Welcome to My World!!!!

If I've Said It Once.....

2012-02-08T14:58:00.001-08:00

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. I'm a horrible blogger. I think all the time about what I could write about it but it really gets away from me. I guess it's time to catch you folks up on my year. To my 13 faithful followers....thanks for sticking around.

Well, well, another year has come and gone, and to be quite honest, I was not sad at all to say goodbye to 2011. I hesitate to even say that because in essence, aside from a bump in the road, it really was a great year. In February, my brother, Jonathan graduated from Army Basic Training. Me and my roomates (aka, my parents) as well as my sister-in-law, Brittany, flew out to Oklahoma City for his graduation ceremony. Unfortunately, Oklahoma had just been hit with the blizzard of 2011 and there were 18 inches of snow on the ground. After having 3 flights cancelled and spending most of the day trying to figure out how we could get there, the sweet flight attendant from Southwest Airlines got us all straightened out. We finally got to Oklahoma City around 1am and then drove (in the blizzard snow) to Ft Seal about an hour or 2 away. Needless to say, we were exhausted, but seeing Jonathan walk across that stage made it all worth it. I was so proud to see him accomplish that!

We spent a few days around base, then drove back to Oklahoma City and got to visit the bombing memorial. It was incredible! It's unbelievable how many people survived such a horrible event! It was a really cool museum and I would suggest you all go visit it!

In March, I left the banking world and came to work for Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association (SDEA) as the AtlantaFest Administrator. Most of you know I've been volunteering with SDEA for years, and I'd been praying for an opportunity to come on board full time, and in March a position was created and they offered me the job! It's been a huge challenge but I LOVE it! AtlantaFest is a 3 day Christian Music Festival held in Stone Mountain Park each June. As administrator, I am basically in charge of making it all come together. I'll talk more about AtlantaFest later.

In April, the big tornado came in and wiped out much of Pleasant Grove, my sweet little small town. I won't talk about it too much, but thankfully, my home was spared and we didn't have any damage. I wish I could say the rest for the city I love, but thankfully, now, the rebuilding stage is beginning. Each time I drive around and see a new house pop up, it gives me a little more hope for the future of good ole' PG.

In May, I got to go to North Caroline to the mountains of Maggie Valley with 11 of my closest friends. After literally almost drowning on a white water kayaking trip after falling out 3 times and being washed a mile down the river with nothing to stop me, thankfully, my friend Wes Butler saved my life.

This is the best picture I could find to show you:

Needless to say, I'm not really an outdoorsy girl. That water was like pure ice water! Anyway, other than that whole near-death experience, we really had a great time and even got to take part in the block party the little town had. Nothing like dancing in the streets to live music. Now that I like :)

June started the craziest month of my life! With AtlantaFest in full swing, I didn't have a lot of time to celebrate my birthday like I normally do....you know, with a month long celebration. I did have dinner with some great friends and played putt putt afterwards.

AtlantaFest was held June 15-18th and we had a blast getting to know lots of new people and seeing lives changed! I can't wait for the next one! I did almost get arrested for driving a golf cart on the side of the road, but you know, no big deal.

While we were at AtlantaFest, my sister in law, Brittany called to tell me that she was expecting their first baby, my nephew Ryan! They are stationed in Ft Stewart, Georgia, which is located just outside of Savannah. I went to visit them in June with my parents and we had a blast! Savannah is a beautiful city, full of history, and my favorite, of course...spots they filmed movies in. My dad couldn't pass up the opportunity to pose as Forrest Gump in this spot:

Goofball. I guess you can all see where I get it. Anyway, I stayed a few days longer than my parents, and on the way home, stopped to see my other brother, Jordan, his wife, Kari, and my neice, Hannah, also known as the cutest kid in the world. Who couldn't love this kid?

Anyway, while we were talking, Kari tells me that she and Jordan are expecting their 2nd baby, my niece Leah! WHAT?!?! The Bankston's are out of control! 2 babies within a month apart? So needless to say, we're going to have babies out the wazoo coming soon!

In August, I FINALLY graduated from Huntingdon College with a degree in Business Management. I travelled to San Francisco to visit my Aunt Susan and her family and had a great time! I love Northern California! We also visited Sacramento while we were there, but best of all, Palo Alto! If you don't know what's in Palo Alto, let me show you.....

We had a blast. Well, aside from the holidays, that's about it for good ole 2011. It was a fun year. I made some great friends, shed a lot of tears, but God is good. Stay tuned!

Life in a Small Town

2011-08-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

I grew up, like many of you, in a small town. My little town was my whole world, and anything outside of it barely existed in my eyes. I grew up knowing my neighbors, and playing at their house (outside of course). We snuck down to the creek, when I promised my mama I wouldn't go...always coming home soaking wet from falling in. We pretended to be on Kids Incorporated and rode our bikes around the block over and over again, until the bug man came and sprayed the neighborhood for mosquitos and you either rode behind him taking it in, or if you were like me, ran inside because your mama told you it was poison. We listened for the ice cream man, and swung on the swing set in my back yard, jumping off when we got so high in the air that we could almost touch the clouds!

My mama let me stay home alone after school (in the 4th grade!) and in the summers because my friend's mom was always at home if I needed anything. We swam in her above ground pool and jumped on the trampoline, and ran through the sprinkler. When we got thirsty, we drank out of the hose pipe. If it rained, we stayed inside listening to old records, or watched VHS tapes of "Creep Show" or Alice In Wonderland.

When my mama would come home, I would be ready to go to ball or cheerleading practice or the Athletic Complex to play softball, cheer, or watch my brother's play baseball, football, soccer, or basketball. We practically lived there. For dinner, we would eat whatever my mom cooked, or we ate at the ball park. Eating out was for the weekends, and when we did, my PawPaw always went with us, letting me count the money in his billfold on the way.

One summer, I went to my friend Michelle's house every single day at 10am and watched The Price Is Right, followed by Dirty Dancing. We'd play Barbie's or ride bikes after that, but always, without fail, had to watch The Price Is Right & Dirty Dancing.

Opening Day of little league was always a big day! All of the teams would get together at someone's house the night before for a team party while our parents decorated the trucks for the parade the next morning. The parade was followed by a huge carnival at the park where we would play needle in a haystack and go "fishing" for goldfish that would die by the time we got home with them in that plastic bag. We sold raffle tickets and ate barbeque at the ballpark. We played our games and got free cokes afterwards. While the other teams got ready to play, Mr. McDonald, better known as "Goat" would line the fields while we played cup-ball near the batting cages.

We rode a school bus to Woodward Elementary, passing the house with the chickens in front on the way, and had sock hops and 4-H talent shows. We took field trips to the zoo and the Children's Theater, but nothing was better than going to the Space & Rocket Center with Mr. McCrory in the 6th Grade. As 6th graders we took a tour of the high school and had our class picnic at the park.

We travelled the halls for the 1st time as 7th graders, realizing we were small fish again, and hoping that we got a top locker. We loved assemblies and pep rallies and would pay $1 for a prom fashion show, even as a Jr. High student if it meant we got out of class. We fell in "love" with senior boys, and got our hearts broken when they never looked our way. We did book reports on "Where the Red Fern Grows" and wore our Dick Tracy t-shirts tied on the side with our jeans tight rolled.

We held spend the night parties, rolled yards, and prank called people from our home phone...our only phone. We had lock-ins at church, choir tours and beach retreats. We took road trips to Opryland and Point Mallard in the summer.

We went to football games on Friday nights to walk around the track and meet boys, not to watch the games. We dressed up during homecoming week, and had wars between the Juniors and Seniors. We won baseball state championships, and cried at graduation.

Everyone knew you and all of your business. We knew the mayor and he knew us. Life in our sweet, small town, hasn't always been great, but it's home.

On April 27, 2011, a massive tornado came in and tore down a lot of the houses that my friends used to live in. While it may have destroyed the way our little town had looked for all those years, it didn't destroy our sense of community. I think I love it much more today than I did on April 26th. Sometimes you just don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

What's your small town like?

Wow....I thought I'd be better at this

2010-09-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm a terrible blogger. I don't necessarily think it's my blogs that are bad, because I read over them and laugh and think, man, this is good stuff, it's just that I'm terrible at updating it regularly. I'm going to go with it's quality not quantity. Now that you all think I'm the most arrogant blogger on the planet, I'll move on.

I had a great summer! I took a trip to the beach with the family, which was my neice, Hannah's first experience with sand and the ocean. We had a great trip, but Hannah enjoyed her time in the pool much more than the beach :) . It's hard to believe she'll be a year old in only 2 weeks. I'll never forget the first time I laid eyes on her.

*Random side note: as I'm sitting here in the Books a Million in Fultondale, AL it never ceases to amaze me the things that people will wear. This lady is browsing the video game section with a shaved head and a braided rat tail down her back. I mean...I want to say, "Ma'am, the 80's ended 20 years ago...and is that really the look we want to go back to? " Come on. *

Anyway, back to my summer. I worked really hard this summer, even took a full load of classes, so by the time September hit, I was ready for another vacation. Gina, Cindy, Rebecca and I set sail from Mobile, Alabama on September 6th on the Carnival Elation "The Fun Ship" and headed out first to Cozumel, Mexico. The first night on the boat I won a karaoke contest and got to the opportunity to sing R.E.S.P.E.C.T. as Aretha Franklin in the Carnival Legend's finale show on the ship the last night of the cruise, in full costume (and wig) for about 1500 people. It. Was. Fantastic!!!!!! Definitely typical Karen Bankston type stuff.

Cozumel was great! We shopped in the markets, ate authentic Mexican food & hung out at the beach all day. It was GORGEOUS!!! I've never seen water so clear in all my life. Rebecca decided that since "you only live once" she would go snorkeling, which proved to not be the best decision since no one on the boat she went on spoke English and she'd just had guacamole. I, however, chose to spend my time getting a deep tissue massage on the beach, which was a GREAT decision!

Our next stop was Calica, which was just a rock quarry, so we took an excursion to Playa Del Carmen for more shopping and a private beach. It was a GREAT day! Playa Del Carmen was beautiful! I bought a beautiful bowl for my coffee table and some Christmas ornaments. Once we got to the private beach, we quickly found that apparently it's appropriate to go topless. Needless to say, the Fantastic four did not partake. I did, however, go ahead and have another massage, while on the beach. I'd gotten a little burnt the day before so I didn't want to spend too much time in the sun, and the 2nd massage was a great idea.

The best part of our trip, was meeting a very sweet couple, Brook & Chuck at breakfast on Tuesday. The are children's minister's from Missouri and we had the best time hanging out with them and getting to know them. They had a couple that was sitting at their dinner table from Arkansas, who are youth ministers. He looks just like Vince Vaughn, so that's exactly what we called him!!! It's was nice to be able to go on a trip like that and run into other believers that you have stuff in common with!

It's was a sad day to have to get off the boat and come on home, but we got home safely and watched the Alabama vs Penn State game with some great friends. Summer's officially over and it's time for my favorite season: Football Season!!!!!! ROLL TIDE!!!!!

On A Sad Note....
Around the end of July I bought a new car, a beautiful black 2011 Toyota Camry. It's definitely the nicest car I've ever owned with it's gorgeous stone colored leather interior. My coworkers like to pretend I'm their chauffeur, letting me drive everyone to lunch in my fancy new car. It's amazing that I've actually kept it clean for the past month and 3 weeks. It's been washed several times, so it's already got one up on the Cavalier. I even named it...never done that before, but I went with Ebony. On my way home Thursday night, I saw a car stopped in the middle of the road, waiting to turn into a subdivision. I swerved to miss it and ran off the road hitting a telephone. I should find out next week if it's totaled but thankfully, I wasn't hurt, other than a few bruises and a broken heart.

While I can't promise I'll do any better with my updates, I'll definitely try. I look forward to hearing from you all so comment away.

2 blogs 1 week

2010-03-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is my neice, Hannah. Clearly, I'm her favorite aunt, but I digress.

I know it's very unlike me to post 2 blogs in month much less within a few days of each other, but what can I say. I'm a giver.

I started having some cell phone trouble a couple of weeks ago. The charger wouldn't register so the battery was dead and I marched into Verizon to get it fixed. This is a pretty boring drawn out story that makes my head hurt so I'll keep this short and sweet. I finally got my Blackberry back. Now, much like a car, a phone has to know you love it. When I was on the Blackberry bandwagon I never had any trouble with it, but now, I've been talking about wanting an IPhone and just to be honest, my little Blackberry's gotten depressed. I've decided not to mention another word in the presence of my new phone about the Iphone just to keep the peace between me and my Curve. At least until my contract with Verizon runs out in January.

With all that being said, I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of replacement Blackberry. I've had to go back to my old phone which has not faired too well. After waiting a week (that seemed like a month) for the new Curve I spent an hour trying to get it activated this morning only to walk out the door and leave it at home. Typical.

So, anywho. I decided make the plunge and rejoin the choir at church. It shouldn't have been such a tough choice, but I really felt like the Lord's given me a tool, and I need to use it instead of being lazy. I've only been to 1 practice, since spring break was last week, so I'll be back tonight singing away.

In 2 weeks we'll have the last Easter service in the "South Campus" of GFBC. That's what they're calling the existing worship center. We should be in the new building in a couple of months. It's hard to believe that we'll finally be in it. We've been talking about the new building since I came to GFBC, so I'm really excited to see it happen! God's done such an incredible work in that church over the years and I'm thankful that the Lord brought me there.

There are so many exciting things to look forward to in the coming months so stay tuned! This Sunday, the Senior Adults are cooking potluck lunch for the College and Young Professionals and they're having a little entertainment for us so I can't wait! No telling what might go on!

Things to stay tuned for:
1. Strange things I see while working downtown
2. Summer concert series
3. Summer adventures/vacations

This Is My Story, This Is My Song

2010-03-22T08:21:00.001-07:00

Well, since my friend Amanda (www.amandafmoon.blogspot.com)decided to share her testimony, I thought I would straight up copy her and do the same.

I've been thinking about sharing my testimony at our weekly women's bible study for the past few weeks, but I always struggle with what to say. I think it's because I often times discredit my story because it's not a big "come to Jesus meeting" kind of story. None the less, I know that when other people share their testimonies that have similar stories as mine, it really means a lot, because I realize I'm in the same boat as they are, so here it goes.

From the time I was 2 weeks old, I have been in church. In fact, those 1st 2 weeks were possibly the only 2 weeks I had ever missed church until I was in college other than when we were on family vacations, and I have never been resentful or regretful of the life that my parents made for me. I always loved being there. I can remember as early as 3 years old singing the old Dottie Rambo song Germs, My Invisible Dog, in the Down By The Creekbank childrens choir musical and can remember the ugly looks I got from my mama when I wasn't acting right in the choir loft (although she denies them).

I was raised in Wylam Baptist Church, the same church my daddy went to growing up, until I was 10. We moved our letter to FBC Pleasant Grove that year, and in the same year I was baptized. I knew at the exact moment that I found myself shimmying out of the pew making the walk that felt like the Green Mile that I didn't have any business going up there. My cousin, Amy, had gone the week before and was getting baptized that night, and I knew that if I got baptized I would be able to take the Lord's supper, so that night, I was baptized. I knew that if I was to die I would go to Hell and it terrified me.

As I got into junior high, nothing really changed. I was still a good kid, and I was at church everytime the doors were open. At 14 I went on a Spring Break trip to the beach with my youth group, came home and found everything I could on how to be a Christian and accepted Christ as my Savior that day. I was baptized a few weeks later and my life was changed. As I got older, I stayed very involved in church, and felt the Lord calling me into full time ministry. I'm still not quite sure what He has in store for me in that area, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

I started my internship with the Rick and Bubba Show on March 7, 2000 and became a part time employee shortly thereafter. I was a huge fan of the show before I started and still love listening, but I hear the show differently now. The difference is in my relationship with the show. Before I knew who they were, but didn't know them. After working with them, I have a personal friendship with them and understand the things they talk about because I know them, I don't just know who they are. Isn't God the same way? I had known who God was my entire life, but I didn't know him until I had begun a relationship with Him. I read His word from a different perspective because I know Him. When He speaks to me I know His voice.

While I've lived a good life, I've made a lot of mistakes. I am a sinner. I in no way, shape, or form have lived a perfect life, but God has been good to me and has protected me from a lot of the mistakes I would have made on my own and thankfully, loves me despite the stupid decisions I make everyday.

Conference Season

2010-01-21T07:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, Ok. I know it's been way too long since my last update. I had a half of a blog completed a month or so ago, but changed my mind on what I wanted to write about. I can assure you with American Idol and The Bachelor back on the air, I'll be back on the blogging train again.

I guess I should catch you all up to speed on what I've been doing with my life lately. In December I made the move to the UAB branch, which wasn't a big move...only about 12 blocks, but nonetheless, it was a move. God has perfect timing. and knew I needed a fresh fire under my feet to be able to keep doing what I'm doing.

Since last December I've been volunteering with SDEA (Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association) at their Strength to Stand winter conferences and at Stadium fest in the Spring. It's been such a blessing to be a part of their ministry and the Lord has shown me so much in the past year since I began volunteering and I've made some of the most incredible friends. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. ". What an incredible word from the Lord! I never thought a year ago, that I would have the friends that I have now. You have each been used by the Lord to show me just how much He loves me.

Now, a lot of you ask me what it is that I do when volunteering. In the past I have always worked the merchandise tables, but in January I got a different role. Stage manager. Needless to say, I was pumped, but really nervous. I wasn't really sure what to expect, even though I'd observed Kelly, our stage manager for the December conference. This was a different ballgame. At our January conference, we have 3 venues, each with our own worship band and emcee, but we share the speakers each night. It's my job to make sure each person is on stage and off stage on time (down to the minute), making sure videos are on time, and communicating with the band if they need to sing additional songs. If I'm not on time, it messes all of the other venues up. Now, y'all know I'm the queen of being late, but for whatever reason, they decided to give me that role anyway.

The worship band that was at my venue was Fee. Incredible. I'd never heard of them until then, mainly because I never know the names of bands, but I bought both of their albums after getting to know them and worshiping with them this weekend. Check them out at http://www.feeband.com/.

On Sunday afternoon, Jonathan (Brother Smothers) and I went into Gatlinburg and spent some time with our friend Jenks. While I was there, I met up with some friends from high school. Apparently I didn't get the memo that there was a class of '96 reunion that weekend, because there were tons of them there together, apparently having a couples retreat. Maybe that's why I didn't get the memo.

Anyway, the weekend as a whole was great. The Generation Band, who is from my church, got to open up our big night, followed by Fee, then Scott Dawson spoke. We had approximately 288 confirmed decisions, and gave out over 500 of the books that they used to share the Gospel, so there were possibly more . Praise the Lord!!! Toby Mac ended the big night for us.

It was so hot in the building during Toby's set, I talked my friend Amanda into stepping outside with me to get a little mountain air. As I sat down on a cooler outside, Amanda, decided she should inform me that it was wet. Not a little wet, but a lot wet. My whole backside was SOAKED after that. Luckily, it dried up just before the lights came back on, but that's what I get for making fun of people.

The last day of conference is always bittersweet. I was exhausted from staying out all night the night before on an adventure with Brooke (Barbie), Jonathan (Brother Smothers) and our new friend Brandon. We were all standing around getting ready to take our group picture when I heard some girls yelling "Macy, Macy", and all a sudden a girl comes running up to the steps and jumps. Now, at this point I thought to myself, "Macy ain't gonna make it" and needless to say she didn't. She falls to her knees and rolls into the group and I LOST MY MIND laughing! I've attached a picture so you can see the look on my face after it happened. Best fall ever! People kept singing, "Macy on the ground, Macy on the ground, looking like a fool, Macy on the ground"! I have laughed about that for DAYS!

After all the commotion of the fall, we loaded up on the bus and headed back to the Salty 'Ham. I love Birmingham, but I was so sad to leave Pigeon Forge this time. I love being around people that love the Lord. No matter what I'm doing or where I am, there's nothing like it. I'm so thankful that God has allowed me to be a part of their ministry. The friendships I've gained over the past year are ones I will forever thank the Lord for.

Stay Tuned for my next blog installment. I've got a lot going on in the next few weeks, and although this one was a little heavy, be assured that there will be plenty of humor in the ones to come!

Obsessions

2009-09-10T07:03:00.001-07:00

Those of you who have known me for while, know I get on kicks. It started with squeeze candy, you know, the kind that looks like it's in a toothpaste tube, but oh no, it's candy. I know it sounds gross, but I tried it once and then I was hooked. I found myself getting a tube everytime I saw it at the store, or the gas station. I even had a small travel size that I had on a keychain once. Then it was Capri Suns. I never really drank them as a kid, but as an adult they can be SO good! Especially when they are super cold, even a little frozen sometime. I rememember when I was in the 6th grade at Woodward Elementary, the big thing was the green Hi-C that had Slimer from Ghostbusters on it. Those were the days. After the Capri Sun kick, I went on to FunYuns, which I affectionately call, Fun Yums, as I'm sure all of you can understand why. I was on 2 bags a week before I found Cheetoo's Naturals White Chedder Cheese Puffs. I also had a brief weakness for Old Wisconsin Beef Jerky. I don't even know where it comes from. I heard on a radio show one day that a girl and her roomate were addicted to Hawaiian Punch. They went through, brace yourself, 10 gallons a WEEK!!!! Can you imagine? When they asked her what started it, she said, it was a 2 for the price of 1 special at Publix!
I really haven't gotten on any new kicks in a while, and once I'm done with it, I'm really done. So here's my question: Am I the only one who does this? What do you get hooked on? It could be anything...Facebook, Farmtown, Twitter, Myspace, Mafia Wars. What's your hangup? What makes you quirky? I realize that by admitting this quirk, you all are probably ready to have an intervention with me, but trust me, it's not necessary.

Poor Blog, How I've Neglected You

2009-08-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

For my 8 followers out there, I sincerely apologize for my lack of blogging. After the finale of American Idol, I just thought I didn't have that much to write about. For those of you who know me best, you know that's a lie though, because this summer I have been going nonstop and quite frankly, I think it's gotten the best of me. Since my last post SOOOO much has happened that I think we should talk about!

Sugarland
I didn't really realize how much I liked their music until I went to their concert. My sister in law, Brittany went with me, along with a friends from church. When we walked through the gates, we were given a little package with a little card from Sugarland that said "Thanks for coming to our show" and inside was a glowstick and a thing of bubbles. At one song in the show, everyone pulled out their glowsticks and one one show everyone blew bubbles at the same time. It made it SO much fun! It really made us feel like we werent just ticket sales to them, but like they really wanted us to enjoy being there.

Michael Jackson
How could I go any farther without at least mentioning it. For those of you who haven't heard, Michael Jackson is dead. I know, I know, you're shocked. Michael passed away on the same day as the Sugarland concert. I'll be honest with you, I was pretty sad about it. It's sad that someone could have that much and never know what it means to be truly happy. I remember as a 6 year old being SO excited when my Aunt Susan gave me a Michael Jackson glove, belt (with a glitter glove buckle) and t-shirt that she'd gotten from his concert. If only the Michael of those days had never changed. Thanks for the music, Michael.

New Kids On The Block
After the devistation I felt when they cancelled their Birmingham concert back in May, I didn't know if I could bring myself to go through the heartache of buying another NKOTB concert ticket, but I sucked it up and purchased 2 tickets for me and my friend Gina to see our grown men in Memphis, TN. My friends Mandy, Melanie & Lindsey had already purchased their tickets, and thinking I couldn't get off work, didnt buy mine then, so I drafted Gina into making the roadtrip with us and away to Memphis we went. As we stopped along the way, just inside Tupelo, to the Pizza Hut for lunch, I saw a family that I'm certain were inbreads, but I'm not here to judge. I knew that we were almost there. Gina and I were sitting in the 2nd tier at an amphitheatre that didn't have a bad seat in the house. I think it was called Mud Hill. Great place for a concert! There were 5 platforms in front of each section, just in front of our tier. Gina informed me that she saw on You Tube that they were to come down from the stage and each guy would be on one of those platforms. We had 2 platforms that were , I kidd you not, 15 ft from us. I was sure we would get the shaft and get Jon and Danny, but when I saw Donnie walking my way, as I live and breathe, I thought I would D.I.E. die!!!!! I just kept yelling, we got Donnie, we got Donnie! We had a BLAST!!!!! My girls, Mandy, Melanie, & Lindsey, got Jon, however. Sorry ladies. After the concert we went on the Waffle House run, hoping to see them (along with every other cougar in town) only to find out they wouldn't be stopping by, since they were all sick with summer colds. Oh well...we gave it a shot.
The next day we got up and decided to take a trip to Graceland, home of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. You know what they say, "When in Rome..." so when in Memphis, you know we had to see the king. I've always said that there's no such thing as gaudy (usually talking about diamonds) but I'll be the first to say that Elvis proved me wrong. While some parts of the house were beautiful (the Peacock Room, for instance) others were just downright hideous (such as the paisley draped rec room). Apparently I'm a super slow walker though, because it took me a good bit longer to get through it than it did the other girls. The highlight of my trip to Graceland was by far, seeing the jumpsuits and singing karaoke with Elvis. LOVED IT!!!!! I had a great time.

California Dreamin'
On July 4th I flew out to visit my Aunt Susan and her family in sunny California. I flew in around 1:30pm their time to beautiful San Francisco, and made an immediate stop to In & Out to get a burger and one of their famous neopolitan milkshakes. If you've never had an In & Out burger, you don't know what you're missing! SOOO good!
We picked up my Uncle Farzad (he's from Iran) and headed to one of Susan's friends houses where they were having a little party. When I walked in, I was immediately a novelty because of my stunning good looks...um, I mean, my Southern accent. One lady took one look at my blonde hair, blue eyes, and said, oh, you must be from Farzad's side. I looked at my aunt, who also has blonde hair and blue eyes, and just said..."No, not exactly". I thought, how could anyone mistake my lily white skin for me being Persian? But, I digress. The next lady came in and was talking about her husband who's from South America. I said, "Where exactly is he from?", to which she replied "South America". I said "What part of South America? I was in Peru last summer". She told me he was from Venezuela, and he came in and she said, "Honey, this is Susan's neice, she's from Peru". He looked me up and down, and I just simply said, "No, I'm from Alabama, I just visited Peru". I learned there on my first day that California is called the Granola state for a reason. Once you remove all the flakes, all you have left is a bunch of fruit and nuts.
While in California, I visited Sausalito, San Francisco, Carmel, Monteray, Santa Cruz, and San Jose. My aunt lives in Livermore, which is right in the middle of the wine country. I had SOOOO much fun sight seeing and visiting my cousins, Brianna and Sherizad (Sher) that it was really tough to leave. Carmel was absolutely one of the most beautiful places I've been to (home of Clint Eastwood and Pebble Beach). I took TONS of pictures. Visit my facebook page to see those (www.facebook.com/blarinkaren).

Always the Bridesmaid
My best friend, Kendra got hitched on July 25th to Mr. Stephan Reese. I had double duty at this wedding, as a bridesmaid and wedding singer. She was a beautiful bride, and Stephan is a very lucky man. I made it without shedding too many tears. She got to the altar and realized she'd left Stephan's ring in the bride's room. I didn't know it until I got a tap on my shoulder telling me to pass the ring what was going, but it all worked out. I did however, catch the bouquet. I'm 4 for 4 this year.

August
Well, so much has gone on this month I don't even know where to begin. I took and extremely short trip to the beach, found a little jewel called the Cotton Gin in Hanceville, AL (I'll discuss that in a seperate blog) and finally finished and passed my Statistics class. That's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure I'll have more to talk about later, but I think your eyes may pop out if I go any further, so until then, I'll have to say goodbye.

Sorry for such a long post but I had to get this whole summers worth in!

-Blarin Karen

Concert Frenzy!!!!!

2009-06-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well, needless to say it's been a few weeks since I last updated my blog. I've decided that this is the summer I say yes to almost anything. As result, I had plans to got to Virginia Beach (which, sadly, was cancelled), Nashville, Memphis, San Francisco, Gulf Shores, and Destin (which I'm having to cancel as well). I've already been to see Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert (and Blake Shelton), Kenny Chesney, Mikey Wax, Nathan Angelo (who was AMAZING!!!), Tim Brantley, and Josh Hoge (who was really good also). You may have never heard the the last four but you should DEFINITELY go to itunes and listen to their stuff. I'm going to see Billy Courington and Sugarland tonight, and my sister in law, Brittany & a couple of my friends, Rebecca and Andi, are going with me. I'm not a huge Sugarland fan, but I really like their music and I know they'll put on a great show. I'm leaving a week from today for Memphis, and I can't wait! I'll be going with my "Favorite Girls" Mandy, Lindsey, Melanie and Gina for the New Kids On The Block concert. I'm going to go ahead and give Mandy a birthday shoutout on this weeks blog, since we'll be celebrating on Friday while we're there. Stay tuned to hear all about our adventures in Memphis!!! We'll be hitting all the Waffle House's in town looking for the New Kid's after the show. I didn't have time to get my "Hey Donnie, I'm a big girl now" shirt made up, so hopefully my unbelieveable good looks will just have to capture his attention.

San Francisco
We're driving back to Birmingham on Friday, and then bright and early Saturday morning (July 4th) I'll be flying out to visit my out in the beautiful city of San Francisco. My aunt and her family actually live in a city called Livermore, but I'm super pumped about going and visiting the fam! For those of you who know me best, you know I'm someone who likes to be going all the time. My aunt's the same way, so I know we'll have tons of places to visit and sights to see. The last time I was there, her daughters were in school, so we had to be back early every afternoon, but this time they'll be out of school so we should have tons of stuff we'll be able to do. I'll be back in a few weeks to update you all on what went on while I was there, but in the mean time, have you been to San Francisco? What are some things I should do while I'm there, and please, spare me the jokes!

Another Year Come & Gone

2009-06-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

Goodbye 30
I said goodbye to 30 this week. I'm not sure why but to turn 31 was especially hard for me. I think because I'm no longer just a number but I've now begun the infamous 30's. There's just something about that apostrophe s that makes me a little uneasy...even kind of panic like. It's like my life's suddenly on this time table and it puts me immediately in freak out mode. None the less, I began my birthday the right way...goodbye 30, hello 31. I had a big party, dinner with friends at the Comedy Club Stardome, and dinner tonight with my married friends.
Let's discuss:

Blarin Karen's Birthday Luau Blast at theBenefield's
Ok, that was a lot of b's. Sorry, I got carried away. My great friends, Jeff and Joy called me a few weeks ago to discuss plans for my birthday party. We decided to celebrate early because they had a lot of weddings planned to go to in June and I figured what better way to say goodbye than with a party at the Benefield's. Jeff and Joy got married March 28th and honeymooned in Hawaii, so I knew they would be experts on throwing a luau-themed birthday.
Jeff and Joy did a great job getting the word out and we had a lot of people show up. We had chicken, shrimp, hot dogs, smoked sausage, mashed potatoes....they went all out! I've celebrated my birthday for the past 3 years at Jeff's and this was my favorite one to date. Everyone came dressed up in their hawaiian shirts and leis . My facebook friend Andy Palys (who is Jeff's college roomate) and his sweet wife Becky made a trip down from Arab for the party too, so that made it even better!
One of these days I'll learn how to post pictures on this blog, so I can show you a picture of the cakes that my friend Jen made. One looked like a volcano and one was a beach scene.
After things started to die down a little we played Rock Band. I, of course, had control of the microphone for a while, and I enlightened all of my friends with Blondie's "Call Me", Bon Jovi's "Livin On A Prayer", Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder &Lead", and finished it out with Dixie Chick's "Sin Wagon" .
When I got home I had to use the restroom really bad, so I was running into my house. When I ran up the steps one of my flip flops got hung up on one of them bricks and I fell face first into my front porch. I decided that this was the night to bust out my new white jeans (I read they were back in style) and so when I scraped up my knees I wanted to make sure that (a) they were't ripped (b) they weren't blood stained. Fortunately no blood was shed on this spill, but when I fell I hit the door, waking up my roomates (aka my parents), so my mom came to the front door to find me with my pants rolled up stumbling through the door with one shoe on asking me if I was ok. Needless to say, all was fine, just two bruised up knees and a lot of commotion.
All in all, it was a great night, though. Big props to Jeff and Joy for making it a really special night for me. I'm so thankful that I have friends like them. Everyone needs people like them. They are always there to encourage, call me out on things, and push me to be a better Christian and friend. I consider them not just friends, but more like family.

Sunday
I woke up really sore from the tumble I took the night before, so I was running late for church. When I got in the car, the clock said 10:15 and I really didn't think I was running that late, but I just figured time had gotten away from me. I pulled in to the parking lot at 10:40 and thought about sitting in the car for 10 minutes until it was time for Sunday School to get out so I could walk over to the service with all of the good boys and girls that got there on time. I thought about it a little more and decided just to go in to Sunday School for the last few minutes. I expected to get some looks, but when know one said anything, I thought, "gosh, am I late so often now, that it doesn't even surprise anyone?". Andy, our singles minister, was talking when I came in and then said that Linda was going to speak. I thought, "Man, he's only giving her 5 minutes to talk, so she must only be saying a few quick words before we go into the service". She got started off just like she normally does and no one was looking at their watches to see how late we were going to be to church except me. I looked at the time on my phone and low and behold, it was only 10:15. I didn't know it but my car battery was going bad and it kept messing up the clock. I'm glad I was able to make it, though. Sunday was a good day at GFBC. After church, I went to lunch with the whole fam to Brio and then had dinner with Rebecca, John Austin, & Andi the girl at Cocina Superior, two of my favorite restaurants.

Comedy Club
I got the phone call earlier in the week that I had won a few tickets to the Comedy Club Stardome. John Morgan, who has been on the Rick and Bubba Show several times over the years, was the headlining act. I'll be honest with you, John's always been a super nice guy, but I've never been to his show. I was really impressed with his show. He was hilarious!!! One of the funniest shows I've been to in a long time. The hostess for the night was a girl named Michelle Thomas. I don't know if I thought she was funny just because she's a big girl or what, but I laughed at her a lot! She does a lot of big girl comedy too, and I'm pro that. I checked out her website (www.michellelovescake.com) and read up on her. She's a Christian comedian, and she does a clean comedy tour. Anyway, after dinner we had some dessert and cheese dip at Cocina Superior (wow, twice in one week!) and it was back to the house.

The Wrap Up
I would say that all in all, I had a good birthday. For those of you that weren't able to celebrate with me (and you know who you are), you're in luck because I celebrate my birthday for the entire month of June. Aside from a couple of emotional breakdowns at the thought of being over 30, I had a lot of fun, and realized now, more than ever, that my friends are really the best. I had a hundred facebook wishes and tweets to go along with them. Thank you all for being such good friends. I love all of you! Until next week.......

PS: Follow me on Twitter @blarinkaren

Sorry about the late post

2009-05-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I realize I was a slacker last week but I'll be back on the weekly blogging bandwagon starting this week. Today's blog is a full recap of last week in my world.

Last Week

Monday
I got my hair cut Monday night after work. Normally, I go in and get the standard trim...nothing different, but since my birthday is coming up pretty soon, I've really been thinking about doing something a little different...you know, a little more grown up. I love the girl that does my hair. I have a policy that if you don't have good hair, you're not touching mine. Rikki has great hair so I put a lot of trust in her. She cuts it exactly how I ask her to and it always looks great. I got some bangs cut and a few inches cut off and it's a lot thinner. When it comes to my hair-thin is in.
After I had my hair done, I went over to Rebecca's so I had to play catch up on The Bachelorette premier when I got home. I would love to give you a recap, but truthfully, there were so many bachelors and not enough time to really get a good feel for all of them. I, for the most part, agreed with the guys she sent home and few stood out to me. Kyle, who stepped out of the limo with no socks, a Members Only jacket and later told her his grandfather was from Peru, but didn't look like any Peruvian I've ever seen. Who still has a Member's Only jacket? I guess he's the last member. Tanner P with the foot fetish. Greg Bilbo, the short guy who wanted to challenge Michael to a break dance off and kept saying "let's hug it out". I was glad to see him go. Stephen, who said "Maybe she just doesn't like awesome guys". No, Stephen, maybe she just didn't like you. And then there's Juan. I didn't think it was necessary for them to play the latino music each time he came into the room. Nothing about him except for his name seems latino, but I guess they want to remind us that he spent the first 2 years of his life in Argentina. Thanks, ABC. What would we do without you.

Tuesday/Wednesday
Tuesday night was bittersweet with the untimely demise of Danny Gokey on American Idol. I literrally shed a tear last week when they announced he was leaving, but, as I've said before, he'll make an awesome Christian cd one day that will be unbelieveable. Oh, and I'm following him on Twitter now, too, which helps me forget he didn't win. I got a lot of backlash last week when I said that Justin Guarini (sarcastically speaking of course) could give Adam some pointers on how to make it big as the 2nd place winners. I understand that some of the 2nd place winners have sold a lot of albums, but I still believe they were all 2nd place for a reason. Adam looked ridiculous in those iron angel wings he wore during his song with KISS, and I felt like the viewers made a great choice by choosing Kris as the winner. It made my week when I saw one of my favorites, Queen Latifa, singing with Lil Rounds. Great choice Lil. Little. Lil.

Friday
Friday was a really good day. I had taken the day off because Peaches and I were supposed to take a roadtrip to Virginia Beach to visit Don Juan but the trip fell through and I spent the day with my mom. I really didn't have any intentions of doing anything, but we ended up taking her car to the shop and doing a little shopping. It was really nice to not have a schedule to keep. Usually when we go somewhere we have to be back by a certain time, so it was a great change of pace.
That night I met my friend Mayfield for dinner at Wings and afterward we met up with Andi, Rebecca and Roxy and went to the McWane Center to see A Night At The Museum 2 at the IMAX theater. I had really been looking forward to seeing the movie, and I thought it would be really fun to see it there. Before the movie started they were playing some elevator rock music. I successfully got the entire theater to join me in singing along to Livin On A Prayer by Bon Jovi, which felt like one of the single greatest moments of my adult life. Sad, I know. The movie was really good and it was definitely worth the $11.

Saturday
Once I get my mind set that I want to go out of town, there's no stopping me, so I talked my friends Rebecca and Andi into driving to Nashville for the day. We spent all day at the Opry Mills Mall and at lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, The Rainforest Cafe. I got some awesome houndstooth dressy flip flops, a super expensive new flat iron, and spent plenty of time in Harry David. We saw a kiosk that offered eyebrow threading, which is kinda like waxing, but I was certain someone had told me it didn't hurt as bad. Andi went first and said that it didn't really hurt, then Rebecca had hers done, telling me it wasn't that bad. They lied. It was horrible. Basically what they do is take a piece of thread and somehow tweeze your eyebrows with that thread. I must not have a very high tolerance for pain. I almost told her to stop so we could take a little breather, but I suffered through it. My eyebrows look great but I definitely won't have that done again. After a quick trip to Apple Barn, we wrapped up our day of shopping.
After leaving the mall, we drove into downtown Nashville to get some dinner. There were a ton of people downtown, which was great because you see a lot of really different types of people. Rebecca and Andi had not been to Nashville in a while and had never really experience that part of it, so I drove around for a little while showing them some different places, like Legends, Tootsies, The Country Music Hall of Fame, Wildhorse Saloon, Hard Rock and The Ryman Auditorium. Andi was taking in the sites and saw a picture of Patsy Cline and said "Awe, I love Patsy Cline!". Rebecca was in concert mode, and without thinking said "Oh my gosh! Is she here tonight?". Without taking a breath I had to remind Bec that Patsy's been dead for 40 years. We did see a lot of street performers, which I guess I never really noticed before. Everybody's got a dream in Nashville. Maybe that's why I love it so much. Everything seems possible there.
We had a great trip, and it was great to get home and get some rest. I had a great weekend and I'm looking forward to an even better week. Stay tuned for a recap of this weeks episode of the Bachelorette.

My Week So Far

2009-05-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well, since I started my blog last week, I feel like now is not the time to slack off so I'll begin by addressing my biggest concern from last week. American Idol. I got really nervous last week when Kris Allen was the first one called as safe, and for a second I thought Danny was going home but thank goodness, it was poor Allison who went home. My friend Hobie pointed out that she looks like a Muppet, and as I thought about it, she really looks more like a character from Fraggle Rock. Regardless of whether or not she looked like a creation of Jim Henson, I thought she had a pretty good voice, but wasn't really sad to see her go.

Now on to this week

Monday wasn't too bad. I had a great weekend that was (as always) jam packed, but I started off by coming in and my coworker asking if I wanted to go to the Kenny Chesney concert this Thursday. We actually got tickets, so I'll be sure to report on that next week. I was feeling pretty good, because the whole fam went to dinner at Logan's Roadhouse Monday night so my brother, Jordan and his wife, Kari could announce the sex of their baby that will be arriving in October. After dinner and a round of guesses they announced that Hannah Morgan will be here soon! The thoughts of little dresses, pageants, cheerleading, & softball almost excite me as much as the hope that she'll have her Aunt Karen's love for music...not to mention my stunning good looks. LOL! So yay for Hannah!

Now on a sad note:

I woke up yesterday morning to hear the news that my beloved New Kids on the Block cancelled their show in Birmingham. I, of course, was devastated. There are not many things I get that excited about, but after seeing them in October in Atlanta, the thoughts of them being here, in the salty 'Ham, just overwhelmed me, and I made certain we got tickets. We even bought them on presale. I found out we had not only gotten tickets, but that we were to be sitting on the 10th ROW!!!!! When I saw them on the Today Show Friday, I was ready. I saw a girl with a shirt on that said "Hey Jordan, I'm a Big Girl Now" and I just knew I had to get one of those. Thankfully, I didn't get one because, although Donnie and Jordan have been going on and on about how they're gonna give us Full Service (the name of the tour) on Twitter, my little heart was broken to find out that due to "unexpected production delays" they were pushing the tour back a week, and ended up having to cancel 5 shows-Birmingham included.

American Idol Recap

I know that Danny did pretty good on American Idol last night, but if he goes home tonight, it may be all I can take. Just kidding, you and I both know he'll still make a Christian album that is AMAZING just like Mandisa did and all will be right in my world again. I'm definitely still pro Danny to the finals, but can I just say that Kris Allen did a great job last night. Really brought his A game! I thought he did a PHENOMENAL job on "Apologize", though I may be partial since it's one of my favorite songs. I thought Adam didn't do very well last night at all. I didn't think he sounded that good on "One" and I couldn't understand what he was screaming about during "Cryin", which upset me because for once I got pretty excited about his song. I love Aerosmith's version of "Cryin" and I agree with him that Steven Tyler is "A-Mazing". I hope he goes home in an upset tonight. He'll be fine-he doesn't need the win. Look at Chris Daughtry who, coincidentally, cracked me up when he said last week on the show that after being voted off he got over it in about 30 seconds.

Well, that's all I've got for now, but there's sure to be more later.

Here's a list of things to look forward to next week:

1. Kenny Chesney Concert recap

2. The Bachelorette returns to ABC starring Jillian (aka Hot Dog Jillian)

3. American Idol recap (hopefully a happy one!)

Have a great week!

Who do you think will get the boot tonight?

My first ever blog!!

2009-05-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's not exactly my first ever. I have posted one or two on Myspace in the past, technically it wouldn't be the first, but, since Facebook is the new Myspace, and well, frankly, Twitter is the new Facebook, I'm done posting anything on Myspace, a note on Facebook is entirely to difficult to write using my Blackberry, and well, this is already over 140 characters, so you and I both know that I can't tweet about it. That being said, welcome to Karen's World. More than likely, if you are reading this, you have to (for whatever reason) have some reason to want to know what I have to say. I'll start with American Idol. While I though they should have made last night's show a latin music theme with it being Cinco de Mayo and all & because I know Kris or Danny could've killed it singing Frankie J's "No Es Amor", it seems they settled for the Rock theme to cater to who the American Idol producers obviously trying to position for the final two: none other than Adam and Allison. I don't think Allison is that bad, but I have a hard time believing she would sell any records. Adam on the other hand, I will openly admit, I cannot stand listening to. Last night was perfect for him, giving him the open opportunity to do all the shrieks and screams that he's become known for in this competition. I'm hoping that with the amount of them that he put into that Led Zepplin song last night it will secure him in the bottom 2 position as it did last week, but I don't have too much confidence in that. I'll be honest. I didn't hear Danny or Kris' solos but I did enjoy their duet. I actually agreed with the judges in saying their voices blended beautifully together. If it was a perfect world, they would be my final 2, not because I'm a huge Kris fan, but because it would secure the win for my boy, Danny Gokey. I mean, Kris is a good singer and he loves Jesus, so I like him, but Danny is by far my favorite. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Danny may have a lot of baggage, but I've got just the dolly to carry it. I'm just saying. Anyway, I know you're probably wondering how I missed their solo perfomances last night. I didn't get a chance to watch the show. I had to work late last night and had made plans to go to dinner with friends in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, one of my favorite holidays. I don't know what we're celebrating that day, but for me, it's Mexican food coming to the US. In fact I had it twice yesterday, but, I digress. I heard half of the show on the radio on my way to Superior Grill, and got out of my car just after my boys did their duet. I had planned to watch the rest when I got home, but my Macroeconomic final had to be taken online by 11:30pm and since I didn't get home until 10pm I thought it better to do the final. I'll watch the others tonight when I get home from work. So...what did y'all think? How did they do? Who's going home tonight, and who do you pick to win?