ADDICTED

My name is Kristie and I am an addict. Yes, it is true. After all these years trying to avoid it. Trying to walk a straight line. I finally broke down on Tuesday. While sitting on my couch trying to avoid my headache but the whole time dreaming of coffee. I am truly addicted to coffee.

But I found that I am not only addicted to coffee. No, no, no. I am finding addictions are like grey hairs or lays potato chips - you can never have just one. So, here are my addictions:

1) Coffee (in the morning before my first sip it really doesn't matter what kind)
2) Starbucks
3) double-tall, no whip, fat-free pumpkin spice latte
4) Fresh-2-Order
5) Mac PowerBook G4

Yes, yes, yes... its sad but true. I am learning the language... But, on the up side, check out the sweet cups I found and decided I couldn't live without:



For those who have not been to Fresh-2-Order you are sooooo missing out. While sitting outside in downtown Atlanta across from a Starbucks, Kendol and I enjoyed our relatively cheap, exceptionally fresh dinner. Besides, who can say no to bourbon marinated Salmon, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, tarragon aioli, and corn cilantro relish. I can't wait to have another!




With all the love from my additions I am a little bit sad. Really its only for two reasons:

1) I can not upload pictures from my beloved Kodak EasyShare camera to my newest love... my Mac PowerBook G4. Apple tells me they are 'uncompatable.' I say they are meant to be.

2) Its always a sad day when you find out your boyfriend likes the movie 'Willow.' And I quote from him, "I have never seen so many midgets in my entire life."

Nike Run

Apparently Nike incourages people to run. They just don't do it very loudly. Well, maybe a little loudly. I was walking thru the mall the other day ~ as I very often do ~ and found a sign outside the Nike store announcing that they have what they call 'Nike Run' every Tuesday night at 6:30pm. You can go either 3, 5, or 7 miles.

I convinced Kendol this would be a fun way to spend an evening and off we went. Afther getting signed in they were letting us borrow a pair of Nike+ shoes and an iPod Nano with the sport kit. I loved it. I am now trying to come up with the money to buy it all (since I don't have the shoes, the iPod, or the sport kit... and the 3 together is not cheap). The shoes were light and perfect for running and I loved having all my stats at the click of a button. I 'drank the juice.'

At the end of the run the provide Vitamin Water, granola bars, and fruit!! Yum. And, they also gave everyone a free pair of socks! They look pretty nice too. I will have to test them out next Tuesday when I go running again.



Anyone in the Buckhead area come join me!!

Evolution of a Puzzle

Last week Kendol and I decided to put together a puzzle, one that I had gotten from my parents for Christmas when I still lived in Michigan, but Kendol saw it sitting in the closet a few months back and thought we needed to conquer 750 pieces. So, we finally sat down and after 2 days and a lot of stareing at New York (there is nothing wrong with that) we finally got it done... check it out!

LA Ink

Carlos, one of the guys I work with and the auther of Ragamuffin Soul, will be on LA Ink tomorrow!! Lucky!!

Erin's Blog

I just found Erin's blog!!! (Actually she sent it to me but who's counting...) She was the one who was nice enough to help me get the job at Buckhead Church and who I was volunteering for. Just just had the cutest baby, which of course there are pictures of on her blog. Check it out :)

Atlanta Braves!!

Last Wednesday as Kendol and I were eating dinner (left overs from my dinner party on Tuesday that turned out wonderful! As usual with my dinner parties I forgot to take pictures...) Victor called and said he had four tickets to go watch the Braves game that night. The one that started in an hour. And he asked if we wanted to go. Sweet! Just needed to find someone else to come with us. I did remember our neighbors state that they would like to go to a Braves game this year so I called up Raleigh and asked if he and roomate Ian were up for a game. Ian had a big test the next day so he was unable to go but the rest of us had a ton of fun at the game!! The tickets were for the VIP section and we had a great view. Not only was the view great but so was the weather! It was beautiful.

I posted a few pictures from the game in the same list as I post all other pictures. Enjoy!!

Cooking, cooking, cooking

Is the theme for me this week. I found out that two people I know had birthdays in the past week so I am celebrating with them this week. One of the guys is Steve, who works at Cbeyond with me. He was actaully the guy who made my birthday cake from scratch, so you know I have to go all out for his, and he wants chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I am making it tonight... so I will have to take a pic and blog it.

Then Kendol's brother Antonio had his birthday last week but is having his party on Saturday. Both Kendol and I have to work but we will take him a cake on Thursday to celebrate! He wants a vanilla cake that is themed in Dolphins or Sharks. So, I am doing the baking and Kendol will be doing the decorating. I figure we should put his creative talents to work!

And, finally on Tuesday I am having another one of my big dinner parties (well, big for my apartment... there will be about 10 people there). Since we are *starting* to see some weather conditions that may be considered fall-like, I have decided to do a big ham, sweet-potato, winter vegetable dinner. I can't wait!! If I have time I will be making an inside out German chocolate cake. My bosses birthday is coming up and he wants me to make a German chocolate cake... I figure this would be a good time to practice!!

BTW - it was good to finally see UofM finally decide to play football!! Hopefully they can keep that up!! Hehe!!

Award Winning Work

Aparantly I am a part of an award winning orginization.

Trade As One

My church put together a singles retreat and I just read a blog about it. While they were there they had vendors from around the world selling thing, One of the vendors was Trade As One. I found their mission quite interesting... maybe you will too. Check them out:

Does your church have a blog???

Well, mine does. And I have linked it to the side. I am telling ya, this is the COOLEST place to work!!

Lovin it!!

I had to stop and write an entire blog about my new job... just to let you know how much I LOVE IT!!! Its amazing that I can go to work and not be completely stressed out!! I am loving this!! And, I know the reason is the people. Everyone there is so friendly, so God-oriented, so laid back. They are wonderful! I have been shadowing a guy named Trip, who is very unique. I tried to explain him to Kendol but the best I could do was a cross between him (i.e. ADD) and my friend Marcus (i.e. loves Macs). My new boss is a guy named Jason and his wife had a baby like 5 days before I started. I found out that most of the women there are newly married and just had a child or is about to. When I was informed of this fact everyone looked and me. I about fell out of my chair before explaining to them that I have a five year plan and neither marriage or children are in it. They laughed at me.

There are so many creative people working at the church, no wonder its such a great place to worship. I don't have a lot of stories myself yet about the different people however there is a new guy named Carlos who just moved from Cali to serve as the Service Programming Director. His family (wife and 3 children) are still there but will be moving down at the end of the month. Carlos has an amazing blog called Ragamuffin Soul that I have added to my favorite. Check his out under my friends section.

Well, thats about it for now. I will keep you posted!

Kept Busy

I have sure been kept busy... and just with work!!

Actually, I haven't had a day off since last Friday (and I don't mean 4 days ago... I mean 11), but I took tomorrow off and will be doing almost nothing all day long. Kendol won tickets to a comedy show so that is the almost. I have bought champagne, orange juice, and peaches so I will be having a Mimosa/Bellini day - probably at the pool! I can't wait!!!

My new job is going really well! They are so laid back and so far the love me... but I expected no less. And they don't need me to be there until 9:30 or so in the morning... so I can easily walk to work!! And, they gave me a Mac laptop... its so small and cute. I can take it home and learn how to use it! I love it!

In other news, I had to go to court on Friday at 7am for the accident I was in... it was easy for me. But, the ease for everyone there depended on what door you went in. I went in the main door, as did about 50 other people. However there were about 15 people who had to come in a side door... in handcuffs!! The judge heard the people in handcuffs first and most of them were there on DUI charges and one was there on a laundry list of charges including speeding at 150 or higher and fleeing the cops. But there was one that made me giggle and got me in trouble with the court officer.

Everyone was in the court room in civilian clothes expect one man, and he was in his red jail jumpsuit. He was the last of handcuffed to be seen by the judge... his crime... urinating in public! Before 8am that charge to me is hilarious... especially since he was in handcuffs and a jumpsuit! I giggled. Which, I found out was a mistake. The court officer looked over to me and told me there was no talking in the courtroom and we needed order... that's when he saw that I had been chewing gum. He made the most upset face and started mouthing to me "no chewing gum" while making wild hand gestures towards his mouth. It is before 8am!!! I had to work really, really hard not to laugh at him. But, I composed myself and within 15 minutes I was in front of the judge. I plead my no contest and thanked the judge for his time before paying my fine and heading to J. Christopher's for some breakfast... then I was off to a day at work.

Never a dull moment!

So many changes...

So, since my last post I have been sick, the hole in my apartment has finally been fixed, I have gotten into an accident, and picked up another job. Little more explanation...

So, the Saturday after my birthday my throat started to hurt. I assumed the trouble was just too much birthday partying so I didn't think too much of it.

Saturday was my friend Britt's 21st birthday party! Kendol and I went out to his parents house for a cook-out before going to Fever to do some dancing. I wasn't drinking since I had drank quite a bit at my own party, I had to work the next day, and Britt's parents house was quite a ways outside the city. So, I make it back into town, get to the street that the club is on (which is about 2 mile from my apartment) and get into an accident! I side swiped a mini-van trying to turn lanes. My car wasn't too damaged, I broke the passenger side mirror and I put a good dent in the back panel of the mini-van. The guy I hit was pretty cool about the whole thing but we had to wait for about an hour before the police showed up and about an hour and a half total. I now have to go to court on Friday, August 31 to get my sentencing, but she gave me a ticket for an improper lane change. Unfortunately I never made it into the club and never got to do any dancing!! But, at least the accident wasn't too bad! And, I found out that Progressive is a pretty good car insurance company... I called them while we were waiting for the police to arrive, the had given me a claim number and set up a time for my car to be fixed. I got a free rental while they were fixing it and they did all the work. The car has been fixed and I am pretty satisfied with the service they provided.

Kendol's friend Carrie, who is currently living in Wisconsin but grew up down here, was in town for a friend's wedding and Kendol wanted to see her before she had to head back home so on Sunday we hung out with her and a few other guys at one of the guy's apartment pool. It was a lot of fun and his friend Carrie is really sweet.

The only trouble... I woke up the next morning and couldn't talk! My throat felt huge and I could barely get two words out before it hurt. So, I called in sick and planned to lay around all day and maybe watch some television. However, I slept until 11am, got up for about an hour before realizing that I wouldn't be able to stay up. Went back to sleep, did the same thing between 5pm and 6pm. Got up again at 9pm stayed up until about 10:30pm before going back to sleep. I slept the entire day!! And the sad part is, when I woke up on Tuesday I didn't feel any better! I called in sick again! However, by about noon on Tuesday I was at least able to stay awake!

I felt good enough to get some work done on Wednesday so I went to work and took a training class (they are giving us training Tuesday-Thursday for the next month so I have been having to go in on some of my off days) and then went to Buckhead Church to do some volunteering. The lady I volunteer for suggested that I give her my resume, they are looking for some people in their Information Technology department. So, once I got home I sent her my resume. The next day I had an email from Human Resources wanting to set up an interview. I went online and found that the job they were hiring for was part time, something I can do in my off days from Cbeyond. So, I had my interview and I now have a job! I am working for the church on Wednesdays and Thursdays starting next week.

On Thursday I had to stop down to the DMV to get my tags on my car renewed. I never remember but I need to bring them cash so it always takes me twice as long as it should since I have to stand in line twice but the building is right on the marta line and its much easier to take marta than it is to drive and find free parking so I took that. After getting my tags I went to work again for another training class and I started feeling really groggy again! This time it was more in my nose and chest... By Saturday night I was coughing enough to keep me awake and by Sunday night I was not able to sleep. Monday morning I finally broke down and called the doctor but they were not able to get me in until Tuesday so Monday night I slept sitting up and that worked pretty well. Tuesday I stopped in and the doctor prescribed me a cough medicine and an antibiotic. I went to the doctor on my lunch break and went back to work after I got the medicine. I took the medicine at work and it made me really dizzy!!! I got soooo sick at work the guys here though I should go home... but I was afraid to drive! So, I took a nap in the break room and stayed here until I thought I was well enough to drive home without getting sick on the way... which was an hour after my shift ended! I made it home safely, slept all night, and woke up feeling much better. I called my doctor and got a new antibiotic. I did much better after that!

And finally, I have been dealing with the ceiling hole and mold for the the last month since there was a leak in my bathroom ceiling about a month ago. Kendol cleaned up the mold and I have been contacting the office and writing them letters (as stated in my contract) for the past month with no real service on getting the ceiling patched up. So finally last week I wrote them a letter stating I would have to contact a lawyer and find out my legal rights if the hole was not patched up within the next week. On Thursday I got a call from the office manager stating it would be fixed that day... and it was! I was shocked but very happy. I spent Thursday night cleaning out that bathroom (it was fixed but they made a mess doing so) and then Friday night cleaning out the rest of the apartment. The worst part was the closet so I re-arranged it and got rid of about 3 bags of cloths. I am getting my closet down to only what I am really wearing, which is all I really have room for anyway.

After cleaning, Kendol and I went to our friend Whitney and Carol's apartment for a small party. It was nice to be out and feel well! I had a lot of fun too!!

Happy Birthday!!

I had a wonderful birthday! I spent the first half of it at the gym then relaxing. I took a really, really long nap! Loved every minute of it... hehe!

Then at night my friends and I went out to Eclipse di Luna, a tapas restaurant in Buckhead, for dinner and drinks. There was a live Latin band and the atmosphere was excellent! We got their 'all-you-can-drink-and-eat' special and we were able to drink sangria's, beer, and wine as well as an assortment of tapas for 2 1/2 hours. You better believe my friends know how to take advantage of that!! We had a blast drinking, eating, talking, and being goofy.

One of my friends got me a birthday cake and part way thru the evening they brought out the cake... the entire restaurant helped sing happy birthday. If I remember correctly the band even played along with them (however, it may have just been music in my head... I had quite a bit to drink)!!

I got a few other really fun presents. Grandma & Grandpa E. sent me a very pretty cross (which is about to be hung in the bedroom). My parents sent me a music-playing birthday card which was reminiscent of our Nashville trip (i.e. it plays country music) and when we were in Nashville they bought me a purse and bathing suit as well as helped finish my apartment up when they were here! Kendol took me out for the dinner and bought me a very nice outfit... dress, shoes, purse, and lotion. However, the dress didn't fit so it will have to be returned. Kendrick bought me a very cute D&B pink purse. Marcus and Ashley got me a pink rolling pin and mat from William Sonoma. Whitney and Carol bought me an assortment of goodies including a thong, candle and holder, and shot glasses. Victor stated my gift is 'in the mail' and I will get it next week with dinner at his apartment. And last but not least Cleveland gave me a gift certificate from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I have such thoughtful friends and family and I love all the gifts I received!!

After dinner we went to my friend Los' apartment for the after party. However most of us were wiped out by the actual party so the after party was quite short. I have no clue what time I got home but woke up around 10am... with only a slight headache. It wasn't anything that an Advil, some coffee, and a good breakfast couldn't take care of!

I am working on getting all of the pictures uploaded. It should be completed soon and once they are they will be added with the rest of the pics on the left hand side. I still am loving the camera my parents bought me for Christmas. And, you can thank my friend Kendrick for all the wonderful pictures... he is always my camera man! I can remember to bring the camera but can never remember to take pictures!

Other birthday news... on Monday the guys at work got me cake and ice cream as well (since I am generally only at work with everyone on Mondays). And, the cake was made from scratch by one of the techs! It was very good!


In other news, cause I know not everything this week revolved around my birthday... even though I think it should have! Hehe.

The air conditioning in the building stopped working on Sunday... and we just got it back today! Gotta love it. This week we had record breaking temperatures in Atlanta and of course, no air! The temps have been over 100 degrees... with the heat index putting the air temperatures over 108. And, they stated that the pavement temperatures (can you believe they can now tell you how hot the pavement is??) are in the 140's! So, you can imagine how hot my apartment could get! Luckily at night we were able to turn the air fan on high, open the one window that my apartment has, and let the 70 degree temperatures circulate. Then in the morning we would shut everything up and leave all of the lights off. Also, we elected to have dinner out of the apartment instead of cooking. All in all it really did stay quite cool in here!

After a lot of thought I have decided not to continue with the same volunteering group thru Hands on Atlanta so I will have to find another group to volunteer with. There was a gap between my believes and theirs. Even though they were really nice people I don't think I can volunteer with them and have a clean Christian conscious.

But, I am now volunteering on Wednesdays and Fridays at my church. The lady that I am helping works Sunday thru Wednesday so I come in on Wednesday and help her with random office work and then on Fridays I get all of the bulletins ready for Sunday.

Well, back to uploading pictures and this apartment needs a good cleaning!

Volunteering

So, I have had another busy week!!

The chruch has updated the name for the 'small group'... they now call them 'community groups' which is probably good because everyone at work makes fun of the name 'small group' they say it sounds like an AA meeting or something. So, now I am trying to use the term community group when referring to the group of women I meet with on Monday evenings.

Either way, we have been reading a book called Peeking into a Box of Chocolates and we read a chapter basically on greed. They recommended volunteering as a way to help with greed, which is something that I had been wanting to do both in and out of church. The trouble for me was I work on Sundays and there was no real way for me to help out (I run straight from work to Church). So, I said a little prayer and then went onto their website. I didn't find anything about signing up as a weekday volunteer however I did find a link to become a member of the church. I decided to give it a try. So, I am now in the application stage of becomming a member of a church!

So, I went to church last Sunday and was thumbing thru the bulletin and found that they are now looking for weekday volunteers! God said 'ask and you shall receive' right! He wasn't kidding! So, on Monday I emailed the appropriate parties and started volunteering on Wednesday. It's mostly just light office work but its a start for volunteering inside the church.

But, that didn't take care of my want to volunteer outside the church. I did some more research online and found a group thru Hands on Atlanta that delivers food to the homeless. So, Wednesday morning I joined them and had my first experience inside a shelter. It was a mens shelter and it was an overflow shelter... so basically they take everyone that the other shelters didn't take. There were a few things that I am not sure about with the group but I need to keep volunteering... whether or not I stay with this same grouop.

On Thursday I went to a lecture at the High Art Museum. Kendol got me a Marta pass so I can now get around Atlanta without having to drive (its pretty nice) so I took that to the museum. I am a member of the Museum so I try to go at least once a month to check it out! On Thursday they had a lecture on a painting called 'Mrs. Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes (Edith Minturn)' by Cecilia Beaux. It was really interesting to learn about the lady who painted and the lady who was painted!

That night Victor and I had a 'Going Out' night. We went to Geisha House, a new sushi bar/lounge in Atlantic Station. We had a ton of fun people watching!!

Friday I did a ton of walking. I walked all around Piedmont Park, ran some errands, and walked to Trader Joes to get some groceries and then walked about a mile or so home. I think I over did it though because I woke up yesterday morning with a pretty sore back... which hasn't gotten better yet! Hopefully it won't take too long to get over this! Hehe!

Once again... pictures!

Oh so much fun (and work) seeing my parents!! Hehe!! I met up with my parents not last Sunday, but the Sunday before last in Nashville. They had gotten in Friday with my Uncle Mike & Aunt Linda and the 4 of them had rode around their Harleys and saw downtown Nashville, so they knew exactly where they wanted to go for dinner on Sunday night... Wild Horse Saloon. The Wild Horse was a ton of fun and we got free dance lessons. That's right, I, my parents and my Aunt Linda can now do a two step.

The next day, after my Aunt and Uncle left my parents took their vehicle in to get the air fixed and we drove my car out to The Hermitage - Home of Andrew Jackson. We spent most of the afternoon touring the house and grounds in 100 degree weather (my mom was a little warm) before heading back to Nashville for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Luckily before we got back to Nashville the vehicle was fixed so we picked that back up and drove it around... the air worked wonderfully. We toured the main streets, hopped in and out of a few bars, was asked for money by the largest bunch of beggars that I have ever seen... no lie, they were obese. Before heading back to our hotel room.

The next day was spent out at the Grand Ole Opry. Which, is HUGE. First we toured the Opry. Next we walked thru the Museum. We also toured the Opryland convention center/hotel/coolest place in Nashville! It was absolutely beautiful. Hard to describe so I would say just check out the pictures (as always... to the left, to the left). That night we watched a concert put on by a large list of people (Porter wagoner, Bellamy Brothers, Bill Anderson, Jimmy Dickens ~ very funny!, Trace Adkins ~ super tall!, Kellie Pickler ~ looooved her!, Pat Greene, and Jo Dee Messina). All in all, was my favorite day in Nashville. Unfortunately on the way back home the air died in my parents car... again!

So, our next day... the day to drive back to Atlanta started out a little later than planned. But, they thought they had the air working again so off we went. We took a quick detour thru the Jack Daniels distillery... and a bit of trivia for y'all... Jack is distilled in a dry county! Gotta love it. We did get our picture taken too while we were there. Check it out... can you find us in the line up?

We got back to the ATL around 8pm. We headed right back out to get some fabulous ribs at Fat Matt's Rib Shack. I think my Dad really, really liked it! Afterwards we headed down to Flicks on Fifth and watched Dream Girls for free! I love summer in Atlanta!

The next couple of days my parents helped me put the finishing touches on the apartment! It was wonderful, we got curtains hung, lights in (I now have a dining room light), I have a 'European' ice maker (aka ice cube trays), my closet door works, I have a dish towel holder, the balcony has a cover so I can sit outside and not get soaked and lights underneath of it, a step ladder so I can reach everything in the kitchen, and the bedroom is properly arranged. Also, they got me a tool box with some nice new power tools. Kendol, I have to say, is quite happy about the power tools. He didn't like it when I was trying to install everything after the move without the proper tools.

We also spent one day at my friend Victor's condo. He made us a fabulous dinner of boneless ribs, his home style mashed potatoes, and some veggies. It was wonderful. And I think everyone enjoyed the conversation, time with friends, and wonderful food. We stayed until after 11pm, but by that time we were all tired.

The next day, after a bunch of trips to home depot, ikea, the library and the mall we came home and finished all the projects that were listed above. While everyone was doing that I made us a steak dinner. It was wonderful and a dish that my friend Tahir, who has his food block on the left hand side of this blog, has made several times. There are a lot of versions of this dish, depending on what he or I have in the house, but they are all based on one thing, butter and high heat. Generally there is some kinda steak rub with whatever I have on hand which is put on room temperature steaks. Let that sit for about 15-20 minutes. Then I add some butter and honey. Pan seer it on high. Then the pan goes into the oven at anywhere between 350 to 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Let it sit 10 minutes (very important step... never leave this step out). Then a homemade sauce. Everyone seemed to love it! In my humble opinion no steakhouse can compare to my dish ;)~

Then, back to reality. Saturday morning when I got up for work my parents headed back home. They took a detour thru South Carolina so they could ride their motorcycles around the mountains. But they are back, safe and sound, in their own home. It was nice to have them here while it lasted.

However, that wasn't the end of the busy week for me. Saturday night was Ashley's birthday party. There were quite a few people taking pictures so I didn't even get my camera out but we had a blast. We went to an Italian restaurant out in the Highlands. Really cute, really good food! I was impressed. And I had bought a cake from Publix... always tasty!

On Sunday I had my normal shift at work and then went to Church. Then Monday was the usual Small Group.

Tuesday was anything but usual... I woke up and though, hmmm... my lip feels funny. I looked in a mirror and saw that my upper lip was sitting funny, a little puffy, and blotchy. And tingly. You know, like after you have a cavity filled, that kinda tingly. I think, well, maybe I just slept on it funny (maybe). So I wait but within a half hour my lower lip feels the same way. And then it starts spreading into the rest of my face and down into my neck. Hmm... I had my allergy shots the day before but they make you sit in their office for 20 minutes because if you have a reaction that's when it should happen. Non the less, I give the allergist a call. They tell me to take an allergy medication and then they write me a prescription and tell me to fill it and take it immediately. And, if the problems get worse see my doctor. I gotten 2 of the allergy tablets down but it was still getting worse so I called my doctor. They advise me to get the medication and go straight to their office. If I feel any difficulty breathing they asked that I skip their office and go right to the emergency room. I was scared to do that because the doctor is literally 2 miles from my apartment... the emergency room is a good 30 minute drive away.

But, I got my prescription and went straight to the doctors office. He looked at me and said it was a mild reaction, I shouldn't have to worry about breathing problems but injected me with a medication to help stop the numbing feeling much quicker than the prescription would do. After the injection I had to wait 30 minutes before I could leave and I could see why. It was a stimulant and it was like I drank a whole pot of really, really strong coffee. I was shaking!! It didn't help that I was afraid to eat that morning in case whatever I ate would aggravate my symptoms! But, after about 30 minutes I could once again pick up my glass of water and drink it. The doctor sent me home and told me to get some food in my stomach. I ate a ton when I got home and a few hours later I was no longer shaky... but really, really sleepy. I guess after the big high is the big low!

Yesterday Kendol and I were going to watch the last movie being played at Flicks on Fifth this summer, 300, however right when we left the apartment the heavens opened up and there was a huge lightning storm! Instead we stopped a Blockbuster and rented a movie!

Tonight I am hosting my first dinner party in the new place (thanks to mom and dad for all the help to make the dinner party possible). Victor, Roy, Ashley, Marcus, Carlos, and Britt should all be coming so I will have a full house. But I am ready! I am making lasagna, salad, and a fruit dessert. I am excited. Ok, now to take 30 minutes to clean, an hour at the pool, and time to start cooking!

More Pictures

I am sitting at home enjoying a relaxing Friday afternoon (well, for me its more like a morning... I slept in way too long). But, in the mist of watching Sex & The City re-runs I decided to upload some pictures that have been taken in the last week. I added them to the list on the left hand side. There are a few from the Peachtree Road Race from July 4 and some from VJ's graduation party last night. Enjoy!

Ok, time to get back to relaxing (and maybe a little cleaning)!

I'm in a VIDEO!!

Hehehe!!! If you have been keeping up in my blog you know that Ciara & 50 Cent shot a music video in front of my apartment about a month ago. Well, the video is out... and I didn't get cut!! Hehe!! Its a VERY quick shot, but if you watch it...



you will see that Kendol and I are sitting on the front stoop of my then apartment (now last) as she walks by in a yellow short suit. I am excited to at least be in the video!! P.S. the street she is walking down is never that clean (they kept watering down the sidewalk) nor that busy. You almost never see anyone sitting outside their apartments. But, still... very cool!

Heineken Party - Glenn Hotel

Last night I rounded up a few of my friends and we went to a release party for the new Heineken Light Slim can. The party was held at the new Glenn Hotel (formerly Bed Atlanta - where Victor's birthday party was) and we had a ton of fun!! There was free Heineken (the only beer I really drink) so we all enjoyed the music (the DJ rocked!!) !!

Only 5 more days until the big move! I am really excited for the change and am looking forwarded to a smaller place. We have just about everything boxed up and hopefully just enough boxes for the rest of the stuff we still have out. Although I am looking forward to the moved I will miss being neighbors with my friends Ashley and Marcus as well as the view from the apartment.

There is always something going on around here and that saying has never been more true than last Thursday. I was getting ready for Screen on the Green (last week they played Carwash) when Kendol came home and told me I had to move my car. Apparently my car was the only one still on the street in front of my apartment and there was something going on that they had to have it moved. After moving the car we noticed more and more people gathering in the empty lot across the street but because there are a lot of creative students around here (there is tons of different student housing within one mile in every direction of my apartment) we didn't think much of it. Then we got a knock on the door, answered it, and was asked by a nice female if we would mind if they used our stoop in a video that they were shooting. I didn't mind but out of curiosity I asked who or what the video was for. Apparently it was for a Ciara and 50-Cent video for the newly-released song 'Can't Leave 'Em Alone.' How exciting!! Since we were just sitting around inside the house we decided to sit outside and watch all the people at work... I was amazed at how many people it takes to put together a video! But, even more amazing they asked if we wanted to be in the video!! We are just background and all we did was sit on my front stoop and smile and wave as she walked by but it was fun!! We'll see if they keep us in the video or edit us out (I will let you know once the video is released) but it was fun to be a part of the commotion. I tried to take some pictures outside but was told that wasn't allowed so I took some pictures from my bedroom window of Ciara. I didn't see 50-Cent until we were about to leave for Screen On The Green and he was a little ways away on another street so I didn't get any pictures of him but you can check out the pictures I did take by clicking on the link on the left hand side.

You can thank my parents for the expanding picture section... they got me my camera for Christmas!!

Packing

Today is day #1 for packing. We got some of the items off the walls and got a couple of boxes packed (mainly wine glasses and such from the kitchen). I figure if we get a box or 2 packed every week then the last week we should be in pretty good shape. I have already gone thru the closet and the kitchen and got rid of a lot of items that are not used. Once we get into the new place I will have to get rid of anything that just doesn't fit.

Kendol and I will be going to a apartment-warming party for a friend of his tonight. I put together, what I thought to be, really cute house warming gifts!! Tell me what you think...

Yesterday, Kendol and I went to a taping of the Tyler Perry Show. He is a comedian who has done movies and TV. Right now he has a show called Tyler Perry's House of Payne. But he is wanting to start a talk show, which is what we went to. We were part of the 'live-studio-audience' and had a lot of fun... now lets see if this show actually goes on air!

After the show we went to Piedmont Park to watch Casablanca for 'Screen on the Green.' We met up with Marcus (Ashley was still working), Tod and Marie, and a couple of Marcus's friends. The nice thing about having Thursdays off is I am able to get there early enough to get us good seats. The show starts at dusk (about 9pm) and Kendol and I had gotten there around 6pm and we brought a picnic dinner (I had made BBQ Chicken the night before so we had the leftovers in sandwich form, watermelon, and the broccoli/cauliflower salad that I make) and a bottle of wine for while we waited. We got there a little late however and next week I am planning on being there around 4:00 so we can get a really good seat! I love sitting in the at the park anyway so this just give me a good excuse!!

And, starting next Wednesday 'Flicks on Fifth' starts again!! There are free movies and it takes place, most appropriately, on Fifth Street. Its fun being in the park and there are a lot more people who show up for Screen on the Green (I would guess there were 30,000 people there that night) however Flicks plays newer movies, ones that just came out of the theater, so that is fun too!