Catchin' Up

So, it has been awhile since I have had a moment of spare time. Work, work, work.......! I hate working! However, a few days ago, my Mom and I ventured the 5 hour drive to Kansas City, MO. We went and saw Widespread Panic @ the Starlight Theater. It of course was awesome! Busted out a "C. Brown" for the first song of set one. I was lovin' it, and Mom danced the whole time. I was able to get up to the 3rd row, and the boys never looked so good! Ahhh JB! Got some cool pics on my phone and everything! This show was the only highlight of June. There are Waffle Houses there (YES!) and I had the best sweet tea!! Love those Pecan waffles! It made me miss charleston so much! I am not sure how I put it in italics, but I am clueless how to remove it. Oh well. Time to go for now. GO CUBS!!!

Well, I finally saw the "Da Vinci Code". I liked it, although it was long. True to the book, I thought. It's 2.5 hrs long! I also rented "Shop Girl" w/ Claire Daines and Steve Martin. It was sad, but I enjoyed it.

I'm getting geared up for the beginning of Widespread Panic's Summer tour. My mom and I are going to KC on the 21st for the opening day. I am getting excited! We are also going to St. Louis in July. FUN FUN!

Iowa City ArtsFest

So, my sweet, precious, ADORABLE 5 year old neice, Maggie, had her Iowa City debut @ the Iowa City ArtsFest this Saturday. She is a member of the Stapelton School of Scottish Highland Dancers. What a show! Yeah, I am biased, but she was the BEST dancer up there. I was in tears. I love her so much and she is so talented! My Mom made her little red tartan plad "kilt" and white lace blouse. I was hootin' and hollerin' to cheer her on and believe me I took a TON of pics!

I've been working A LOT these days, followed by a lot of drinking, which is unusual for me, sort of. My good friend Amanda was in town over Memorial day so we spent Sunday pm at the old Fitzpatricks (Old Capitol Brew House?) having a great time. Her friend Jeremy from Chicago was also w/ us. Some of her old IC friends showed up and next thing I knew it was closing time. Monday @ work was slow, then busy. Then that night I went out to a keg party and got so wasted! It was fun until I hurt someone doing a kegstand. I also went out Thursday night w/ peeps from the RL. My friend Crystal got back into town, so I met her downtown. It was a good time, but I was tired and didn't stay out long. Plus, I am watching my Mom's dogs, so I had to get back to the house @ a good hour. Having dogs is like having kids. can't leave 'em like I can my cats. WOW!

And....my Cubbies battled it out to the death with those NASTY St. Louis Cardinals for 14 innings. The Cubs won, and I was very happy. Sleepy, too. I think they are winning right now as I type this. GO CUBS!!!!!!! Well, I am gone for now. Have a good weekend everyone!

Mall of America

Well, since we were not able to get to MN, my Mother suggested we go to Des Moines to go shopping. Our latest shopping finds have been the Philosophy line. I love the Grace! (Plus, it's a great name!) We went to Valley West mall and then to Jordan Creek. We squeezed in a trip to Steinmart because I love it & Mom had never been there before. We had lunch @ Famous Dave's (delish!) AND they have SWEET TEA!!!!!!!! God, I LOVE sweet tea! It's so good. The table wine of the South. This batch could have been sweeter, but good none-the-less. I miss Charleston a lot. I did buy quite a bit though. 2 kick-ass paqirs of flip-flops, some stuff from Walliams Sonoma, etc., etc.,......I hated the 1.5 hr drive back though.

My Cubbies lost it in the bottom of the 9th. Bases loaded, 2 outs, the Marlin hits a fly ball out to the warning track. I thought it was a grand slam. Instead the Cubs lost again. At least I'm not a KC Royal fan.

I hear my friend Amanda's coming to visit me this weekend. I am excited to see her. She lives in Denver and I saw her last in CO in January. Should be a good time.

Well, the trip to the Mall of America fell through because my Dad is still in town. It's cool though, as I can get some things done around my house and my parents. I have 4 days off and I need them! I'd like to hit a Kernel's game w/ the girls in CR. Who knows? My other brother's birthday is this week too. My cousin's b-day is the day before his as well. This past Saturday the whole family went out to eat @ Lone Star to celebrate the birthdays. The food was good and the service was EXCELLENT!!!!! I was quite upset @ the fact that 2 members of my family gave this poor server a VERY hard time. I wasn't sure what he did to deserve such attitude, and I was sitting close to them. We are a large group: 4 kids under the age of 5 and a 6 month old baby. All of us had seperate checks (no BIG deal) and the grat was included as it is for large groups. Anyway, I was personally insulted and called the manager on Sunday to apologize. My Dad's side of the family is so rude sometimes. I'm quite ready to wash my hands of them. No one except for me and my little brother have worked in food service. They don't know how HARD it is and how it sucks ass to have bitchy guests. You know u cannot tell them off because you'll lode your job. I may go back and tip him a little more. (I didn't have any cash w/ me on Sat.) So, to those of you out there who think that we are your damn servants...F OFF!!!!!! Wow, I really do feel better now. Don't make me tell you about my friend who waited on a newly drafted Hawkeye and how he was an ass: snapped his fingers for her attention, asked for a DISCOUNT, and tipped her crap. Y'all have a good day!!!!

Movies and Such

Hello! So I have been watching a lot of movies this past few weeks. I saw "Derailed" which was good. 4 out of 5 stars. A different role for Jennifer Aniston. "Flight Plan" was ok, 3 out of 5 stars. The suspense was good. Then I watched "In Her Shoes" w/ Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette. Alright. I haven't read the book though. "Ice Harvest" was really dark and funny. It has John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton in it. I liked it a lot. "The Interperter" w/ Nicole Kidman wasn't so good. Long and hard to follow. "The Family Stone" was wacky, and a bit sad. Gotta love SJP, Luke Wilson and Diane Keaton. What will I rent next? Tune in to find out!

Well, first things first...Let me give a shout out to Kara, Bob, Keaton, Kelsey and Sadie Stokes of Marion, Iowa! Hi guys! I went and got a Hawaiian Shave Ice (cherry limeade) with my Mom. She got something hawaiian. They are better than icees. My friend Molly made me 2 new mixed CD's. I am so excited to listen to them. I had today off. My dad got back yesterday (YAH!) and we went to lunch. Then I did laundry and hung out @ my parents. Laid back, nice day. Took a short nap, too. Back to work tomorrow. Gotta make $ for Mall of America. Well, time to watch The Real World: Key West. YAH!

Oh yeah, I forgot to wish my brother, Clay a happy 20th birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLAY!

Well, what a busy weekend it was. I spent a lot of time at the restaurant. Almost had overtime!! I am happy to announce that I have tomorrow off! Of course it'll be spent doing laundry and cleaning. Hopefully my Dad will be back tomorrow, too. I miss him. My Cubbies aren't doing real well these days. After winning a game, that have lost like the last 3 I think. Carlos Zambrano is pitching tomorrow night. Hopefully Kerry Wood will be back pitching Thursday night. Let's hope so.
So I am going to the Mall of America next week with my Mom. I am excited to do a lot of shopping. Hopefully there weather will be nice. I am also looking forward to shopping at IKEA. It's right across the street form the mall. I want some new furniture and to up-date some things. We'll see.

Cubs.com
widespreadpanic.com
yahoo.com
thesmokinggun.com
carnival.com

Is anyone excited to see The DaVinci Code? I am. I loved the book and I love Tom Hanks. I most likely won't see the movie until it has been out for a few days. I hope it's good. I know the book's made up, but what if that stuff really happened?
My mom and I are going to the Mall of America in a few weeks. I am excited. Anything to do with shopping is cool. We are goining on another cruise in Jan of '07 w/ Naomi, Molly Jo and Monica. Carnival LOVES us! We got rooms with extended balconies (50% bigger than regular balconies) and are right next to each other. We chose a 7 day this time, and will be leaving from Tampa, FL. We're sailing to Grand Cayman (my fave!)Cozumel, Belize, and Costa Maya, Mexico. I am super excited to go to Belize!!! If anyone has been there, please feel free to share anything cool about what to do/see. That's true for any of the places we'll be visiting.
Also, Mom and I will be going to Kansas City and St. Louis this summer to see Widespread Panic. YAH!!!! Of course I miss Charleston, and hope to get there late this summer.

The Adventures of Kismet in Iowa

FINALLY!!!!!! Finally my bloved Cubbies won a game! They beat the San Francisco Giants 8 to 1. I was happy to see Barry Bonds DID NOT get another homerun. Carlos Zambrano had a GREAT night and pitched an amazing 8 innings. We'll see how things go today with a day game. I'm welcoming any comments from sports fans or anyone esle wanting to chat.