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!!

Dear Pharrell....

Dear Pharrell,

I think you should know that you are by far one of my favorite entertainers. I love your music, I love your style, and i think you are a musical genius. When we locked eyes at the Common Ground Celebrity Bowling Event, i too felt the sparks fly. The room was suddenly quiet, like was no one there but us. It was fate that put us together in 10 Pin that day, not only because we were in the same place at the same time, but that we shared a bench and bowled next to each other. I know that our conversation would have been wonderful....if all those girls had not been coming up to you every second wanting to take you away from me. I saw how upset you were every time our moments together were interrupted.

Pharrell, i hate to tell you this, but i am compelled to be honest with you. Do you remember that guy in the corner? The tall, skinny one glaring at us? Well, that was my husband Kenneth. He really is darling, and i love him dearly. Unfortunately, he beat you to the punch. You were so close. Just 13 short months ago, i could have run away with you, and we could have been together forever....touring across the country...meeting Jay-Z and Beyonce for lunch and setting the red carpet on fire.... But Pharrell, i told Ken till death do we part, and i intend on keeping my promise.

We will always have that day together though. We will always have that unforgettable moment when you wrapped your arms around me, pressed my head into the nook of your neck and leaned your temple to mine. (clearly shown in the picture below) I know that in the midst of that sweet, precious embrace you were thinking, " I want it to be this way forever..." I do adore you Pharrell, but this has to be the end.

And Pharrell....please don't call or write me....it's just too hard.

Warmest regards, Christina

Oprah....

Two and a half years ago, i moved 800 miles from Atlanta, to Chicago. I was perfectly happy with my life in Atlanta, but the long distance had begun to wear on Ken and I and because i got transferred, it was sort of a no brainer to move. Now don't get me wrong, Chicago is a nice enough city, but I never fell in Love the way others have with this city. I am a southerner. I don't care how many museums, restaurants or sports teams you have....i am never going to be able to get over the fact that there are 9 months of winter here EVERY YEAR! (bless its sweet heart).

There were only two enticing elements about Chicago, that i was overly excited about. 1) Kenneth and 2) the chance to go to the Oprah show. Truth be told, i was pretty sure my chances of marrying Kenneth were much higher than the chance of me being able to go to the Oprah Show...considering it has been statistically proven that you have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting tickets! So i did what everyone does. I went online and wrote heartfelt stories on oprah.com, in hopes that they might throw me a bone and I could get some last minute seats. That didn't work. Seriously, i wrote the saddest fake letter about my impossible destitute financial situation to try to get on a Suzy Orman episode... to no avail! So i asked myself a question....What Would Oprah Do?? Oh yes! She would...duh...PUT IT ON HER VISION BOARD! So here is the answer to everyone's question... YES!! Vision Boards work!!

So i got a ticket....not one... but FOUR tickets!!! Now here comes the hard part...who do you invite? And that's where the vision board ended. So alas, I am ECSTATIC about the opportunity, but equally sad that I knew EXACTLY who i wanted to bring, but yet many of them were much to far away to come with me. And no one was more upset about that than my poor mother!

I did get a group of Oprah fanatics like me together and we had a WONDERFUL time. We had tickets to the first show, which means we had to check in at the show at 7:00am. I have never been so excited to get up at 5am in my life. I was sad that i couldn't get pictures because they do not even allow you to bring a camera or cell phone into the building.

The show was all about women's rights and had Maria Shriver, Gloria Steinem and Billy Jean King featured. It was truly empowering, and i had a reah "ah hah!" moment. Since i have been married, i have struggled with finding my footing with the balance of work and home. My husband was raised in a household (much like mine) where women worked full time, came home, cooked for the family, cleaned the house, balanced the books and raised the children. I know you ladies hear me when i say, yes we love our husbands, but did you ever know men were so helpless? I feel like i have to organize and execute nearly EVERYTHING sometimes! Yes, it is probably because i feel that my way is the best way, the most convenient way, the most logical way....(because it IS!). To be fair, Ken does help around the house A LOT.....much more than any of the men in my family, so in that regard, i am very lucky. My mother teases that he does so much around the house because "his wife" doesn't do it. So i struggle with the question of if i should feel guilty about that. Should i feel personally responsible when there are dishes dirty, laundry piling up, groceries are running low, or the baseboards need to be cleaned even though i work as hard as my husband at my job? Should i feel guilty that all i want to do when i get home, is the SAME thing he wants to do when he gets home.....sit on my rear end and watch TV? Well Gloria Steinem gave me my answer to that.... a big fat NO! She stressed that the women's movement for equality in the workplace was not to put more pressure on women to "do it all" but to put more emphasis on equality for men AND women in both the workplace AND at home.

Don't worry, i won't stop wearing a bra and shaving my arm pits. But i will not however spend a moments worry when that load of laundry takes an extra day to get folded and put away. I am woman, hear me ROAR!

P.S. Gloria Steinem is 74 and looks FABULOUS! Good grief!

My Night in the ER

I have the best and worst luck of all time. I'm that person who wins a new car, then gets hit while sitting at a stop sign....that's me...full of drama. My friends Sebastian and Jon came to Chicago to visit and I of course wanted to show them around the city, and not just all the touristy spots, but the places that REAL people who live in Chicago go to.

We had a whole day of different restaurants, hopping in cabs and buses to see different parts of the city. Do you ever have that one thing that you love to do, but can't ever find anyone to do it with? Well that thing for me, was live band karaoke at this lovely southern inspired restaurant in my old neighborhood Lincoln Park called Stanley's. They have an awesome brunch on Sunday mornings, and on Sunday nights only, they have live band karaoke and the fellas were TOTALLY on board. So after dinner, we set out for a night of fun....

So make our way to the front, put our song requests on the list and then.......

A glass got knocked off the ledge, shattered, and as i attempted to move away, my foot was sliced open by a shard of glass......

The guy holding my foot is the random drunk doctor that was in Stanley's that night...and holding the flashlight...THE PARAMEDICS!

Here they are trying to get me to stand up so that they can put me in the AMBULANCE!

Why, why, why is it always ME!? Which is exactly what my husband said as i gave him that dreaded 1am phone call, " Hunny.... I am in the emergency room...can you come pick me up?" Good thing, he is a sweetheart, and knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he married me. But i was okay...my friends stayed with me the whole time...and after i received EIGHT STITCHES IN MY FOOT... i could actually laugh about the situation.

And of course the silver lining....thank goodness i got a pedicure a few days before... i couldn't wear closed toed shoes for 3 weeks!

I have officially accepted, that my crazy mishaps...are truly the charm of me. Although they seem completely inconvenient at the time... the best part about it is.....things always turn out okay....P.S. As we all participate in our civic duties on November 4th, please look into your candidate's plan for health care before casting your vote. Right now, having paramedics in an ambulance take you 6 blocks to a hospital to receive 8 stitches and a tetanus shot will cost you $3,500!!

Seriously........Rock the Vote!