The Blind Side

Last night, I went to go see the blind side with my boyfriend. I absolutely loved it! I had expected it to be a drama, and while it had its drama moments, it was more funny than anything. They mixed a good amount of humor with the difficult issues Michael Oher faced. The movie is about Michael Oher who is an 18 year old black boy from the slums. When he gets into a private christian school, by help of the coach, he is found wandering around because he has nowhere to stay. The Touley family takes him in and provide for him, until they realize he has nowhere else to go and allow him to stay there permenantly with them. Over time the family comes to love him and accept him as their own, including the children. In order to play football, Michael must bring up his grades, seeing as he had a starting GPA of 0.07. His teachers all help him and he eventually brings up his grades and starts to play football. He becomes one of the best players on the team and the high school goes on to win the championship because of michael. The Touley family adopt michael and persuade him to go to college at Ole Miss, where the whole family has gone. To get a football scholarship from any school, he has to bring his GPA up to a 2.5. When he graduates, he has brought his GPA up to a 2.52, thanks to a tutor, and goes on to play football with Ole Miss. He then goes on to the NFL to play for the baltimore ravens. The movie was a great movie and I suggest it to anyone.

12 Good Reasons to Sleep In

I love sleeping in. So when i saw this prompt to write 12 good reasons to sleep in, I thought "heck yea"!!

1. You are tired

2. you stayed up all night studying

3. you have a hangover

4. you are sick

5. you worked late

6. you got beat up

7. you just had surgery

8. you just want to sleep in

9. you need to catch up on sleep

10. you havent slept in days

10 Jobs I Am Interested In

Here are 10 jobs i am interested in.

1. Paranormal Investigator

2. Parapsychology

3. Archeology

4. Disney World Actress

5. Comedian

6. Fashion Designer

7. Real Estate Seller

8. Editor

9. Broadway Actress

10. Teaching theatre

Things I Have to Do When the GM Isn't at Work

Things I feel like I have to do when the GM isnt at work:

1. Boss people around nicely to get them to do something
2. clean almost everything cuz no one else will
3. multi-task doing things
4. Be the adult
5. be the nice employee to the customers
6. work twice as hard to get everything done
7. run around like a chicken with no head
8. keep the peace between employees

I don't know why everyone slacks off when the GM isn't at work. I shouldn't have to tell a bunch of teenagers and young adults what to do at work. they know their job and should do it because they are getting paid to do it. its just ridiculous!

My Name Defined

A- awesome

S- shy

H- heartfelt

L- Laughable

E- Exciting

I- Imaginative

G-Gregarious

H- heteroclite (departing from the standard or norm; abnormal; anomalous)

Christmas

I'm so excited that christmas is just around the corner. This is my favorite holiday of the year because of all the excitement and mostly because of all the awesome decorations. I love going around neighborhoods and looking at how people have decorated the outside of their house. All the lights are brilliant and stunning and really captivate me. My neighbor down the street goes all out for christmas and about over does the light scheme. Every inch of their house is decorated in lights and the yard is full of blowups and more lighted objects. We only put up a few things because my dad won't get up on a ladder to hang lights from the roof. But that's okay because it makes taking the decorations down easier. My boyfriend and I have decided to make a date out of going around to the neighborhoods and seeing the lights! He hasn't done this in a while, so I'm excited that he wants to do it with me. What I really am pumped about is what I am going to get for christmas. I haven't asked for anything because this is the first year I haven't seen anything I really wanted. I've been too busy with work and school that I haven't had time to look through ads, or go to the store, or watch tv to browse all the news devices and things. I do know a few of my gifts because I have picked them out, which has made it easier on my mom since I didn't tell anyone anything I'd like. I'm counting down the days until I can rip open gifts and see my boyfriend open his gifts from me. The clever little thing has figured out one gift I've gotten him, but he will be shocked when he opens his other one. I hope everybody has a wonderful christmas!

FINALS!!!!

Now that its down to the last two days of actual school, finals are just around the corner. I am so nervous because I have to find time to study, while dealing with my work schedule. Since I have been promoted, I am getting more hours which makes it difficult to find time. But I am super pumped that it is the end of this semester! I am ready to get these stupid finals out of the way. The only final I am really really worried about is my history exam. It's just like the other tests we've had, and its not cumulative, but it's still going to be hard. My mind has even taken stressing to the next level and has invaded my dreams! I had two dreams last night about taking my finals. In the dream, I had 10 daily start up questions that I had due at the final, yet I had no idea this was the case, and I freaked out because I didn't want to get an F for the class. So I asked the guy next to me if I could copy his and he said yes which took a little bit of the stress off. Its funny because in reality in history class, I don't have start up questions, and when I woke up, I was relieved. I also had dreams about other finals, but I can't remember them as clearly as the history final dream. I guess that one stuck with me because its the main one to worry about. Well, toot-a-loo for now!

Christmas Questions

15 More Christmas Questions Survey

Are you going away for Christmas? - nope i am staying home
What are you expecting for Christmas? - hmm idk... i didnt ask for anything lol
Is Christmas your favorite holiday? - yes it is...i love all the lights
Do you like to decorate the tree? - sometimes, but mainly i like to keep it simple
Where do you put the tree in your house? - in the corner of our formal living room
Do you watch Merry Christmas Charlie Brown every year? - no
What is your favorite thing about Christmas? - all the lights
What is the best Christmas you have ever had? - every christmas
Are yoou spending Christmas with family? - yes and my boyfriend
Do you beleive in Santa Claus? - not since i was like 8 or 9
Do you always look in your stocking at Christmas? - uh yea! theres always goodies in there
How much money will you be spending on other people this Christmas? - like 150 dollars
Are you going to a Christmas parade this year? - no i missed it for work
What is the best Christmas present you ever got? - a huge red luggage bag
What state are you spending Christmas in? - alabama
Do you text Merry Christmas to everybody you know? - no i hate mass texts

Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com
http://www.quizopolis.com/survey/6801/15-More-Christmas-Questions-Survey/

ABC Survey

A - Age:
19

B - Bed size:
twin with extra long twin sheets

C - Chinese Food Dish:
vegetable lo mein

D - Dentist name:
dr. owens

E - Early Bird or Night Owl?
night owl most definately

F - Favorite color:
blue

G - Gold or Silver:
silver

H - Height:
5'4

I - Ink as in tatto's you have:
1 on my wrist in white ink

J - Job title:
Marco's Pizza shift leader and official dough slapper lol

K - Kitchen Meal or Restaurant?
usually its a kitchen meal

L - Living arrangements:
at home with my parents

M - Month of birth:
february

N - Nicknames:
nic, nikki, ash

O - On time or late:
before time lol

P - Pet Peeve:
lying, and smacking

Q - Quote from a movie:
"What freightens you more stepmother that I am common or competition?" ~ Ever After

R - Right or left handed:
right handed

S - Siblings:
1 sister and 1 brother

T - Time you wake up:
usually 6-6:30am on MWs and 7:30 on TRs

U - Urgent thing on your to do list:
study for finals

V - Vegetable you dislike:
beets

W - Wishing for:
all A's this semester...but i fear 1 B

X - X-rays you've had:
foot

Y - Yummy food you make:
grilled cheese and tomato soup

Z - Zoo Favorite:
the monkeys :D

Promotion at Work

I found out the other day that my general manager wants to give me a promotion at work. This is exciting because there are certain advantages to being promoted to shift leader (basically a manager). One good advantage is that I get an increase in pay. Right now I make minimum wage which is $7.25 an hour. This is a really good minimum wage, considering just two years ago it used to be $5.50. Now that I am going to be in management, I will be getting paid $8.00 an hour! This doesn't seem like much of an increase, but considering its more of a raise than some people in regular professions only get raises of a few cents every year, I am pretty darn happy. This will help with my car insurance payments and my loan payments every month. Another advantage is only one other person has the power to tell me what to do. Now I don't have a problem with authority, but when someone is being rude about what needs to be done, I get a little agitated. I can now be firm but nice about what needs to be done, which makes me think that alot of people will respect me as a shift leader at work. One disadvantage of getting this promotion is that there is more responsibility. I will have to keep everything going smoothly, deal with customer complaints, and close the store. I've only had to deal with customer complaints at times, but other than that I am completely lost on what to do. Another disadvantage is that it will be weird telling people who are 40 years older than me how what to do. Of course I will respect them when I ask them to do something, but if I were in their position, I would be a bit jealous and mad. Other than these few things, it really is an honor that I would be even an option to be a manager at 19 years old. Hopefully I will do a good job!

Paranormal Experiances

I've had several paranormal experiences that have led me to believe that ghosts are real. I think these experiences have also increased my interest and terror of the subject. I love watching the shows like Paranormal State and Ghost Hunters which make me nervous and on edge, but fascinate me. One time, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom which was right across from my bedroom. When I came out of the bathroom, I thought I heard two woman voices downstairs, which was odd because everybody was asleep. The voices I heard sounded like my mom's voice and the lady down the streets. It was really odd that they would be up that late, talking in the dark, but I shook it off anyway. When I woke up in the morning, I asked my mom if she had been conversing with the lady and she said no. This really freaked me out because both my parents had jobs and sometimes we were left home alone.
There was another moment, that my dad told me about, that happened in the same house. My dad was coming home one night and us kids were all asleep. He said he heard someone run from his room and down the hall, as if we had stayed up past our bedtime and were trying to get to bed before he knew. Well, my sister had put the chair back in my parents room and turned the tv off before she went to bed. When my dad entered his room, the chair was pulled back out in front of the tv and the tv was turned on with static on the display. This story really freaked me out and needless to say, I didn't really feel comfortable staying home alone anymore. I think this ghost has been following me too because I have had things happen to me in the house I live in now. Its really creepy to think something is following us and that I always am the one to notice it first.

Brothers

Me and my boyfriend went to go see the new movie Brothers the other night, and it was fantastic. It was a good mixture of intensity and comedy. It was about one man named Sam, who was in the Army and was about to deploy about to back to Afghanistan.His brother, Tommy, has just gotten out of jail and leads a less than significant life. Their father wishes tommy would be more like his brother, which leads to major fights between the two. Sam and his wife have two little girls, who are sad about their father deploying again. Sam is fine with going back to Afghanistan because he has been over so many times that it feels like another home to him. When Sam deploys, tommy starts helping out sam's wife with his two nieces and fixing up their house. The family is told that sam is dead and the wife and tommy have a bit of a connection with each other, but nothing but a kiss happens. Sam is captured overseas by a rebel group and is put into a holding cell underground. He urges the other captive to not tell the people anything. Sam remains strong but the other guy is weak and succumbs to them. In a very dramatic and intense scene, Sam is forced to either kill his comrade or be shot to death. Under intense pressure and emotion, Sam chooses to beat the other guy to death, which causes him to loose his mental stability. After a while, he is rescued by other soldiers and is on his way home. When sam returns home, he has lost his touch with reality and is punishing himself for killing his friend. He also suspects that his wife and tommy are having sexual relations with each other, which they are not. At one of the little girl's birthday parties, the other daughter is dying for attention and blurts out that her mom and uncle tommy has been having sex all the time (which is not true). This leads to the climax of the movie where sam goes postal and about kills his brother. He is arrested and is sent to a mental hospital to get better. In the final scene, sam reveals why he is so stiff all the time, because he killed his friend.

7 Signs Its Time To Take A Bath

lol I found this one on the creative writing prompts thing, and since it made me laugh, I decided it should be a fun one to blog about. Have you ever met someone who just really needed to take a bath, but you didn't want to be rude and say it? Yea, so have I. Or have you given the person bath and body products (the nice kind that comes in a basket or something) for their birthday or for christmas in hopes that they would use the stuff? Well, I haven't because I always think they are going to make a big deal out of it and then the truth would have to come out. Well, here's a list of 7 signs its time to take a bath.

1. You stink- If you smell and other people are noticing it too, please, do us all a favor and take a shower. No one wants to smell your stink!

2. Your hair looks/feels greasy- This one is a good sign as well that you need to take a shower. If it looks like someone rubbed a bat of grease all up in your hair, its time to take a shower. If you can see your reflection off of your own hair, its time to take a shower. ( lol i kinda feel like jeff foxworty saying things like that, just without the "you might be a redneck" part).

3. People cover their noses you when you are around- Ok, you know something's really wrong when people naturally throw their hand up to their noses when you walk by or are speaking with them.

4. Your skin starts to feel greasy/rubbery- Have you ever taken a shower at night and then the next morning your skin feels a little rubbery? Well, I have. I immediately have to get rid of that feeling because I feel dirty, though in reality its just from sleeping in warm covers. But if your skin feels major rubbery/greasy, please take a shower and relieve yourself.

5. Your skin is a different color than you are supposed to be- When you are supposed to be white, and you look like a mexican because of all the dirt on you, take a shower.

6. Majority of your gifts for christmas or your birthday are bath and body products- This is like everyone's way of saying, take a shower stinky!


7. Your hair is so flat, it looks like it was painted to your head- Don't let your hair go limp and flat, take a 5 minute shower and blowdry your hair for a little volume.

25 Things That Happened to Me This Semester

In honor of the end of my first semester as a sophomore, I thought I would write about 25 things that have happened to me throughout the semester. They may be happy, funny, sad, kinda depressing, but overall they will be the past and things that I have learned or grown from.

1. Had a really crappy job at subway as a closer
2. Learned my dad could transfer his GI bill to me
3. Had several breakdowns due to stress
4. Quit my job at subway
5. Got a job at Marco's Pizza....a really fun and stress free job
6. Made new friends
7. Reconnected with old high school friends
8. Learned to blog
9. Got a wonderful boyfriend
10. Paid for most of the dates...only because he is trying to pay his dad back for medical bills
11. Laughed so hard I snorted
12. Grew in my writing abilites
13. Almost eliminated "wuzzies" completely from my writing abilities
14. Got dropped on the concrete after attempting to run and jump into my boyfriends arms
15. Experienced a kiss that gave me butterflies
16. Played beer pong and still sucked at it
17. Went on more dates than I can count on two hands
18. Said "I love you"
19. Almost got into accidents
20. Had thoughts about changing my major a second time
21. Had my transmission die
22. Had my breaks replaced and the two back tires
23. Had more breakdowns
24. Had a renewed love for theatre
25. Hope fully got an A in English

The 7 Top Things That Could Happen To Criminals

This list is going to go from worst to least worse, with the worst being number 1.

1. Hell- This one is for those that believe in heaven and hell, which I do, so I believe that if you are a bad person and you live badly (as in, you kill, steal...stuff like that, not just you are having a tough financial time etc.) you are going to go to hell. Ultimately, that would seem to be the worst thing to happen to anyone.

2. Prison- Prison is just scary, even for the most hardened criminal.

3. Caught By Police- This doesn't mean you are automatically going to jail, but there's probably a chance that they might.

4. Hit by a Bus- This one is just for my enjoyment because Carma could come back around and the person be on the losing end of it.

5. Wounded in a Bad Act- Well its kinda self explanatory....

6. Lose a Partner in Crime- It's not so bad if you are robbing a bank, because then there will be more money for you.

7. Get Away- This is probably what all criminals aspire to do, but a lot don't live up to it. Most get caught eventually.

10 Things I Would Buy With My Last $20

If I had only $20 and I had to buy 10 things, I would buy:

1. 5 $1 Candy Bars- This way I could eat for at least five days and then I would just be screwed after that.

2. 2 $4 pack of bottled water (24pk)- And now I would have water, which could keep me alive another two months at least.

3. 1 $5 Big Blanket- Assuming I live in a house, I'll have a blanket to keep me warm when the heat gets shut off!

4. 2 $1 Rolls of Toilet Paper- Assuming my water gets cut off too, good Lord know where I'm going to have to go to use the bathroom, so I'll just buy some toilet paper to bring with me.

All this was based off of me living in a house and eventually all the utilities being shut off and me not having any food to eat. I don't know if you can actually get anything for these dollar amounts anymore, but I am being hopeful. lol :D

ENG 1020 Argumentative Associations

In English 1020, I am going to have to argue for all of my papers. Now, as a person who tries to avoid conflict, this is very unappealing to me. I also am not a big fan of writing, so its double unappealing. Some of the things I associate with the word "argumentative" is fear, conflict, hurt feelings, and indecisiveness. It invokes fear because I don't like writing that much and to know that I have an 8 page paper due on an argumentative topic scares the hell out of me. Who can really write 8 pages on something? Well, unless they were really passionate about the topic and they have been following it for years, I can see where they could write 8 pages worth. But for me, I've never watched star trek in my life and therefore find it fearful to write papers on it. But the teacher is supposedly excellent, so maybe it wont be that bad. I also associate the word "conflict" with the subject. I try to avoid conflict where I can because I don't like to get into fights with people about petty issues. I don't necessarily try to please other people all the time, but I do try and respect their opinions, so that no conflicts arise. I also don't like to hurt people's feelings, which is something I associate with argumentative. While this ties into conflict too, I just don't like to put people down, or feel bad for believing in what they believe. I may strongly disagree with them, but I would never make someone feel insolent for their way of living. Also I am very indecisive about everything, so choosing a good topic that I know I could write alot on is difficult for me. I can hardly choose where to eat when me and my boyfriend go out to eat. How could I possible choose something more serious and important quickly? Only the good Lord knows, because I don't. Let's just say I'm very apprehensive about English 1020....I feel its not going to be good for me. But I'm hoping for a good major surprise.

My Morning Routine

This morning I'm going to let you in on my daily morning routine. It's very structured, as in, I do the same things in the same order each morning. I know that sounds a little OCD but its really just easier for me to do it that way. I'm a big fan of making lists on here, so guess what I'm going to use to explain the routine? A LIST! lol

1. Hit the snooze button 2-3 times: I have one of the nice alarm clocks that has a generous amount of time for each snooze hit. It gives me 9 minutes extra each time I hit it! This gives me time to wake up more fully, instead of just rolling out of bed drowsy.

2. Take a shower: This one is self explanatory. But its funny that I have a routine in there too. First I wash my hair, then my body, then my face.

3. Put on eye makeup: First I put a thin to medium line of eye liner on. Then I follow it with mascara. I usually don't mascara the bottom lashes, I just do the top lid.

4. Apply foundation (powder or liquid): Just depending on my mood, I'll either use powder or liquid foundation. If I'm feeling lazy, I use the powder because its quicker. If I feel like getting dolled up, then I use the liquid. Then I put on a bit of blush, if i'm not feeling lazy as well.

5. Blowdry and straighten hair: First I blowdry my hair which takes about 5 minutes, and then I straighten it with my wet to dry straightener. This whole process takes about 8 minutes.

6. Get dressed: You would think I would have gotten dressed earlier, but I feel restricted in clothes when I have to reach up to do my hair, so I just wait to get dressed. I just wear my towel wrap thing while getting ready.

Well, that was my daily morning routine. I'm sure alot of peoples' routines are the same (at least for girls).

7 Reasons to Turn Down a Marriage Proposal

Don't think I'm against marriage or anything, because I do want to get married. This was a prompt from the internet so here it goes.

7 Reasons to Turn Down a Marriage Proposal:

1. You don't love the person: Well this one is plain and simple. You shouldn't love someone who you don't love! Why would you want to spend your life wishing you could love the guy, but just can't. Its kind of stupid to spend thousands of dollars on a wedding, when a divorce seems near in the future. Really people, save your money and find someone you love.

2. The person doesn't love YOU: While this is almost the same as number 1, it has a twist. If a guy doesn't love you, why would you want to be stuck with that the rest of your life?

3. The person is immature: Sure you may love the person, and that's great, but if the person doesn't know how to be grown up, then how do you plan to have a future with them? You can't raise kids, one including a husband or a wife. There should be two parents in the household. Wait until they can play grown up first, then get married.

4. You don't know the person: All those couples that get drunk, meet in Vegas, and get drunk that get married are CRAZY! Why would you marry someone you don't know?! The person could be a complete lunatic! Get to know the person first, please! Let's NOT increase the divorce rate.

5. The person can't hold a job and contribute equally to the marriage: You don't want to marry someone who keeps getting fired from jobs. What does that say about them? Exactly.

6. The person is abusive or harmful (verbal or physical): This one is just common sense. If you wanted to be a punching bag or torn down, then you need to be in a mental hospital.

7. Already married: If you or the person you are dating is married, how does that look for your future. If he cheats on his wife with you, who's to say he won't cheat on you? You're probably just a piece of booty that he knows he can persuade into getting some. Don't do it cuz its wrong too. Think of how the other woman, or man, feels.

Black Friday

I now know the reason how this rare shopping extravaganza received its unusual name.

"Originally, September 24, 1869 was deemed Black Friday; a day of stock market catastrophe. The history of the day after Thanksgiving being the official start of the holiday shopping season may be linked together with the idea of Santa Claus parades. Parades celebrating Thanksgiving often include an appearance by Santa at the end of the parade, with the idea that 'Santa has arrived' or 'Santa is just around the corner'.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, many Santa parades or Thanksgiving Day parades were sponsored by department stores. These include the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, in Canada, sponsored by Eaton's, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade sponsored by Macy's. Department stores would use the parades to launch a big advertising push. Eventually it just became an unwritten rule that no store would try doing Christmas advertising before the parade was over. Therefore, the day after Thanksgiving became the day when the shopping season officially started.

Later on, the fact that this marked the official start of the shopping season led to controversy. In 1939, retail shops would have liked to have a longer shopping season, but no store wanted to break with tradition and be the one to start advertising before Thanksgiving. President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the date for Thanksgiving one week earlier, leading to much anger by the public who wound up having to change holiday plans." (Wikipedia)

I know that was a long history, but I'll now give my reason for the name. I think it is because with all the amazing sales and price cuts, peoples darkest souls come out to buy these things. People get ugly out there, pushing and shoving, clawing and fighting tooth and nail to get the limited pile of goodies. Now if you really want to experience this at it's worst, go to an electronics store. By God, you will leave that store a changed person, meaner and bitter. Today I went out to Target, which was crowded as hell, but I experienced something unlike any other. The people were all friendly, even the costumers! It was pretty cool. But then we went to walmart, and the story went right back to its norm. I always say I will never do it the next year, but I usually do. So thats my explanation of how black friday got its name.

Thanksgiving Day

For thanksgiving, I was really looking forward to my mom cooking dinner for my family. I was all excited until my mom dropped the news that we were going to my grandma's for thanksgiving instead. She had gotten friday off from work and suggested we just leave early to come down here instead of waiting until friday morning. I felt bad for my dad and brother who didn't get to come because they were going to have a football weekend. (The Iron Bowl was on and so was the Prattville High Game.) So they just decided to go to Golden Corral for dinner, and then go to a movie. Me and my mother, however, made our trek down to my grandma's...starting at 5:30am. Let me just say, I was DEAD tired all day. When we got here, we had to go to church (because my grandma is crazy religious, and because we are catholic) to give thanks to God for all he has blessed us with. After that, dinner was started and made and we finally got to eat around 2:00pm. Everybody was starving but it was a pretty good dinner. Now I was kind of being a pessimist because I had really wanted to stay home and spend it with my immediate family and my boyfriend, but I finally perked up after dinner. I guess I just needed some food to calm me down. But after dinner, we had dessert (of course) which consisted of pecan pie and pumpkin pie. Then, out of the blue, my mom and cousin decided to go on a walk. Well the walk consisted of a path that travelled over the entire Biloxi bridge and back. The whole walk was about 6 miles total. OK, for someone who doesn't exercise avidly, it was a god-aweful long walk. It lasted approximately 1 hour and 32 mins (only because I was keeping close time.) When I woke up this morning, I was so sore and still am. It's painful having to work off what you eat during the holidays. lol

Thanksgiving Tradition

In my family, thanksgiving has always been a holiday much looked forward to. I will be honest and say that there isn't much thanks looked forward to, but the type and amount of food involved. We do thank the person who cooks the meal, though, which is usually my mother. And boy does she do a good job with the dinner. The night before thanksgiving, my mother will put the ham on to bake before going to bed, letting it cook all night. The aroma that fills the house is just mouth watering! Then the next morning, she will put the modest turkey breast in and let it cook. While the turkey is cooking, she will start to prepare the sides for the meal. We usually have the same sides, which is fine with me, and sometimes I like to help because it feels good to act like an old fashioned housewife (but only sometimes). Some of the sides we have are:

1. Candied Yams: Yams with pecans and marshmallows on top, then cooked in the oven to perfection! The pecans and marshmellows make a glazed topping for the yams.

2. Stuffing: Come on, everybody has stuffing for thanksgiving....its a given.

3. Green Beans: I don't exactly know why this vegetable is chosen over all the other ones, but usually it is the vegetable picked to have with thanksgiving dinner.

4. Mashed Potatoes: I'm not talking about some "from the box" mashed potatoes, I'm talking about the homemade peel-it-yourself mashed potatoes. These have to be one of my favorite items on the list.

5. Cranberry Salad: This is cherry jello with cranberries, apples, nuts, and other delicious things to make a cranberry gelatin salad. Dear Lord, its delicious!

While we also make many other things, it mainly depends on how many people my mom has to cook for and basically what she is in the mood for. Last year, it was just me and my mom so we went out to Jim's restaurant for thanksgiving. While it was ok, I still prefer my mom's cooking to anything. I love thanksgiving!

End of the World

In honor of the newly released movie 2012, I am going to tell you about what I think should be saved when the end of the world comes. It's not hard to say that humans should be preserved, but also animals.

I would save:

1. Middle adults and younger: This is going to sound harsh but, why save old people when they are going to die off in a few years? In order to save the human race, we need to save the people that can still reproduce and the children who will eventually be able to reproduce. It sounds mean to leave them behind, but they have lived their lives already and are not able to reproduce, so whats the point?

2. Two of each animal: Ok, so I'm going to go a bit Noah's Arc on you guys. Animals are essential to survival on this planet because they provide food and key links in the food chain. If two of each animal is perserved, then the animal species would survive and be able to reproduce. However, I think only the main species key to the food chain and food should be saved. For example, cows and chickens and other animals should be brought on so that they can reproduce and provide for a source of food.

3. Key national documents: I would save documents such as the declaration of independence and the constitution of the United States. Even though everyone on the Earth is not from the USA, it would still be important to have some documentation of some form of government after the world ends. Mass chaos would ensue after all the destruction was done and there was a million people doing whatever they pleased. But then the issue of "who's in charge" would arise.

4. Books: I would save a few books from each countryt that held history and culture in it so that that part of our world would not be forgotten or destroyed. I'm not saying we bring so many that there is no room for people, but just enough so that a piece of the old culture still lives on and survives. A nation that doesn't know their history is doomed to repeat it.

What am I thankful for....

Things I'm thankful for:

1. My amazing family who always trusts, supports, and encourages me.

2. My cute little niece who has brought joy and love to my life like I have never really experienced.

3. My wonderful boyfriend. I prayed and prayed for God to send me an honest man and he did. He came through with my amazing and wonderful and handsome boyfriend Curtis.

4. The chance to go to college. I may be stressed and up to my eyes in student loans, but I'm happy I get the chance to even attend college as some don't.

5. My car because some people my age still don't even have their licenses and I have mine and a reliable car to get to and from school.

6. A job that I love going to almost every day of the week. When you have a job you love, you dont mind spending four or five hours there 5 days a week.

7. My friends who are awesome and cool, and who know how to support me and tell me their opinions.

A Website for Extra-Marital Affairs?!?!?!?!

Is it ethical for a company to provide a service that helps married people have affairs outside their marriage? In my opinion, it is totally wrong and a degradation to the whole American Society. Ashley Madison company provides this type of service and can be accessed online at their website. Its almost like a facebook for cheaters. You set up a profile, wait for people to email you, and then pick and choose which people you want to have an affair with. Ridiculous sounding? Of course it is. I know I'm not the best christain or person, but taking advantage of this unethical practice and destroying homes is disgusting. The CEO of the company was on the Tyra Show and he said he decided to make the company because he had seen that the statistics for outer marriage affairs were high and so took advantage and made a company out of it. One of the members who came on the show had used this service and had ruined her marriage because of it. The husband was then brought on to see how he felt about it (with the CEO still in the audience) and he was in tears and just devastated that his wife could betray him like that. Tyra then asked the CEO if he had any guilt and he said that he felt sorry for the guy but that he had no guilt because he didn't force the woman to have an affair, just provided the service to do it. Tyra then asked the CEO's wife if she trusted him and she said she did. When she asked how she could trust him with such a sketchy business, the CEO said that he compared himself to a drug dealer. He said something along the lines of...Drug dealers just sell drugs, they don't use their products. I just sell affairs, I don't have them. What is our society coming to that some are promoting affairs and wrecked homes? Grow up America and start re-learning your ethics and morals.


Here is a video profiling this disgusting company:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXXWismNYT4

Evaluation of Texting with a Full Keyboard

My first time texting was with a traditional flip phone that just had a number key pad with three letters to each key. At first, I didn't know how to text fast like everyone my age knew how to. But after a month of texting like crazy to my friends and family, I finally got the hang of texting fast. I even became so aquainted with that type of texting that I was able to do it without looking at the keypad. It made it so much easier to drive and text, which I know is bad, but handy when you don't have to keep looking down at the phone to make sure I am texting actual words and not gibberish. After about three years of having that phone, my dad decided to upgrade my phone to one that had a full keyboard for texting, since I texted so much. He thought it would be easier because I already know how to type fast on the computer. But let me tell you the pros and cons of the change to a full keyboard phone.

Pros:

1. It's Faster- After several days of texting with the new keyboard, I realized I could text faster than I had before because I did not have to press one button three times to get a single letter.
2. It only takes one button press- Instead of pressing one button two times to get a letter, all I had to do was press one button one time. This made it easier and faster to use than my flip phone.
3. It's cooler- Let's face it, you feel much cooler using a full keyboard because everyone else is using them too.

Cons:

1. It's harder to text and drive- While this is good for many people because it keeps them safer while driving, its not good when you have to text for an emergency or something else. The full keyboard makes me have to look down to text, which stops me from texting and driving.
2. Harder to learn- Most people think its easier to type with a full keyboard if you know how to type on a computer keyboard. However, that is totally wrong. With a computer keyboard, you are using all your fingers and that's what we are used to. But with a keyboard phone, you are using your thumbs, which makes you feel as if you don't know how to type at all.
   

My Best Presentation Using Process Writing

In theatre appreciation, I had to present one play from the list we had to read this whole semester. I had a partner and we sat together brain storming about how we could present our play "Everyman" in a way that would hold the audience's attention and still get us a good grade. We did not want to do the standard "state the summary" deal, so we decided upon a nontraditional approach. We decided to write out a skit and perform it for the class. We were both former actors from high school so we thought this would be the best way to get a good grade, captivate the audience, and still relay the summary of the play. First, we had to write out the major happenings in the play. We decided upon the few major characters Everyman meets through the course of the play and twisted the scenes to make them funny, but still the same. Then we had to sit down and type out the script that would serve as our rough draft to practice with. After we had our rough draft, we practiced it a few times and decided upon the changes that needed to be made. We then went back in and changed the mess ups and then practiced it a final time. When it came time to perform, we were very nervous because no one in the class had done this style of presentation before and we didnt want to seem like "suck ups". However, we sucked it up and put on the performance. My partner was Everyman and I was every other character. The coolest part about my parts were that I used different accents for each of the characters to distinguish them from one another. Throughout the presentation, people were laughing which made us feel like we had done a good job with our idea. At the end, everyone said how much they enjoyed the skit and how funny it was that I could do all those voices. The teacher was even laughed and enjoyed the skit like the rest of us. I guess we both owe it to the process writing technique to our wonderful success.

Cause and Effect of Transferring Colleges

At the end of last semester, I had to make a very tough decision. I could either stay at the college I was currently attending, Jacksonville State University, or I could transfer to a college in Montgomery and live at home. While there were some advantages to staying at JSU, I decided upon the latter option. I was happy with my decision for a while because I was able to see my parents everyday and still go to school. But after school started I wondered if this really was what I wanted. I had several backfiring effects of moving back home. I decided to go to AUM and it seemed like a good choice. However, once I started, I realized that it was as difficult as everyone said it was. I noticed that out of the four classes I had, I was receiving piles of work for each class and I was getting so stressed. At JSU, I was taking 16 hour semesters and getting along just fine. But at AUM, I had to drop a class because I could barely handle the work load. Another problem was that I had to find another job. Since Papa Johns was owned separately in each city, I could not just transfer to the store here, so I had to find a job. It was about a month later when I did find one, and it turned out to be the worst job to ever exist, Subway. That job was pure hell! I will never work there or let my future children work there! Another bad effect of transferring was that I would have to drive 20 miles just to get to school everyday. While at JSU, I could just walk to class and save gas. Now I have to drive to and from school, around 20 miles each way. Gas money is becoming a major factor that I am running out of constantly.
Even though there are bad effects there were a few good effects of changing. One is I get to see my parents all the time now. While there are some bad things attached to that, it is overall a good thing. I love seeing my mom everyday and asking her advice and just plain being with her more. I missed her so much at JSU that I called everyday just to see what she was doing. Another advantage is that the cost has gone down exceedingly. At my other college, I was paying for not only tuition and books, but also housing and meals. Now, I just pay for tuition and books and I get meals and housing for free. I love coming home to a home cooked meal, instead of trying to find something to make in the microwave.
Overall, I think the good and the bad equal out. And since I've been gone from JSU, I've heard they have been having many problems there, so that just reinforces my decision to move.

McD's vs. BK

McDonalds vs. Burger King

Similarities:

1. Unhealthy
Both of these fast food joints are equally unhealthy due to the high calorie and sodium dosages received with each meal eaten. Ever noticed how much salt was on your fries? Yea, I know. Its usually an immense amount, especially at McDonald's which has the number one fries in the world.

2. Delicious
While this is my personal opinion, I think most people would agree with the taste factor for both of these fast food joints. When choosing between the two, its hard to decided upon just one. Maybe you want the fries from McDonald's but then you want the taste of a Burger King whopper.


Differences

1. How its Made
McDonald's is known for their delicious, but fattening food. Ever wonder why its fattening? It's because they cook their food in little greasy compartments in a huge cooker type thing. Then its stored in other little greasy compartments. This doesn't let the grease drain but lets it stagnate on the hamburger patties. In BK, they chargrill the burgers making it less fattening and more flavorful. They also put less salt on their fries, but each meal still is up there in calories with McD's.

My Future According to Me

Where do I see myself in 5 years? Well frankly, I see myself still in school. Since a bachelors and masters in psychology will get you almost nowhere in the field, I will be heading towards my doctorate. I also see (hopefully) settling down with a husband, but no kids yet because they hinder things too much. Lol, just kidding kind of.

In ten years, I see me settled down with a kid or two and having a really good job or the beginning or a really good job and a doctorates degree. That's right, you can just go ahead and call me Dr. Ricker (lol). I also hope that I will have a steady income so that I can support myself and my family, if I have one. But in ten years alot could happen and I don't know exactly where my life will take me. It could happen that it turns out to be exactly the opposite of what I expect, but I hope not.

In 20 years, I plan to have had all the kids I am going to have (hopefully no more than 4) and building up my career. I don't know what area of psychology I want to go into, but recently, I've been looking into nueropsychology, which studys the brain and behavior. It sounds so interesting and after ten or more years in the field, I could be making more than $100,000. The starting salary was already at $60,000 to $80,000. I also hope to have good benefits with my job so that I wont have to worry about healthcare and all that jazz.

Mainly for the future, I just want to be happy and have a career that I enjoy going to each day and not have the same "oh great, I get to go to work today" attitude. I know I hope for alot for my future and that most likely, majority of what I want won't happen. But I have to try, right? Of course! Well, off for now.

Top Things that Scare Me

This is a list of all the things that scare me. Some you will think is silly to be afraid of, but I can't help it. It's just who I am and what I have been conditioned to be afraid of. So here it is.

Things I am afraid of:

1. Spiders- Those creepy little bastards just gross me out and I immediately get out of the room when I see one. I think its because of all the legs and how fast they move. Its just creepy.

2. Heights- The fear of falling off a gigantic cliff is just heart dropping. Even when I am standing on a chair and then look up to the ceiling, my knees get wobbly and my heart drops. Its crazy.

3. The Dark- I think most of this fear comes from my over-active imagination at night. I think of what could be hiding in the dark corners of my house or my room. Also, my eyes play tricks on me which freaks me out even more.

4. Being Alone for Long Periods of Time- I'm not really sure about this one. It just kind of developed.

5. Haunted Houses (at halloween)- I know that everything in them are fake, however I get freaked out about them.

More to come.....

Classes Update

OK so I've decided to update you all on my classes so far this semester. I had to drop my half semester class because I felt so over-whelmed with what I was already taking and felt that it would be best to stick with what was already on my plate instead of going back to the buffet and adding more. So now with sociology off my plate, I have time to focus on my classes I am taking. History is going good so far. I just took my second of four tests and think I did pretty darn well. I think I did at least B quality. I wish that the teacher would hurry up and grade the papers because it is so nerve racking to have to wait to see if you passed or not. English is also going well. I just found out today that I got a 90% on my profile paper, which is shocking because I half expected the the teacher to say "wow, this is dry and needs life!" But I'm so glad she found it good! Theatre Appreciation is going good too. I have a test today and am super nervous because I didn't read any of the four plays except for one. I hope however that I can BS my way through the two essay questions, but its more than likely that it wont work to my advantage. But I pray for the best today. Behavior analysis is ok. Its particularly interesting these days because I am applying what I am learning about reinforcement and punishment to my everyday life. I use only positive reinforcement and punishment on my niece to teach good behavior. My training with sniffy the rat is also going well. He is learning what I am teaching him very well and I am proud of him and himself. Well off for now.

Halloween Over the Years

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. As a kid, I would dress up each year and go around the townhouse complex to recieve that joyous candy. At my elementary school, they would allow us to dress up one day at school and then all the grades would go outside with their classes and parade around in our costumes, just so we could see what each person was. That was one of the highlights of halloween for me. Then we would go back into the class and have a party that would end the school day. It was sooo much fun to dress up at school and have food and games with my friends. I remember a few of my costumes. I dressed up as the original blue power ranger for 2 years in a row because, of course, power rangers was my favorite show as a kid. I also remember that I dressed up as the green M&M one year. That costume was pretty cool because instead of buying it at walmart, my mom made it. It was like two round pillows one on my stomach and the other at my back. It was super warm as well. I remember dressing up as a harry potter character one year as well. I was running out of time and options so I just decided to throw a cape on and a red sweatsuit. Now, I still dress up but I dont go trick or treating, because that would just be weird at my age. Instead of trick or treating, I go to parties that my friends have. This year my friend steph is having a halloween party at her house. I'm super pumped because I have not seen her in about two months. I am also bringing my boyfriend to her party which is also super exciting because I have never had a boyfriend to celebrate halloween with. We are going to dress up as Wilma and Fred Flintstone. This just makes me smile because my mom and my dad were Wilma and Fred for halloween one year when me and my sister were just kids. It's also the exact costumes they wore because my mom kept them in her closet and they are both homemade. I'm so excited that its hard to not skip through this week and just go to friday. I know its going to be a good halloween this year! :D

Karissa

Most of my friends through the years have had a tremendous influence on how I am today. I can't pick one in particular because so many have had the same qualities and they have all helped. I do remember one girl in particular, however, that became my best friend immediately and shaped me to be more courageous and open. I was a shy child for most of my childhood, but Karissa Murphey changed all that the day I met her in 7th grade. She was this blonde, outgoing girl who seemed to be at the peak of her social skills, for a middle schooler. She took me under her wing and befriended me. Come to find out, she was moving into the same exact neighborhood that I lived in, and more eerily onto the exact same street that I lived on. I was so excited! Finally I would have my best friend to see everyday, to walk to the bus with, and to sit on the bus with. She was so amazing. We hung out all the time and talked like nobodies business. She helped me to open up and not be so shy about who I really was. She took me four-wheel riding with some of her friends, who eventually came to hang out with me too. She let me be myself and she accepted me for who I was. She really helped me show my fabulous personality and enjoy being who I was. She never had a bad influence on me and only brought out the best in me. We were inseparable up to the point of my departure for Alabama with my family. I never forgot her and tried to stay in touch, but gradually we grew apart and I was sad but I knew it was difficult to stay friends on different ends of the country. I did however find her on facebook and she seems to have been doing well. I thank her for her acceptance and influencing me to be myself, which is all I can be.

The Final Stand

I stand here all alone in this forest that was once so full of life. How could people just come and kill every piece of life I had? Now they are coming for me, seeing as I'm the only one left, the lone ranger. Don't think I won't go with out a fight. Oh no, they will never know what is to be expected when they come calling with their loud shrill sounds. The constant revving of their voices to alert me I am being pursued. For once they will get a taste of their own medicine. I still stand alone, but the silence has its advantages. The wind blows the leaves on the ground around me and I wonder why I feel so dead. I've been alive from the first light of the 18th century and how I've made it so long with out ever being challenged for my patch of ground. Just thinking about it sends a wave of termites down my trunk. They may be laughing now but I will show them who's land this is. This is the Giant Oak's land. The land that has been ours for hundreds of years. Though they have killed every one of my kind that lived here before and with me, I will stand my ground, plant my roots deep in the rich soil, and show the chainsawed men who's boss. Never will I release my body to the endless cycle of revving "NEE NEE NEEs" or the factory sounds of old. I've made it this long so try and stop me now. Though leaves fall like teardrops from my branches, I have to be brave and stand my ground. Because if I don't, my whole race is threatened and all that is left is a shadow of what used to be. A shadow of great beauty that once reigned in this once magical place. Now it is time. I hear the NEE NEEs coming. They are approaching rapidly and I have no where to hide but in my fear. This is it. My final stand.

Fall Weather

The fall weather that has descended upon us has been absolutely wonderful! I can not express how much joy the cold weather brings to me. I love the smell of the crisp air in the morning, compared to the muggy mornings of the summer. I also love the smell of burning leavings, which seems to bring back some kind of odd feeling as if I know that smell from some other time. It's the perfect weather to go hiking and strolling and other kinds of outdoor activities. I love trying to run in the winter because first, I am not a runner, and second, its fun to see how far I can get in the cold weather compared to the hot weather. The best kind of fall days are the ones where the sun is shining, there are no clouds in the sky, and the trees are all changed to red, orange, and yellow. That's another thing I love about the fall. The landscape changes to a beautiful array of colors that one doesn't see in the summer or spring. True the leaves are dying, but I love the rich colors of fall and I love wearing them too (with the exception of yellow lol). I told my boyfriend, who is originally from Maine, how much I thought we should go hiking and he said "yea, so my crotch can freeze off!" I think it is the best time to hike because its not too hot and not too cold. The sight of the air puffing out of my mouth is when I know its my season. I love the fall and would live in fall all year long if I could.

Bravery

What is bravery?

Bravery is seen differently in each person's mind. In my opinion, bravery is doing something that is outside of our own personal comfortable zone. That means that if you are not comfortable socializing with people your age and you go to a bar, well you are showing bravery because you are stepping outside of your comfortable zone.

When was a moment I showed bravery?

I think one of my bravest moments had to be when I was about to take my first plane ride. I had seen all the movies where planes crash, and did not want to repeat any of those scenarios. I was so nervous about crashing and dying that I couldn't seem to focus on what everyone else was saying to me. They were trying to make me feel comfortable by saying it was more safe flying than driving, but nothing was helping. Finally we boarded the plane and I was shivering from the excitement/nervousness. I distinctly remember this moment because something extremely embarrassing happened to me amidst my bravery. When the plane took off, I busted out laughing, hysterically, part out of fear and part out of my own wild thoughts. Since the plane took off suddenly and fast, I had the wildest thought of Emeral, the TV chef, saying "BAM!" As if the plane had just took off like "BAM!"

Is Bravery brave or stupid?

Sometimes bravery can be stupid. Some people know risks involved with what they are going to do but do it anyways because they either want to prove something, or want to prove they are brave. But again, bravery is different to each individual. Someone bungee jumping off the empire state building seems stupid to me, but might seem brave to someone else.

My Car

My car is a hyundai accent and I love it to death. It's such a small car, but that is what suits me. It is black with tinted windows that exceed the legal limit. lol. His name is Theo, don't know why though. I really love my car, but lately it has been causing me a lot of stress. I was driving one day and it started to make this funny noise and I was so worried. It kinda sounded like when a playing card is stuck into a spinning bicycle wheel. I didn't know what it was, because I don't know much if anything about cars. Well we took it to a friend who is a mechanic and he fixed all these things, hoping to fix the sound. Well, it didn't. So he figured it was the transmission. So we took it to a transmission person who said it would be $2250 for him to take the transmission apart, and rebuild it with new parts. So now I owe $605 to the first guy and $2250 to the transmission guy. This is hell of a lot of money for a broke college student who doesn't have enough money sometimes to pay for her $150 car insurance each month.
Needless to say, I still love my car, but I just don't like it right now. I hope it will be fine after all of this money I am spending to fix on it. It is crazy to think what kind of lucky I will have after all of this. For all I know, I could get in an accident. But I pray that that won't happen.

Recipe for a Romantic Date

Ok, so now that I have the most wonderful boyfriend ever, I have been getting creative on how to create unique dates that are fun, romantic, and most of all cheap. (We are both struggling college students, so cheap is our only option.) I had the most brilliant idea the other day about a common type of date, but with a unique twist. I know of a place that is so beautiful because its a hill that over looks a golf course, which doesn't sound great, but the view at night is spectacular. You can see all the lights of montgomery from this hill, which makes it a lovely spot to drive to at night. Well, I decided I should try and plan a date around this hill and low and behold, I had a brilliant idea. I thought, "what if I plan a night picnic with candles all around on that hill?" It's brilliant I know! lol Well so now the recipe for this date is:

Picnic + Nighttime + Hill + Candles = A romantic unique date that will be awesome!!!

What do I want to ask about my future profession

When I was in high school, I really wanted to be an actress. I did four years of theatre in high school and was set on living out my dream. When I proposed this to my parents, they shot down me down and told me to get a job that would actually make me money. Well, then I decided late into my first year of college to switch majors to psychology. Now, I am going to interview a retired clinical psychologist to see if I actually want to become one myself. I do love the field but first I had to come up with the interview questions to ask him. Here is a list of just some of the questions I have planned to ask him:

1. How did he decide to become a psychologist?
2. What types of higher education did he need besides an undergrad degree?
3. How much money does did he make annually?
4. What was his daily routine like?
5. What was the most rewarding thing for him?

These are just a few of the questions I am going to ask. The whole interview will probably last around 30-45 minutes because there are 19 questions total! I tried to not make them redundant and I tried to make them interesting and broad so that I could write a very lovely paper.

10 Signs You are Falling Head Over Heels

10 Signs of Falling Head Over Heels for Someone:

1. You constantly think of them
2. You get butterflys when they kiss you
3. You get excited just knowing you will get to see them that day, even if its for a short time
4. You constantly talk about them to others
5. You can't help but stare at them and wonder how lucky you are
6. You get goosebumps when they hug or caress you
7. You think of what the future would be like if they were yours forever
8. You always want to be around them
9. You get distracted easily because you are thinking about them
10. Random things remind you of something sweet they have done for you

All these signs are things that I have felt or done, and therefore make me feel as if I am falling in love with my boyfriend. It may be too early to tell, but I really have never felt this way about someone before. Its amazing when you actually do find this, and you will be surprised when you realize you have done all of these 10 things! :D

A Prayer of thanks!

Dear Lord,
I thank you for my ups and downs,
The learning that I need to turn around.
The downs are tough, but I get by just fine,
even when I think there is no time.
I thank you for my ups as well
because then I know i'm doing well.
All these things make life tough
but I wouldn't be who I am without this stuff.
Thank for your all over love
and wish I could give you a hug.

The Day I Got to Dress Up as Chef Marco!

Today I got to dress up as the mascot for Marco's Pizza. The mascot is Chef Marco, a funny little italian man with a huge italian mustache! The weather was cool with an undertone of heat. I suited up in the costume and was pumped that I was actually going to get paid to stand on the side of the road and act like a fool, all in the name of attracting costumers. Well the suit consisted of giant felt shoes, giant felt pants, giant felt hands, a giant felt chef jacket, and a giant (I mean giant) head. It was so cool but I knew it was going to get hot, so I had to be careful not to get too overheated. To make it worse, the fan that was supposed to be in the head was no where to be seen, so the only ventilation was coming from the eye holes. I finally went out to the road with the help of one of my co-workers and got my groove on. I was swinging my arms from side to side, jumping up and down, wiggling my hips, and acting crazy just to get drivers attentions. Now, its probably not a good idea to distract drivers attention during rush hour, but it apparently worked. I got honks and shouts and stupid comments from the fine citizens of Prattville. I took a small break to cool down from all of my hoopla, and then went back out for a short time. I didn't get as enthusiastic the second time because I was just downright tired. However, all my hard work seemed to pay off. I went back in to find a family sitting at a table and my managers joked that I was scaring the childern (even though I was doing nothing). They told us that, in fact, they had come there because of me. They had seen me out there and wondered what Marco's was and decided to order it for dinner. I also found out that they were getting calls and walk ins like crazy because of my work. I was so happy that I had actually done some good while being crazy! I love my job!!!

History 2020

In history 2020, I am learning about the jazz era, or better yet the 1920s. I love this period in time because its a time when women were being more adventurous and when the world was at peace and having a good time. The beginning of the 1920s was mainly recovering from the wreckage of World War I. We were in serious debt from loaning the allies money but somehow managed to get by until 1929. Women were wearing shorter shirts, shorter sleeves and shorter hairstyles. Before this decade, women who dressed like this would be considered whores. But now it was socially acceptable and the common fashion for women. Women also were able to vote with the passing of the 19th amendment in 1920. It was a time of social wealth, great parties, and fancy cars being made. Jazz even developed as a result of the 1920s. Jazz was not just a man blowing on a saxophone; he had a rhythm and a sexual undertone to the music. Not everything, however, was so pleasant. Several industries took major downfalls. The cotton industry started declining because clothes were shorter and therefore needed less cotton. The coal mining and railroad industries took a downturn because people were driving themselves in cars and the trains therefore weren't running alot and therefore didnt need coal as much. Then in 1929, the economy took a deep downturn which turned into the Great Depression.

Longing

Oh the longing,
that seems to be all I do.
Waiting and waiting,
and nothing comes through.

How can I do this,
this task I hate so much.
Yet it is all I know,
it is the only thing I can touch.

Longing is all I know,
it is all I will ever be.
If only there were a way to change,
I wish I could see.

Open my eyes
and be no more.
This is my fate
this is my final score.

I don't know what this is. I guess it was just something to fill a blog spot, to be honest.

Halloween Then and Now

Halloween was my second favorite holiday of the year. Not only did you get to dress up as something you weren't, you also got candy for it! I loved it. Some of the costumes I remember wearing were a power ranger, a clown, a cheerleader, and a harry potter character. When I lived in the townhouse complex, we would go around the different sections of the neighborhood and knock on the doors with the porch lights on. I was scared of alot of things as a kid. We used to go to this homemade haunted garage thing, and boy did it scare the living crap outta me! There was a person being operated on, fake blood everywhere, people screaming and it was just horrible. All the scary costumes scared me too, especially if I didn't know that it was going to scare me. I'm still scared to go in haunted houses these days, even though I know they are fake. This year, I am invited to my best friend Stephanie's halloween party. I'm super excited about her party even though I know I will know about zero people there, excluding her and one other person. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to dress up as. I finally decided that I was going to dress up as a 50's pin up doll! I went this weekend to get the costume together and it looks amazing. I bought a black and cream with red strips plaid dress from walmart for the 50's look. I then bought thigh high panty hose with the lace at the top for the "sexy" part of the costume. (however, you can only see the lacey part if i pull my dress up, which is not going to happen. lol) I already have black heels to wear and now I just have to figure out how to do my hair in a fifties style. I'm super duper excited for this costume and party.

My new job!

My new job is sooooo great! Thank God something good finally came through for me! I am now working at Marco's Pizza, a pizza shop that also makes subs and salads. I had orientation on friday and and it seemed like it was going to be good there. Well today, I started training for my job. I got trained on phones and taking orders, making pizzas, preping food, and making dough. The cool thing about Marco's is that they make their dough, sauce and and the cheese is fresh everyday. While we practiced making pizzas, we got to sample them as well. It was so delicious! Homemade pizza with a homemade crust and sauce has never tasted better. I can't believe I got this wonderful job. Despite the job, I also love the people I work with. They are all quirky and open and so much fun to be around. They don't make you feel bad for asking questions, and neither do the managers and owners. They make you feels welcome and befriended it almost unparalleled. I love this job and I think it is going to be a new page in my life. Tomorrow is family and friends night and I'm super nervous because I have a feeling I will be put on phones and taking orders all night. Its probably one of the most difficult jobs because you are dealing directly with the customers. I hope I do well.

Sonnet

I fell in love with you the moment you walked through my door the first day of freshman year.
I loved you when you waved and smiled while we walked home from the bus.
I loved you when you dated one of my best friends for about two days.
I loved you even when you ignored me in the hallways to keep your reputation.
I loved you when you hollered to me from your mother's bathroom window while I rode by on my bike.
I loved you when you bummed rides off of me instead of riding the bus.
I loved you when you defended me on the bus when a creepy guy kept staring at me.
I loved you when you always called me your best friend, even though you never hung out with me.
I loved you when you did not even knew I existed the last three years of high school.
I loved you when I left for college and knew I would not see you.
I loved you when the girl you fell in love with broke your heart and tried to hurt you.
I loved you when I moved back from college and went to a different one.
I loved you even when you threw parties behind your mother's back and destroyed things.

I love you when you say hello to me on campus.
I love you when you talk to me on facebook.
I love you at this very moment.
I love you now.
I love you forever.

Now I just need you to love me.

My tattoo

Last Wednesday, I got my first tattoo. I had been wanting to get one for months now but I knew I didn't have the money or the slighest clue about what I wanted to get. Finally, I decided on a celtic pentaflower, or a celtic rose. It symbolizes a very powerful love, a love that transcends all including death. I chose it because I wanted something celtic because I have always felt some odd connection to Ireland. Well Wednesday, I mucked up the courage to go get my tattoo. I was so nervous because I did not know if it was going to hurt alot. Many people I had asked had mixed reviews, some said it hurt alot, while others said it was not bad at all. I was so happy that the person doing my tattoo was one of my former softball coaches. He assured me it would not hurt bad. Well, he was wrong. It did hurt alot, but only while the tattoo was being done. Afterwards it did not hurt, it just felt like a slight burn. I was given instructions on how to keep my tattoo clean and how to help it heal correctly. I followed all the directions and it started to scab over like it was supposed to. I kept lotion on it for about a week. This morning I realized that the scab had finally came off the whole tattoo and it looks awesome!!!! It was done in white ink so that it was not as noticeable as other ink colors. It's like my own personal tattoo, just for me. You can barely see it unless I show it too you. Anyways, I was just wanting to tell how much I loved my tattoo now that its almost completely healed!!! :D

Meet Joe Blog

Meet Joe Blog is a piece about the advantages/rise of blogs and the disadvantages of them. Lev Grossman, the author, describes how blogs have transformed from a nerdy fad to a mainstream alternative to news and other media outlets. Blogs used to be not even noticed by many americans at all and only techinal savvy and nerds blogged. Blogs today are more common than back in the 1990s and are a source for people to give their biased opinion of things that have not even hit the main media yet. Grossman explains how blogs keep stories alive while mainstream media keeps it dead for a few days. He used the example of a man who had made a speech about a man's segregational leanings and blogs forced the story into the mainstream and then he had to apologize. He also explains how blogs are so effective, because they are free. Anyone can go online and blog about anything they want, and no one can stop them. It gives a voice "to the little guy". He gives some disadvantages to blogs as well. He states that blogs carry gossip around and don't let it die. He used the alleged affair between John Kerry and a woman as his example. He then goes on to explain how blogs could become a powerful source of elections and campaigns, since it is a major form of communication these days.

My hometown

My hometown is Waldorf, MD. I loved living there. I lived in a townhouse neighborhood that was a pretty good neighborhood until about the time we started moving away. I had a lot of friends, including my best guy friend Rodney. He was amazingly awesome and made me laugh. We had a small playground towards the back section of the neighborhood that all the kids used to play at. The actual city was probably about the size of prattville, but just a bit bigger and a bit more scrunched together. There was a huge mall that alot of people went to on the weekends. I also vaguely remember a mom and pop store that sold seasonal items. For instance, they sold pumpkins around halloween and christmas trees around christmas. I loved going to that store and roaming through the pumpkins and trees. I also remember that it snowed almost every christmas in Maryland. I love the snow so much! I hate that there is no snow here in prattville except every once in a blue moon. I left behind alot of friends from waldorf. I did move again about 30 minutes away from waldorf to mechanicsville, MD. We moved out to the country where we had a beautiful 2 story house on an acre. It was so peaceful out there. There was a good 500 ft between each house and the whole neighborhood consisted of 27 houses. I loved Maryland and I still dream about it all the time (literally dream at night). I want to go back someday but I won't be going back for a while because of college and financials.

Serious Injury

This is an experiance that I remember about a boy who got seriously injured. I used to live in a townhouse neighborhood, and right by my house there was a medium size clearing next to our row of townhouses. My sister and I asked the boys down the street if they wanted to play a sport with us (I can't really remember what it was). Well, we all went to the clearing by my house and started to play. Next to the clearing, there is a small patch of woods with a huge log down right next to the clearing. I don't remember exactly how it happened but I know we were playing and somehow the oldest boy tripped over the log and fell backwards. Well, me being a young kid thought that it was hilarious that he fell over a log. So I'm laughing, but no one else is. So I finally look up and see that the boy is crying and in pain. Only then did I notice that the log had a thick branch coming out of it, and the branch was coming out of the boy's knee! I felt horrible for laugh because he was in pain the whole time and I just thought that he was being stupid and staying on the ground. His parents came down to the clearing and took him to the hospital. I can't remember exactly how it happened, or whose fault it was, because I was so young. All I remember was that the boy couldn't play actual sports for a long time because he had messed up his knee so bad. :(

10 things to do/say around someone you like

This is for all the people who freeze up in the presence of someone they like. Hope it works!

1. Hi or hey
2. How are you doing?
3. Compliment them on something, either physical or not
4. Make eye contact majority of the time
5. Ask them what they like to do
6. Laugh at things they say (this is mainly advice for girls) but don't be obnxious and laugh at everything, because that's just annoying
7. Smile
8. Talk causaully, like you would to your friends, and don't freeze up or act nervous
9. If the person is someone you've known for a long time, relate a story you remember about you and them from the past. If the person someone you don't know well, ask them what they plan to do in the future. (ex: Whats your major? Oh, ok! That's very interesting? How did you get into that major?)
10. If you get adventurous, ask them what they are doing this weekend and then ask if they would like to hang out

New Job

I know lately alot of my blogs have been complaining about how my life sucks and how tired and stressed I am. But suddenly, my life has seemed to make its way upward, just a tad. I have recently been hired at a new job that I had been hoping to get. Now that I can quit my hellish job I have now, things seem to be clearing up! I've gotten a job at Marco's Pizza, which sells pizza and subs. Well, considering I've worked at a papa johns and a subway (pizza and subs), I thought that I would be a perfect hire! But I hadn't heard from the owners in like two days, the time limit they said they would call me in, and I began to worry. I didn't want to stay at the job I have currently, but lack of money prohibited any efforts to quit. Now, I am hopefully going to have a great job, that I love doing. I don't know why, but I just love making pizzas. I loved working at papa johns, but I also loved it because I loved the people. Hopefully, the people I work with at Marco's are going to be just as great! :D

Best Advice Ever

The best advice I have ever gotten was from my mom. She has always been the one to give me good advice and to support me whenever I've needed it. She told me one time, "Suck it up! Life's not fair!" and boy was she right. Life isn't fair and if you constantly expect things to go your way every time, you are going to constantly be let down. I still here this piece of advice today. I get stressed and start complaining about how tired I am and how everything seems to be going downhill, and I hear my mom in the background somewhere say, "suck it up ashleigh". It may sound harsh for a mother to say this but she is only teaching me that if i wear my feelings on my sleeves that I am only going to get hurt worse when I get out into the actual real world. I definately know that I will be telling this to my kids one day, but I might be a little more sympathetic, but then again I might not. lol. I do however tell myself to "suck it up" every now and then, just to remind myself that I need to be more resilient to an ever changing world. People aren't always going to play fair or be fair, and I know life isn't going to just hand me a great life. I just have to "suck it up" and stick it out!

Me

While I'm naturally suspicious,
I'm not all vicious.
Just can't trust so easy,
After the guys I've dated turned out sleazy.
I guess its my fault for being so nice,
I guess I just get the bad luck roll of the dice.
But its up to me to change it,
instead of staying in this black pit.
Its my time to shine,
and tell myself that everything will turn out fine.
I just have to believe,
and I can achieve.
I am who I am and if that's not good enough,
I really don't care, you should move along with your stuff.
I am honest to the bone,
never have you known,
anyone like me,
I hope you'll finally see,
that I am quite unique,
and it is one man I seek,
to turn my heart to gold,
and to him I will be sold.
He will be honest and true,
and love me through and through.
And only then can I be free,
from this pain and misery.

Oh Elementary School, How I Do Miss Thee...

There are some things I remember from elementary school that still make me look back and smile. I went to JP Ryon elementary in Waldorf, MD and I loved it. The teachers were all great and I loved going to school, which makes me the nerd I am today. I remember one teacher, Mrs. Proctor, who was my kindergarden teacher. She was so much fun but for some reason I had the scariest dream about her. I dreamed that she was the big bad wolf from the three little pigs story and that she was trying to kill me. In real life, she was just as nice as could be. But I also remember my favorite teacher from elementary school, Mrs. Talley. She was my third grade teacher and she was such an amazing teacher, that I didn't really want to leave her class. But she had this method of teacher us our times tables. She would give a quiz every week on each set of the times table (one week would be the 1's table, then the 2's table and so on) and if we got them all right, we would get a star on the times table chart, saying we had accomplished it. If we had accomplished all the times tables up to 12, she would buy us a candy bar. That was just the coolest thing for a teacher to do at my age then. She was actually going to buy us candy for doing something we were supposed to learn anyways!!! She was the coolest, though I' m sure some people didn't like her because she did have her mean moments. I also remember the play ground. It was wooden for the first few years of elementary school, and by the fourth grade (our school only went up to the 5th grade for elementary) we had gotten a whole new playground! It was metal and colorful and so much fun. We had this awesome fire truck playset, a giant plastic tire swing, and swings galore. Needless to say, I had an awesome elementary experiance.