I stole this one

I stole this one

1. How old do you wish you were? 21 is a good age
2. Where were you when 9/11 happened? I was in school--in the music department.
3. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? whine and complain
4. Do you consider yourself kind? I hope I am...
5. If you had to get a tattoo, where and what would it be? Why would somebody HAVE to get a tattoo? That doesn't make sense.
6. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? Spanish
7. Do you know your neighbors? Yeah, the neighbors to the right have lived there all my life and to the left have lived there for ten years -- both are pretty great families!
8. What do you consider a vacation? A day of loungin by the pool with wine coolers.
9. Do you follow your horoscope? I think that is against my religion
10. Would you move for the person you loved? Of course.
11. Are you touchy feely? Definitely
12. Do you believe that opposites attract? Sure, on lots of levels
13. Dream job? I would love to write songs for someone else to sing.
14. Favorite channels? I don't really watch tv
15. Favorite place to go on a weekend? Lake Geneva with the boat
16. Showers or bath? I like baths but I never take them. Something about putting my tushy on a dirty tub grosses me out.
17. Do you paint your nails? No.
18. Do you trust people easily? hrm... I never used to but now I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.
19. What are your phobias? Heights. Earwigs. Loved ones dying.
20. Do you want kids? Not any time soon... if ever.
21. Do you keep a handwritten journal? Off and on.
22. Where would you rather be right now? With Ari.
23. What makes you feel warm and safe? When Ari wraps his arms around me.
24. Heavy or light sleep? Depends on the night. I vary between both extremes.
25. Are you paranoid? this is a weird question... why do you want to know?
26. Are you impatient? Very.
27. Who can you relate to? Everyone on some level...
28. How do you feel about interracial couples? Wow, where did a question like that come from? I have absolutely no problem with it and dont understand why there is even debate over it.
29. Have you been burned by love? No.
30. What's your life motto? It changes every week.
31. What's your main ringtone on your mobile? It is Hell's Bells by AC DC
32. What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping
33. Who was your last text message from? Celeste
34. Whose bed did you sleep in last night? wouldn't you like to know.
35. What color shirt are you wearing? Tan--I'm wearing my Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt
36. Most recent movie you watched? Friday Night Lights
37. Name five things you have on you at all times? Underwear, cell phone, a necklace, a hair tie, my wallet.
38. What color are your bed sheets? purple
39. How much cash do you have on you right now? oooh - $40 cause I just got done puppy sitting.
40. What is your favorite part of the chicken? I only like the chicken breast if it is marinated and in pasta or salad.
41. What is your favorite town/city? Chicago, no contest.
42. I can't wait till... I move to Spain
43. What did you have for dinner last night? Ari cooked Chicken with mashed potatos and broccoli
44. How tall are you barefoot? 5'6
45. Have you ever smoked crack? Never
46. Do you own a gun? No. Nor will I ever.
47. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water to rehydrate myself.
48. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? uh... I don't lure....
49. Do you have A.D.D? Do you?
50. What time did you wake up today? 7:30
51. What is your favorite candy? Starburst
52. Current worry? No worries.
53. Current hate? steak... but thats a constant hate.
54. Favorite place to be? By the ocean.
55. Where would you like to travel? Ireland
56. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years? Whereever God leads me
57. Last thing you ate? white chedder popcorn
58. What songs do you sing in the shower? whatever is in my head
59. Last person that made you laugh? Ari
60. Worst injury you ever had? Internal bleeding in my left leg after I broke my ankle into a million pieces

Books

My friends, Julie and Mike, tagged me. So... here ya go.

1.One book that changed your life: After Silence by Nancy Raine

2.One book that you’ve read more than once: The Brother's K by David James Duncan

3.One book you’d want on a desert island: The Message by Eugene Peterson

4.One book that made you laugh: Revenge of the Paste Eaters by Cheryl Peck

5.One book that made you cry: Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park

6.One book you wish had been written: I dont know...

7.One book you wish had never been written: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

8.One book you’re currently reading: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

9.One book you’ve been meaning to read: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

10.One book you’d like to write: I don't have a title yet but I am in the process of writing a memior.

Now tag 5 people: Troy Cady, Heather Cady, Kelly Wills, Amy Baas, Ami Godoy

Here it goes again

Okay I found this on Wendy's blog and I had to share it with all of you.

Left-handedness

Ari is left-handed and he wrote this thing when he was in high school and he wants people to read it cause it is really good (in my opinion) so I am posting it. I think you should read it... if you don't I'll come after you...

THE DECLARATION FROM LEFT HANDEDNESS

Action of Ari Leo, September 17, 2001

The unanimous Declaration of the Left-Handed Community

WHEN in the Course of Writing Events,

it becomes necessary for all people who write with their left hand to say enough is enough, and to dissolve the genetic bonds which have made them left-handed, and to assume the equal opportunities and chances afforded to those who are right-handed, the reasons and causes for this must be declared.

WE who are left-handed hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are not created equal, that their left-handedness did not give them the same rights given to those among us who are right-handed. All children from henceforth shall be forced to become right- handed, resulting in a future society of only right-handedness. It has become impossible for the left-handed to function properly in our right-handed society. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

Left-handedness has kept us from writing smudge-free on poster boards, which is a necessity for school.

Left-handedness has refused us the use of normal scissors and one can never find left-handed scissors when one needs to.

Left-handedness has refused to allow people to see what they are writing as they write, forcing one to write in an ungodly, twisted manner.

IN every one of these cases the left-handed have attempted to solve these issues: Ned Flanders attempted to open a store for the left-handed, but it was crushed.

No left-handed person has been unreasonable in trying to fit into society. We have very nicely vocalized our hatred for the inconveniences of left-handedness and on every occasion we have been repeatedly blackened by the ink or lead on our left hand.

I, therefore, the Representative of the LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE OF AMERICA, in my ROOM, By myself, appealing to the General Public of the World to save their kids from the horrors of LEFT-HANDEDNESS, do, in the name of the respected Ari Leo, declare that all ties are, and ought to be hereby dissolved between the LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE OF AMERICA and left-handedness, and that as a free and independent people have full power to levy war on left-handedness, and all other rights of the Right-Handed. We pledge to fully support each other in our quest for equality.

a piece of home

Yesterday I picked up the Cady family (the fam I lived with when I was in Spain) from the airport. It has been so good to spend time with them. A group of us hung out with them last night and then I hung out with them today.

First off, the great thing about good friends is that you can always pick up where you left off. When I saw them in April and again now, it is like we were never apart. The jokes and teasing start right away.

When I was in Spain, my friend Wendy came out to visit me and I remember talking about how it was so great to have a piece of home come to Spain and see where I lived and what I had been doing. And then in April I brought Ari and Celeste back to Madrid with me and it was so exciting to, again, bring a piece of home with me to Spain. It is so excited to have friends from Spain here. To have a piece of Spain (my other home) come out here to where I grew up and see what I have been doing. It's fun. Not too mention the endless laughing that happens when Troy is in a room. I definitely miss that.

The more they talk about Oasis Madrid (their church out there) the more excited I am about moving. I can't wait to be a part of this church full time. Oasis Madrid is doing great things out there... but more on that another day.

Spirit

I had to quickly share this crazy story with all of my fans/readers out there... whoever you are...

Yesterday I brought my puppy to the dog park. This is not an unusual occurance seeing as he requires a lot of exercize and I don't have the back to go running with him. But he loves it there. All the dogs get to run around and play without leashes. What could be better in the life of dogs?

It was about 7:00 when one women, Lisa, was taking her three dogs home. As she was loading them into the car she let go of the collar of her pooch, Spirit, and he ran out into the road where he was hit by a car. His head actually went into the wheel well of the minivan and he was in such shock that he just got up and ran as fast as he could across the street into a forest preserve. Of course, Ari and Margeaux and I felt we needed to go looking for this dog with the owner and a couple other dog lovers who volunteered. Almost two hours later and almost walking four miles... nothing. Lisa was a mess, as I would be if that happened to Crocket.

It was dark and the forest preserve rangers wouldn't let us look anymore, so we left disheartened. I gave Lisa my phone number and told her to call me the next day and I would help her look again.

The next morning Lisa called me to tell me Spirit had made his way to someone's house and was outside barking to be let in. That person let him in and called the number on the dog tags and Spirit was rushed to a 24 hour vet hospital. Luckily, he will be okay. He suffered some minor head injuries, but he is back home with his family.

REJOICE!

Twenty-Two!

Today is my twin cousins, Justin and Tommy's, 22nd birthday!

Now, anyone who knows me knows how important my family is to me... especially my cousins. They have been my constant friends, always there when I need them. I always have fun with them and no matter how old we get, they are still and always will be some of the most important people in my life. Plus, they always bring out the kid in me and remind me that it is the little things in life that really matter.

Happy birthday, you old farts! I love you guys!

tv shows can bring people together!

Back in October I wrote a post called confessions that were twenty things nobody knew about me. Well, in the begining of that post I talked about this girl Kelly Wills and how I had heard so much about her while I was in spain and how she sounded really cool and so on. Well, when I we nt back to Madrid in April I got the chance to meet her and had the chance to agree with all of those great things I had been hearing about her. Now, I've always thought she was pretty cool(I mean she was the one who brought me to get my nose pierced!) but today I have officially decided that Kelly could be my friend for life.

Anyone who knows me, knows about my (some would say) obsession (but I call it enjoyment) of the t.v. show ALIAS. My secret wish is to be Sydney Bristow because, seriously, how hott would that be? I constantly find myself looking around any room I have entered for an escape route or I'm thinking"what could I use to knock someone out if a 'bad guy' came in." When I was at Calvin some friends of mine would humor me and we'd run up and down the halls jumping around and doing somersaults pretending to shoot each other. I even learned how to get into my bed with a leap and then pulling myself up quickly in a "Sydney Bristow" fashion (mind you, my bed was stacked over another bed that was stacked on a bookshelf that was stacked on another bookshelf that was stacked on a desk).

Well, it turns out I'm not the only one in the world. Check it out here. I think I found a friend for life! :)

PS

I fixed it! The 'my pictures' link on the right of the page works now. Sorry about that! :)

Florida

Well, I am home. I can't believe my trip to Florida has come and gone. It's already the middle og July! Summer is half over...

Florida was awesome. The first four days we stayed at my parent's condo in Cape Canveral (where NASA is). We spent lots of time at the beach, lots of time with my aunt and uncle and cousins, and lots of time together. The night Andrea, the twins, and I got there my mom was already there. My dad came the next day and my brother and sister-in-law came the day after that. Needless to say, the condo was a little crowded but still a lot of fun. One day we even went to the Brevard Zoo and saw crocodiles being fed and got to pet a baby alligator! It was pretty excellent.

Thursday we left for Orlando. We went to Disney World (Magic Kingdom) on Friday. It was so fun going with the boys. They are four years old, so they get so excited to see the characters. We got pictures with Pluto, Daisy, Minnie, Mickey, and Donald. Donald even gave me a kiss on the cheek! :) But shhh... don't tell Ari. It's fun watching them experience new things. Saturday we drove back to the east coast and met up with my mom, dad, Christopher, Erika, Aunt Nonnie, Uncle Don, Karen, and Carmela in Palm Bay where we rented a boat. It was so cool! Before we even left the dock we saw an alligator within four feet of our boat! That was kind of scary but really cool. Then we saw Dolphins and jumping fish and played on islands. It was so fun!

Sunday and Monday we spent back at our Resort in Orlando. Most of the time we were by the pool. The boys had no fear of the water, so Andrea and I sat by the pool enjoying our Pina Coladas and Margaritas while the boys made new friends with the other kids in the pool! For dinner one night we went to an all you can eat crab and lobster buffet! Mmmmm. Fresh crab! Loooove it!

Getting home was a nightmare. We had a layover that we almost missed. Long story short- our first flight was delayed forty minutes and then another two hours while we were on the runway and then after our flight we had to circle the airport waiting to land for forty minutes. Luckily our connecting flight had also been delayed but had we landed two minutes later or the gate been far from where we got off - we definitely would have missed it. We literally were the last people on the plane. We walked on, got in our seats and the seatbelt light came on and we were being pulled away from the gate. So, we landed in Chicago at 12:45am--three hours later than when we were supposed to land...

So now I am home - safe and sound.