There are a few times a year when Terre Haute gets awesome. One time is The Walk for ISU's Homecoming. Another is the North/South football game. The one I will discuss here is Blues Fest.
The Bakers were in attendance this year. Blues Fest was jam-packed both nights, despite the $10 cover charge. It was great to see all the crazy Hautians come out and support the event. I loved the second to last band with the little boy who isn't so little anymore. They are a family band and the boy plays the harmonica. NO. The boy ROCKS OUT on the harmonica! I came to love the even more when they did a cover of Michael Jackson's, "Billie Jean." MJ is the not-so-secret way to my heart. Ellusion was the last band to play. They never cease to impress me. I always love seeing them.
Speaking of sightings, holy high school reunion! Lucky for me, I was designated driver that night. I've found that I am a good DD for several reasons:
- I don't mind not drinking because it's less calories I'm forced to socially intake.
- Let's not even mention how much cheaper the choice to be DD is.
- I can have a blasty blast without booze - - because I'm awesome.
- I can go from a party animal to major annoyed B**CH mode when drunkards start getting sloppy.
I don't make a good DD because (often) the B**CH mode comes earlier than the crunky monkeys expect.
It sure was great to see so many of my high school friends, but I just don't get much from drunken conversations, especially with people who aren't rockin out the same lifestyle I am. :-)
Overall, though, it was a great time and I hope Blues Fest continues for many MANY years.
Mark and I moved to Naples, Italy on April 22, 2012. We will be there for three years and will be documenting all aspects of our crazy new life overseas. Enjoy! Ciao! -The Bakers
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Love and Marriage
Warning: This post is going to be a tangent. Let's begin:
*Why does long distance love fail?
*Why can't mature, strong relationships withstand miles of separation?
*Is this a trust issue?
*Is this an insecurity issue?
*What goes wrong?
*Does your partner's absence open your eyes to a whole new world?
*Is that world really better?
*Why is this so common?
Long distance love is a complete phenomenon to me. Couple who were once so in love can fall "Out of Love" with six months of separation. Could someone please explain this oh so common occurrence?
*Why does long distance love fail?
*Why can't mature, strong relationships withstand miles of separation?
*Is this a trust issue?
*Is this an insecurity issue?
*What goes wrong?
*Does your partner's absence open your eyes to a whole new world?
*Is that world really better?
*Why is this so common?
Long distance love is a complete phenomenon to me. Couple who were once so in love can fall "Out of Love" with six months of separation. Could someone please explain this oh so common occurrence?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Lord knows the thoughts of man; He knows that they are futile.
( Psalms 94:11 *NIV )
We are all Architects of our own future! The thoughts thatwe have today dictate what our future holds for us tomorrow.Therefore a person who has positive thoughts shall havepositive results, just as a person who has negative thoughtsshall attract negative results in their life.
Therefore, if we start each day by counting all of ourblessings, and then try our best to have positive thoughtsduring the day, our hearts will be merry! After all; From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. ( John 1:16 )
Now this is because; Every good and perfectgift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does notchange like shifting shadows. ( James 1:17 )
why not; Sing and make music in yourheart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of ourLord Jesus Christ. Amen. ( Ephesians 5:19-20 )
All My Love & Prayers, Pastor Allen
( Psalms 94:11 *NIV )
We are all Architects of our own future! The thoughts thatwe have today dictate what our future holds for us tomorrow.Therefore a person who has positive thoughts shall havepositive results, just as a person who has negative thoughtsshall attract negative results in their life.
Therefore, if we start each day by counting all of ourblessings, and then try our best to have positive thoughtsduring the day, our hearts will be merry! After all; From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. ( John 1:16 )
Now this is because; Every good and perfectgift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does notchange like shifting shadows. ( James 1:17 )
why not; Sing and make music in yourheart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of ourLord Jesus Christ. Amen. ( Ephesians 5:19-20 )
All My Love & Prayers, Pastor Allen
Credit Card Companies are the DEVIL
Yep. I said it. I’m so mad at credit card companies, I could puke…. On their CEO’s face…. Those monkey ass clowns.
In college, one night I signed up for a credit card in exchange for a free pizza. What a deal, right?!??! A lifetime of debt for five hours of not being a starving college kid. Wow.
It was a Visa. And it had my picture on it. The credit card was totally cute (obvi) but I never used it. (Thank God.)
You know how you get random credit card information in the mail? If you are like me, you open them up enough to see the “Visa” symbol. Then I shread it and toss it in the garbage.
I do not recommend this method. No more. Read, people! This is why:
The assholes (sorry) at Visa sent me just another friendly letter. For SOME REASON I felt compelled to read it.
THANK GOD I DID.
My cute pizza credit card was having an annual fee added to its balance as of November 1, 2009. The current balance on the card (of course) was $0.00….BECAUSE I HAD NEVER USED THE CARD!!! But, as of November 1, according to the friendly letter, it would be $75.00!!!!
OMG!!!!!!
There was a number to call if I wanted to cancel my card before the charge hit. I called and was FLAMING with anger. If a human was about to answer the phone, I was about to make them cry.
Allow me to explain my anger… I am not upset that this had happened. I diligently read the letter and did what they wanted: cancelled my unused credit card. I was OUTRAGED, however, that they had notified me VIA A FRIENDLY LETTER!!!!
How many people shreaded the letter without reading it? How many people are going to be surprised when they get their Novermber bill? I’m positive that Visa will hold firm that they invformed the customer. I’m also nervous for those customers who won’t EVEN NOTICE the $75.00 charge!!
Needless to say, the number given on the letter led me to a friendly robot woman. I entered the last six digits of my account and cancelled my card. The friendly robot woman thanked me and informed me I was ALWAYS WELCOME BACK and promptly hung up.
Since I couldn’t make the call center rep cry, I decided to blog about it. Credit Card companies are the DEVIL. They are malicious and mean. I hate the whole concept.
Please be responsible with your money. Pay cash whenever possible. READ YOUR MAIL!
Moral of the story: Bitches are sneaky.
That pizza wasn’t that good. Cheapos only let me order it with one topping!
I don’t know about you, but I sure as HAIL don’t want to spend $75.00 on a large pepperoni.
In college, one night I signed up for a credit card in exchange for a free pizza. What a deal, right?!??! A lifetime of debt for five hours of not being a starving college kid. Wow.
It was a Visa. And it had my picture on it. The credit card was totally cute (obvi) but I never used it. (Thank God.)
You know how you get random credit card information in the mail? If you are like me, you open them up enough to see the “Visa” symbol. Then I shread it and toss it in the garbage.
I do not recommend this method. No more. Read, people! This is why:
The assholes (sorry) at Visa sent me just another friendly letter. For SOME REASON I felt compelled to read it.
THANK GOD I DID.
My cute pizza credit card was having an annual fee added to its balance as of November 1, 2009. The current balance on the card (of course) was $0.00….BECAUSE I HAD NEVER USED THE CARD!!! But, as of November 1, according to the friendly letter, it would be $75.00!!!!
OMG!!!!!!
There was a number to call if I wanted to cancel my card before the charge hit. I called and was FLAMING with anger. If a human was about to answer the phone, I was about to make them cry.
Allow me to explain my anger… I am not upset that this had happened. I diligently read the letter and did what they wanted: cancelled my unused credit card. I was OUTRAGED, however, that they had notified me VIA A FRIENDLY LETTER!!!!
How many people shreaded the letter without reading it? How many people are going to be surprised when they get their Novermber bill? I’m positive that Visa will hold firm that they invformed the customer. I’m also nervous for those customers who won’t EVEN NOTICE the $75.00 charge!!
Needless to say, the number given on the letter led me to a friendly robot woman. I entered the last six digits of my account and cancelled my card. The friendly robot woman thanked me and informed me I was ALWAYS WELCOME BACK and promptly hung up.
Since I couldn’t make the call center rep cry, I decided to blog about it. Credit Card companies are the DEVIL. They are malicious and mean. I hate the whole concept.
Please be responsible with your money. Pay cash whenever possible. READ YOUR MAIL!
Moral of the story: Bitches are sneaky.
That pizza wasn’t that good. Cheapos only let me order it with one topping!
I don’t know about you, but I sure as HAIL don’t want to spend $75.00 on a large pepperoni.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Making Church a Verb
Recently my parents' church service was devoted to "Making Church a verb." There were people who cleaned yards, while others went and prayed with shut ins. I thought this was such an amazing concept! Church should always be a verb! Way to go Seelyville United Methodist Church! :-)
Third time's a charm?
Then there was my 18th birthday. A week before, my boyfriend (Mark) and I went to a pet store to look around. There, I found what were called "Dwarf Bunnies." They were 1,000 times cuter than their name. They were fat little bunnies whose droopy ears drug the ground.
I couldn't stop talkinga bout how much I wanted this black dwarf bunny. Everyone refused to make the purchase for my birthday. They all knew I would end up hating it. If you know me, you knkow I had to make the purchase to prove them wrong.
I bought the dwarf bunny and named him "Daffy." I know what you are thinking: "You bought your OWN birthday present?!" Yes, I did. I am a firm believer in, "I want it, I get it!" You may also be wondering why I named my bunny Daffy. I went through a period where I thought it was hilarious to innappropriately name things. If you see my sister, ask her the "Kitty Kitty meow meow, Bear Bear grr, grr" story. I digress.
Six months after owning Daffy, I got bored. Wait. Bored isn't the word. I was downright annoyed that the dwarf bunny was still alive and kickin.' So I did what every normal annoyed human being would do in my situation: I stopped feeding Daffy.... all together.
I'm aware that makes me sound like a total a-hole for saying it. But it's already done.
My loving Dad started feeding poor, hungry Daffy. He loved Daffy. I haven't even discussed the mansion that bunny lived in. My Dad made this bunny a bunny mansion! It had two rooms: a bedroom and a kitchen/dining room. It had a caged area below the mansion to catch the adorable little dward bunny poop balls. I've always loved those little pooplets. I've (not so secretly) always desired to poop like a bunny. It's so cute!
Blip. Blop. Bloop. Bunny Poop! :-)
Adorable pooplets weren't the only quirky attribute my dwarf bunny had. Daffy was a dreamer. Just like her mother, she wanted to see the world. Daffy would (somehow) get out of the cage and run away. I actually think this was a big fat joke that Daffy played on me. My Mom would tell me after school one day that Daffy had run away. I would get all excited that she was gone and was out in the real world. Then Pam would drop the ball on me: Daffy had returned! What the hell kind of animal runs away from its cage into the five acres of Alexander land, into the great wide open, only to return 8 hours later?!?!?!
But, sure enough, that little stinker returned. Daffy was chillin' in the driveway when my Mom got home from work. Apparently she was hungry and forgot she was a bunny that could eat GRASS!
After months of my father feeding Daffy, my sister took her to school for a year. This is when DAffy got a name change. Kayla thought it was innappropriate to name a dwarf bunny, "Daffy".....so she named her "bunny."
Bunny loved the science class she lived in for a year. But then it was time for her to return to her bunny mansion at the Alexander household.
At this point, I was out of the house. Livin the dream (*bunnyless*) in college. Napoleon Dynamite was a big movie at the time. My brothers were the ones tasked with feeding "bunny." They hated her name, so they changed it to Tina. Below are some quotes from Napoleon Dynamite that I'm 110% sure are the reasons my siblings changed Daffy/Bunny's name:
"Tina, you fat lard, come get some DINNER!... "
"Tina, eat. Food. Eat the FOOD! "
"Tina, come get some ham. "
Uncle Rico: "Napoleon, it's looks like you don't have a job. So why don't you get out there and feed Tina."
Napoleon Dynamite: "Why don't you go eat a decroded piece of crap! "
Nathan and Evan weren't being mean to Tina, they were just (lovingly) quoting a movie.
In the end, Daffy/Bunny/Tina ran away. ....never to return again! She lived a cushy life and I'm about 72% sure she is living in Jamaica right now and wasn't eaten by a coyote. I loved Daffy....for six months...but then the boredom set it....
I'm going to make a great MOM.
Oh, and let's not forget....
STRIKE THREE....
I couldn't stop talkinga bout how much I wanted this black dwarf bunny. Everyone refused to make the purchase for my birthday. They all knew I would end up hating it. If you know me, you knkow I had to make the purchase to prove them wrong.
I bought the dwarf bunny and named him "Daffy." I know what you are thinking: "You bought your OWN birthday present?!" Yes, I did. I am a firm believer in, "I want it, I get it!" You may also be wondering why I named my bunny Daffy. I went through a period where I thought it was hilarious to innappropriately name things. If you see my sister, ask her the "Kitty Kitty meow meow, Bear Bear grr, grr" story. I digress.
Six months after owning Daffy, I got bored. Wait. Bored isn't the word. I was downright annoyed that the dwarf bunny was still alive and kickin.' So I did what every normal annoyed human being would do in my situation: I stopped feeding Daffy.... all together.
I'm aware that makes me sound like a total a-hole for saying it. But it's already done.
My loving Dad started feeding poor, hungry Daffy. He loved Daffy. I haven't even discussed the mansion that bunny lived in. My Dad made this bunny a bunny mansion! It had two rooms: a bedroom and a kitchen/dining room. It had a caged area below the mansion to catch the adorable little dward bunny poop balls. I've always loved those little pooplets. I've (not so secretly) always desired to poop like a bunny. It's so cute!
Blip. Blop. Bloop. Bunny Poop! :-)
Adorable pooplets weren't the only quirky attribute my dwarf bunny had. Daffy was a dreamer. Just like her mother, she wanted to see the world. Daffy would (somehow) get out of the cage and run away. I actually think this was a big fat joke that Daffy played on me. My Mom would tell me after school one day that Daffy had run away. I would get all excited that she was gone and was out in the real world. Then Pam would drop the ball on me: Daffy had returned! What the hell kind of animal runs away from its cage into the five acres of Alexander land, into the great wide open, only to return 8 hours later?!?!?!
But, sure enough, that little stinker returned. Daffy was chillin' in the driveway when my Mom got home from work. Apparently she was hungry and forgot she was a bunny that could eat GRASS!
After months of my father feeding Daffy, my sister took her to school for a year. This is when DAffy got a name change. Kayla thought it was innappropriate to name a dwarf bunny, "Daffy".....so she named her "bunny."
Bunny loved the science class she lived in for a year. But then it was time for her to return to her bunny mansion at the Alexander household.
At this point, I was out of the house. Livin the dream (*bunnyless*) in college. Napoleon Dynamite was a big movie at the time. My brothers were the ones tasked with feeding "bunny." They hated her name, so they changed it to Tina. Below are some quotes from Napoleon Dynamite that I'm 110% sure are the reasons my siblings changed Daffy/Bunny's name:
"Tina, you fat lard, come get some DINNER!... "
"Tina, eat. Food. Eat the FOOD! "
"Tina, come get some ham. "
Uncle Rico: "Napoleon, it's looks like you don't have a job. So why don't you get out there and feed Tina."
Napoleon Dynamite: "Why don't you go eat a decroded piece of crap! "
Nathan and Evan weren't being mean to Tina, they were just (lovingly) quoting a movie.
In the end, Daffy/Bunny/Tina ran away. ....never to return again! She lived a cushy life and I'm about 72% sure she is living in Jamaica right now and wasn't eaten by a coyote. I loved Daffy....for six months...but then the boredom set it....
I'm going to make a great MOM.
Oh, and let's not forget....
STRIKE THREE....
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Washington DC
Just wanted to let you know I took my first "big girl" business trip in early September. We were deploying our program to hospitals in the area. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. And: BONUS! I got to wear Mom's fancy suits and get my own business cards! :)
[Sing] Movin' on up!!
[Sing] Movin' on up!!
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