays from 8-1030 in the morning before class at 1050, so thats a 8-330 day, which seems like alot now, but in reality its no more than 30 mins extra than ive been doing from K-12. Ive been spoiled by college. My Odyssey paper is waiting...

Haven't updated in a while

2006-03-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

So I went to look at my journal and apparently I haven't updated in a while, which i thought I had, but oh well.

Spring Break baby! Yeah! its kinda sad though cause im not really looking forward to it. I have more to do on Spring break then i usually do during the school week. I have 4 papers to write, but ive already done 3 so i actually have some free time during the week. And i have to work 3 days during the week, 15 hours total. Its gonna be a great pay check but Im not looking forward to it cause 2 of those 3 days I have to work at the front desk for 3 hours each day. Thats not fun. I worked my first scheduled day last monday and I was at the desk for an hour and time just stopped. Its not hard by any means cause all I do is answer the phone and let people in the door since its locked from the outside, but boredom sets in. But Lauren usually works at the desk and she said the main secretary usually gives you something to work on for a teacher. So it shouldnt be so bad. Im pretty sure I dont get a break though and im working from 10-3, so im gonna be starving. I think im gonna try and sneak some food in cause no one is ever around when im at the desk.

Boo, I have to start working on my 7 pg research paper for english. I am not excited about that. Im thinking this may be my last research paper ever. Grr. If any one wants to help or give comments, the topic is Does the media show too much negative, bad news? Not real hard cause ive found lots of stuff, but still. So much time.

2006-02-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

im going to kill the 6th graders....lets just say the assistant principal was called in today to deal with one of them.

I corrected my TEP essay right, praise Jesus. I found out from a girl in 2 of my classes that she had to rewrite it 5 times. I felt so bad for her. Well apparently if u mess up once, u correct it. If u dont correct it right then u have to take an english writing mini class/seminar thing and then if u mess up again u have to take an actual english class that counts for a grade. That blows ass. Stupid people.

Hmm..i think thats all i wanted to say.

week of bliss

2006-02-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

Ahh its nice not to have a million things to do for once. This week and next week are gonna be gravy compared to the last 2. And then after these 2 its spring break! woo! Well that wont be all relaxation...i'll get to that in a minute.

So I finished my uber thick book for educ 201 which is good cause Preston said hes gonna give us the essay topic this week or next week. So i'll get to write that over spring break. I got a 98 on my western humanities midterm, praise Jesus. My grades should be much better this semester. Not that last semester was bad, I only had 1 A though and i was hoping for a bit better since i dont have math lol that always held me back. But yeah i should do better. I gotta take statistics next semester..boo. Hmm...Oh yeah in my English class she cancels so much for us to have conferences, so i have 2 weeks of class and then a week off, 2 weeks of class and then a week off and so on. So I have these 2 weeks of class, spring break and then that week we go back, i dont have class haha. Yay me.

A girl called me today on the way home to work for her at the Children's center but i was already a good bit home and didnt wanna drive back. Plus it was only work for an hour and id have to kill 2. Not fun. But Cindy (head lady there) called me and said shes gonna put me on the schedule for sure on mondays from 11-2 and then whenever teachers need someone im on the sub list so they might be calling alot. But apparently im gonna be in the kids rooms, which ever one they put me in and then i go to the front desk for an hour while the secretary goes to lunch. Apparently all i do is answer the phone and buzz people in the door cause its always locked so random people dont come in, good idea actually, kinda like Boyd did during the day so theres no code E lol. Oh but apparently im gonna be working my butt off during spring break cause no one is gonna be there to work. I was suppose to work for Lauren 3 days for like 2-4 hours a day, but Cindy said shes gonna make a whole new schedule for that week alone. So she asked me when I could work and I said well those 3 days would be good cause Tuesday I have my final tutoring session from 230-330, i didnt tell her what time haha and i didnt really give a reason for monday. And i cant work all day on friday cause i think im going to atl with my sunday school class for the night. Some long days ahead...

Oh poo Im so mad! I called UTC foreign language department today to ask about Italian classes cause there in the catalog but not offered in any of the semesters. So I called and asked and the woman said they dont have it any more period. Apparently they offered it some time and there wasnt enough interest. Boo. Now im gonna have to keep teaching myself. I kinda wanted to teach myself and then take a class to actually be taught the right way. Grr. People dont wanna take Italian but they wanna learn Greek? Theres like 4 or 5 Greek classes. Grr.

Oh yeah I think if I can save enough money, I wanna go to Italy when I graduate from getting my masters in 2011 and then go to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada in 2010. I wanna go to the Olympics so bad and thats the closest one for a while. I wanna go to one winter and one summer. But the summer ones are in China and London. Kinda far. So if any one wants to save money for 4 years and go with me, give me a holla lol. Megan? U kinda seem like ud wanna go to Canada for a week or so since u hopped in a car to New Orleans and your going to London lol. Think about that one. Any body who is interested, let me know and start saving money. I cant decide if flying or driving would be better cause Adam was suppose to go to Canada on spring break but that fell through. But anyway they were gonna drive and i think it was like a 15-18 hour drive or so. Dunno. I'll have to do some research.

Now im yakin.

2006-02-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

So I had the longest day of my life on thursday:
830-1030 - Lab
1050-130 - class
230-330 - tutoring
7-9 - play

But take into consideration that I have to drive everywhere 30 mins, so add 3 hours or more to that. Boo. I was so happy when the day was done.

Oh yeah I met Jillian and her mom to see The Dead. Lauren appeared out of no where too lol. Good to see u Lauren! Anyway the only good thing about the play was the fact that it was set in Ireland, everyone was Irish, but no accents unfortunately and they jigged and sang all Irish songs. Other than that it was poo.

I went and took the Praxis I test yesterday, not fun.

APOLO ANTON OHNO WON GOLD!!!!!!!! I almost pist on myself I was so excited!!!!! Im sad the Olympics are almost over :(

Oh yeah Christin called me on Friday and invited me to stay with her at Lee. Good times. She came and got me and we went up there and her roommate wasnt gonna be there so i got to sleep in her bed. So we were gonna watch Just Like Heaven by ourselves, but Valerie and Hope and some other girls hadn't watched it yet, so we had to watch it with them. Good movie. But Christin bought me a passion fruit smoothie, it was delich! Anyway I stayed up till 12 which was amazing for me since I had been so tired from the day anyway. And then we went and had breakfast at 11 at Hardees haha. Good times.

Im so excited, only 2 weeks till Spring Break! Im gonna be working but its ok. Its only 3 days that week and the most I work one day is 4 hours. I need the moola.

2006-02-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

Jillian u would be proud!!! I went and saw a scary movie!!!! Go me!!! Well I kinda watched it through my hands lol but i still went. Kerra wanted to see When a stranger calls and it was only the 2 of us in the theatre and we screamed and held each other the whole time. It was so funny. Not too bad though. I actually havent consumed myself with the movie like i usually do with scary movies. Good, maybe i'll be able to sleep. The last scary movie I saw was the village and i didnt sleep for a week. I slept with my main lights on too haha. So then we went to Shogun, yes I went there last saturday but it was great again plus we were starving. But anyway the awesome chef i had last week was at the table next to us and came over to get something off our table and talked to us. I thought he was our chef and was gonna say something about me being here again cause I thought he remembered me but guess not. Our chef was kinda boring actually. He didnt cut the veggies the way I like and didnt cook them anywhere NEAR the amount they should have been. Sorry, it kinda bothered me lol.

Hmmm...

My western humanities midterm is now a take home test which is kinda good but not really because theres a full essay to write which revolves around the same things i wrote my last essay on in there. Boo. But I have 2 days to do it so thats good. Ohh I made a 92 on my essay in there which i was worried about cause we only have like 2 essays and 2 tests. Oh and I made a flippin 102 on my educ 201 exam which I BSed ALMOST EVERYTHING ON THERE. Omgosh i was in shock for 5 mins after i got it back cause i thought i bombed it. There were like 4 essays and I wasnt sure what to study so i just put in what I knew and i got the 10 pt bonus so haha for me! Good times.

2006-02-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

So Rebecca and I went out yesterday/night. We had a great time. We went and saw The New World movie with Colin Farrell who is John Smith and some girl was Pocahontas. IT WAS HORRIBLE. OMWORD that movie drug on forever. It was a 21/2 hour movie and we ended up leaving early, 1. because it was bad and 2. i felt sick for some reason, so we left. Goodness it was just blah. All it was was them arriving to America and being semi friends with the native americans for a while and then all the men were going mad and killing each other and starving to death. And then John was kidnapped by the indians and falls in love with pocahontas yada yada. Well i kinda wanna know what happened now but id rather have someone tell me. We couldnt decide on a movie and i was like hey that sounds pretty good. So we went and hated it.

But yeah anyway towards the end i started feeling sick for some reason. I think it was because I needed to eat something. I hadnt eaten much but that doesnt usually bother me. But anyway we called Kampi when they opened to make a reservation but they didnt have one till 9 so we called Shogun and went there. It was so good! We had a great time there. We got right in, even before our reservation and our chef was so funny. He was from Hawaii and cracked jokes the whole time. And the girls who work there wear little kimonos, very cute. And just about everyone was Asian too. I kinda liked the set up better than Kampi. Good times.

We got snow too!!! But a few hours later this morning u would have never known it snowed period.

My days are full as poo

2006-02-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

I am so wiped. Ive had so much to do lately and more to come. So next week let me just tell u what i have to do:

Monday - test in educ 201
Tuesday - test in Heco 240 and paper due in West Human.
Wednesday - Paper due in english and test in Theater and speech

Oh yeah and I had a paper due in english this past wednesday and a paper due today in educ 201. SO MANY F ING PAPERS!!!! And on top of everything I have to read 3 books at a time and go tudor 2 days a week which doesnt sound bad but rushing over there immediately after class is tough. Plus yelling at 11 year olds takes a toll on u lol. So lets talk about my 2nd day of tutoring.

So on tuesday I had told them id bring them some jolly ranchers cause thats what they wanted. So i found the jolly rancher suckers. A whole bag full for 5 kids. So I dont tutor till 230 and they get out of class at 215. So i went a little early to talk to the secretary i never met on tuesday and after i met her it was about 2:20 or so and Im walking to the class and all the sudden i see all the kids like running towards me lol. I was like wow yall are already here? So anyway they immediately pounced on me about candy and i was like yes i brought it but your not getting it till were done with homework. I heard some groans from that lol.

So the homework they had was a worksheet of 8 problems on proportions. It was pretty easy. It was just word problems to set up and solve. So the plan was to go in and have them sit down and be quiet and tell them some rules or so like were gonna take turns writing on the board and ya da yada. That didnt work. I didnt really ever have a chance to tell them that. I know that sounds odd cause I yell ALOT usually and the kids listen, but here they just talk non stop to each other and to me all that the same time. Im helping one student and then I have another one yelling at me about something and then 2 others are arguing. Its insane. So I had planned on printing out some worksheets for them to do once they got done with homework. Well on the website it never printed the worksheets but it printed the answer sheet. Oh well I ran out of time so I hand wrote each page for them. Yes it took about 15 mins. Well i never got to use them.

Lets just put this into perspective. It took an hour and 10 mins to do 8 math problems. I kid u not. Thats how hard it is to manage these kids. But anyway Im using the candy as a bribe lol. I kept saying, if u dont finish your homework, no candy. So that makes them shut up and work. So anyway we finally finished and I had planned on giving them 1 or 2 suckers and then saving the extra for next time, well that didnt work and i gave them all 3 each and had 2 left. So i told them id give them a math problem and whoever got it right would get them. Well they groaned and said i cant do math lol. So i made it multiple choice for them. Well it was 6/8 and i just wanted them to reduce it. Well obviously its 1/2 but i had like 2/3 and 5/8 and 6/8 as choices. For some reason almost all of them chose 6/8!!!! Thats the problem itself lol. So once they all told me there answers I said no one is right and they fell in the floor like screaming ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!! It was HILARIOUS. Omgosh u had to be there. So once i said that they all changed their answers and one girl got it right and then the other 2 girls got mad cause she got extra suckers. Crazy i say. So next time im bringing them brownies and ill make sure everyone gets the same amount.

Oh yeah I can actually read other peoples journals now. LJ wouldnt let me for some reason for a while.

Tutoring - Day 1

2006-02-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

o i started tutoring at Hunter today for my 10 hours in Educ 201. I was absolutely terrified. Ive been tutoring myself online with math.com on pre algebra, algebra and simple math. Haha its kinda sad but i learned more doing it myself with the help it gave me than at school. Alot about decimals i never knew.

So anyway I had to call last week and confirm everything so i talked to a woman in the main office and she told me to come see her when i came today. So I walked in and told them I was the tutor. They all looked at me with bewilderment. Cause the secretary told me to tell whoever was there who i was and they'd find her for me. Well the woman wasnt there today. So someone knew something about it and that I had some relation to Stacey (my soon to be aunt who teaches 8th grade there). So a girl took me to her room and I heard someone talking in there that wasnt her. And the teacher's lounge was right next to it and the teachers in there said she was out of town on the 8th grade trip. I was like well thats great. So no one knew what I was suppose to do or where to go. So they told me to sit with them until class got out and go into her room and see if anyone shows up. So I sat there for about 10 mins and listened to them talk. It was so funny. They talked about the kids and how weird some were and i was like haha this is gonna be me in a few years. All grown up.

So I went in Stacey's room and then 5 kids suddenly appeared. All 6th graders who were 11. So when they all finally got in there I asked what they needed help in. All at once they all go MATH. My heart sunk lol. So i asked them what kind of math they had and they said regular math, no pre algebra yet which was good news for me. And they said they didnt understand fractions or decimals, which was my problem but I looked at their book and the homework was easy. It was reducing fractions which they couldnt do very well. I had a worse time of them fighting over using the markers and writing on the board more than the math lol.

The girls didnt really wanna do the math they just wanted to draw on the board and the 2 boys were practically wrestling. But they liked my car and the girls loved my phone since it was blinged out with jewels lol. But somehow I got conned into buying them candy for thursday. They sure werent scared to talk to me though lol. They were wild and as full of energy as could be. It was pretty good though. Not too bad. I just gotta make sure I know how to do the math again next time. Back to middle school!

2006-01-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

so for some reason livejournal is being poo to me cause i cant look at anyones journal. Oh well.

So im sure i updated on me about to get a job at the utc childrens center right? Well anyway i have a buttload of crap to do for the application packet and i had to go get a TB (tuburculosis) test and fingerprinting done today.

I got the TB done at the utc health center and got there before anyone and had to wait almost an hour and everyone went before me. It only took 2 mins. I was not very happy cause i was worried about getting a ticket the whole time, which i did NOT get. Then i went and got fingerprinting. Fun stuff i must say.

So i think all i lack is doing the 2 hours of volunteer work there which is training i think. No worries.

But we had a birthday party for my grandfather on saturday and i talked to my uncles girlfriend who works at hunter middle and asked if i could tutor for my 10 hours of field placement. Well she said im sure i could and she would ask her principal but she said most kids need help in math. Well im a horrible math person myself so i was not thrilled at this. But she said it was like equations with variables and stuff. She showed me an example which i knew how to do but then she showed me a more advanced form of it and im sad to say i forgot how to do it. We did it in precal for goodness sakes last semester! I couldnt do it then and im sure i cant teach someone how to do it now. That looks real good. The middle schooler cant do it and neither can the college student. Boo. Im gonna see if i can find someone else to tutor who doesnt need help in math. Ahh now im worried. Heres the problem, please work it for me if u can lol. Sad i know.

heres the easy one i can do obviously: 3x + 6 = 9

But she gave me one like this and i kinda froze: 3x + 9 = 10 - 4x
I thought i could do it but i forgot. Isnt that horrible? I dont even wanna admit i cant do it. I dont even really remember alot of middle school math. 6th grade specifically. Im sure its easier than poo but i just dont remember what we did. Argghh.

Oh man my mom told me Mrs Lee's cancer has spread everywhere. I feel so horrible for her. And there not letting Coach Lee come home yet. Horrible people.

Oh yeah Legends of the Fall came on yesterday and i almost peed on myself cause i love that movie and they rarely show it. But anyway i found out it was set in Montana! I dont know if it was filmed there but im just gonna dream it was. It makes me love the movie even more since im going to go see that scenery in June! yay!

I have my 8 o'clock english class canceled for a week! haha for conferences. Sleep for me.

2006-01-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

So today I had my longest day ive had all year. And now that i think about it, its shorter than elementary-highschool but since i havent gone 8-3 since may its kinda hard. Today is usually my day to sleep, but i had my first lab for heco 240 that i was dreading. Its 2 hours at the utc children's center down next to utc place. So it wasnt until 830 so i left at 730 and got stopped forever away from my exit onto 153 cause traffic was horrible. I was creeping for like half a mile. Apparently one light stayed green a LONG time and the next one after it never changed from red very often. So i was on Amnicola and then i got in that traffic which im never in cause im too early for it mwf and on tt im usually too late, but not today. So i finally get through that and then the lane i turn into to get to my lot was blocked off!!!!! I was so pist already.

But i got to my lab early and there were 2 girls there already and i talked to them and one was from memphis and we talked about Elvis and all lol. It was actually nice to talk to some people about education and being teachers though. Its good to know someone knows what im talking about. But we get a child to observe for the lab and i had already heard from a friend that works there that my child was the devil. Well that was not the case at all. She was very sweet. She just didnt like new people. But shes a little Asian girl. And immediately when i walked in there was this little boy who didnt even know me and ran over and wanted me to hold him. It all reminded me of being at St Johns again. But I was in the young toddler room which is 12-24 months so there full of energy lol. So the 2 hours actually flew by and then when we met again before leaving I asked the woman in charge about subbing there. They have subs that are like child workers or whatever and they call them to work when they need them, which is several times a week actually. Just whenever u can work around your classes. So u have to fill out this massive packet of info before u turn it in. I have to get my finger prints taken this monday and a TB test. I have all kinds of crap to do. I also have to volunteer there 4 hours before i actually work but since im in the heco 240 class its only 2 which is good. But i think i put down i can work about 2 or 3 hours a day. Perfect amount for me to get some money and still have time for school. And there open on all holidays and summer except for xmas break. So hopefully ill have a job during the summer too.

Oh yeah im so tired because after the 2 hour lab i had to go to my 2 long classes that bore the poo out of me. I wanted to skip my last one but all my classes are affected by attendance so i cant skip this semester unless its absolutely necessary. poo. i need sleep.

Montana Baby!

2006-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Well its official im going to Montana this june with my youth group. Im pretty excited. I hadnt decided if i was gonna go or not yet but i decided to go. Im psyched now. Its probably gonna be bitter cold though since its northern montana and plus we saw pics of it during june and it was covered in snow on the mountains. So im gonna freeze again. But were staying at a camp in the mountains and its for middle and high schoolers who are native american, im almost positive its all native american. From what ive been told this is a wild, eclectic state where they might never have heard of Jesus before so we'll see. So we leave June 10 at 6pm from Atlanta and fly to salt lake city, Utah which rocks cause i get 2 states in 1 trip ive never been to before. Lots of mormons....

Boo I have to stay at school tomorrow till 430 or until i finish some stupid essay for the teacher education program. From 3-430 so however long it takes me to complete. If u make more than 3 grammar mistakes u have to retake it. Bite me in the butt and I have to retake the ACT which im not doing cause im taking another test. Not fun.

New semester!

2006-01-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

So school started this week, woo hoo im jumping for joy with excitement...

So i have to drive to school now, which i have to get use to but its not so bad so far. I just kinda have to hold my breath on tuesdays and thursdays though cause i dont go in till 10:50 and im always worried i wont get a parking spot. But ive managed to find one fine so far. 2 of my class locations changed the other day. Casey always told me to check before the first class cause sometimes they change and i checked saturday and sure enough 2 did. I now walk to the EMCS every mwf at 8 which blows cause i thought i was gonna get out of going there this semester since its so far away. Guess not. Well after that i have to run to Brock 3rd floor which sucks. And theatre and speech shouldnt be too bad. I was kinda worried about it cause i dont act. But my teacher is about 4'5 and is very funny. Heres my schedule:

MWF TT

8 - english 122 10:50 - Human Ecology 240 and a lab every so
9 - education 201 often at the school down the hill
10- theatre and speech 12:15 - Western Humanities I

I like the change this semester to have early days and 2 semi late days that i get to sleep in for. Pretty good balance. My classes are good. Kinda boring i must say. My english teacher looks like mrs hood. My educ 201 teacher is scarier than poo. My heco 240 teacher is a yankee from wisconsin so i get to listen to that awful accent for 4 months and my west hum. teacher says if the door is closed when u get there, dont come in so thats incentive to run there. Oh yeah i have 9 books to read for that class, all about the Odyssey and Homer and plato and all that crap they tried to cram in our heads at the very end of AP english. I still dont like it. Poo.

Hmmm...i saw Jillian for the first time in a while today. She looked good. Her hair got long too. Oh yeah im cutting all my hair off for locks of love again saturday. Its gonna be shoulder length or a little above. Im excited. All my hair grew back in a year. Insane i say.

Oh yeah im pretty sure my foot has hurt for about 4 months now and i ignored it and just recently like 2 weeks ago it hurt with agonizing pain that i can barely walk on. Its pretty funny to watch me limp about campus. My dad kept saying i had a stress fracture and i needed to stay off of it but we have a friend at church who is a podiatrist (foot doctor) and i went to see him today. So i was telling him where it hurt and he started pushing on the area to find it and he pushed on the spot and i almost screamed. It hurt so bad. Well he pulled out this foot with all the bones on it and it was real. Yes kinda gross. But anyway he showed me where the pain was from and apparently its something to do with a ligament near where your ankle and foot join semi. Top of the foot we'll say. But he took an x ray and come to find out i have an extra bone in that foot which is very easy to break and i have spurs on certain bones which means i'll have arthritis when im older. Joy. Oh but hes putting me on a medicine and steroids. Yes i hope they dont make me gain weight. But he said if the inflammation doesnt go down hes gonna give me a lovely shot in that area with an uber long needle. JOY.

These warm days are WONDERFUL.

2006

2006-01-03T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well this is my first entry of 2006. Kinda boring haha. I havent had much going on. Christmas was good. New years was boring as always. Only a week left of break. Its been so great being off a month.

Me and my dad went and got my books this week and I only have 1 textbook. Everything else is like a reading book from books a million. Plus ive already read 3 of them from Boyd haha. Too bad we already sold all my books to Mckays. Oh well. Were taking them all back to the bookstore and i got them at Mckays for cheap already. The Crucible, Hamlet and A Raisin In The Sun. 2 of those are for theater and speech class. Im not looking forward to that one at all.

Im pretty sure im so ready for summer its not even funny. These 60+ days are wonderful.

2005-12-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

I went over Christins house last night. Good times good times. We had pizza and exchanged gifts and watched some of the Island which she had not seen and watched the ABC special on Heaven. Which we yelled at the tv lol. Funny funny. Awesome slide show i must say.

hmmm...not much else to say....

adam is here..boo

we have family Christmas friday...boo..uncle david...double boo

A Christmas Story marathon starts saturday night and all day sunday! yay!

2005-12-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

i know my journal looks like poo, i tried to fiddle with the theme and it didnt work real well. Sorry if its hard to read.

I saw the Family Stone yesterday, it was different. Not what I expected. Very sad. I really dont know if I liked it or not. Kinda indifferent over it.

Christmas is coming! I wish it would look like my icon on sunday. How great. Wow we have church on Christmas this year. Service doesnt start till 10 cause theres no sunday school but i dont know what were doing. Its kinda hard since Adam doesnt live here now cause he spent the night last Christmas but his room is kinda demolished since we store everything in there.

I saw Ashley Tudor yesterday! Me and my mom pulled into CVS in brainerd before the movie and we were in my car and i looked and i was like hey that looks like Ashleys car cause i never see anyone else with it and i bent over and there she was! We jumped out and screamed and hugged each other. I havent seen her since graduation or homecoming, i dont know if she came to homecoming or if i saw her. Shes coming to UTC next semester. Shes staying in Village too. Yay! Another Boyd Buchananer coming to UTC. She looked good too. Her hair was short and almost blonde. It looked good on her.

2005-12-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

Well I finally moved out and honestly i was kinda sad cause me and Taylor got closer this week. Kinda ironic it was the last week of all times. We were semi close all semester but it was more so this week. We had a nice convo about Jesus and the Bible and all and I explained some stuff to her about the way i live my life. Good convo. Now that i think about i really am sad. I was thinking all semester, i wont care to move out from Taylor its not like were uber close but now it is sad. We decided id come up to UT one long weekend and she'd come down here when my parents go on their church trip in march. poop.

I think i did amazingly well on my biology exam though. It was easier than my music exam if thats possible. I better not have a C in that class i will be thoroughly pist.

My parents arent here all day today. So im home alone and i was just watching that movie ironically haha.

We redid my room! I dont know if i posted on that or not. Its robins egg blue now and absolutely beautiful. It makes my room look bigger, no joke. I spent alot of today putting all my stuff back up from moving and some stuff i had in my apartment. Im using my beach bedding and stuff so everything looks summerish haha kinda funny with the xmas lights. Oh yeah and I DID put a BSB poster up and an Elvis one. I might put 1 more BSB up though cause the other one is on the back of my door. We'll have to see.

Random

2005-12-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

im avoiding studying...

oh yeah really random...
i found out my friend who knows some people who work here at utc, like faculty. Anyway remember me saying something about my government teacher being a perv? Well apparently theres more to it than just him liking pretty girls. Apparently this is like his 2nd year back or something cause he was suspended for 5 years for sexual harassment of some chinese students. Eww.

2005-12-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

man exams are about to kill me. I really cant complain though. I didnt have anything to do today but study and i only have 1 exam tomorrow, nothing thursday, 1 exam friday and then one tuesday. Biology is about to kill me though. It took me an hour to go through 3/4 of the material. Alot of crap to know. Not fun. Today has not been very fun. Ive beat myself up alot over small stuff that doesnt matter. I tend to be good at that though. And i would like to think that only dating Christians, IS NOT close minded. Boo. Some people make me so mad. Grr. Oh yeah and im definately not going to see the backstreet boys tomorrow. That just makes my week let me tell ya.

high school is over. It's really over isn't it?

What a day!

2005-12-01T09:11:00.000-08:00

Well I sure did have an eventful day. I had a my final gov. test today (praise Jesus) which was an essay. We got a list and I studied my questions and I only really knew 2 out of the 5 I studied. And we had to sign up to type or write it out and I typed it and the 2 groups had different questions to choose from. Well dog my cat i got 1 of the 2 i knew! haha! Oh goll then i had an hour to kill till History and I called Allison after the test cause we only had 30 mins to take it and she answered and was like Hello? in this horrible voice. And I was like Allison, this is Cortney. And she goes huh? And i was like please dont tell me your in bed. And she was still confused and I go U MISSED THE TEST! And she realized finally and was like WHAT? And she freaked out. Goll I felt bad for her and she didnt know what to do. And i was like go see him now and explain and then she realized she could probably take it during his next gov class so im sure thats what happened. I gotta call her. She set 3 alarms poor thing.

Oh then Tina came and sat with me after the test and she said I could have her Educ 201 book and notes for next semester since she has all the answers. haha. Oh yeah and then she asked me if i wanted to possibly go to gatlinburg saturday so she could shop for her husband for xmas. I was like well sure lol. Dont know about that for sure yet. Shes the one that works at St. Johns. She also said some girls might be quitting next semester so maybe I can get my job back which would be heaven.

I bought Adam's hoodie for xmas. Taylor and I went and used my mellow mushroom/bijou gift card today. Yes Ive had it since last Halloween. Haha. We could get a medium pizza and our movie tickets. Great deal. Awesome pizza too. There was a table of middle aged men that perked up when we walked in though. They were like straining to see us cause we were sitting behind them. Kinda gross. Oh yeah and we saw Harry Potter which rocked my socks off. Very good. At the quidditch championship, the Irish team rocked my socks off!!!!! I loved the little leprechaun!

I got a 30 out of 30 on my last english paper, which means i got a 100 on my final which i dont have to take since she takes our highest essay grade. Bahaha! Its funny though cause I told Kerra to watch her give everyone a 30 so we wont take the exam and Kerra and Leigh Anne both got 30's so i think thats what shes doing, so i technically didnt get a 30, but its fine with me lol. I gotta go get it tomorrow to see the comments. I also got an 86 in my lab which is AMAZING since i did so horrible in there. And i have an 84 in Biology so as long as i do well on the final i should have a solid B. Im not too worried about my grades anymore. I was sweatin it all along but now its not so bad. I just gotta keep the Hope.

Im officially out of this dump next Friday at 11:30.

2005-11-28T09:10:00.000-08:00

Well I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day! I had a good week. Nothing exciting, but it was great to be home. 2 more weeks!!!! YAY!!! And i also found out that Taylor is probably gonna get to go to UTK and she'll move out the day I do if she goes, which is awesome cause she wont be here alone. I did not want to come back here yesterday. I was dreading it more than I ever have. I was so comfy at home cause my dad and I came and got my tv and dvd player so that was in my room at home and we had Christmas stuff up and I had the cats and everything was warm and cozy. I did not want to leave. But i did find out good news today that made up for it:

Got an 82 on my Biology test
Wednesday is my last English class
I dont have to take my English exam
I bought my parking permit for next semester
I got tuna for lunch

Not too much happening here as u can see lol.

I hate the rain. boo.

Haha two entries in one day, what fun! I forgot some stuff to add in the other so i thought id do another one for the heck of it.

So my mom has wanted a prelit tree for a few years now, but theyve been WAY too expensive. So I was looking in the paper on Thanksgiving day and they had some good deals around for Friday only. We always laugh at those people who go out on Black Friday, but I said i wanted to go out on one of those days before I die. So they had a prelit tree for 30$ at Ace, so I convinced my mom to get up and we'd go look at it. So we got up at 6 to be there at 7 when they opened lol. Well there was a line outside the door, so we got in line for them to open. Well we asked the lady in front of us what she was there for and she said tools and she asked us and we said trees and she was like, Oh i look at number of tips and light, and we were like huh? cause we knew nothing about them lol. Well she said the higher the light count the better it will look, and the one inside Ace only had 150, the one at Walgreens had 250 and it cost less. So we decided to go there instead but then we went to Home Depot instead cause my mom had an ad for there and they had a 6 1/2 ft. tree for 40$ with 550 lights! So we ran over there and got one. Very happy.

Well then my mom had gotten some ornaments at kmart a few days before and we went there to see if there were anymore on sale. That was a stupid mistake. The lines there were probably 15-20 people deep. Plus the ornaments werent on sale haha. So that was it. Our black friday adventure was over lol. Hmm...we went to the mall saturday night for dinner which was a mistake. There were crazy people everywhere. I thought about Lauren and Allison working. Poor Allison she had to work from 6am-12am friday. Poor thing. Oh and i saw for friday only if u bought 50$ worth of stuff at Victoria Secret ud get this awesome huge tote filled with products for free!!!! Oh and I found out that at Express if u bought anything u got a free clutch and at Express for men u got a hat and scarf for free. What bargains.

Rainy day

2005-11-14T09:09:00.000-08:00

Well today sure was fun. I didnt have my umbrella for class cause other 2nd one was at home and my elvis one was in my car. So i took my anorac. Bad mistake. Its not really a rain jacket for long lol. It ends up seeping through very quickly. But it wasnt raining until i got out of my last class and then it was practically monsooning. Campus was already flooding horribly and by the time i got back to my apartment i was soaked head to toe. I just got done drying my shoes in the dryer. My books also got wet. Yay.

I went to the orchestra concert at seventh day adventist last night. Boring. It was for music class. I left at the intermission haha. I can download the rest online and write my paper.

I think God is trying to test me and see how much school i can handle this week. Cause i dont think ive ever had this much work to do in a week. Heres a rundown for your enjoyment.

Music test wedneday
Music review due by friday
Gotta start studying for my biology test next monday
Pop quizzes in Biology this week sometime
Reading in english for pop quiz
Corrections on my history research paper
English paper due wednesday
New english paper due sometime soon
Goverment outline questions for final test
Lab extra credit - paper

Im sure i can find some more to do as well. I dont think exam week will be this bad considering i have 1 exam everyday for like a week. I feel bad for taylor she has 3 exams in one day back to back.

Have yall heard the new Fefe Dobson song "dont let it got to your head?" very funny if u havent heard it. I would suggest downloading it. just because i think of u in bed, haha.

Boredom....

2005-11-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

Im pretty bored right now. Taylor went somewhere for a math test this week. Dunno. Im here alone. I just watched some Moulin Rouge on tv, very nice. I havent seen it in a while. I was singing away lol. Hmmm... havent updated in a while. Oh Jillian text me today and said she wanted to talk to me about my history class. Well it turned into an hour convo since i havent talked to her in forever. And then i was walking to the UC this evening to meet Taylor and she was parked on a bench and she came to eat with us. Good times. Very funny convo lol.

I GET TO FREAKIN MOVE OUT!!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD ALMIGHTY!!!! HE IS WATCHING OVER ME! Goll i forgot to update about that. Yes i get to move out and also pay 3 months rent. Thats wonderful. The penalty to get out of your lease was 1-3 months and i got 3. The woman even told me there lenient on medical reasons and haha i didnt get any slack. I dont care though cause my parents made a budget and said that it would be cheaper to live at home than here. Im so excited!!!! Only like 4 more weeks here. Ive got like almost all my stuff packed already too haha. My dad is coming here thursday too and hes taking me and taylor out to dinner. Yay!

Hmm...

I FOUND OUT THE BACKSTREET BOYS ARE COMING BACK TO ATLANTA DECEMBER 7TH!!!!! AHH!!!! Well its xmas show Q100 has every year with Will Smith headlining and the Pussycat dolls. Ehh dont care about them, BSB are kings. Well i just happened to remember that Morgan owes me a fully paid concert haha. Im trying to get her to get these tix off ebay. Very good price. 12th row! Im gonna O all over myself lol.

I finished my history research paper which is great. I also got extra credit to do in lab which is great.

2005-11-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Long time no update...haha. Yes it is true i havent updated in a while. Ive been lazy. So me and Taylor put on wild makeup and fake eyelashes last night for halloween and wore our cute witch hats we got at walmart. They have stars and moons on them which u cant see in my facebook pic grr...

Hmm...I just found out today that in my gov. class u can only miss 3 classes unexcused and then after that he takes 5% off of your grade for each class u miss. Ive missed 1 a week for a while. Thats wonderful. There goes my grade. Poo. I finally find out if i can move out next semester this week. I put that crap in a month ago and Taylor put hers in last week and she'll prob get her reply with mine cause there mailing them. Poop. Totally not fair.

Hmm...what else to say....

Did i update about Sarah (other roommate) moving out? Cant remember but anyway she did.

Oh haha something funny. Today when i was walking back to my apartment I saw all these people in a crowd over by the library. There was this guy standing up on something and preaching with a Bible and there was this HUGE sign next to him that said in big red words, "Hell's most wanted" and it had this HUGE list of types of people. Well it had like normal stuff like drunkards, homosexuals, liars and yadayada but then such random stuff like psychics and masturbators, yes i said that and SPORTS FANS! Yes i heard people saying like Wha???? Yeah crazy stuff. Well there have been 4 men in this square vicinity at school attacking people with those little NT Bibles of Psalms and Proverbs. Literally they come over and ask u if u want one, each of them, numerous times. Very annoying. Well they were gone this afternoon andd the crazy man showed up. He also had a man with a beard next to him and im wondering if he was mormon or something, random i know.

Oh yeah and i got my first UTC parking ticket yesterday for 20$ yay.

2005-10-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sarah is moving out guys. No more boyfriend haha. The head of UTC Place came by and asked us some questions about her cause she left last tuesday and hadnt been home. Her mom called the school looking for her. She finally called us and said shes moving out. Shes here right now getting her stuff. Haha 2 potties. Im suppose to find out if I move out this week i think. Ive been waiting. I want an answer.

2005-10-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

woah really random but im pretty sure i bought creme savers at walmart today and i ate one earlier and i totally swallowed it whole by accident and started to choke. It got stuck in my wind pipe. I started freaking out and Taylor told me to drink water cause it would dissolve it. Goll it was so scary cause it wouldnt go down. I could feel and hear it when i drank a sip everytime. Man be careful guys, i thought i was gonna have to go to the hospital.

Yeah im pretty sure Sarah just left and had a bunch of crap with her to take to Nashville. She said she couldnt stay here anymore. She was like im transferring tomorrow. Well maybe not tomorrow. Shes not gonna be here next semester anyway cause she hasnt been to a class in 4 weeks. Not even kidding. Shes gonna fail so she wont be able to come back. Man i hope i get to leave. Im gonna go ask tomorrow when i get an answer from the school. Its been 2 weeks since i put in the form and i need to know so i can renew my parking permit or not. Crazy crazy. It wont be near as bad though if Sarah moves out next semester and its just me and Taylor. Ahh i wanna go home. I stayed an extra day this past weekend just because lol. Well me and Lauren went to a concert at 7th day adventist univ. for music class and i used that as my excuse cause i was like im gonna be back late. Haha i was home at 830 for desperate housewives lol. So i skipped class monday and then went back that night, which was great cause i was one day closer to coming home haha. Im such a dork. Oh it was so funny. At the concert I saw the guy that looked like Legolas from the Chatt Symphony. The only difference was he had cornrows, not very attractive.

Bombed my lab midterm today. Boo.

Ooohh Taylor and I just watched the new Cinderella dvd!!! I was so excited cause her parents got it for her the other day. It was great. Go get it guys. Awesome awesome.

Oohh its 1056, gotta get ready for bed. haha.

2005-10-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

i like cute boys. Just a random note lol.

Im pretty sure i called Christin last night and she was at bojangles in ooltewah with joey and zach. I swear that girl is in ooltewah more now that im gone than when i was living at home lol. Well anyway Zach picked up the phone and started talking to me. And he randomly was like, let me ask u a question. Did Christin tell u that me or Joey is a better kisser? And Christin told me later that she said, shes gonna say joey, and sure enough i did lol. He was like what?!?!?!? She said Joey laughed pretty hard. Good stuff lol.

Ahhh i might get to stay at home for 4 days this weekend! yay! Im so excited! If me and Lauren go to the concert at collegedale for music class then im just gonna spend sunday night and skip class monday cause i wont wanna go back to school that late. Haha its gonna be like 9 lol. Just an excuse to stay home longer so then friday will come quicker. Yay!

2005-10-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Well i think the last real entry i posted was from last weekend. Not much happened this week. Kinda boring. My first gov. test that i wasnt worried about was horrible. No one knew anything on there. That old man is so stupid. I got a 28 out of 60 which is apparently the class average. But anyway he curves ALOT so it turns out to be a C or so. Oohh i also found out he likes young, pretty girls eeww.

I have a bio quiz monday
a music midterm wednesday
a paper due wednesday

im so thrilled about all of the above.

OOHHHH I had a great 20 mins last night lol. Christin called me and said her and chris and joey were all at countryside and she wanted me to come join them but i had already eaten but she told me to come anyway. Well i wasnt gonna come but Joey took the phone and talked to me personally and asked me to come so i jumped up and drove 70 the whole way there. They were almost done eating when i got there but we all sat and talked for a bit. I also got to sit by him. Well then later on christin called me again and then i got to talk to Joey again. Haha. I also got his # in my phone. Good night i must say :)

2005-09-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

i love that christin and i sit and talk to each other on the internet like at 3 random times throughout the day and then call each other at night lol. We talk about such random stuff. Shes such a dork. Oh yeah, I win.

I turned in my stuff to move out at the semester. I kinda lied lol. I said my mom was having her surgery like later, not that she had it a week ago. Oh well, they said the school is lenient on medical reasons. I might have already posted that, dont remember.

I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE PUT STICKERS ON YOUR WINDSHIELD AT UTC. I LOVE HOW THEY STICK TOO. THATS JUST GREAT FOR CARS.

Great news!

2005-09-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

So i went home this weekend and my phone was about to die the WHOLE time, so i turned it off for a while. Well i turned it on today and christin had left me a voicemail. So i call her and she was like yeah u might wanna keep your phone on for future reference. And i was like why? And she was like just keep it on. I was like OK whose gonna call me!?!?! She said apparently that on saturday night she was hanging out with Joey and in a joking way she said he was ugly and he goes well u dated me and she goes, Cortney STILL thinks your hott! And he was like haha really? And he was like give me her number! So she gave it to him! haha!!! I love Christin Walker!

Oh yeah im pretty sure we got 2 meals tonight since my mom came home. Goll we have so much food and were suppose to get a meal every other day. SO MUCH FOOD. Im stuffed and i brought some back with me. Woo, no more food for me.

2005-09-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Went to Homecoming last night. It wasn't near as sad as i thought it was gonna be. Sad, but not TOO sad. There were alot of people there too. We lost 35-0 haha but i dont think i ever watched the game really. I was too busy talking to people and walking around. Man my feet hurt too. I sat during the presentation of the seniors but that was it. Haha Megan W was there! I was so excited cause i didnt know she was coming. Shes so funny. I got free stuff at the alumni tent too lol.

As always, there was DRAMA. I havent seen these people since graduation and there was such drama. Goll i somehow got involved in it. Well u could say i was dragged into it. Oh well. Thats Boyd Buchanan. I got to see everyone i wanted except Coach Brown! Man! I wanted to talk to him but i never saw him anywhere. Im so bored. Im suppose to go see a movie tonight with Ashley. Oh and i cant move out at the end of the semester. Poo.

2005-09-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Dad picked me up today and we went to eat at Jenkins in East Ridge. It was SO good cause ive been starved for vegetables. Tuna is running through my veins. I dont know if i'll eat it again for a while after this year. Then we went and saw my mom at the hospital. She had her knee replaced on wednesday. She looked good. Much better than when she had her hip done. That tore me to pieces. Shes gonna come home tomorrow instead of saturday which is good. I also wont be here which also good cause when she came home with her hip done, omword i bawled like a baby cause she was in so much pain. It took all the energy she had to get from the car to the couch and some of u know that the couch is not far from the backdoor. Well then jingle jumped up on her hip and she screamed bloody murder. Not a good time. She was cheerful though, not out of it too bad. Her eyes were slowly shutting though while we were there. So we decided to let her rest.

Homecoming is tomorrow! YAY! Im so excited to go back to school and see everyone. I miss it. I was thinking about that this week. About how much I miss Homecoming week and spending the night with everyone and taking 50000 million pictures. Its so sad whenever I go to a game this year cause im gone. My times over. Im not included in the 'school' anymore. I'd give my right arm to go back to Boyd. Its heaven compared to the hell im living in now. Goll this place is just covered inside and out with sin. I like UTC but not the people in it. I dont think i realized how bad people are until I got here. I guess i forgot about being at brown for a year.

I was talking to my parents about redecorating my room and using my beach stuff from my dorm and we somehow got on the topic of me moving home next semester if its possible but i dont think it is. I signed a 9 month lease but we pay per semester and i havent paid yet. So im gonna go see if i can come home sooner. Goll that would be great. Oh yeah im pretty sure Sarah hasnt gone to ONE class this week. She was also gonna go back to Nashville friday but she randomly said she had to go last night. She also brought a 25 year old divorcee with a child home with her on sunday. Apparently they took a bath together. He also bought her and taylor all kinds of alcohol, which they also got drunk off of. So he has a very loud speaking voice anyway but being drunk made it even louder and the walls are paper thin here. So about 1:30 tuesday morning while i was laying in bed cause i couldnt sleep, i finally screamed through the door, "WILL U SHUT UP" It got real quiet lol. If they didnt shut up, i was honestly gonna march out the door over to the RA's room and tell her that there was a 25 year old guy staying with us who was drunk and bought alcohol for underage girls. His ass would be back home to Nashville quick. But it didnt come to that. These people are messed up. Im a nun/angel compared to these girls. Ive never done half the stuff they do. Please pray for them and me.

Oh my dad told me that my uncle got a call from Iraq yesterday. Andrew's tank drove over a bomb. All we know is that hes going to a hospital in Germany. We dont know how he is or what happened or anything. Hes so close to coming home too. He was suppose to come home in November. Please pray that hes ok and that he'll be honorably discharged and sent home sooner. Man that would be great.

My first date!

2005-09-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Now let me just start off by saying in all honesty i didnt expect last night to happen. Christin had told me all week that she was mad at Chris for some stuff and that he probably wasnt gonna go saturday which meant Joey might not go, so i was like oh well, no date tonight lol. But lo and behold Christin called me and was like I have good news for u! And she said everything is back on cause Chris called me! WOO! I was so excited! So I got ready and christin came over and we were suppose to meet them at Bayside at 7:15 and we got there and waited. Oh yeah and we waited some more. They got there at like 7:40 or so. Christin was so EXCITED. Thats an understatement. When she saw Chris' mustang pull in she FLIPPED OUT. She was practically screaming cause she honestly didnt think they were gonna show lol. Well then me and Christin got to CRAM ourselves into the back of his mustang, which let me tell u is smaller than mine. I didnt think that was possible but it is. My head was touching the roof. So me and Christin have this whole night planned. Nothing happened that we wanted. We wanted to go to Mellow Mushroom for dinner and to the bijou to see red eye and we ended up going to Brick Oven and no movie at all. I'll get to that in a minute.

So we get out to go out and Joey helps us out of the back and i make him hold my purse and he was like, is this a good color for me? it was very funny. So we go and sit down. Well Christin made sure she sat next to Chris, obviously since it was a date and Joey sat by me. Random i know. So the whole night Joey and Chris played off of each other on everything that they said or did. They bothered the waiter for a while about the tea. Talked about their salads when they got them. Really random stuff lol. But I know they both picked on Christin all night. And as much as I hate to admit it, it was funny. I was already nervous and when im nervous I laugh at EVERYTHING hysterically. So Chris was really funny which made me laugh, I was nervous with Joey there, so i laughed and then they both picked on christin which made me laugh even more. I had to hold it in. I must of been smiling like a fool. But whats worse is that I kinda joined in the mocking of Christin which i shouldnt have. But anyway they thought it was so funny and they were like "yeah shes one of us now!" and gave me a high five. Made me very happy lol, sorry Christin :)

So then we ended up driving around to different movie theatres over by the mall and the boys decided we were gonna see Emily Rose at 10. Well me and Christin did not wanna see that at all and she kept complaining about it. Well then we randomly went to Walmrt to kill time. So we go in there and Chris and Joey walk in different directions for whatever reason and Christin follows Chris and I go find Joey and i was like hey i couldnt find anyone lol. And i finally got to talk to him alone for like 10 mins. It was good. He's very easy to talk to, i thought it might be awkward but it wasnt. Oh yeah and then Chris and Christin find us and all the sudden I hear, "Chris Whitaker!" and u will never believe in your right mind who it was. It was Morgan. Oh yes it was Morgan. Christin walked over and hugged her and started talking to her and i just completely ignored her. I didnt even acknowledge she was there. Christin told me Morgan goes, "Cortney hates me doesnt she?" and christin smiled and said yes she does lol. And then she gave some bull**** excuse that she tried to call me. OKAY YEAH SHE CALLED ME. I WOULD HAVE SEEN HER NAME ON MY PHONE THEN WOULDNT I? GOLL IT MADE ME SO MAD.

Well then she and her posse left. Oh yeah her hair was boy short with the whole underneath bleached. It looked horrible.

So then we drove back to the movie and on the way i told Christin what it was about and she was all excited to see it then and then the boys were like nah we dont wanna see it. So we went back to church and they dropped us off and they admired my car for a while since Chris has a mustang lol. And Chris shook my hand lol and Joey gave me a hug! A HUGE HUG. Like he completely covered me with his arms. It was great. He didnt hug Christin either! I was like wha? im special tonight lol. Im pretty sure i thanked Christin about 700000000 times for last night cause she got everything together lol. THANKS AGAIN! Great first date i must say.

It's a first for me.

2005-09-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well i finally at 18 years old have my first semi-date. I dont know why i keep calling it a date cause its not. Well it kinda is. See what i mean? Haha its kinda funny too. I had told Christin numerous times that Joey was so hott (its her ex boyfriend). So she was talking to him the other day and was randomly like hey u wanna go out with Cortney sometime lol? So me and Joey and Christin and Chris Whitaker are all going on a double date saturday lol. Quite funny. Its gonna be kinda awkward since im on a semi-date with one of my best friend's ex boyfriend. But she said it didnt bother her. I keep saying semi-date cause Joey told Christin to make sure i knew this was just a friends thing for right now, which i knew anyway. Im so excited!

I was so tired sunday night and i was literally about to put my head on the pillow and my phone started vibrating. I was like oh gosh i dont wanna talk to anyone, but it was Christin so i picked it up and she was like are u in bed lol? But i talked to her for like 30 mins or more and when i got off with talking to her, i could not sleep whatsoever. I had been so tired before and then i was wired for like an hour after that. I think were gonna go downtown and see a movie. But i already know not to get my hopes up. I HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT SINCE ITS NOT A REAL DATE. I mean i cant go in expecting anything can i? Well since its not a real date, if im shot down, its not like it meant anything cause there was nothing there to begin with. Right? I hope this doesnt tear me apart. I thought about it and this is like the first contact ive had with a boy, EVER. So obviously im somewhat excited cause im going on my first semi-date with a hott guy who may have some feeling towards me. Yeah thats real true since he barely knows me. Okay Cortney. And now im talking to myself. Im thinking WAY WAY too into this. Christin, i hope i dont pist u off. Thats not my intention and NEVER will be.

2005-09-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Holy crap!!!!! I just put Ryan Headden as one of my friends on Facebook and shows him and Kaci Dupree (remember the really pretty girl who left after like 1 semester our freshman year? really good friends with shelley?) are MARRIED. Holy crap there married unless its a joke. Thats just really weird.

So me and Lauren went to the Chatt Symphony last night for music class. Fun times lol. It wasnt near as bad as I thought it would be. I went and picked her up at 5 and we drove downtown, yes i drove on the interstate all the way downtown and back, i am very proud. Haha i got off on the wrong exit too, im such a dork, but we eventually found where we were going. So we parked and walked down to Sticky Fingers to eat and we got right in which was good except that had alot of time to kill till 8. We got the artichoke and cheese deep too that was wonderful. And I had a free coupon for peach cobbler that came in a MASSIVE bowl. It was so big, but good.

So we were walking down the road to the Tivoli and take into consideration we were dressed up majorly for this and im sure people were staring as we walked down the street in our dresses and stuff. But anyway we hear these 2 guys yelling at us in their truck trying to get our attention. And of course they have to stop at the light and so do we to cross so the whole time im trying so hard not to crack up and ignore them. They commented on Lauren's clear shoes too i remember that real well lol. Haha made me feel kinda good though cause that never happens to me. I must say i looked mighty fine last night too. I wore my pretty halter dress and i had my hair curled and it stayed!!!!! I havent curled my hair since Class Day and it didnt work out too well then cause it was too long. I dont even know why i did it last night either cause i knew it would fall cause it was so hott, but it stayed pretty well. It made me happy lol.
So then we bought our tix for 15$ since we were students and they were originally 48$!!!!! Thats insane! We also were seated in the 2nd row, which sucked cause it said on my music sheet to sit in the back cause u can hear better. So much for that.

So everyone comes out and then they start playing the national anthem and everyone stands up and me and Lauren are looking around like whats going on lol? And the pianist had NO music all night and was playing from memory. But the funny thing was that both of us could hear him breathing through his nose, HORRIBLY. It was like he had lots of boogers and his nasal passages were clogged and he was gasping for air. Cause it was like he wasnt breathing. He'd take huge breaths every so often and i was like dude, u can breathe, its ok lol. But the whole concert went by pretty quick considering we didnt have anything to watch technically lol. There was a semi cute guy in the orchestra who looked like Legolas though cause his hair was long and blonde and back in a pony tail lol. Lauren noticed that lol. It was a good night i must say. But my review is crap lol.

2005-09-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

Guys i want yall to please pray for Mrs Jones and her family. Her husband died in his sleep last week. If you remember he used to sub at boyd and she always said he had seizures and i think he was epileptic. Well apparently she went to go sleep somewhere else and he had a seizure in his sleep and suffocated. Apparently they have no money now, not even enough for a funeral. So please pray for them.

2005-09-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well school is good. Besides the monsoon we had tuesday. And for some reason i decided to wear a skirt that was flowy and the wind was HORRIBLE, so i was trying to hold my purse, umbrella and skirt down all at the same time. I looked like i was at boyd again. Yeah and i forgot i had on red underwear under a blue skirt. Classic day. I also got a coffee to get warm with that was only a shot and i paid for a medium cup. I didnt know it was a shot until after i got it. Pist me off.

I went to Government the other day and my teacher didnt show up. We had a prelaw club presentation which lasted 5 mins and its an hour and a half class. So me and a girl in there went to the UC and talked for a while. Good way to make friends i must say lol. I also found out a girl in my English and Music class is taking aerobics so ill know someone next week.

Oh yeah im thinking about getting my nose pierced! Im so excited about it cause im pretty sure im gonna do it. My roommate, Taylor, has it done and i was asking her about it when she went to buy new studs. Well then i started noticing alot of girls had it done and it looked so cute. Its so small too. Taylor said she could barely find the hole when she took her stud out. It looks like a little piece of glitter on your nose. Taylor said it didnt hurt either, but i dunno about that one lol. Its only 27$ at standard ink right down from my apartment. She keeps bugging me about it too for fun lol. But all of my roommates decided to get something pierced together. Taylor kinda wants her belly button done and i think sarah wants something in her ear. I dunno but i warned my parents about it. My mom was like, please dont do that. Why? Please dont do that lol. But its my money and my body and i told them dont be surprised if i come home with it done one weekend. They probably wont even notice. Ill keep ya posted.

2005-08-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

i wish the person who thought of research papers was alive so i could kill them myself.

Oh yeah i ment to update the other day but i forgot. I finished i love bsb, 100,000 times baby. I think it was tuesday or wednesday. So that was February 15 or 16, 2005.

2005-08-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well college is good. Not too much happening. One of my roommates moved out though, kinda sucks. We liked her too lol. Her first choice school called and said she was accepted like 3 days after we started classes. This school is where her fiance goes and its only 45 mins from her house and she lives in Memphis. She said she missed home like 3 days in after we moved. She had already said she wanted to go back home next year. She loved this school and Chatt just it was too far. Her fiance drove 4 hours last night to come take her back and move her. Isnt that sweet? Apparently she told him about all 3 of us and said i was the country girl lol. Taylor and Elizabeth started making fun of my accent a few days ago and when her fiance got here i said, Hi its nice to meet you and they both cracked up. I was like im from TN and i sound like everyone else. She said people dont sound like that in Memphis and i was like ookayy sure.

But anyway we had not 1 but 2 fire drills last night. It sucked booty. One was at 11:15 and i was glad i hadnt gone to bed yet and we waited like 20 mins outside before we could go back in. We hadntD been in the room 10 mins and another went off! I was pist. Its SO loud and annoying. So i got to to bed around 12:15. I felt real good this morning. Ohh the other day me and Elizabeth went into student information to ask about the library and this guy was working in there. So we talked to him and left. And he was cute too. Well then he shows up in my gov class, kinda weird how i have class with people i meet randomly. But anyway he sat next to me today and i got to share a w/s with him. He scooted his desk close to me. Fun stuff i must say. He was wearing a Rhea County shirt the other day so i assume hes from around here. His names Zach i think. Man that class sucks though. Its soo boring.

I went and ate lunch with Ashley, Drew and Jillian today though which was good. I was there for like an hour and a half too lol. Gotta shop this weekend! yay!

College life....

2005-08-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well i started college yesterday. Haha me and my roommates were all so nervous. I got up at 6:50 ahh, that felt real good. I left my apt at 7:30 to be sure i got there on time for my 8 class lol. I ended up getting there 15 mins early but there were people in there already too. I met 2 girls right when i sat down and we talked for a while. I made my first college friends lol. Well i had english at 8 and my teacher is very fun. She reminds me of Mrs Lane. Young, perky, cool. I have 5 papers to write over the semester. Then she let us out 3 mins late! I had Biology next and it was only downstairs but still i walked in and it was a 100 person class. The stadium seats scared me lol. Well i walked up the stairs looking for a seat and I hear, "Cortney" and i look and it was Jeremy Roper! Oh my goodness u should have seen my reaction lol. I was so happy to see him. I sat with him and he said Jimbo was in there too and then he came in late. And i saw Charles who graduated a few years ago and a girl from church. It was good. And then i went to Music class and i passed Jillian on the way there and i talked to her. I saw lots of people going TO class not FROM lol. Well music was in the new engineering building and it was a 100 person class too. It kinda reminds me of the IMAX cause the room was huge with a massive screen. Well my teacher was a nut lol. Its gonna be a good class. Its all about classical music and i have to go to 3 orchestrated concerts. Lauren Smith brown is in the same class on another day so we can go to those together lol. But anyway my teacher was dancing all around with music she played us and made us all get up and she took 2 people on the front row and did like a hoe down with them and made them dance lol. It was crazy. And then i was done for the day.

So then i met Taylor at the UC for lunch at 11 and then she left for class and Lauren Smith called me and said she was at the Bookstore and i told her i was in the UC so she came over and we talked for a while. And then i took her to the poster tent and i got 1 for my room and then we went to the Bookstore on vine st and she got her books. And then she drove me to my apt which was nice lol thanks Lauren.

And then today i had government at 8-9:15 which was SO boring cause it was a little old man who taught it but he let us out 40 mins early so i went and waited around till History and my teacher is a black english woman so she has an awesome accent. She let us out early too. And then i had my lab which was suppose to be 2 hours but it was only 10 mins lol. I had to meet Adam for lunch and that wasnt suppose to be till 1 so i went to the library and then he called earlier and we ate. I have alot of reading to do. I need to go do that now actually.

2005-08-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

So yesterday i went home for dinner and me and my dad went to Boyd for the football game! yay! Well there werent alot of alumni there. Well people that i knew at least. I talked to all the underclassmen lol. Lindley was the first person i saw and she ran over and attacked me lol. Rebecca came over and said hi and so did Mrs Roland. And Katlyn came over in the 3rd quarter. Shes coming over today to spend the night and were gonna go to fathom to see Bowling for Soup. I think we won the game last night. It was 20 to 3 when we left. I was so sad when i left. It made me see that Boyd is done. It wasnt the same. I followed dad to my apartment and he walked me in lol. I started to cry cause i miss home and Boyd and all and then i hear a knock on the door. I clean myself up and go and its Casey! Oh that made me feel so much better. I went over to her apt which was SO much nicer than ours. Shes so funny.

The Lord is watching out for me.

2005-08-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

So I moved in yesterday! yeah! i have lots of crap lol. All my roommates rock! Sarah, Elizabeth and Taylor. Ok let me just tell you. So i called Morgan Tuesday on my moms cell phone so she wouldnt know it was me and the first thing i said was, You better have a reason from the moon for why u didnt show up yesterday! and she goes what? who is this? and i go this is Cortney and do u know what she said? she goes Cortney who? I go Morgan what other Cortney do u know? And she hung up the phone. So anyway i moved in and Sarah is from Nashville. I told her about my story and she said that the Greenday concert had been POSTPONED. Not even kidding you. I dont know when the new date is but i might take her with me and then she can show me around lol. I swear God loves me lol. Dont tell Morgan though, i still want my money for what she did to me.

2005-08-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

im glad im suppose to be at my Green Day concert in Nashville right now. I would be there except for the fact that Morgan never showed up to meet me at the mall. I waited an hour in the heat for her and called her about 10 times. I called her house and her brother told me he had talked to her at noon when she was at work. That was the last that he heard from her. I am pist beyond belief.

Lasy dinner at home...

2005-08-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

We went out to eat to Olive Garden tonight for my dad's birthday today. He's the big 50 lol. Haha i noticed after the water was introducing whatever he was looking around making eye contact and when he did with me he immediately looked at my boobs! HAHA! Ive never actually caught someone doing it but i saw his eyes move down lol. Probably b/c i had on my sundress and it was somewhat low. No cleavage cause i dont have any lol but yes he looked. I thought it was funny cause he looked 30ish.

Gotta go get books tomorrow for escuela. Casey told me i could end up with like tons of books per class. She said she has one class with 6 books! I thought that was wild until Lauren told me she had a class with 11 or 13, cant remember which. Thats crazy. I never really thought about it actually. I hope i dont have tons of books to carry around cause i dont have time to go back to my apartment cause classes are back to back. Oh yeah i remembered that my first 2 classes on MWF are in the same building lol. One is upstairs and one is down. I wont be late for those hopefully.

Oh yeah i talked to one of my roommates and she said she was gonna bring an extra TV for the living room if i didnt already have one and i was like well sure! please bring! lol cause i just figured we'd all take turns putting our tvs in there if we wanted to watch together. Oh yeah and she doesnt smoke and shes bringing her car. I think she gets drunk though cause i read her away message one day and it said "getting hammered for the last time with my boys." Thats comforting. One of my other roommates is NOT bringing a car. Thats wonderful. No ones talked to the other one. Well i already decided that im gonna show them around town no doubt since im from here, but im NOT gonna be there chauffeur. Cause i hope the other girl brings a car. I dont mind showing them where stuff is as long as I dont drive every time. And i told Taylor, if one of the other girls smoke, im gonna tell them the first day that they cant go in there room and smoke with the door shut or go outside cause im not gonna have my stuff or myself for that matter smell like smoke. Too bad. Not in my house.

Im proud of myself!!! When we went bowling after Wendy's dinner rehearsal last week, i had my first witnessing conversation with the groom. I remember him cussing and i said, Clean up, get in church, in like a joking manner and he said something and then we got into this conversation. I was thinking *Yes Cortney! This is a time to witness! Do Jesus' work!* He's a *Christian* like he believes in Jesus and Trinity and all but it was this convo about living like your suppose to and churches and all. I tried to rub off on him. Hope it worked. I've decided its gonna be VERY important for me to be Christlike at school this year. I mean obviously I always try to be that way its just gonna be alot different since im not at a Christian school anymore. Influence and first impressions are key. And i also thought that the Christian husband I hope God sends me I meet in college. And then i realized college starts next week. Ive gotta get involved. Krista was right, where there is church and church stuff on campus, there will also be church boys there as well lol. The Baptist Student Union is calling my name already.

I miss Boyd :( .....

2005-08-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

Me and my mom went out shopping yesterday. I went to get curtains for my room and a pillow for my chair at walmart. I got a pillow but the curtains were poo so we left and went to look at Northgate. Well at Pennys, they had a very cute idea of white, sheer curtains with all different colors of ribbon hanging from the top, so they could blow in the wind. It was very cute and i thought it would be good if we could use red and it would match my room. So were gonna do that and see how it turns out. My room is now going to have like all red and blue. It was all pink and orange which i loved, but i found bedding i liked just as well as my original and it was ALOT cheaper so we sent it back and got 300$ lol. I got my bargain lamps in the mail too. Oh well at the mall i found a 36$ skirt on sale for $12.99!!!! Its so cute too! Very office looking. And then i ran into Katlyn and Joseph at Payless. It was good to see them cause i havent seen her all summer. She looked very pretty. They had just come from registration. She said the football games are gonna be played at home though, so thats great. One next friday baby, yeah! She said coach Johnston wasnt leaving as everyone had heard.

Um...we went out again today too. Lets see..went to Goodyear to get my car worked on, went to Walmart for curtain accessories, went to Khols and i might add they had the cutest earrings and shoes! I never like shoes there but they had super cute heels. I tried on like 8 pairs lol. And then we went to Michaels and we went to Moes! I liked it so much on my trip that i got my mom to come with me. Weve decided were gonna split a burrito next time cause i cant eat it all with the chips. Too much food. Im glad me and mom are going out more now though. I know shes gonna be sad when i move out. I know im right downtown and im done everyday by 11 and we can still go shop, but i know she'll be sad. Plus she has to have her knee replaced in September, so she wont be fully healed from that till Christmas or more. Oh and then we went to school to get boxes for me to pack stuff in. It was sad cause i wanna go back to school monday *tear*. Oh and then we went to get my last shot at the dr. Good no more shots for a while. Oh and i saw this guy from the side while i was in line at the dr who looked JUST LIKE Ryan Gosling, u know Noah from the Notebook? Yes he was beautiful. Tall, skinny, jeans and a tshirt and a ball cap on. He had the blonde hair, but his side burns were a little more curly. Haha fun to look at and see though.

Wendy and Ryan's Wedding

2005-08-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well the wedding went very well i must say. I went to get my hair done at 11 yesterday and Trish did a great job. It looked better than it did at Jr/Sr. I ended up taking out like 20 bobbypins last night though lol. So then i went to the house where we were getting ready and where the reception was at the Marina at 3:30. I went downstairs and found Wendy and put my stuff up. I did some of her makeup too cause she already had some on. But her hair looked great too. Well then i did Rachel's makeup, which i have to say, i think i did the best on her for some reason. I dunno why but she just looked emacualate lol. Well then i found out im gonna be doing her hair too. I kinda cringed cause she has a million layers in her hair. But I put it up and curled it and stuck some bobbypins in it so it just wasnt a ponytail. It didnt look so great but u couldnt tell cause her hair was dark. And i had like 5 minutes to do Jennifer's makeup cause we had to hurry and get dressed to do pictures.

Wendy looked beautiful in her dress and jewelry. So i think we all got put on our dresses and went to take some pictures. The pictures are gonna look great. The photographer took some of us upstairs around the column that had ivy on it and some in the bedroom on the bed and on the pool table! Haha those are gonna look great. It sounds odd, but it was very cute.

Well we were waiting to go down to the island and we look outside and its about to downpour. I felt so bad for Wendy cause i know she must have worried to death. But God must have listened because it didnt rain a drop during the ceremony. But anyway once she went, us 3 bridesmaids and Wendy's mom crammed into a golf cart and were driven down there lol. The 3 of us were hanging off the back. They took a picture too lol it was vert cute. Well then we started walking down to the end of the dock which was harder than i expected cause our heels got caught in the spaces of the wood. But it was all good. I got nervous when i finally had to walk cause i was first, lucky me. But everything turned out ok. Wendy looked beautiful when she arrived in the boat. They had a song by Charlotte Church playing that was very pretty. I was worried about her getting off the boat too cause the wind had picked up and her dress wasnt too poofy but it was heavy. She had 3 guys helping her off though and she said it wasnt any problem. I was expecting her and her dad to bawl the whole time but they didnt shed a tear. I was proud of her lol.

Everything went very smooth and it was so short too. It was like 10 mins if not less. I was nervous about the exit though cause we didnt practice that at all during rehearsal for some reason. But i went and grabbed Joseph's arm and walked out lol no problem. He was absolutely stunning in his tux but it was kinda a bummer though cause he didnt pay any attention to me at all. Mallory from school was helping at the reception and they were all over each other the whole time. I found out some not so good stuff from his sister about him though which is good i guess. Hes not so great. No future. No church. No virginity. Cheats. Too many no nos.

But then we had to wait afterwards to take pictures together. It wasnt soo bad our feet were killing us though cause the shoes werent comfortable. We were barefoot for the rest of the night though lol. We ended up taking the entire bridal party picture on the pool table lol. I realized i was the only person in the bridal party who WAS NOT a family member lol. Haha it was kinda funny now that i think about it. Well anyway me and Rachel didnt know anyone at the reception so we stayed downstairs and talked lol. They barely had any food though. They had ity bidy sandwiches, peanuts, mints, punch and cake. That was it. So we got cake, which was SO good and punch. I was really too tired to eat since i had gone to bed at 2 the night before and gotten up at like 8 and i couldnt take a nap cause i would have messed up my hair. So i think i left around 9:45 or so. Haha it was so funny cause Jennifer said she wanted a Krystal and i said that sounded good and when i got home my parents had gone to get some, not knowing i wanted any and got me 2 lol. I was so excited lol. Im gonna scan some bsb pics and somehow show them to yall lol. I think Lauren wants to post them with hers.

2005-08-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well Wendy's wedding is today. Haha 3 W's. We had dinner rehearsal last night. It went pretty well i guess. Im just worried about it raining today since its an outdoor wedding. Shes getting married at the Harrison Bay Marina right down from my house on this little island thats there. Its very cute. Shes coming in on a big boat and us 3 bridesmaids are gonna walk across the bridge/dock to the island. Theres a massive tent set up for everyone to sit under and all but i dont think theres gonna be enough room. Theres gonna be 200+ people there i think. Were all gonna sweat all our makeup off too. So hott.

Ohh well anyway the groomsman i get to walk with is ubercute!!!! His name is Joseph and he's Wendy's cousin. And then the other bridesmaid, Rachel, is his sister. Both Wendy's cousins are in the wedding and theyre brother and sister. Is that confusing? Well anyway he looks like Josh Groban. Super curly hair, kinda fair skinned. Hes very cute. But anyway all the bridesmaids had planned on staying the night with Wendy last night for a girls night and plus im doing everyones make up. It turned out better than i thought too. I was kinda worried but they all loved it so its all good. But we did all go bowling last night and the groom and an usher and Joseph went.

Well come to find out, Wendy said something to Joseph in the car before we went bowling. She goes, "So there were some girls that thought u were cute tonight." She did not say it was me and i asked his sister and she didnt say anything to him but he guessed that it was me! He said something like he thought he knew which one and was like is it that blonde girl? haha i cracked up but it freaked me out cause i didnt really say a word to him at the rehearsal. Well anyway she said he smiled and laughed and said something. But she said he seemed very happy so i dunno. He is from out of town though, Rome. Not too far but still. Well i got my hair did today at 11 and it looks awesome, i just hope it stays and my makeup doesnt melt away. But anyway it should be good. I'll update hopefully add pics later!