Sometimes I only wear clothes for the accessories.
Happy girl I was today.
Archives for 2010
Before Midnight
Today we went on an adventure. The date kind of snuck up on us.
We got a little confused on the doors
But made it through
Walked somewhere…
…that had big buildings
and a really cool sculpture named Firebird
The building is brand new and modern and pretty
And has a really cool name
We sat from this view for 2.5 hours
Until the end…
…of Cinderella Ballet.
Walking out, we glimpsed the cast going downstairs for an autograph session. They didn’t look out of place at all.
The girls were a little excited to see them
If you can’t tell…
But the clock struck 12 and it was time to go home…
P.S. While I appreciate the talent we saw, apparently I’m not a fan of ballet. It’s the second one I’ve been to in Charlotte and yeah, not for me. However, seeing Lexi squee when Prince Charming came on stage was totally worth it.
Hot Blogger Calendar 2011
So, wow, I just found out that I was nominated again for the Hot Blogger Calendar. I didn’t expect that! Now that I’m in the list of nominees, I’d LOVE to do it again. Going to New York with Dani and Heather was seriously one of the best times I’ve ever had. The trick is voting is ending soon. Please go vote!
In any case, I’m honored to be nominated and THANK YOU for whomever was responsible!
Friday Funny
Me: Lexi, is today your make-up day at school from Wednesday when you were out?
Lexi: What? I get to wear make-up at school today?!
And They Meet – Part Deux
What a week! Kaitlin and I met Monday and then Denise and I met last night!
Denise and I met just a few months after I started onetreehillblog.com in 2007. We found so much in common with our thoughts and opinions of One Tree Hill, we became fast friends. Somehow I convinced her to start the OTH podcast and these days her podcast is the OFFICIAL OTH podcast and she’s running more podcasts than I can remember. On the flip side, she’s the one that encouraged Kaitlin and I to start up a podcast for Friday Night Lights. Like Kaitlin, she’s one of my best online friends and it was a pleasure to finally see her face to face.
She works for the women’s basketball team (among other things?!) at Western Carolina and they were in Charlotte for some games. I was happy to visit with her for a bit at her hotel. While there, we decided to do a vlog for OTHblog. I posted it there but I thought you might enjoy it as well.
With Ribbons She’s Ready for Kindergarten
We take Lexi to register for Kindergarten this fall at lunch today. In true second-child fashion, I’m not nearly as emotional or worried. Mostly because Lexi is not emotional or worried. She got so excited yesterday when she found out she’d get to go to Emma’s school today. She thought she’d be playing on the playground and eating lunch there.
Ok, got distracted writing this post. We are back from registering. All nearly a non-issue. She’s excited to start. She passed her tests with flying colors. I remembered a mom last year at Emma’s meet-the-teacher. She was relaxed and not asking a single question. She had two older children at the school and it was old-hat. I felt a little like her today.
Except when we walked out and Scott carried Lexi to the car. She hid her face in his shoulder to keep from the cold and grasped her new hair ribbons whipping in the wind behind his back.
My baby’s going to Kindergarten, ya’ll.
American Idol Top 20 – Girls
Wow, they are making it really hard to watch this season.
Crystal Bowersox – Thank the Lord that she was well enough to stay in the competition. I seriously don’t know if I could stand listening to the girls without her. I think the judges said it best when they said she is raw, natural talent. There are no airs with her. She’s just good and she gets up there and does what she knows how to do. So refreshing.
Haeley Vaughn – Way to take a song that most people don’t respect and make it worse.
Lacey Brown – As pitchy as she was, I like Lacey and like her voice. I think it was a good song choice. To me it just seems like while her voice has a lot of potential, she has very little control over it. She needs a lot of experience.
Katie Stevens – Even though the song is younger, her voice is older. Still no star quality from her.
Didi Benami – Man, I really want Didi to do well but that version of Lean on Me was horrid.
Michelle Delamor – Honest to goodness, I just had to look up who this girl was. Obv forgettable. However, I think Michelle does have moments where you think she could really have it. I just don’t like the way she changed up With Arms Wide Open.
Lilly Scott – She was fantastic tonight for me. She’s unique and confident and talented. Yes, please.
Katelyn Epperly – I know the song was slow but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. My respect for Katelyn went up about 10 notches after watching her video and seeing her on piano. She has a gorgeous voice and I really loved what she did.
Paige Miles – I think I was right last week when I said she got the shaft a little from the sound problems and being first. Paige is really talented. I’m not sure I can imagine her as the winner of American Idol but she definitely is a talented singer and seems to be a really cool person.
Siobhan Magnus – I don’t think anyone knows what to do with Siobhan. She’s quirky and has the weirdest sense of style I’ve ever seen. But I don’t think you can deny she has an amazing voice. Wow.
My favorites from tonight were Crystal, Lilly, Katelyn
I think Haeley and Lacey are in trouble.
Suze, Can I Afford It?
I had a hair-brained idea last week to email Suze Orman for the Can I Afford It? segment on her TV show when I kept waffling on whether to head to Texas in May with Kaitlin for the Beyond the Lights celebrity golf tournament.
To give a little background, Suze is a financial guru and has people call into the show that want to buy something that’s way outside their budget…like a $10,000 ring for their wife that wants it for no other reason than to keep up with the Joneses or a $250,000 sail boat they’ve wanted for 20 years or a $500 brief case for a new college graduate just because. It’s stuff outside your budget that is a definite WANT not a NEED and callers ask if they have the extra cash for it.
When I announced I was doing this but not for what yet, I had several guesses. Mom guess adoption but guess what? I KNOW we can not afford that. Someone else guessed a new car. Boring! Someone else guessed plastic surgery. You think I’m going to ask Suze Orman if I can spend thousands of dollars on bigger boobs? I’d rather not feel the wrath of Suze in front of several million people.
Yes, the celebrity golf tournament is silly but it’s unique, not too extravagant and definitely a want, not a need.
Anyway, the trick is “extra cash” is very loosely defined. Someone may have 100K in the bank but if they’re getting ready to retire, she won’t let them spend it. As a viewer, it’s a game to see if you will approve it or deny it like Suze based on the financial stats that were given.
So my deal is the Beyond the Lights celebrity golf tournament is a fundraiser that cast members Brad “Buddy” Leland and Kyle “Coach Eric Taylor” Chandler started to benefit charities that support folks with spinal cord injuries. It’s a one day event that includes the golf tournament, dinner, a silent auction and a concert. The tickets are $200, my plane ticket would be about $300, hotel about $130 and then some spending money. I’m guessing it’s going to be about a $700 trip. It’s not a $250,000 sail boat but it’s not a drop in the bucket for us either.
The golf tournament is held in Austin where FNL is filmed and most if not all of the cast will be at the tournament. And since this is the last year of the show, it may be the last time so many are in Austin together. I’d put this off another year but I really think if this is something I’m going to do, I need to do it this year. Fringe benefits are I’ll have another weekend to hang out with Kaitlin, I’ll get to visit Texas and help a charity! It’s win-win for everyone but our bank account!
I got an email the same day from the show that they were interested in my story. Just a week later after a finished budget and lots of answered questions, I was on hold waiting to talk with Suze. All of that explanation above was a lot to get out in a fast-paced phone call with Suze Orman. Her assistant said they were excited about my request because it was new and different. She wanted me to have fun with it and really try to convince her. I was nervous.
All the callers were lined up in a queue and I just sat and waited for Suze to activate my line and ask me what I wanted to buy. I didn’t get much explanation at all in and I didn’t hear her ask one question quite right and probably looked silly on one of my answers but I came away mostly unscathed. The best news? She said I could go!
I’m waiting on an air-date so you can see how it all went down.
What would you ask to buy?