It's Tricky

If this doesn't get your blood pumping, I don't know what will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ede-Mc5V4&feature=related

Face in the Crowd

Stephanie's Top 5 Weekend Moments:

5. Sushi!
4. New shoes!
3. Greek Festival!
2. Iron Man! (hello! Robert Downey, Jr.!)
1. Memorial Day!

Overall the weekend was great. I was reponsible on Friday and worked as hard as I could to not get so far behind with Monday being a holiday. And then Jason and I went to get new shoes and I finally bought some new brown and black heels - very va va voom!

Saturday, we went into New Orleans for a graduation party and played in the pool, which I had not done in a while, it was nice to have fun again. Then we went to Bourbon and I was thoroughly disgusted the entire night.

I don't feel as though I am an elitist or a feminist, but some of the things I saw women doing made me want to be a sister suffragette all over again. I'm all for feeling sexy and powerful and having a great time with your girlfriends - but there is a difference between feeling strong and sexy and being perverted and class-less.

Greek Festival on Sunday - I had the best lamb gyro I have ever had - even in Greece. So good I had two! But I began to realize that summer is back and so brings with it the endless days of heat and afternoon showers. But no more afternoon naps during those rainy days - no I'll be at work, all day, every day.

Iron Man was fantastic! I had never been truly interested in the superhero movies or Robert Downey, Jr. - but man! I really enjoyed it.

Leaving work at work

See, moments like this should be what life is all about. Moments where you are overcome with emotion, happiness, sadness, whatever emotion comes to you at the moment where pictures of you radiate that feeling on to the screen.

No matter if you are winning American Idol or writing press releases, life is what happens after 5:00 p.m. and the times when you are doing what you are passionate about.

So I've put together a list of things I want to be more involved with to find out what my true passions are in life:

- pottery
- poetry/lyrics
- flowers - my apartment balcony is looking a little dull

And of course more time with the people that mean the world to me. Refreshing lunches and weekends to New Orleans, trips back home and dinner with the girls. Those things are what matter and those things are what I'm going to build my life around.

This is the Time

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24772225#24772225

Here's a link to a Today show recap of last night's American Idol. It's shameful how sucked into this season I was - but in the end, I think the right David won. I would buy his album - he's someone that everyone can get behind.

The World I Know

My roommate

Dear You

To whom it may concern:

You are no longer allowed to write or sing those songs using my words, or memories of us. Find another source of lyrics and inspiration.

I have.

Outlook

Here's my new philosophy in life. If someone doesn't tell me directly to my face that they are unhappy, disappointed, sad, angry, upset, let down or generally not in good spirits with me - then I will believe that they truly believe I am the greatest thing to walk on this planet.

I'm tired of paranoia - does everyone like me? Am I doing it all right? She closed her office door right after we had a talk, does that she mean she is talking bad about me?

Those questions are no more! From now on, I am happy, confident and non-paranoid Stephanie.

Also, I am now henceforth, non-questioning of my feelings Stephanie. I feel what I feel and that's that, and if I have a problem with it, well then I can shut up.

Make sense?

Struck by you

I saw a bird poop today.

The end.

Updated:

Here's what I'm doing this upcoming Thursday, Rock of Love anyone?

We are all Innocent

Some really cool people, back in the day when we were camp counselors, aka 2nd round recruitment.

We run, we jump, we swim and play....we row and go on trips....

Openings & Closings

[12.30.07] - This Is How It Goes

I suppose this is how it goes
Openings and closings
This way or that
It has been that kind of year - (This is why you're here)

Winter brought tears dropped on American flags
Smells of hospitals and overnight bags

Spring brought magnolias and oak tree shade
Uncertainty of anything past graduation day

Summer brought cement heat from city sweet
And interstate lanes well traveled in retreat

Autum brought the world
Borrowed, blue, old and new

I suppose this is how it goes
Openings and closings
This way or that
It has been that kind of year - (This is why I'm here)

But the moments between this and that
Have been the difference between where I'm at
And where I'll be
When next year's seasons change again
With the door closings and window openings
I only suppose that this is how it will go...

It will be that kind of year - (This is why we're here!)

Sadie & Me Rainy Day

So, today a huge thunderstorm blew through town and instead of fighting the inevitable (soaked toes and curly hair) I decided to embrace it. Here is my adventure:

The shoe that slipped off in the middle of me trying to run from my car. But then I thought it was a good indication of how high the water was - up to half of my heel.

The view from my window.

I couldn't remember the last time I played in the rain. And Sadie needed a bath. You can guess where it goes from here...

Sadie - post rain play, very mad at me because supposedly she doesn't like the rain - and I pushed her in a puddle.

Urban waterfall.

And there's my rainy day adventure. Try it sometime.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

What a cool job. To write, sing and play the music of your heart. And do it all surrounded by talented people in a cozy and comforting environment.

From alanis.com.

Let's go down in flames...

It's Monday morning again. Only one more Monday and it's Memorial Day = state holiday!

I had a great weekend - got to be home for a little while, which is always so refreshing.

The next few weeks at work are going to be pretty hectic - well probably until the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30, but I'm planning a vacation at the tail end of the busy season, so hopefully I can work hard now and play hard later.

I found these two great videos on Ad Age about the Dove Real Beauty Campaign and I think it goes perfectly with this weekend's sermon on the value and true beauty of a woman, and how it's being distorted against what God planned for his daughters.

Evolution:

http://adage.com/video/Player?spotId=696&instanceId=&startId=&PageDate=&PageTitle=

Onslaught:

http://adage.com/brightcove/single.php?title=1231040362

See the full article here.

And for all interested parties, here is the next American Idol:

Friday!

It's Friday.
And a pretty Friday, which makes it even harder to sit at a computer. But, that's ok.

This weekend is Mother's Day and I hope all of you have as beautiful and wonderful a mother as I do.

From Wikipedia:

The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In the United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace.

Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.

When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on 10 May 1908, in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Originally the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, this building is now the International Mother's Day Shrine (a National Historic Landmark).

From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.

Nine years after the first official Mother's Day, commercialization of the U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become. Mother's Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother's Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States.

For example, according to IBISWorld, a publisher of business research, Americans will spend approximately $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on pampering gifts — like spa treatments — and another $68 million on greeting cards. Mother's Day will generate about 7.8% of the US jewelry industry's annual revenue in 2008. Americans are expected to spend close to $3.51 billion in 2008 on dining out for Mother's Day, with brunch and dinner being the most popular dining out options.

All those billions of dollars are worth it though!

Bad Attitudes

I have no time for people with bad attitudes. It seems to be a disease these days and I think it's just downright unncessary. I know we all have our bad days, but why is it the person next to you's fault? I think patience is a serious virtue, especially in such an intense environment that it can be around here.

People skills, people, people skills.

Mid-Afternoon Snack

I'm sure there has to be some worse than this:

20 Worst Band Photos Ever

From Spinner.com

Turkey Sandwiches and Fried Pork Skins

Interesting article about one of my favorite things:

Celebrity Chefs: Brands that Cook in the Kitchen

Hymns

'Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me

I sing because I am happy
I sing because I am free
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches over me...'

--His Eye Is On the Sparrow

Music!

My recent playlist...
































A few oldies, but goodies.

Monday nights

Top 5 Reasons why Monday nights are my favorite:

5. No toning class at the Y
4. Monday mornings are over
3. I'm usually energetic enough to cook
2. There's an entire week left to get stuff done!
1. 90 percent of my t.v. viewing for the week happens in a 3-hour span on Monday nights

Happy Monday and Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Tulips & Lilies

Saturday night was mine and Jason's four year anniversary! It has been a great four years, lots of ups and downs, mostly ups. We had a great night, good dinner and the Hornets won, so all in all a success.

We have been visiting a church here in Baton Rouge for a while and have decided we really want to get more involved so we went to a "new member" class today, even though we aren't technically new members. It was a really great experience. All of the teachings and ministries here remind me so much of Kingsville (my home church) and it's nice to finally be involved with a church family. It has really grown our relationship and we feel we are moving in a forward direction with our faith and relationship.

I have prayed for so long for Jason and I to come to a common ground with our faith and it is overwhelming for it to finally be happening. God has provided so much for us and I feel at peace about our future together and our growth in a church together.  

Happy No Pants Day!

Month's Top 10 Most-Liked, Most-Recalled New TV Spots


http://adage.com/article?article_id=126751

Fear

'For God did not give us a spirit of timidity [fear], but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.'

2 Timonty 1:7