A Million Thanks

How I came across this, I'll never know (it may have been during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - but I'm really not sure). But, there is a young high school student named Shauna Fleming who started a national campaign called A Million Thanks. A Million Thanks collects and distributes letters of appreciation and thanks to our current and past military service members as part of National Military Appreciation Month (NMAM). NMAM is celebrated every May and A Million Thanks hopes to collect at least a million letters each May.

I absolutely HAVE to contribute and I'll be taking my letter to one of the many auto dealerships in St. Louis that has volunteered to collect the letters for Shauna. I urge you to do the same. Check out the website and see how you can send your "thank you" letter or card.

Interviewal

I asked the Dancing Star to interview me and here's how said interview went:

1. What has been the most important lesson you have learned in the past year?
As selfish as it sounds - to always look out for yourself first - look out for numero uno. I don't enjoy sounding selfish, but if I don't look out for myself, no one else will. This doesn't mean that I am 100% selfish, but I will always take care of myself first and then I will focus on others in my life. I have learned that I give too much of myself with nothing in return. That's over.

2. Where do you see yourself in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years?
1 year: I'll, most likely, be right where I am now. I'll be working full time at the local electric company in a clerk position, working on my house and going to graduate school.
5 years: I'll have my MBA, I'll have a management position at work, I'll be married and I'll be starting my family.
10 years: I'll be a married mother and a career gal enjoying life to the fullest.

3. What do you do as a treat to yourself when you have a bad day?
Nothing too special. I usually get some ice cream, veg out in front of the TV and then give myself a mani/pedi. That's my bad day ritual.

4. Having just gone through a breakup, what advise would you share with someone going through the same thing?
This sort of goes with my answer to number one. The best advice I can share is to worry about YOU. Take care of yourself. Go out and get your hair done. Buy new clothes, makeup or shoes or whatever makes you feel special. Make sure you are happy with yourself. Then, and only then, will you be able to move on. In the end, you're going to be broken up regardless (que sera sera - what will be will be) - why not make the best of it. If things work out and you rekindle the relationship, at least you know that you were always happy and that you can respect yourself after the stormy period.

My mother always taught me to think about how others perceive me. She always told me not to do anything that I wouldn't want my parents or grandparents to know about. So, in order to keep myself on track, I tend to believe my grandma is looking down on me (I want her to be proud of me), so I don't do anything that would make her think ill of me. That ties into the end of a relationship because people tend to do some crazy things during a breakup (I tried not to).

5. What is your most precious memory?
Now that's a tough one...I have so many. As lame as it sounds, I just miss being a kid and sitting around the TV at night with my brother and my parents. We usually made a large bowl of popcorn and watched TV together at night (during the week). I probably hated it then, but I think back and that is one thing that I miss a LOT.

Now, I know that my answers weren't written too well, but get over it! :0)

Love y'all!

Weekend Debriefing

So, it was another busy weekend. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I'm feeling a little worn out now.

So, Friday I came home and watered all of my plants and flowers. Then, I went to bed early because I had a throbbing headache. I woke up around 1:00 in the morning because of said headache and I sincerely considered drilling a hole in my face next to my nose to relieve all of the sinus pressure. But, I figured then I'd have to spend a little while in the ER, so I decided against it. I finally got back to sleep around 5:00 and didn't wake up again unti 11:30 (not good).

My friend, Lisa, called me around 10:00 Saturday morning to see if I wanted to go with her and her son to see Shrek the Third. Obviously, I didn't get the message until after the movie was over and I was bummed! I love her little boy - he's adorable and boy does he have a personality. Plus, I wanted to see the movie. Agh, oh well. Instead, I went outside and mowed the lawn (not so smart when your allergies and sinuses are already bothering you). But, I moved the lawn, weed whacked and cleaned off the driveway. Then, I headed to the backyard where I did pretty much the same thing. Then, I turned my sprinklers on in an effort to persuade my front lawn to turn a bright shade of green - but he's stubbornly resisting. I still see some dead tan grass. Anyway.

Then, I went inside, took a shower and did the dishes. After I cleaned a little, I gave myself a mani/pedi. Fun times!

Sunday, my momma and I went shopping (it's our Sunday ritual). I bought all kinds of goodies at Home Depot (like two hose caddies, tons of accent grasses, a hibiscus tree, a door mat, a beautiful red gerbera daisy and paint for the exterior of the house)! I took momma out to eat at Applebee's (which isn't my favorite restaurant, but it was good). When we got back to her house, she transplanted my daisy into a coco hanging pot and then Koko and I left. Sidenote: any time I go to my parents' house, I take Koko because she loves to play with my parents' dog and run around in the yard. Plus, I don't like to just leave her at home since she's home alone all day everyday during the week.

I got home around 7:00 and I put all my plants outside and I watered everything. Then, I kinda straightened things up and got things ready for work today. Finally, I made myself a snow cone (with my ice shaving machine - I LOVE THIS THING). Before I went to bed, I read a little and then finally fell asleep. And, ta da - I'm here at work! Gotta love life.

See, I've been so busy, but I can't seem to account for my time - straaaaange....

Tagaliciousness

I saw this nifty little meme at Dancing Star and Not So Everyday Mom and thought it looked like fun. Especially since I turned 18 in different years than these lovely and talented ladies! Even though Lisa thought I'd be the first to post this, I have to shamefully admit, I was not. Durnit!! I feel bad now. See what happens when you neglect your blog???? Oh the humanity!


Here goes:


1. Go to www.popculturemadness.com

2. Pick the year you turned 18

3. Get yourself nostalgic over the songs of the year

4. Write something about how the song(s) affected you

5. Pass it on to 5 more friends



I graduated high school in 1995 (at the ripe old age of 17) and I turned 18 in October of 1995. So, here's what I found for 1995.

1. Boombastic - Shaggy: I had such a thing for Shaggy's songs. I loved the Jamaican thing he had goin' on. That's hot!


2. Any Mine of Man - Shania Twain: This was my "I am woman, hear me roar" anthem of 1995. This song helped shape the expectations I set for "any man of mine".


3. Here Comes the Hotstepper - Ini Kamoze: This wasn't necessarily a good song, but it was a good dance song and it really pumped us up. I remember pumping this song LOUD and just lovin' it!


4. Waterfalls - TLC: I just loved the message this song sent. It was beautiful.


5. You Are Not Alone - Michael Jackson: (oh Gawd, what's wrong with me?) Yes, I know, I'm sick. But, this was actually a fairly good song by MJ. I have it on my iPod to this day. But, that's only because I had the CD from 1995 - I didn't pay for it again, seriously.

That's it...there were tons of other songs, but seeing as how I LOVE music, we'd be here all day if I was to list all of the songs and how they affected me.

So, now it's your turn. Go do this now!

Busy Bee

I've been going crazy lately. I feel like I've been neglecting my little blog. I should be arrested for parental neglect!

But, really, I've been busy at work and at home.

Here are just a few of the things I've done at home in the last month:

1. Removed my old 10' x 10' aluminum shed
2. Removed my 18' x 38' above ground pool
3. Had two guys with a 15 ton truck haul away a truck load of stuff from my house (including the pool, shed and a trampoline). Just know that the truck was completely full when they left.
4. Renovated my old gas light in the front yard
5. Shopped A LOT!
6. Spring cleaned my house
7. Cleaned out my pantry, linen closet and office
8. Cleaned out my basement and organized it (getting ready to go get new carpeting)

But, that's not it, I've been doing other stuff too. I can't think of everything right now, but it's been so busy.

I have so much to get caught up on with blogging - I swear I'll be back.

And, Lisa (Dancing Star), I haven't forgotten about your interview questions - I'll get them to ya, I swear it!

Tagorous

I've been tagged by Brian at This Perfect World for the Seven Things Meme - thank you Brian!

So, here are seven things you may not know about me:

1) I don't, nor will I ever, have wisdom teeth. (yes, I stole this one from you Brian).
Luckily, when I was a teenager, my dentist told me that I don't have roots for wisdom teeth, so I'll never have them! I was more than ecstatic to hear that news seeing as how my mouth is too small for the teeth I do have not to mention that wisdom teeth cause way too many problems and require extraction n' stuff! Woo hoo!

2) I was born two weeks after my actual due date - and my mother was in labor with me for 48 hours.
Apparently, I didn't want anything to do with this wretched world. And, I must admit, my attitude hasn't changed a bit during the 29 years I've been here.

3) I am a horrible swimmer.
My dad taught me to swim at the YMCA pool by our house and he says that I couldn't keep my mouth shut long enough to actually learn to swim. He kept telling me to close my mouth or I'd drown. I just couldn't do it though, I really wanted to talk - it was far more important! I mean, I know how to swim, I'm just not very good at it.

4) I assaulted the dentist with a syringe full of Novocain.
When I was 5, I was in the dentist's chair having a cavity filled (which kinda goes hand in hand with something else you may not know about me - I have horrible teeth because I have very little enamel on them - my dad has the same problem - but don't worry, I don't have nasty teeth, I take very good care of them). Well, when the dentist came at me with the syringe full of Novocain, I flipped out and my arms started flailing around like a fish out of water. During my temper tantrum, I hit the needle and it stuck in the dentist's hand or wrist. The dentist quickly ran from the room while the nurse tried to calm me down. Afterwards, I can remember the nurse saying, "Now see what you did to Dr. Linehan?" I didn't care!

5) I don't cook because it's too messy.
I am obsessive-compulsive about my hands (I wash them about 15 times a day, maybe more). My whole day will be ruined if they get dirty and sticky. Therefore, I don't cook most things because I'm bound to get something on my hands. When I had a barbeque at my house, my mom had to form the hamburger patties because I coudln't bear to do it. I can't wear gloves either because then my hands get sweaty and that defeats the whole purpose of wearing gloves.

6) I am adamant about my daily routines/schedules.
I have a daily routine or schedule if you will and if I get thrown off by just a few minutes, I get very crabby. As long as it's something I've planned, I'm fine, but if something happens and I'm thrown off of my routine/schedule (which is planned out every morning in my head), I go apeshit!

7) I'm an only child.
While, yes, I have an older brother, I am technically an only child. My brother, Sterling, was actually born to my mother and her previous man. She met my dad when my brother was still a baby. My brother has never met his dad and he considers my dad to be his biological dad. My dad also considers him his biological son. They've always been father/son, it's never been any different. He's always been my brother, not my half brother.
I won't even get into the other half brother and half sister I have (from my dad's previous marriage). Let's just say I don't even consider them to be half siblings.

***WARNING: Baseball Talk Ahead***

Okay, I have been good and I haven't been writing much about the Cardinals lately and that's only because we aren't doing anything this season. We pretty much collapsed after winning the World Series.

After a LOT of agony in the last couple of months, I finally heard where one of our tenured players is as fed up with our lack of performance as I am. I love this man, I wear his jersey to lots of the games and I love what he has been saying. Read this article and tell me he's not an awesome Vet to have on any team!

Let me take this opportunity to tell the Cards to start from scratch. Start over TODAY. We're in LA playing the Dodgers - let's start playing like I know we can! I know, absolutely KNOW we can do it. Just wake up, pay attention and play ball!

LET'S GO CARDINALS!!!!!!!! It's time to rally, so turn those caps and let's GIT. R. DONE!!!

Musical Phases

Okay, so I go through little phases where I focus on a few old songs and that's all I listen to for a little while. Well, here's my "tops" list on my iPod right now (meaning the phase I'm going through right now).

1. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
2. There Goes My Life - Kenny Chesney
3. Are You Alright? - Lucinda Williams
4. Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts
5. Patience - Guns N' Roses
6. Ain't That a Shame - Fats Domino
7. I'll Stand by You - Carrie Underwood (I remember when the Pretenders first came out with this song, I absolutely LOVED it, I was so excited when Gina Glocksen did it on Idol this year! Awesome song).
8. Don't Matter - Akon
9. One More Try - Timmy T (remember this one Linlee???)
10. Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
11. Ooh Child - Beth Orton
12. I Tried - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony feat. Akon
13. Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
14. In My Mind - Heather Headley
15. Lips of an Angel - Hinder
16. Unfaithful - Rihanna
17. It's Your Love - Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
18. Photograph - Nickelback
19. Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny
20. Far Away - Nickelback

Okay, before you say anything, I know these aren't ALL old songs, but these are the songs I've been listening to the most lately. Has anyone noticed the amount of songs I listen to lately that refer to cheating? Maybe now I just realize what they're about because I'm listening for it. I've never been one that's too much into lyrics, I'm more of a music girl.

I remember one of my music classes in college - the professor said that most people in the world listen to lyrics, while only a few listen to the actual music being played. I have to say - I have always listened to the music being played. That's why I like a lot of classical music - plus one of the songs on the list above doesn't have any lyrics. It was pretty neat - before she mentioned that, she played a series of songs and we had a quiz on what they were about. I honestly couldn't answer one question - I was the only one in the class. I thought I flunked big time. I felt like a complete heal - turns out, I was the only one that got an A.

Music is something I just feel.

Interviewage

Over at Skittles' Place, she offered to interview folks - so I opted to have her ask me a few questions.

Here are her questions with my answers:

1. Where were you born and raised? How old are you?
I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. I was actually born in South St. Louis City on October 30, 1977. When I was five, we moved to South St. Louis County where I lived until I was approximately 24. Then, when I was 24 my parents and I moved to West St. Louis County. Finally, in June of 2006, I bought the house in which I grew up in South St. Louis County. That’s where I am now. I’m 29; I’ll be 30 on October 30, 2007 at exactly 10:11 pm.

2. Tell about a really happy time in your life.
I’d like to think that all of our family vacations were really happy times in my life. We’ve gone to Disney World (two times), Daytona, Destin, Mackinac Island, Wisconsin, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, Canada, Boston, Washington D.C., New York, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and a few other places I can’t even remember. They were all awesome vacations and I miss those.

3. Name your favorite animal, then describe how you are similar to it.
I suppose I’d have to go with either the wolf or the white tiger – both my favorite animals – both absolutely beautiful animals. I’m similar to a wolf in that I tend to travel in a pack. I don’t like to go places or do things alone, so I always have someone or a group with me – a pack so to say – as do wolves.

And, I guess I could say that I’m similar to a white tiger in that they are rare and often misunderstood as am I. Now, I know white tigers occur when inbreeding produces offspring – but no, my parents aren’t related that way – so don’t even think it! Just put that out of your mind right this second!

4. What's your favorite thing to wear if you're spending the day at home?
I tend to wear sweat pants or work-out pants and a t-shirt - seeing as how I'm usually doing something around the house if I'm spending an entire day there.

5. What accomplishment are you most proud of and why?
I would have to say that I’m most proud of graduating from college and that I’m continuing my education with graduate studies. The reason I am so proud of this is because I’ve never been too fond of school. I’ve never been the studious type. As a matter of fact, I always hated school. I hated school so much that I skipped over 45 days my senior year of high school. And, I skipped so many classes my freshman year of college that I got kicked out of a very good school. To be honest, no one thought I’d ever graduate and no one ever thought I’d go to graduate school. And, I even graduated with a 3.0 (after messing up my record with tons of F's from skipping).

If you'd like me to ask you some questions, go right ahead and comment here. I'll send you some questions and you can ask answer them on your blog. You can't tag anyone, but I can certainly ask for volunteers - so that's what I'm doing! My questions will be different from the questions asked of me.

Little Miss Sassy, Jr. - Baby Shower

Saturday, my momma and I went to Little Miss Sassy's baby shower. I will have pictures - but I have to have them developed first. I didn't have any batteries for my digital camera (or enough memory), so I just took my 35 mm. Once I get the pictures developed, I'll post them.

The shower was very nice. Her mom held it at the Pasta House, which was absolutely awesome. The food was awesome, the cake was awesome (which her mom brought), the guests were awesome, the Pasta House staff was awesome, everything was AWESOME! I was very excited for her. She got some lovely gifts that will certainly help her when Little Miss Sassy, Jr. arrives. She even got cool St. Louis Cardinals stuff for the little one - who wouldn't love that?

My mom and I had a fantastic time and I don't think it could have turned out any better.

Congratulations to Little Miss Sassy and Little Mr. Sassy! I can't wait to meet Little Miss Sassy, Jr.! She's going to be so unbelievably adorable.

Josh Hancock

Hi guys...I actually have a few minutes to post a few things. Go figure. I have been so freakin' busy lately and now that I think about it, I can't figure out what I've been so busy doing. Strange, huh?

Anyway, just a little about Josh Hancock.

Early Sunday morning, April 29th, Josh Hancock (middle relieving Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals who was a key member of our 2006 World Series Championship bullpen) was instantly killed when his rented 2007 Ford Explorer struck a flat-bed tow truck that was parked on the highway assisting another motorist who had struck the median.

We were to play the Cubs Sunday night, however, the game was postponed. This all brought back painful memories as we just lost another teammate in 2002, Darryl Kile. If you'll recall, Darryl Kile died (of a coronary artery blockage) in his bed at the hotel in Chicago when we were in the midst of a Cardinals-Cubs series. It just strikes me odd that we're always playing the Cubs when one of our active team members dies. Think they're bad luck to us? I do.

Hancock, who just turned 29, was alone in his SUV at 12:35 am when he struck the tow truck. St. Louis Police Chief, Joe Mokwa, stated that Hancock died upon impact. The driver of the tow truck, however was not injured. Chief Mokwa also stated that Hancock was driving at or just above the posted speed limit.

Days later, it was discovered that Hancock had been driving under the influence and was on the phone with a female acquaintance at the time of the crash. Hancock's blood-alcohol level was 0.157 - nearly double the legal limit in Missouri. Police also found 8.55 grams of marijuana along with a glass pipe in the vehicle. An accident reconstruction team determined that Hancock was driving 68 mph in a 55 mph zone.

On May 1, details surrounding another minor drunk-driving accident in his GMC Denali three nights earlier were released. This minor accident was the reason behind Hancock driving a rented Ford Explorer.

Granted, I don't agree with his driving drunk, but I am very upset over losing another active team member and such a promising Pitcher. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and teammates. My thoughts and prayers also go out to Cardinal Nation as a whole. It's very upsetting to lose an active team member, not to mention one with a bright future ahead of him.

RIP JOSH HANCOCK - WE WILL MISS YOU DEARLY