Happy New Year!

I will be in Georgetown tonight for a new years party at the Bennett's. I am sure pictures will follow. I hope everyone has a good night!

LOST

If you have watched all 3 seasons and want a good recap, ABC has one that is 8 minutes and 15 seconds (imagine that). If you have not seen all 3 seasons and are trying to catch up...DO NOT watch the recap, it will ruin it for you. This means you Brittney Bates. Don't be tempted to go watch it, just rent seasons 2 and 3 and get going on it :) You have a month to catch up.
As you can see it comes back on January 31st. I'm already planning the first LOST Thursdays (it is taking Grey's spot for now)

Complete Christmas Re-cap

I had a wonderful Christmas :) I spent Christmas Eve with my family. We went to church and then had a chili dinner, yumm! My sister is about to pop, only 6 more weeks until Baby Breck is here. I think we are all ready for him to make is debut.
Christmas day was spent with the Bates family for a wonderful diner! We had French onion soup, broccoli salad, twice baked potato's, asparagus and fillet mignon ...it was quite the spread. After that, I headed over to Jon's house to beat up on his mom and aunt in both marbles and rummy.
Then the day finally arrived....the day of the After Christmas Party! As I expected, it was a great success. Santa even made an appearance again this year. He must have been tuckered out from the night before, but still managed to come.
The next morning, E, Ria and myself had a hot date at Fazolis, followed by going to see P.S. I love you. Just fyi, it is not a pick me up movie. I thought it was almost depressing and really didn't care for it. Probably because I don't have a significant other that I can use to relate to it and I didn't really know any part of the plot going into it. On the other hand, my counterparts cried the entire time and loved it. So I say check it out for yourself, you may really like it.
Here are some pics from the party....some of these are mine, but a few came from Rias camera, she has a ton more.

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I will be having dinner with the Bates family and then playing games with the Holcombs a little later. My mom and dad left this morning for WaterColor so I am doing some house hopping for the holidays.
I love you all and hope you have a very merry Christmas this year....life is good.
I'm sure I will see most of you tomorrow at the after Christmas party :)

Postsecret

I JUST got around to checking this weeks postsecrets.
I love this one!

Countdown to the after Christmas Party

4 more days until the 2nd annual party. I am getting very excited!

Today I finalized the menu...

Sausage balls
Chocolate Chip Cheese ball
Dr. Petes praline mustard glaze over cream cheese (soooo good)
Captain Rodney's cheese bake (also, very good)

I'm sure E and Ria will bring some culinary creations of their own as well

The boys are in charge of drinks :)

This picture was taken at last years festivities

Kerry Tuttle...you need to come!

NYC Re-cap

New York was great! Our flight left at 6:05 so we got up around 3, yawn, it makes me tired just to think about. We got home about midnight, it makes for a long day, but is well worth the trip :)
Here is a list of all the fun things we did.
-Visited the tree at Rockefeller Center
-Went inside St. Patrick's Cathedral...so amazing
-Saw the snowman story window display at Saks
-Had pizza for lunch in Little Italy
-Rode the subway...everywhere
-Had Frroozzzen hot chocolate at Serendipity (Probably my most favorite spot in NYC, you can find there website here)
-Saw Times Square at night
-Went and visited our fat purple friend (see previous post)
-Went to Washington Square (This song is why I wanted to go)
-Went and watched the ice skaters at Bryant Park, we were going to skate but right as we got there, they closed the ice for a show :(

Here are a few pictures from the day. The entire album is on facebook. Try this link.

Dave Barnes Christmas Extravagana 2007

I posted last years Christmas Extravaganza a few days back. This is the 2007 edition. Too funny.

Crossroads Christmas Party Re-cap

Last night was the 2nd annual Crossroads Christmas Party. The evening began at Chipotle, Emily (my hot date) and I met the Bennett's for a lovely dinner. Then off to the party we went. There was Christmas music, desserts, pictures, friends, hot chocolate, and Christmas trees everywhere...what more could a girl ask for? After the party, and a stop at the gas station, we traveled to Target in search of a cute top we saw at the party (with no luck, we couldn't find it anywhere). I think Mark was about to kill himself by the end of the night, oh well, it was fun :) Here are some pictures from the adventure...Enjoy!

K-Tutt

So, last night at the Crossroads Christmas party (blogging with pictures to follow) I learned that the one and only Kerry Tuttle reads all of our blogs. This gives whole new meaning to blogging. Kerry was my small group leader in high school and my parents paid her to be my friend (well, thats not totally true, but its what we determined). Here is a picture of Kerry as well as some interesting facts taken from the Crossroads website. Ive even included her contact information if anyone wants to shoot her a quick e-mail.

How long have you been at Crossroads?
I've been at Crossroads since 2000.

What exactly do you do?
I support Student Ministries...so I do a lot of different things!

What is your favorite: a. tv show, b. band, c. food?
a. tv show - The Office and Grey's Anatomy
b. band - not a "band," but Keith Urban's probably my favorite
c. food - cheeseburgers!

Little known fact about you.
I prefer to eat "dinner foods" for breakfast.

If you could be on any reality tv show, what would it be and why?
I would be on Big Brother - it only takes place in the summer and all they have to do is eat, sleep, and lay out.

Contact:
ktuttle@xroadschurch.org
263-4633 ext 245

New York, New York

Last summer Britt and I took a day trip to New York to explore the city. After that trip I decided that I needed to go back during Christmas to see all of the decorations. I'm pretty sure we have decided on Tuesday (December 18th) for the trip. One of the joys of having a friend that works for Delta is that I can fly for dirt cheap. Our flight will leave Lexington at around 6am and get home sometime around midnight. It makes for a great day. I'm really looking forward to it :)

Also, just a little known fact about this fat purple guy you see below. Maria met this little fellow a few years back when she ventured to the city. He resides in the ToysRus in Times Square. I made it a point to go find him when I was there and say hello. Emily just returned from New York and also went to say hello. I will have to stop in this trip and see how his holiday season has been going ;)

Im also just noticing that he appears to have had some work done on his head. It seems that when Maria first met him he had 3 "antlers" on his head. Now he only has two. Hmmm, it seems like everyone is turning to plastic surgery these days, literally.

The After Christmas Party

The party has officially been set for December 26th...here is a picture of the invitations I have been working on. They will go out this week!

I figured it out!

This post is mainly for Emily and Maria but I thought I would share anyways. I figured out the song during the ending credits of the Nanny Diaries. I will be adding it to the i pod in hopes that a dance party will ensue at the after Christmas Party! It is called Shine by Laura Izibor you can find her myspace and the song here.

This picture is a perfect example of why NOT to be a Florida fan.

Too funny!

Diaper Cake

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to attempt to create a Diaper Cake for Kristin's baby shower on Saturday. I think it turned out pretty cute. I used green and red ribbon seeing as it is nearing the Christmas season :)

Mocha Club

Nashville was great, as usual. I am already itching to go back, I just love it. If you are friends with me on Facebook or MySpace you may have already read this blog. I just wanted to post it on here as well. This is at the forefront of my mind because Wertz and Barnes talked about it at the concert on Saturday. Also, check out the video :)

So, heres the deal. A few months ago I got involved in something that has the potential to be life changing for thousands of African women. It's called Mocha Club. The concept is that you give up 2 mochas (or anything that you don't need) a month, which equals roughly $7, and you give it to a cause that is greater than yourself. My initial thought was that $7 a month really wouldn't do much good. I was amazed to find out that....

WHAT CAN $7 DO IN AFRICA?
In the U.S., $7 = 2 mochas

In Kibera, Kenya, $7 =
3 meals in a day for 9 orphans

In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, $7 =
1 school term for 2 children

In all of Africa, $7 =
clean water for 7 Africans for 1 year

Its amazing that such an insignificant amount of money in America can go so far in Africa. The real decision for me to get involved came when I found out the specific project that the money was going toward. Right now they are building "The Village of Hope." Which is a safe place where women who were once sex slaves of the LRA (militant rebel group in Northern Uganda) are given a second chance at life. There are a total of 500 of these women who will benefit from the Village of Hope - some will live there and all will use the medical facility, the job training center, the school and all the other facilities - and the money raised through the mocha club is used for just that.

For me, this demanded a response.

For more information, check out www.mochaclub.org. I'm sure that website can explain the whole thing in a more clear and concise way. Feel free to also message me if you have anymore questions. The website is set up as an online community. If you want to join, we can start a "team" and partner together with however many people want to join us. Whether its mochas, diet cokes, eating out or movies, I encourage you to prayerfully consider giving up something you dont need to help these women. We are so richly blessed!

Matt Wertz just got back from Africa, and wrote an update on the progress of the Village. Check out the blog at www.myspace.com/mattwertz or his website at www.mattwertz.com and read it.

Thanks for reading

Nashville!

I'm Nashville bound for the weekend to see a Wertz and Barnes show. Also getting the chance to go to a Titans game! Be back Sunday night...Have a great weekend :)

Dave Barnes Christmas Extravaganza

Dave Barnes recorded this last year and the holiday season just isn't complete without it...enjoy!

Reverting to Childhood

I may be 22 years old but I think this movie looks so funny. Be sure to watch the entire trailer, the last few seconds are hysterical.

Dancing Queen's

I won free dance lessons tonight from a local television station. Brittney will be attending dance class with me :) Our first lesson is on Wednesday the 5th at 5:45...should be an interesting. Now if I ever become a celebrity, I can dance on Dancing with the Stars and not looks like a goof ball. I like to dream big.

Happy Thanksgiving!

While I really love Thanksgiving I am even more excited to finally be able to put up my Christmas decorations! I am in WaterColor this week for the holidays but you bet your bottom dollar that when I arrive home Sunday night I will be transforming my house into a winter wonderland. I just love it:)

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving...let the Christmas season begin!

Excitement for the Nursing student

Look at these scrubs I found online tonight! Next semester I will FINALLY be doing some work in the hospital and Im pretty sure I need this scrub top. Too cute :)

This top is from a company called Peaches. My first scrub top was peaches and they always have cute prints. Now if I can just find Lilly Pulitzer scrubs I would really be happy!

Happy Birthday Tim!

Today is Tim's 24th birthday! We celebrated last night after we finished our Friends Thanksgiving feast. Here is a picture of the birthday boy blowing out all 24 candles on his cake!

No Parking

There is a new no parking sign outside my house

But Mark Bennett doesn't care...

Tim suggests we replace it with this...

But I'm pretty sure that would be a felony

If you go to Crossroads or even if you don't, be sure to be in attendance this weekend. Yours truly, along with my red headed counterpart (Emily) will be singing in the choir! We had practice on Monday night and again tonight. I knew I was in a little over my head when they started dividing us up by alto, soprano, etc... I have no clue what category I would fall into, we just signed up because we thought it would be fun. We are singing U2 "I still havent found what Im looking for" and a song called "To God be the Glory." Should be fun!

Just had to share....

Because I am pretty sure that my sister is the most beautiful pregnant woman in the world...

Paula Deen and Extreme Home Makeover

Paula Deen was great! She was too funny and we even got to see her cook. After Paula we went and had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory...always a good decision.
However, what happened after dinner will probably rank as one of my top 10 best life experiences. There is no way that I can type out the entire story in a clear way so I will just sum it up. Maria had heard that Extreme Home Makeover was filming in Louisville that weekend. She knew that one of the projects they would be doing was to renovate the U of L marching band field (the little boy that they were redoing the house for was in the band). We made our way down to the field mainly to see if we could see the set. It was clear when we arrived that they were done filming there for the day. We got out of the car and talked with Richard, the security guard. He ended up letting us onto the field to take pictures on the giant painted Extreme Home Makeover logo! It was really neat. After that, he gave us directions to the home site and the next thing we knew we were outfitted with a t shirt, hard had, lanyard, vest, light wand and work gloves! They had us helping direct traffic with the security team. We also got the chance to go into the "production crew only" area. We saw all of the designers trailers as well as Ty's personal tent that he makes his secret projects in. We were allowed to take a picture of the tent but our flashes had to be off so no other security would see. I think what made the night so fun was that it was so random and unexpected. We were certainly not dressed for the occasion in our flats and sweaters (we couldn't go into the house because of our shoes), but it was still great! The episode will air in February...be sure to tune in :)
Check out Maria's blog for more pictures!



In the shuttle on the way to the work site

Outside the house

Ty's Secret project tent!

In the VIP tent

Today is the day ya'll!

I'm leaving the house to go see Paula Deen! Wahoo. Pictures to come.

I have been substituting at LCA on Fridays. Today I taught 5th grade. I am exhausted and have a new found respect for Emily, Maria, Lynsie, Brooke, Ashley and all of my other teacher friends. Now I am going to take a nap.

It's about time...

Photo taken in Miami last night

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - After weeks of speculation, U.S. singer-actress Jennifer Lopez has confirmed that she is pregnant, People magazine reported on Thursday.

"Marc and I are expecting a baby," the 38-year-old singer told the audience on Wednesday night during the last stop on a joint North American concert tour with her singer husband Marc Anthony.

After the announcement to an audience in Miami, Anthony shrugged his shoulders, caressed his wife's stomach, then leaned over and kissed her belly.

"I didn't know she was going to talk," he told the crowd.

The Miami show marked the last stop of Lopez's first concert tour.

"This is a special time in our lives," said New York-born Lopez, who has sold 17 million records worldwide and released six albums. "And we waited until the last show to tell you."

Lopez, who has been married three times, tied the knot with 39-year-old Anthony in 2004.

Fans of the singer started sending notes of congratulations to the star.

"Thanks for sharing with us your personal life. Congratulations!," wrote Glenda Santiago on Lopez's page on social networking site Facebook

"How does the library work?"

Tonight E and Diva (Britt) came over for dinner. I made chicken and rice casserole, creamed corn, crescent rolls and cookies. It was yummy! Shortly after dinner was over Britt asked E and myself "how the library works." After E and I caught our breath from laughing, we decided a field trip to the library was in order. I'm pretty sure we rocked Britt's world as we explained how the library worked. When it came time to try and find a book she looked confused when no card catalog could be found. I have no clue when the library quit using card catalogs, but I know it has been a good while. All in all it was a very educational trip. Britt and I both walked out with brand spankin' new library cards and she checked out the Nanny Diaries.
My favorite portion of the evening came when I finally got Britt to watch LOST. We got through the first 4 episodes! At the end she was requesting previews to the next episode...I think she is hooked.