I'm feeling a bit drowsy...

from my road trip to Columbus to see the Drowsy Chaperone with Elizabeth. I can't believe I was able to talk her into going, mainly since tickets were not guaranteed. We rushed the show, and, to keep you out of suspense, I'll tell you upfront that we got tickets (dead-center 2nd row balcony!). For those who don't know, in order to get to the theatre in Columbus you have to drive through their projects. After parking our car, Elizabeth looked around and said, "Wouldn't it be funny if your car wasn't here when we got back?" No Elizabeth! That would not be funny at all! "Don't worry," she continued, "if that happened we could just call my brother. He's a cop in Columbus, so he could fill out the report and get us back to Auburn. That's killing two birds with one stone!" Glad to know she's got a plan. Anywho, we got there pretty early (we were rushing the show after all) and spent some time exploring the little streets around the theatre and lazying down the Columbus river walk. After grabbing some pizza in a local dive, we went back to the River Center to see the show. The Drowsy Chaperone was amazingly funny; I highly recommend that you go see it- it is one of my favorite shows! After the show, we headed to Krispy Kreme, keeping our fingers crossed that the "hot now!" sign was on. It was- Yay! We enjoyed far more donuts than we should have, but hey, they're delicious!

Where Dreams Come True and Logic Doesn't Exist

Disney's Magic Kingdom's three big rides are "mountains." There is Splash Mountain, where you get wet, Thunder Mountain, a roller coaster outside through a desert-like mountain, and Space Mountain, an indoor roller coaster in the dark with faux stars and stuff.

So, for the past four-ish years, Lindsey and I have been trying our hardest to get Codi on Space Mountain. It is, after all, hands down, Disney's best ride. She won't do it. She refuses and fusses and screams that she won't get on it. We are there for her birthday; she's officially a teenager now (can you believe it?), 13. We tell her, it would be a cool story to tell your friends. Nope. No budging. So her, my dad, and I get in line for Thunder Mountain, her favorite ride. The line is super long, estimated wait time is 80 minutes. We glimpse at the fast-pass station. You can get a pass, but the return time 7:30-8:30. The following conversation actually happened. I did not make this up!

Kerri: Space Mountain's line was shorter than this and it’s a better ride... why don't you just try it?
Codi: NO! Let's get a fast-pass and come back later.
Dad: We should just wait in line. The fast-pass time is too late into the night. It'll be dark by then.
Codi: I don't care. Riding a roller coaster is more fun in the dark when you can see the stars anyways.
Kerri: (taken back by previous statement) WHOA! If only there was a ride based on that concept that we could go to and ride now.... I wish there was...Oh wait! That's what Space Mountain is!

Can you believe she said that?

I most certainly cannot.

...afterwards, fyi, she still wouldn't ride Space Mountain.

Whatca doin' buyin' hairspray at 1 in da mornin'?

The girls, Elizabeth, Jasmine, and Allison, and I saw Hairspray! Because I got us tickets late, we didn't get to sit together. I got us one ticket in the 2nd row, one in the 3rd, and two in the 4th. I got the 2nd row seat and sat next to a large, buff man- funny because he started singing along with some of the songs which took me back a bit. When we got out, it was monsooning! Well, not really, but it was the hardest downpour I have ever been in. So, what do we decided to do? Go to Sonic, bien sûr! We all got milkshakes and sat around in the rain, in the cold, and in our tiny dresses, but just hanging out again was worth it! While driving back, Elizabeth, who was shot gun, yelled, "Whoa! I can't even see the road!" Thanks- I knew that- I was aware! (It was a quite nerve-racking drive back!) We had to park in the far RO lot when we got back to school, but, fortunately, we didn't have to wait long for the security shuttle to come get us. When we got in, the man looks at us (we are fancily dressed and a wee bit wet) and asks us where we've been. Jasmine says, "At Hairspray!" causing the man to whip around and question, "Whatca doin' buyin' hairspray at 1 in da mornin'? Couldn't that have waited 'til mornin'?" Nope... it couldn't've.

Spreading the Light

I recently had the opportunity to be a counselor for St. Micheal's Confirmation retreat. My girls were all sweet and very willing to share their stories with us. They even made on of the best raps out of all the groups! Remember to always be the light!

Anxious to see the Greatest Rappin’ Battle of all time: Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros

When Flight of the Conchords announced that they were going to have a United States national tour, I was both excited and nervous. Acts that I normally want to see usually do not make it anyway in the south. I checked their list and found out that they ARE coming to Atlanta… but only for one night! Needless to say, I was up at the library to buy tickets the moment they went on presale (yet again, I managed to find a magical code). April 11th, the day before Easter, I’m going to Atlanta to see New Zealand's fourth most popular comedy folk duo!

Spreading the Addiction

This past week, or, more accurately, this past Wednesday to Sunday, I stayed at my house to look after Codi whilst my parents were away in NYC. Bored out of my mind, I put in disc one of the first season of Alias. Codi came in, sat down, and started watching it with me. Now she’s hooked. I mean, really, really hooked. We ended up watching about eight episodes and are now on disc three. She wanted to watch more, but wasn’t a lot of the fun of Alias having to wait a whole week to find out how that cliffhanger would resolve? Oh! And gasping at those ads saying “Next time on Alias…?” Now, to be honest, Codi has it much better. She knows that there are five seasons (meaning Sydney can’t die in the first episode) whereas it was always on the verge of not coming back for us. I feel secrets wanting to burst out of me… but I know it’ll be more fun for her to discover them herself. Oh, I’m also not letting her watch them unless I’m home which will give her at least a week between shows now. Ha!

Wow. My time at home could've be spent quite productively. Instead, I just got another poor soul addicted to Alias. Oh well…

Coincidence? I think not...

This week I had a meeting with my counselor. Wow. What a boring way to start a story. I could spend more time one that first sentence, but then I couldn't rant about it being bad or promise that this story is worth the read (I promise, it is!).

So, this week I had a meeting with my counselor to discuss the possibility of double majoring (new major would be French). She gave me some forms but said she wouldn't do anything about it until I had seriously thought about my decision and to come see her again at a future date.

What nonsense! I had been thinking about it a lot. That's sort of why I went to see her. Anyway, I politely said "thank you" and went on my way.

For the next couple days, I thought some more about it. Seriously this time. My head just kept racing thinking of all the pros and cons and not knowing how it sort it all out. Just think about it. Here's a decision that makes a huge difference. It could impact my future job, career, and life (in a significant way) or it could end up being just a huge waste of time and effort (learning a new language is not easy). What was I to do?

Today, Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-a, was supposed to be giving a speech on campus and I decided to go. I know, that seems like an abrupt transition. Don't worry, it'll all come together (sometimes I plan these out!). So I go to this speech, and, as it turns out, Truett Cathy is not there because he had to go to the hospital for emergency surgery. In his place is a tall African American man (I think he worked for Chick-fil-a) there to give a speech for black history month. (This was defiantly not a fair trade or even remotely similar.) This man, besides giving us plush cows, put little picture frames on every chair in the hall with a quote inside them. These were random and depended on where you sat. I came in a little late, squeezed myself down a row, and took a seat between two strangers. While listening to this man's speech on my break between classes, my mind still trying to sort out my future plans, I peered down and gasped as I read my quote:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Out of all the seats, all the quote possibilities, I ended up with one from the bible telling me not to worry because God knows my plan and that plan will give me hope and a future.
Now I know that that didn't give me an answer, but it is still a bit spooky, right?

I Believe in Disneyland

Two-thousand and eight was Disney's year of a million dreams...

From the moment she saw it, Lindsey loved Disney. She even tried to jump out of the boat in order to live in "It's a Small World" as a baby! She continued to visit, eventually showing myself and her other little sister Codi the magic of the parks as we joined the family. One night this past year while at Magic Kingdom, Brain proposed; Mickey himself even showed up to take a look at her ring! Interning, falling in love, working, proposal, more working, marriage, and playing, she has defiantly made her dreams come true and Disney her home.

This video was made as wedding present to show her growing up at Disney and to congratulate her on making her dreams come true at the happiest place on Earth.

watch it here!