I have compiled a list of things to do before I leave Abilene.  I have the next 34-40 days to complete all the things on this list and would LOVE for you to join me in crossing something(s) off the list!  (Also, I am still accepting suggestions!)  So...if something catches your fancy...or if you have never done one of the activities on the list before...leave a comment, message, or write on my wall and we will make a plan!


  • Go to the Zoo and feed the giraffes!
  • Frontier Texas
  • Feed the ducks/geese (if they haven't all flown away)
  • movie @ the Paramount
  • Eat at The Beehive
  • Eat at Lola's & Deutschlander's Catfish Co. in Buffalo Gap
  • The Water Spout (with Leslie?)
  • Eat sushi takeout from Bonsai at the Mahfood's house
  • Go to Cypress Street Station with friends
  • Game Night with friends
  • Get coffee with various friends
    • Rachel Brown
    • Kelsey Evans
  • Go for a walk around ACU's campus
  • Go to Mary's Palataria
  • Eat at Harold's
  • Eat at The Pizza House in Clyde
I have a weakness for pop music and music awards shows.  
Here are my relatively short responses to the many performances.
  • Rihanna:  The dramatic nose dive into the floor was the best executed part of her performance.  I love her music; it is quite catchy.  She just hasn't quite perfected singing live.
  • Enrique Iglesias: Did anyone else see when the words his lips formed didn't match the words my ears heard?  That laugh was the only redeeming part of this performance.  Well, that and his good looks.
  • Blackeyed Peas: Congratulations to the guy with the mohawk - he finally got a (brief) moment to shine.  But...the guy with the long hair didn't sing at all, did he?  (Notice I don't know either of their names...but I know Fergie and Will.I.Am)
  • P. Diddy's new trio:  The rapping seemed forced...but those ladies can sing!
  • Miley Cyrus - Boring.  Neither a train wreck or anything special.
  • Kid Rock: Sappy ballad with cheesy background pictures.  Strangely, he was one of the only ones (the only one?) who had a pitch perfect performance
  • Katy Perry:  Vastly overrated.  Am I the only one who notices she can neither sing or dance?
  • Justin Bieber:  Hello, puberty!  Yeah, I'm pretty sure his voice cracked multiple times.  What was up with the crazy necklaces? Also, I think I saw him lip-singing a little bit at the end. (A word on his acceptance speech: a town of 30,000 is not the smallest town in the world.  I'm just sayin'.)  (A word on his second acceptance speech: With all due respect (to Michael Jackson, not you Justin!), I am pretty sure you might be overestimating Michael Jackson's influence just a teeny tiny bit.)
  • Bon Jovi: Please stick to singing your old songs - then we are all singing loud enough to drown you out.  It's nothing personal, you're just getting old.  Also, when singing old songs, ending it a different way than usual will result in an awkward moment where the crowd almost drowns you out with the original ending.
  • Pink: Thank you for having a sense of humor...and butchering the ending of your song...all while pregnant.
  • Ne-Yo: You are so very smooth...but I was a little confused by the Broadway musical feel.  That said, he can both sing and dance.
  • Taylor Swift: First, the straight hair and bangs makes you look much older...and a good bit like Hilary Duff.  Second, this was a better performance than usual, but you still aren't very good at singing live.  Third, never ever ever sample (and ruin) a song like "Apologize" again.  Ever.
  • Christina Aguilera: You have an amazing voice and I love you for it.  That is all.
  • (Aside: Rascal Flatts - you are starting to look ooold.)
  • Usher: You are quite the dancer.  Sadly, you can't sing perfectly while dancing.  I appreciate your willingness to change the melody or not sing at all to make it easier on your audience's ears.
  • (Aside: MUSE WON!!!  I love them dearly.)
  • Train:  What possessed you to wear those skin tight glitter pants?  Also, please work on your stage presence - it is just...weird.
  • (Aside: Michael Buble, did you really call your fiance "Kid"?  Yuck.)
  • Ke$ha:  You are strange.  I hate that your music is catchy because every fiber in my being wants to hate it.  Your scantily clad blond mullet men will surely hunt me down in my nightmares.  Creepy.
  • Santana:  You still got it.  Gavin Rossdale:  Not so much.
  • NKOTB & BSB:  Not the best vocal performance, but a fun walk down memory lane.
Okay, I have such a wide variety of interests...truth be told, I love dancing (although only at home in front of my dog!) and I have enjoyed watching So You Think You Can Dance in the last year or two.  I've especially enjoyed this season...there are few people that I don't really enjoy watching.  But last night's show was closed by one of the most fun-to-watch performances I've seen on the show - a hip hop routine by Alex Wong (accompanied by the show's All-Star Twitch).  The thing is, Alex Wong is trained in ballet...not hip hop.  Last week fellow competitor Billy Bell also did hip hop and showed us that, really, not everyone can do it!  It was obvious he was not cut out for it.   This week, however, Alex Wong put on an exhilarating performance that seemed quite natural, actually.  Between this performance and last week's (which the judges labeled the best performance on the show in all 7 seasons), Alex has quickly become one of my favorites this season.

You should take the time to watch this performance.  Of course you might not like the music...but if you can't recognize the awesomeness of this routine...well...our friendship might be in question.  :)


Well, it's been far too long since I've blogged about anything.  Why not start off slow with a Freaky Friday post?  I know you've been dying to learn something strange about me.

If I ever see a trash bag on the side of the road, I always wonder if it contains a dead body and look carefully to see if that might be possible.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I blame it on my love and (excessive?) consumption of crime shows on TV.  Between CSI, NCIS, and all 3 (soon to be 4) Law & Orders (not to mention any other TV shows or movies), it is no surprise that this would become a gut-reaction.  If I move to a bigger city (which I almost certainly will) I wonder if this will become a bigger problem...or if I will actually spot one!  Yikes...
I am sorry, but I can't resist posting this.  This is my first attempt at identifying a doppleganger, but I think I'm spot on!  Let it be known that I really liked Lilly Scott and think she was kicked off American Idol too early.  Also, I love The Princess Bride.  With that being said, I hope you enjoy and get a good laugh out of this.


“Now the story today, of course that everybody’s talking about, it’s a big story, is the health care reform bill….If you listen to the left it means free vegan candy for every single man, woman, and unicorn in America.  And if you listen to the right it means we’ve been enslaved by socialist overlords and apple pie is now illegal.  I don’t listen to either side.  I’m too busy listening to Lady Gaga!”

Thank you, Craig Ferguson, for making me laugh yet again.



I woke up with this song in my head.  It's been one of my favorites since Fall of 2008.  I enjoy this live recording of it although it isn't quite as haunting or dark as the recorded version, in my opinion, which I prefer.  But it's the only video I could find and it's still awesome...so...this will suffice!

I do thoroughly enjoy Nickel Creek...
I hope you do as well.







"I Should've Known Better"
It's been a long time comin' and the cards were stacked.
It's been a long, hard road to hell and back.
Your love meant trouble from the day we met.
You won every hand, I lost every bet.

Now you'd think that I should've known better.
Now I think that I should've seen it come.
My heart sank when I read that letter.
It sank like a stone, it sank like a stone.

A cup of cold coffee, yesterday's mail.
A bad love like this is always bound to fail.
Your love meant trouble from the day we met. 
If you want your things, they're on the front step.

Now you'd think that I should've known better.
Now I think that I should've seen it come.
My heart sank when I read that letter.
It sank like a stone, it sank like a stone.

All alone in my kitchen.
All alone in my head.
Somethings you can't take back, once they've been said.
I don't know what this love is for.
All I know is I don't want it anymore.

Now you'd think that I should've known better.
Now I think that I should've seen it come.
My heart sank when I read that letter.
It sank like a stone, it sank like a stone. 
Parents go to great lengths to teach children safety.

- Put your glass in the "safety zone" (at least that's what my parents called it) so it won't spill and break.
- Look both ways before crossing the street!  If you are a child, hold someone's hand.
- Don't eat Halloween candy that is homemade or prepackaged.
- Put away your toys lest someone trip over them!
- Wear your helmet when you ride your bike.  Wear all protective gear when you play sports.
- Stranger Danger!  Don't talk to strangers...or associate with them at all, really.  Don't take their candy, don't tell them your name or address, nothing. 

Of course there are plenty other ways we learn to be safe as a child...but those are a select few.  As we grow older, we learn more and more ways to protect ourselves.  We learn the rules of driving, we buy insurance...auto, health, homeowners, flood, etc.  We choose the best neighborhood we can afford with the best schools for our children, trying to shelter them from the evils of the world to the best of our ability.

So much of our time and energy is spent protecting our well being and preserving our material possessions.

As Christians it is important for us to be responsible with what we have given and use it wisely, not wasting it or essentially throwing it away.  It would be foolish to do otherwise.  

However, it seems we have become obsessed with our own security, making it a sort of idol that we seek over most (if not all) other things.  We have reach the point where we do not even like thinking or talking about death because it is the epitome of insecurity.  We don't really know what happens in death other than everything about our lives as we have known it is stripped away.  

Our preoccupation with self-preservation has, not surprisingly, turned ourselves into incredibly self-centered people who try to distance ourselves as much as possible from the danger of the world.

The sad thing is, the dangerous places are the places most in need of grace and redemption.  The dangerous places are the places where the love of Christ is desperately needed and, quite frankly, the places Jesus would probably be were he alive today.  

What are we to do as Christians if not love those whom Jesus would love?  And how can we love them if we do not even go where they are?  And how can we love them if we are told (and believe!) we shouldn't even talk to them for fear of what might happen?

This isn't the most well-written or thought-out of blogs.  But it is prompted by the events of the day.  Today I got my first glimpse of domestic abuse.  I am ashamed to admit that I considered not calling the police for fear of what might happen if they figured out I had reported it.  I did call the police.  Which, I suppose is a good first step.  I can't stand by and watch someone get hurt without doing something about it.  But isn't that the bare minimum?  Isn't that something that most anyone, whether a Christian or not, should and probably would do?  Making a phone call is a start, but it is only that.  I am still protected by distance and anonymity.  I am not really sure what this means for me...or even how to move past sheer good-doing to actual loving.  But I know it is something that I really should think through - in fact, must think through if I am to take being a Christian seriously.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  It is time to step out of the safety zone and into the path of the cross.