Vegas or Bust!

This is it! My bags are packed, camera batteries are charged, cash is in my purse- Vegas here we come!

See you in a week!

The lighter side of Saturday...

Andy and I caught 'The Dark Knight' matinee this afternoon- even better the 2nd time around!

Aaaah- 'Bale-icious!'

RIP Randy Pausch

http://www.thelastlecture.com/

A Challenge

I think Michael Savage should be required to be on the show "30 Days." If you are not familiar with this TV show, individuals with opposite views must live together for 30 days to see if all of their judgemental, ignorant views can be transformed into acceptance and new ideas.

http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/30days/

I think Michael Savage should be required to spend 30 days living every moment with a child who has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum. After these remarks:

"On his broadcast, Savage called autism "a fraud, a racket ... In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. ... They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. ... Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot."

He really shouldn't have a choice.

Song in my head

Lately, I've been obsessed with India.arie's version of 'The Heart of the Matter'- especially the following lyrics:

These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
And people filled with rage

We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age

And the trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess

Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work they put between us,
You know it doesn't keep us warm

With everything that's going on in society lately, it's good to remember how far a hug can go or a good laugh with a friend... I have to keep reminding myself to pay it forward, whenever I can...

So I think I wanna dance...

with TWITCH!I have never watched the show "So You Think You Can Dance" until this season and I must admit, I'm hooked. The reason I'm hooked is none other than: Twitch! He just rocks it out week after week. It's amazing how he can make it look so flawless. I'll keep tuning in as long as he's still flowin!

Road Trips...

While Andy was in Ouray, CO this week attending a Toyota FJ Summit with a friend, I decided to travel up North to Waverly and spend some quality time with the folks.

My mom and I picked up her cousin at the MN airport on Wed. and spent the day shopping, eating good food and relaxing. We found some great bargains at the outlet mall and I 'forgot' that I was on a financial diet right before Vegas! But I ended up finding some cute outfits for Vegas so it worked out.

I also saw The Dark Knight- and have to say, it was really good. Bale knocks it out! I'm ready to see it again with Andy... Made it back to DSM today just in time to get ready for another work week. One more week and it's Vegas time baby!

Happy Birthday Alyce!

Yesterday was Alyce's birthday and we had the best time celebrating! Steve made yummy fajitas and I let myself splurge on a piece of ice cream cake from DQ. The weather was perfect, just what Alyce deserved on her birthday.

I'm so lucky to have such an amazing mother-in-law in my life... who completely understands me, supports me, and laughs with me! Happy birthday Alyce, we love you!! xo

The cereal diet

So, in order to meet my goal and lose 10 more lbs before Vegas (T-minus 2 1/2 weeks and counting!) I have this brilliant idea to only eat cereal for dinner every night until my flight leaves DSM.

I'm currently on day 3, and. I'm. STARVING.

In fact, just now, I was getting a card ready to mail and I licked the envelope. It tasted gooood. Too good. I wanted to lick another one. Something tells me I need to go back to real food.

Best Laid Plans

It's so hard to understand why bad things happen to great people- I know we're supposed to learn and grow from our experiences, but sometimes it's hard to see the light.

Last week, due to a number of reasons (all of which no one- not FEMA, the City of Des Moines, or an insurance company- is willing to take ownership of) Steve and Alyce (Andy's parents) started to lose their entire back yard from the garage/apartment to their back fence that leads to the river. It's so hard to explain it to the fullest extent, you almost have to see it to believe it- but the point is, their renter had to move out, they've lost their pond with the cute little fishies, the beautiful landscaping, the stairs down to their deck on the river- almost all gone now, slowing eroding along the bank of the river.

Please keep them in your prayers- this will be such a costly fix, of which they haven't gotten any aid and none of this is their fault. I would love to see an investigation into the old sewer system that the city was working on a couple months ago... that just so happens to run the line of their river bank...

Their retirement plans were laid out so carefully, and my only hope is that they can get the aid they need to fix this problem and heal their hearts...

Not your typical Saturday...

Annette, Keriann and I decided to check out the all-day music festival on Saturday- and I'm so glad we did! We had the best time- it was great to see all the diversity and the music was fabulous! Jakob Dylan and the Roots rocked it out- and I also discovered a new band, Maxila Blue- I will definitely be going to see them when they play locally.

Despite the heat, it was a very 'cool' day to be in Des Moines!

The concert was only temporary but I came away with something permanent- Just kidding mom- it's fake! :) But I had Andy convinced that it was real!

We also had our 5 minutes of fame when the DSM Juice photog took our pic.

The goal of the music festival was to put DSM on the map- and I think it worked!