Standard Florida Thunderstorm

I was getting Alli ready for bed when all of a sudden I hear this roaring sound rushing out of nowhere! I got excited as soon as I realized it was an afternoon rainstorm. I used to be terrified of storms, but for some reason they are so cool in Florida. I love how it just torrentially downpours.
WOW! There was just a huge thunderclap. Ok. Maybe I'm a little scared.

"Now go to your room and WRITE IN YOUR BLOG!"

You know the world has gone topsy-turvy when your mom sends you to your room to update your blog. And to think! I started her with the whole blog-scene! Karma.

Tomorrow Kyle graduates from High School. My little baby is all grown up and saving China! I can't say I'm excited to sit through the ceremony (is anyone excited to sit through one of those? I know for a fact that most of the boys who are actually graduating play game boys or text the whole time!), but I am excited to see Kyle walk across the stage and receive his diploma! He's done a great job! Here is a picture of us from last summer. Love ya Ky!

Today was exciting. I decided that it was a time to hit the gym, so I headed on over to the YMCA and did the cross-trainer (my favorite) for about 35 min, worked up a sweat, and watched Gilmore Girls all the while! It's really neat. The machines have a TV attached, so you can choose between 70-or-so channels. At first I thought to myself, "How sad. Our society can't even exercise without watching TV." But then I realized when I'm engrossed in the witty banter of my favorite characters on Gilmore Girls, I don't even think about how tired I am, or how much I want to stop running! It's sheer genius. I also realized today that I do better when there are people working out next to me. I know it's impolite to look at other people's machines (or at least I think it is...if they catch you looking they inevitably drape a towel over the whole thing), but I do so much better when I'm internally competing with them. For example: The woman next to me this morning started a few seconds after I did, but was a lot faster. Every few minutes I'd glance over and see how many calories she'd burned...and if it was more than me, I'd freak out and run faster. It was very motivating. I think she was doing the same because as soon as I ended my workout, she hit the stop button and abandoned ship!

I want to WRITE!

I've had a lot of time on my hands lately...hard to imagine since I have no job or hobbies that seem to stick (watercoloring was a bad idea). This surplus of time has been good and bad. I've tried to pick up a new hobby, read a few books, and watched a LOT of movies. I've also had time to think about my childhood dream of becoming a fantastically famous author. Whenever I think about this idea, I get all giddy inside and just ITCH to write out some fantastic story and slap it in a manilla envelope and mail it off to a well-to-do publishing company that will instantly recognize it for the gem that it is and pay me thousands and thousands of dollars. Too bad I can never come up with an amazing story and all I ever manage to conjure is a lame blog about how I can't write. Ironic, I know. It took J.K. Rowling years to develop her books...I guess I just have to be patient - a quality I seem to lack. But on a happier note, J.K. Rowling is richer than the Queen of England and was once on welfare! So just wait people. One day I will have my story and it will be FABULOUS!

The End

I am a genius. I have solved the dilemma of world peace.

I have decided that singing in your car is possibly one of the coolest things to do. I was driving home after dropping Kyle off at work and was feeling a showtune coming on, so I turned on le iPod and switched it on over to Wicked. After a few vocal warm-ups (you know...the standard "mama-made-me-mash-my-m&ms" and similar exercises) I put on my Idina Menzel face and belted out a few. It was about halfway through "Defying Gravity" that I came to the conclusion that this world would be a much better place if more of us sang in the car. Yea, sure it's a little embarrassing to be in the middle of a high C and look over to find '40-something Joe' getting a kick out of my musical revue...but you know, what the heck. If that doesn't cheer him up or make him laugh, then let him eat cake (as my friend Marie Antoinette would say). Of course, I could have an alternate agenda here. After all, the more people you have singing, the more vocal problems you have (nodes, nodules, etc), and the more vocal problems you have, the more buisness I have as you friendly neighborhood Speech Pathologist! So no matter what way you look at it, the solution to world peace is solo singing in the vehicle of your choice! Thank you, thank you...I'll be here 'til Thursday. Singing of course.

Pool Days

Alli likes to play with my hair...she usually does a good job keeping it tidy!

CHEESE!
Kick and kick and kick!

These are a few of my favorite things...

1. The smell of new plastic
2. Key Lime Pie
3. Vanilla yogurt with granola
4. A crisp, juicy apple
5. Jamming in my car to rad tunes
6. New clothes
7. Pedicures
8. Snuggling in bed with a good book
9. Watching American Idol
10. Tan lines - it means there is actually a tan there!
11. Playing Battleship over the phone
12. Polar Bears
13. Driving away from the gas station with a full tank of gas. It's such a smooth ride!
14. Laughs with the parents, hugs from Alli, smiles from Devin, high fives from Kyle, and kisses from Morgan
15. Successful job interviews
16. A Whopper shake from the Malt Shoppe
17. Flowers!!!
18. Country swing dancing
19. The excess of endorphins following a good workout
20. ROLLER COASTERS!
21. Country music
22. 11:11
23. Musicals - and their soundtracks
24. Red kitchens
25. The people who make my life worth living!!

Big Sis, Little Sis

Me and my little sis...enjoying our time together. :)

The Best Cookies EVER!

Well, it wasn't until this year at college that I made homemade cookies for the first time. Yes, you heard correctly! I'm not a little Betty Crocker and I always used cookie-mixes or packages of dough. I finally converted when I found this recipe on the back of a flour bag. My roommate made them, and they were delicious. One day, I decided to try them for myself. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Disclaimer: They are not healthy. At all.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

3/4 cup butter

2 tbsp milk

1 egg

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I just put in however much I want)

Directions:

Combine sugar, vanilla, butter, and milk in a bowl. Mix on medium speed until well blended. Add egg and continue mixing until well blended. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and chocolate chips. Stir with a wooden spoon just until blended. Use two spoons to drop onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 8 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. They taste really good if you let them set in the fridge for awhile. Enjoy!!!!