My little sister, Alaina, is having yet another surgery today due to her Crohn's. I would really love to see TOL get back to the glory that it was when it first started. I would love to see everyone blogging again and people coming to read all of the blogs and money being raised for all of these great causes.

What do you say, TOL? Let's do it!

x

Just a wee lapse of better judgement.

x

I like like you.
Shhh.

x

[THE SETTING: my teller window, decorated with things I love such as photo strips, postcards, things other tellers have sent me, sleeperstar stuff and LOTS OF KING TUT!]
The customer comes to my window, and takes in his surroundings…
Cust: KING TUT?!?! HEHEHEHE…
continue obnoxious high pitched laughing for long enough that it becomes awkward
Cust: [in a serious tone] So, is King tut a boy or a girl?
Me: [long pause whilst deciding if customer is being serious or not, realize he is] A boyyy…
Cust: Oh, I’ve always wanted to know.
Wonder to myself… “doesn’t the king bit give it away?...”

x

So, Tinie Tempah's Disc-Overy is FINALLY dropping stateside today. And, yes, I do already own 2 copies of which I bought from HMV, but... you know what? I'm going to be picking up a copy of the US release. DUH. I mean, it's Tinie! And I LOVE to buy albums of artists I really adore. Who remembers when MIKA's Life In Cartoon Motion dropped? I bought 8 copies within the first week and gave them to friends. [granted I had more money then as I wasn't paying on student loans, but thats a rant I won't bother you with...] So 3 copies of Disc-overy? Why not, I say!

WOO!!!

x

This really happened. USA represent.

"...& that's when I kissed his neck."

x

Well, what is left of my sanity at least, is truely dependent on a handful of people whilst I remain in Ohio. Obv, my fam- but for the sake of this blog we are going to breeze over them and focus on my 3 dearest friends. Honestly, without the 3 of them I would be lost in the heart of it all [although, I would admittedly be about 50 pounds lighter... there is always a tradeoff...]

Frank, Tstutz and Scottie... they put up with me, I put up with them. They:
- Randomly go on food trips with me to obscure locations simply for the adventure
- Sit for hours on end in the local Mexi restaurant whilst I drool over a server
- Enduldge me in my new found fondness of coupons
- Ride in cars with me whilst I sing at obnoxious volumes
- Allow me to play dj with awesome techno and dub step music theyve never heard of
- Aren't too embarassed to be seen in public with me in some of my more... shall we call them 'experimental'... outfits
- Don't mock my habits and OCD's [well, at least not too much... actually, they do- but whatever...]
- Listen to my "funny" stories from start to end, and then laugh... well, they laugh at me not with me...
- Never complain about losingtheir hearing from being my friend.
- Allow me to quote obscure movie and television lines
- Accept the fact that I would drop all 3 of them for JTT and/or anyone from Boys Meets World. [and are aware that I wouldnt think twice about doing so, and that I'd have no regrets...]
- Have come to expect that 1/3 songs that comes on the radio I will have a story about the artist, and even if that story has already been told, I will share it again and they will feign interest...
- Will always be my sanity.

Sometimes I think they will be the end of me, then I realize they likely put up with a ton more randomness from me than I from them...

x

Facebook stalking, we've all done it. Don't even try to front and say you haven't- it's ok... we know. But I feel there are some rules that ought to be followed in regards to creeping, so as not to fully creep out the creeped.

1. Don't tell the person.
If you're going to creep on me, that's fine... but you needn't share this fact with me when you see me somewhere. Also, if I have no clue who you are- it's best not to tell me that you know when my birthday is...

2. Know where you are posting.
Deciding to set a new status? Are you sure you are on your newsfeed? Better double check. "Posting on that person's wall thinking it's your status update can cause all sorts of problems."

3. Don't creep on your ex.
You won't want to see whatever they have posted. You will get mad, or even sad... but, "There is never any middle ground, unless of course it was a hit it and quit it, in which case you're a douche and should be strangled."

4. Likes don't always lead to friendships.
"If someone likes a comment you make on a friend's page, and you don't know who it is, it is of course acceptable to go to their page to see who they are, but it is not acceptable (at least after the first like) to friend them.  If they continue to like your posts on your friend's wall, then you can friend them...if they haven't friended you.  It's at your discretion, though.  More likely a guy would friend a girl (because she's obviously into him) then a girl to friend a guy."

5. To tag or not to tag.
Some photos were taken, and you were tagged, you can tag others if the photo poster isn't friends with them, if they are, tag not my friend, tag not. "If they aren't tagged, it's for a reason.  Just be courteous."

6. Take advantage of limited profile.
"Make sure you put your parents and grandparents on limited profile. Do you want them to see that photo of you doing a keg stand? Didn't think so." Also, think about co-workers, prfessors, old high school teachers, and friends parents in this category as well...

7. Show some interest.
If you're going to take the time to creep, why not like my wall post or comment on my status? "We all love to get likes and comments. Why not return the favor?"

8. Think before you friend.
Do you really know this person? Do you want this person to be able to see all of your photos and posts? "Do you really want to see this person's statuses for the rest of your Facebook existence?" Does this person really know you? You don't want to scare someone away with a random friend request.

9. Think before you post.
"Always."

10. It's ok to creep.
"It's not ok to stalk."

So there are some easy rules... and I had some help for a fre friends, #2 compliments of Becca Jeanjean, #'s 3, 4, and 5 via Tyler Stutzman, #'s 6, 7, 8 & 9 came from fellow TOL blogger Lauren Kester, and the last rule was via Victoria Frank.

So... the creepy customer at the bank who just admited to knowing my birthday... and then told me my birthday... was in violation of rule #1. Also, I think I am ok to friend the cute lad from the Murder Mystery this past weekend, according to rule #8 as I do actually know him... right?

x

So this post is a re-blog from my best friends blog... it was just TOO good not to share. I was actually in tears reading it, I'm none too sure if others will find this quite as amusing, and maybe I'm partial as I was a major player in this blog- but whatever, I think its epic.

So, now I present you a re-blog of Victoria Frank, called 'Flapjack Blonde' ...enjoy!!

Breakfast is the best meal of the day. It just is. Most of the time, however, I skip it because I'm running late and the stuff I want is just plain fattening. But tonight was free pancakes night at iHop, in celebration of National Pancake Day. Yes, my best friend and I celebrate this ridiculous, but totally awesome holiday. You mean you don't?

In my anticipation, I couldn't stop thinking about pancakes all day. I would randomly bust out in song, singing about pancakes in my best opera voice to the displeasure of my coworkers. Whenever I would mention pancakes, I would yell and fist pump in excitement. I invited everyone I knew, even though the gas it would take for them to get to Canton and back would ultimately cost people more than the meal. But it's the idea behind National Pancake Day that's so awesome.

And when the time finally arrived for free pancakes, I almost keeled over in my enthusiasm.

My best friend Amanda and I arrived at iHop to find no parking spots, obviously. I did eventually spy one next to a large snow pile, and after unsuccessfully trying to wedge my car in between an expensive SUV and the glacier that somehow found itself onto the Canton Strip, I decided I just shouldn't park there. Although, at the time, I figured free pancakes would definitely be worth any damage to my little, beat up Honda by the shiny silver Jeep. Run me over if you must, I'm getting my pancakes.

Once inside, we gave the hostess our name, squeezed ourselves onto a bench next to a girl who was way interested in her boyfriend (who was obviously and awkwardly not as interested in her) and waited… and waited… and waited. The boredom must have been killing us, because simultaneously, we pulled out our iPods and attempted to connect to the wireless network.

Locked.

And as anyone who ever watched The Social Network would think they could do, I decided to try my best at becoming a hacker… right there in the iHop entrance area.

"What could the password be?" Amanda asked.

"Well, it's not PANCAKES," I said, completely serious, only to realize a few seconds later how incredibly unintelligent I sounded to the 500 waiting patrons around me.

After trying several other breakfast food-related passwords, as well as words associated with Sam's Club (the neighboring business), we both decided to put away the idea of connecting to the Internet while waiting for free pancakes. So we tweeted from our cell phones, played some video games, laughed entirely too loud at our own lame jokes, and generally annoyed everyone around us.

And finally, our name was called.

In my rush, I literally ran into the manager who was seating us. I actually bowled him over (OK, he didn't fall down, but his foot could not have felt good after I stomped on it). He sat us at a table in the center of the dining room. Perfect.

Amanda and I play a game – and perhaps you play it too – where we make up conversations that we believe seated restaurant patrons would be having among themselves. Naturally, the guy and girl from the waiting area were still a topic of conversation and conveniently seated on the other side of the room, so we continued to analyze the fact that something was amiss in their relationship.
That's when we saw it.

Something intercepted our conversation about the off-balance couple. It was a girl… eating jelly.

You may be thinking, "It's iHop. There's toast. And people eating jelly all the time," but this was different.
There she sat, about 15 years old, at a table with her parents, opening each jelly container individually, spooning out the contents and licking her utensil completely clean, before moving onto the next packet. And the next. And the next.

It captivated us. How could someone eat that much jelly? And how could her parents just sit there and act like it was normal to spoon mass amounts of jelly into your mouth as your appetizer?

And as we watched this horror unfold, we never would have realized that the best was yet to come. Apparently, this girl was not only addicted to jelly, but abhorred pickles.

When her waitress sat her burger down onto the table, the girl promptly picked up the pickle spear, laid it in the palm of her hand, and held it out to the waitress. She palmed the pickle… and expected the waitress to just take it out of her hand and back into the kitchen, as if someone else might want it later.

Amanda and I just sat there. Staring at each other. Finally, the only words I could muster were, "Well, that wasn't weird at all."

Thankfully, the waitress saved us and delivered our beautifully buttered buttermilk pancakes. We (somewhat) reluctantly peeled our eyes away from the spectacle that was next to us, and quickly began devouring our stacks, enjoying every bite, and not stopping to breathe in between.

But then, the unspeakable happened. (Be honest, who saw this coming?)

I started to feel that feeling, where, if one more bite is consumed, you may not actually keep your food down. I cut a bit, put it into my mouth, chewed. It wouldn't budge. I was so full after only half my pancakes were finished, that I sat there, pancakes stuffed in my cheeks, and just went into a pancake coma.

"What if I just sat here, with pancakes in my cheeks like this?" I slurred to Amanda.

"It just hit me too. Oh no. I feel sick. But I have to finish this entire plate," she responded.

"I can't swallow them!" I frantically yelled, as tears welled up in my eyes.

"Must. Eat…. No, I'm done." Amanda finally said.

And we both threw our white flags (napkins) onto the table, surrendering to the pancake overload, disappointment hanging in the air like the heavy (and unmistakable) smell of breakfast diner.

You could see it in our eyes and on our faces. We had oversold the idea of National Pancake Day to ourselves. We were so amped to consume the pancakes, we failed to realize that we weren't actually hungry for pancakes. Or that they weren't as amazing as we thought they would be. Free pancake day was anticlimactic. There was a rise… and where the peak of the evening should have been, just a void, and ultimately, just a big fall.

And this is when our new friend, the jelly-eater, looked at us like WE were the crazy ones.

I hung my head in shame. And as I did so, I realized I had formed a sort of potbelly, rounded perfectly and ever-expanding as time went on.

"iHop," I said. "More like… iFat."

As we drove away a mere hour and a half later (most of which was spent waiting in anticipation), Amanda uttered the only words that could sum up our National Pancake Day non-extravaganza.

"Bye-Hop. See you next year."

and THAT is why we are best friends hahahaha!

x

So I do my best to maintain a certain level of professionalism over on FRFz, so I can gush a bit here on TOL- right? Well, I'm going to...

Last night I went and saw NEEDMORE, and I was pleasantly surprised by the set. But let me tell you- when they covered John Mayers "I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)" woah, baby... I was in the sound booth fanning myself. I mean, there are always a few momets in any live show where I just have to stop and remind myself to breathe, but that entire song had me kneak-in-the-wees. I'm not sure if I'm glad or bummed that I didn't film that cover, on one hand it woud be some amazing footage to have, yet on the other hand I'm not sure I would want to hear my personal soundtrack that surely went along with it...

Judge me if you will, it was hot.

x

Oy, I've had bronchitis for the past week, none too fun- let me tell you. But alas I am on the mend and ready for the month of March! It better fly.

x

I'm not quite sure how, when or why I started calling Sleeprstar my "babybirds" but somehow it has stuck. I think it has something to do with how they continue to make me feel like such a proud Mama Bird when I see them booking bigger gigs, landing placements in epic tv shows and then there was that amaze hometown CD release show- but really, I kinda see them as my big brothers.

A year ago, literally- Feb 18, 2010, my best friend told me to go to the Green River Ordinance and Sleeperstar show in Akron as she had just seen the show in NYC and couldn't stop telling me how amazing Sleeperstar was... So I called up Yvette and we went to check it out and do a couple quick interviews. Needless to say we ended up making fast friends with the guys in Sleeperstar and the rest is history.

I seriously love those boys so much, and can't wait to see what 2011 brings for them, as I am sure there are only great things in store for them- and all the excitement will likely make me pee.

x

Come the stroke of midnight I will be 25 years old... EEK! ButI mean, really, what can I really do aside from embrace my quarter-life crisis.

BRING IT ON!

x

So, #whatwouldtutdo is my favorite, and likely most used, hashtag on twitter- and right now with all of the happenings in Egypt I think it might be a true question- what WOULD he do? Or what would he think of this world in which we currently live...

x

Well, FRFz is currently getting a major facelift- and let me tell you, its going to be SO EPIC! Pretty sure that Becca out did herself on this new look, and I'm so excited to take it live this week!

In other news... well, there isn't anything too thrilling to write about, aside from the fact that I just wasted a perfectly hot outfit for no reason as our bank is done being audited. Bugger.

x

That would be the opposite of 'uppercase' or... you know, what I thought was the opposite of 'uppercase' as 'lowercase' eluded me.

Anyways... I'M BACK!

x

I had a moment Saturday night when the stars aligned, something happened that was pure magic... I was at this after party with some friends and Trevor from O-town, and one of the tele's in the bar was showing the Discovery Channel. BOYBAND + Discovery... my world nearly imploded. It was magic.

x

How cliche am I to use the tagline from How To Be as a subject line... but its true. Sometimes we all really do need a little help. It's been a stressful few days, and TOL just gave me a little back rub of "it's gonna be ok" by just reading some blogs changed my mood so much it was amazing. I need to be motivated, I need to be inspired, and I need music. TOL just gave me that.

x

Do you ever have a day where after all is over you look back and say "whattttt just happened?" and then can do nothing but simply laugh? Well Saturday was one of those days, it started out as most of my Saturdays do, but around 5 pm it took a turn that would have sent my 13 year old self into a teenie fit of joy. 10 hours later I laughed with Yvette saying "Did we really just spend our Saturday with LFO?" The apple in my purse confirmed that we did.

x

I leave for tour tomorrow, and I am so ready! It's going to be a blast and I hope to see some of you on my stops! But let's get down to some "real talk" for a minute...

I AM GOING TO SWIM WITH SHARKS.

Ok, now... let me explain. Each year there is one week of the year where I pretty much pee my pants with excitement each night. A week where I plot how I can be a part of next years week. A week that has led to me embarassing myself in front of people far too frequently. SHARK WEEK. I love that week.

Anyways, saturday morning the HTB group will be heading to Typhoon Lagoon before saying our goodbyes to O-town, and while there I will, oh yes, I will, be swimming with sharks! OH BOY! Hopefully someone will remind me not to try to provoke the sharks so that they attack me, because being on "I Surrived A Shark Attack" thanks to a self-provoke shark attack at a Disney theme park wouldn't be the most exciting story...

x

So in a little less than 3 weeks I will be heading out on another tour, and I am so excited! This is going to be completely different than the Anjulie tour, because... its a film tour. Obscure, I know... but how often does one get to TM for a film tour? The tour is short, but I get to goto 3 cities I have never been to before, Tallahassee, Nashville and Minneapolis... woo! Plus some of my favorite cities [Boston, O-town, Chicago and NYC] so it will be fun.

The tour/film has been getting some good press, and thats exciting for all of us involved... yesterday we had 2 mentions on MTV.com and we are sure all the press is just going to get bigger with the tour, the on demand release and the soundtrack [which features 3 songs by Robert Pattinson!] all in the next month!

I suggest that anyone near the above listed cities come out to the screenings to not only see me, duh, but to see this great film and meet some of the people involved with making it, including some of the actors!

In other news... I can't stop listening to The Saturdays.

x

It's been almost a week and my brian has yet to fully recover from imploding last Saturday in Chicago. I have been putting off this blog so that my thoughts would have time to collect themselves in an orderly manner, but I don't think thats going to happen for a while. It took 5 years for me to see my favorite band, so I doubt that just under a weeks time is enough to get over one of the best shows I have seen in quite some time.

I went to Chicago to see RAZORLIGHT. I finally saw them. Really, really saw them. I didn't break down getting to the show, I didn't read the time on the ticket wrong, I wasn't stopped for not bring my ID, and all of that is saying a lot. Esp if you know any of my history with Razorlight, or should I say, my lacck of history with them. My track record has always been me missing them in a city by a day or two. One of the best was when they were in Adele's office 2 days before I flew to NYC, and I knew it was them and she didn't, I just had a hunch when she said a random band walked by, and that I was two days away from the city that Razorlight was the only band that would be there. It has always worked that way.

But I digress...

I SAW RAZORLIGHT! wow. I honestly thought I was never meant to see them live, I thoguht maybe it was the worlds way of telling me that seeing them live would ruin the illusion. But it didn't. Seeing them live only proved as to why they are, in fact, my favorite band. I danced so hard, and alone for the most part as I offed A2 onto the boys behind us. I wanted to take in the show the way I had dreamt of, dancing and not having a care in the world. And I did just that. I don't care that I can't bust a move for the life of me, but you know... I got on that dance floor, and i ripped it up.

Now that I have experienced them live, I want more. Their live show has made me greedy for more, but don't I deserve it? I have stood behind a band that I only knew via their albums. I steer clear of the gossip surrounding them, and aside from a strong fancy towards Johnny Borrell, I have steered clear of falling into the trap where I fancy a band on the image rather than the music. I want to see them in different capacties, from arenas to pubs. I just want to see them do what they do best. Put on a true rock and roll show.

And for the record, I think that Slipway Fires is incred, and while it's no Up All Night, it is better than their self titled sophmore album. Slipway Fires did not disappoint this girl.

x

There were 3 cities while I was on tour when I had a voice; after Indy I either sounded like a man or like a "dieing squirrel" as Vic put it. This fast is too bad for Anj and Pete, since they didn't get to hear me sing... or maybe its for the best.

Anyways... here is another of Anjulie's video blogs, it was my debut on the video blogs, and it was the last day I sounded like myself...

x

Wow, I have really been slacking on writing these, but I have legit reasons. I am helping to plan an EPIC tour for the month of April [which I can't wait to tell you about], and I was on tour as a tour manager the past few weeks. Ok, so maybe that's not enough to keep me from blogging, but... well, I just needed an excuse.

Anyways, like I said; I spent the last 2.5 weeks as tour manager for this great new artist, Anjulie, who was opening on the Jesse McCartney tour. So many things in that last sentence will make those of you who truly know me laugh a good amount. The shows were so much fun, and the drives really weren't too bad. And I fell in love with hotel beds. Shocking, shocking. I know, but I actually became acustomed to sleeping in a bed that wasn't twin sized... so much so that when I returned home I actaully rolled out/off of my bed when I woke up. That's a bit embarassing, but hey... we're all friends!

I wish there was something truely epic to report on, but we were a pretty tame group. Anj, Pete and Matt thought it funny to pull a "prank" on me in the ATL, but it wasn't even funny. They called and said our car was being towed. Not funny. I didn't fret too much, I just put on some pants and planned on TM'ing the situation. I think the biggest prank on tour was when mother nature decided to blizzard all over us in North Carolina. We were so looking forward to nice weather when we headed south, but we had to wait til we reached FL for any signs of not-winter-like weather. But the blizzard slash state of emergency did allow for an epic snowball fight and prett snow angels.

So this is boring, my "big" return to blogging, and I go and lame it up. My appologizes to TOL world. To make up for my lameness, I shall leave you with one of Anj's video blogs...

x

Ok... I fig'd since I wasn't blogging on TOL when I made the awesome discovery of that now famed article where McFly state they plan to come to America, that I should post a blog about them now.

I am a geek. 2 weeks ago I was writting my final theory paper for school, we're talking 65+ pages... blah... and a friend txt'd me asking if I had ever seen the movie Just My Luck, because it was on TNT at that moment. It thought the question was a joke at first... I mean, this is JUST MY LUCK we are talking about, and I'm pretty sure I am the only person who actually likes the movie for more than just McFly. This one question sparked me popping off about the movie, and it went something like this:

Have I seen JML? Is that a legit question? I signed my life away to Slaur just days after meeting so that we could get passes to a private screening of the film with McFly 2 months before it was released. We then saw it the night it was released, and we snuck into the theatre another time while waiting to see Da Vinci Code just to catch a few minutes of the film, which led to us running around Times Square to buy 3 bootleg copies. And then, when it was released on DVD, I bought it. So yeah... I have seen JML a time or two.

So, despite the fact that I own 2 copies of the DVD [ok, so maybe only one is a legit copy... but still] and have seen it countless times, I watched it on TNT 2 times, back to back... with commercials. Mind you, I could have simply put the DVD in and saved myself about 30 minutes worth of commercials, but wheres the fun in that? Then yesterday it was on TNT again... I watched it.... again. Then come midnight it aired yet again... and I'm not going to like... I WATCHED IT!

What is wrong with me? I own the DVD for goodness sake. Why do I never just put it in and watch it sans commercials? I think it's the rush I get from seeing McFly on American TV. It's such a rarity, its abso incred.

Anyways... I don't think this is really about McFly, but more that I have indeed seen JML. Cue lameness.

x

So I woke up, was working on some school stuff and e-mailing Adele... I sent her a pic of the snow that was falling. Thats when I said "I want to make a snow angel." She told me to do it, to seize the day. Mind you I had just washed myhair so its still wet and in a towel and I am in my PJ's, but you know what... when your best friend who has yet to see her first snow fall of the season tells you to do it, you do it. PJ's and all. So I ran out and made my first snow angel of the season.

x

SYKE!

isn't it lovely? don't be jeal of my mad skills.

x

I have 2 legs. SHOCKER. And they are pretty normal, right? Well... my left leg is sometimes a bit moody. Sometimes my left leg likes to pretend it doesn't exist. It works really hard at annoying me for an evening and then its numb for a day or two.

As if I weren't a bad enough walker in the first place, add not being able to feel your left leg from the knee down, yeah, not a pretty sight. Sometimes if my left leg is in an overly foul mood it goes numb from the waist down, this is funny. I don't realise it when its numb that far up, I have gone to stand up and fallen into closets a time or seven, fallen on my dog and out of booths at restaurants. I laugh it off, and then think thoughts towards my leg that one would think only a sailor to be capable of thinking.

This weird fact about my left leg is just a little side effect from when I fell down the stairs and broke my tailbone right before my 21st. Smashing, smashing. Appar my vertabrae shifted and theres some nerve or something that was affected, and it appar has control over L.L. Numb Leg [get it, i made a reference to LL Cool J, he's still relevant in todays pop culture, right?].

Anyways, my left leg is working on going numb. Smashing. I can tell. So if you see me tomorrow, either watch out or offer a helping hand! And feel fee to laugh, I will be.

x

OK, first... i just wasked my hair.

Next, I am beyond amped for Twilight. I feel supes chiche saying that, but I am excited. My friend Marina made me read Twilight in May so I blame her, but tonight we are driving to Akron to see it at 12:01 [because all the other showing closer to us were sold out, bah]. Lets hope the film is all that we expect, and hopefully more.

Is anyone else delighted to see the same actor who played awkward, quarter-life crisis Art in How To Be play the "perfect" man/vamp in Twi? Yeah, should be interesting, because I have it in my head that Rob is Art, so let's see if  Ican convience myself he is Edward come midnight tonight.

x

Just as a follow up to y-days blog. It's now 10 days old. Yeah, you kinda lo it.

x

Cabo commented on my last blog about it... my friend OHL is  texting me about it right now... Adele always asks [or in her accent, axes] me how old it is... and I just look at it and say 'teves, grab the aerosol, and head out the door.

For those wondering, I don't really care that much about my hair. At times its its own being, and other times its just there. My hair has a love affair with Aussie Ausome Volume hairspray, and sometimes eats bobby pins. No joke, they randomly fall out of my hair days after having put them in. Oops.

Ima currently debating writting a paper or crimping my 9 day old hair. The paper needs to be written, but the crimps would hold SO WELL today. I just know it. It'd be Brit hair circa the Stronger vid; you can't deny how epic that would be. Since I curled some of my hair sunday, the crimps would be a rad accent.

Days 3-5 are always the best days for my hair. Weird, I know. Days 5-9 are always best for styling my hair. And after that its a dirty, messy ponytail until I plan my next 1-2 weeks so I know what days I need my hair to do what.

If you are judging me right now, because my hair is 9 days old, go for it. If you are jeal that you hair olny last 17 hours, sorry. If you think I'm a dirty kid, well, maybe. But you know what, I love my hair, dirty or not, and it love Aussie.

x

I did it again. I always end up doing this. One would think I would learn from the past. As much as I try, I still fall back into the same pattern. I am in far too deep this time; it will either end far too soon and leaving me to say never again, or maybe this time it will be different.

x

*edit*
Best friends put it all into perspective. And know me better than I know me.

It seems that everyone I know is doing their bit to make the world a better place, my friends are awesome. I plan on blogging about all of the people in my life who inspire me at some point. Today I want to let you know about one of the best people I know.

This is Scottie, he is one of my best friends… [by my choice, not his!] We met the summer between 8^th and 9^th grades, I told him we were going to be friends, and I just made sure it happened. When I was living in NYC he made 2 visits, and whenever I was in Ohio I would always go visit at Otterbein. Scottie and I are completely different, but somehow a great friendship has been created over the years.

I always knew that Scottie would do his part to make the world a better place, he is just a genuinely good person. One of the best people I know, and I am very lucky to be able to call him one of my best friends. Scottie has recently joined the Peace Corps and is in Guatemala [ www.nebaj.com ] and will be there for quite some time! He is working so hard to make a difference!

Scottie is keeping a blog about all he is doing while there, and I suggest that if reading everyone’s blogs here on TOL isn’t enough inspiration for you that you head over to Scottie’s blog and give it a read! Very interesting and he offers a completely different perspective from what I will be blogging here ;)

http://cartasdeguatemala.blogspot.com/

x

I think my brother pretty much summed it up.

I want to write something awesome about this new day, but words are eluding me.

My brother worked so hard, my whole family did, but I don't know anyone who did more than my brother, aside from the president elect himself. And this just proves how much it was worth.

I am so proud of our country right now!

x

I'm going to try to do this blog right, but I know I won't be able to fully describe my baby sister, my best friend, my hero to the extent in which she should be described.

This is Alaina, she is my little sister and 13 years old. She is everything that you would expect of a 13 year old. She loves boys, loves music, has a million friends, acts goofy, rides her bike, goes to football games, has sleepovers and annoys me to death. But I love her more than anything. Ever.

Her compassion towards others amazes me. It's something that I respect so much. Her first, and only time, in NYC she cried when she saw someone digging through the trash. She cries when she thinks of those less fortunate than her, and she hates to see roadkill. She always puts others first.

If you spend 5 minutes with her, you are instantly wanting to be her firend. No matter how old you are. I sometimes wonder if my friends are closer with her than with me. She can make anyone laugh. My friends call her to chat. And this isn't something new. I always knew she was special.

When she was a baby, she was my baby. She has always been my best accessory, always close, nearly attached at the hip. I am 10 years older than Alaina and after a few years there were the questions "Is that your daughter?" and it threw me and we always laughed. To this day I ask people if they want to see pictures of my kids [my 19 year old 6'7" brother] and the looks I get never cease to amuse me. I have always liked to play dress up with her, she was the best barbie ever. Even to this day she likes to come into my closet pick out something weird and ask me to do her hair.

With all the good that is my baby sister, I can't seem to grasp why she has been put through so much pain at such an early age. In fall of 2005 [she was 9, turing 10] she was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. She had to endure awful tests, drink horrid fluids and had her weight yo-yo between steroids and times where she was so sick she couldn't eat. The treatments they have tried have been so hard on her, and she has had severe reactions to some of them. Once I was alone at home after work with the family all at the hospital with her as I sat and sobbed on the phone with Slaur worrying about my baby.

She is an inspiration. She is in so much constant pain, and you would never guess. She still worries about others before herself. She will never make it a point to let you know how she is dealing with this disease, but she will make light of it by farting and blaming it on the Crohn's with a giggle. 3 years of learning about the disease and trying to keep it under control, and my family still is at a loss. But Alaina is hopeful. She knows that someday Crohn's won't be a nuisance to another 13 year old, and she is willing to try new treatments and tell the doctors what they are doing wrong and what they are doing right if that info will someday help someone else.

She beleives in a cure, and would like to see it in her lifetime, but she isn't worrying about herself. She is still wanting to help those less fortunate, and doesn't want anyone to think that she needs pity. She wants to shine, she wants to be normal, she wants to help the world.

Her smile can make anyone smile, her laugh spreads though any room, her humor makes me jealous. She is growing up so fast. She will always be my baby girl, my baby sister, my best friend.

She is my hero.
I am blogging for her, and for all that she beleives.

x

So I have recently been reunited with my laptop which has been dead for like 2 years. Needless to say, there are some random things on it that may be a bit scary to most of you.

I found a pic that was a joke from years ago. It's really not that funny. But it still kinda creeps me out to this day:

I have since given up my body building dreams, but I was once almost at the top.
So close.
Then I met butter.
And Wagamama, McDonalds, WaWa... and so began my love affair with food.

x

I spent 1/2 of last week living on a musicians couch, and I watched Almost Famous for the 634th time while on that couch.

I could tell you a bit about myself, but really... whats to tell? I live in theOH, I graduate in 54 days, I am a dirtie kid, I have won 2 pizza eating contests, I hate wearing pants, I was just called "curtain leg" by a co-worker, I love to drive with the windows down, and I like to pretend I have friends.

I am supes keyed to be blogging. When my last flight yesterday landed and I turned my phone on and saw the e-mail from Cassie I nearly shat myself. It was the perfect end to the perfect week, and now I am starting a new week with my first blog.

I am far too tired and beyond chilled right now to write something worthwhile or semi-coherent... so, I think I will end this with a random fact: I know what happened Saturday night.

That's all.
Golden,
ajo.
x