Hit Me Baby...for the first time...

I asked my friend Adam the other day, "Adam....is it okay if i start liking Britney Spears?"

I am not a Britney fan....and i never have been. She just rubbed me the wrong way 10 years ago...and it has stuck with me. The truth of it is, she really annoyed me...i had a real problem with the fact that she was a very popular "singer" but can't sing... Clearly the better choice for your teenage pop girl sensation was Christina Aguilera.... I also had a problem with the whole "innocent, virgin" thing...

"My name is Britney, and yes everyone, I am a sweet southern virgin....i know that i am wearing dental floss as clothing...i am completely drenched in sweat...and i am breathing hard and humping a big large pole as hard as i can in my video....this means nothing."

She kept this up for years...even after she moved in with Justin... and probably would have kept it going, but that sweet heartbroken Justin called her ass out on 20/20....

I digress...

The point is, i really started to warm to Britney.....actually around the time everyone else started not liking her any more....the K-Fed years... i mean...i thought he was hot and edgy...i got the appeal... After that was over and she went through the whole crazy, panti-less, re-hab, shave my head, cry about being hounded by the paparazzi after I called to tip them off, lose custody of my kids and then go tanning stage...i really felt bad for her. I don't have a heart of stone.....it is inappropriate to talk about people who really have problems....she was clearly out of her mind...

I think i like her now because she fell FLAT on her face...the images of her being this perfect little ray of sunshine are diminished...and she is a real person to me now....she made mistakes, she got back on her feet, she had two kids and looks FAB, and truth be told....i think i like the music that she makes now... GASP!

I found out over the weekend that she is doing a 90 minute documentary on MTV this Sunday.....and i am proud to say MY DVR WILL NOT MISS IT!!!

Adam answered my question about Britney... and i count him as a credible source, because like me he never got mesmerized by Brit, and loves Christina A. the way i do...he said..."Christina, it is perfectly fine to like her for what she does....she makes fun dance songs, she's a good dancer, and she is pretty...everyone knows that she can't sing."

And that's all the confirmation that i needed...(deep breath)

Here's a little sneak peak of the show..... I can't wait to watch!!

MTV Shows

Fall Weddings 2008....

Before i got married, i think i had been to 3 weddings...tops! From what i hear...this is lucky....i hear stories of friends of mine who were at and in dozens of weddings before their big day. I feel very honored to go to weddings now. I go in like a veteran.....been there, done that....let me know if you need some help.....its all gonna be OKAY! Although I have been a bride once....i have YET to be a bridesmaid... always the bride, never a bridesmaid??

Anyway....I am proud to say that I have been blessed to see three of my dearest friends get married in 2008. Here are some highlights..........First...the Go-Ho Wedding..... I am not kidding....Marlene Go married Jordan Ho in September of this year....

Marlene and Jordan had the ultimate Chicago Wedding. Their ceremony was at a chapel in downtown Chicago.....and their reception?....in the Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier....it was absolutely beautiful....

I know that i am a big baby, and i will probably cry at every wedding that i attend...but seriously....it was so emotionally moving, you would have to be a corpse to have not shed a tear. The evening came equipped with great food, great music, moving and tear-jerking words to one another, a traditional Chinese Dragon Dance, and a solo from an Opera trained singer (the bride)that led to the ultimate happy ending....FIREWORKS..............


As if all that wasn't enough... it provided a perfect photo opp for another happy couple.....

Next up....the Williams/Sparks wedding that took place in Birmingham, AL in October. Bronjalin is one of my irreplaceable Atlanta friends. Honestly....i hit the jackpot with my job in Atlanta...i met the most wonderful people anyone could ever know. I love the fact that i was there to share Bronjalin's special day.... Bronj and i have a plethera of stories of all of our late night Atlanta excursions...but what i remember most were the more subtle moments where we would sit around talking, wondering if we would ever slow down long enough to get married....i guess we got our answer!

The very happy couple....

Stu, Myesha, E.O and Curt.....

The Sorensons....

There is nothing better to me than a southern wedding....and that's exactly what i got the day that Bronjalin and Thomas vowed their lives to one another. Any time my Atlanta crew is together, there are always two things for sure...we are going to laugh until our sides hurt....then we are going to wake up in the morning, and laugh as we talk about the evening again!

And last but certinly not least, the Dohman/Jawor Wedding. I met Megan at the first hotel i worked at in Chicago. I knew she was a sweetheart before i even met her, because she called me in my office in Atlanta, before i transferred, to welcome me to the hotel. I knew we were a lot alike when we first met....she is he only other person in the world that has more random things happen to her than me! We were both in relationships with wonderful men and were anxiously waiting for them to prospose....and of course in their own time...they did... Megan's wedding was a great time, there was great food, great music, and lots of old friends to catch up with. But more than that, it was one of those warm, loving, intimate experiences that makes you fall in love all over again.....i have never seen her look so beautiful and happy....and i can't think of anyone who deserves it more....

The beautiful bride......

Addie and I.....

The Sheraton crew....

Me and Tiff.....

All in all, it was a wonderful wedding season. Can't wait for 2009!! Who's next?

Usher....

When I was thirteen, the only thing i wanted for Christmas were tickets to the Puff Daddy and the Family Concert. This was a big deal in my house. It meant that my best friend Paul and I would be downtown in San Antonio....at a concert with much older people...no adult supervision. I don't know how I convinced my parents, but i did, and i will always remember how excited Paul and i were for weeks before the concert. The list of performers consisted of: Puff Daddy, Mase, 112, Mary J. Blige and Usher. I remember Usher's performance the most because, he sang this really x-rated song, took off his shirt and poured water down his body.....and i have been a fan ever since.....

Fast forward 8 years...i have just started dating Kenneth, and we bond over the fact that we both love Usher's "Confessions"cd. Ken used to belt out all of his songs in the car. I should have known then that i really loved him...because Ken's voice is a mix between a howling dog and a drowning cat. Anyone who can sit through that is truly in love....

So when i heard that Usher was performing at House of Blues, I decided to surprise Kenneth with tickets. When i told him about it, the reaction was pretty lame.... his exact response was....

"Oh....okay.."

Really? This from the man that knows every word to every song from Usher's last album? He explains himself while standing in line to go into the concert.

"I mean Christina....i liked the "Confessions" album....but its not like i'm some big Usher fan. This concert is for girls...."

....and not twenty minutes later......who was singing to the top of their lungs? who's voice could be heard over everyone else??

Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly....here is a little clip i recorded of him performing my favorite Usher song...no shirtless water dance...but entertaining all the same....

The times, they are a-changin....

First I would like to say that i am SO SO SO SO glad that the election is over. I have been addicted to CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and conservative radio for the past 12 months, and needless to say, i was completely exhausted with it all.

I will admit that i have been very vocal about how i disagreed with the direction that our administration has been taking us for the past 8 years. I was certainly not the only one, which is why we had a record number of new voter registrations, a record number of voter turnout, and the fact that the president-elect won by a LANDSLIDE. I said that i was exhausted by how engulfed i was with all the election information, but I am very proud that i did my research. I truly looked at both candidates; the policies they support, the votes that they cast, the merit of their records, and their questionable aspects. My favorite candidates from both major political parties, had won their parties nominations. I am proud that i didn't cast my vote based on the candidate that was representing the political party that i usually vote for, the party that my friends vote for, the party that my parents vote for....i did my research....i watched the debates...i made my decision, and i voted.

We can all be proud of the history that was made on November 4th. Less than 50 years ago, this country was drunk with racism,bigotry, prejudice and injustice. When I spoke to my family on election night, i heard each of them tell me how they never thought that this day would come. I was happiest for them. Although, i have had my own hills to climb, I didn't have to integrate my school like my father, i didn't experience the Jim Crow of the south like my grandparents did living in Alabama and i didn't get hosed down or beaten in the street marching for civil rights. Hundreds of people....literally...died, so that i could grow up being able to sit, eat, learn, work and pray anywhere that i wanted to. This election is the most amazing, and refreshing reflection of just how far we have come. Barack Obama said it best when he said, "We are not the conservative states of america, or the liberal states of america...we are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Unfortunately, as excited i was about the election, it is hard to be happy with all that is going on right now. On Friday, i watched several people who i work with get laid off because of the current state of the economy. People who had opened that hotel, and worked there for longer than I have been alive, were sent home with teary eyes, and a severance package of only 2 weeks pay.....and I could be next. Should i despair? Of course not....i have a faith that tells me, and a country that has just shown me....that all things are possible.

I found this video after i heard the song and couldn't get it out of my head. I hope that it brings you the same smile it brought me today......

The Eberhardt's Head to the Polls

SCENE: 5:55 am, Chicago, IL

Ken: There’s a line! I knew we should have gotten here at 5:30, then we could have been in the front of the line.

Christina: That was never going to happen.

Christina: Did you download the ballot to take a look at all the choices?

Ken: Yup.

Christina: No you didn’t.

Ken: Yes I did. I know exactly who I am voting for.

Christina: So other than the presidential candidates, you know who you are voting for?

Ken: Yes.

Christina: Good. Who?

Ken: Well….Dan Seals….

Christina: Riiight…..Dan Seals isn’t on our ballot Ken. We aren’t in his district.

Ken: (laughing)

Christina: Who is taking pictures?

Ken: What?

Christina: That woman over there is taking pictures.

Ken: Wow…

Christina: She didn’t get my permission to take my picture!

Ken: She is just excited.

Christina: Whatever….that’s so rude.

Ken: Are those paper ballots?

Christina: What?

Ken: They are using paper ballots!

Christina: Mmm Hmmm

Ken: That’s CRAZY! I have NEVER used a paper ballot! I voted in Tennessee and it was ELECTRONIC!

Christina: Yes dear, I know. Just another reason why we should leave this ridiculous city and move south…..how long must you keep me hostage here?

Ken: (sighs)

Christina: Ken….Oh my gawd….that woman just got in her car and is driving up with that camera again. She is taking pictures out of her window….is she serious?

Ken: Oh wow….

SCENE: Ken and Christina enter elementary school, get ballots. They are side by side in voting booths. Minutes pass as they fill out their ballots.

Christina: oh no……oh no……Miss? Miss? Can I have another ballot?

Ken: What?

Christina: I messed up on my ballot…..i filled in too many lines….

Ken: (grumbling) Oh my…..what the…..can’t believe you….

Christina: Oh shut up Ken…. I am from Georgia….i don’t use paper ballots!

Halloween 2008

I never went trick or treating as a child and as an adult I never participated in Halloween festivities. So this year, when Terri announced that she was throwing a big Halloween party/Adam's b-day party, i figured this was the year to do it up. Plus i figured i owed her a helping hand. I often throw parties at Terri's house when i am in town, and she always so graciously opens her home to me and any guests i want to invite...actually...i have come to be so comfortable with throwing these "impromtu events" at her house, sometimes i forget to invite Terri.....

So i hopped on a plane, headed to Atlanta, and experienced the best party Terri's house has seen yet. Terri spent weeks planning and getting all the supplies, and we spent all dayFriday fixing the house up with spooky decorations....hmmmm.... actually i would describe the decorations as spooky/gross. Here are some examples:

SPOOKY........

GROSS!!!

SPOOKY.....

GROSS GROSS GROSS!!!

It made for an awesome party though, filled with good food, drinks, beer pong, and fun costumes....

Sarah and Bristol Palin......

3 blind mimes.....

Terri as the crazy deranged nurse that cut up all the grossness in the house....

Dr. Driver, and Correctional Officer Jennifer

Terri, the gool...and Adam....

All in all, the party was a complete success....and rumored to be an annual event now. Can't wait till next year!!