Thursday Thunks..... On Friday???

Okay, so I was on a mini-vacation this past week and just got home last night. I was sooooooo tired that I didn't get a chance to do the Thursday Thunks on time!!! So I'm just going to go ahead and do it today :P Better late than never, right?



Thursday Thunks: Giving Away Money

The TT questions are brought to you by Bud, the color of organic salsa and the number 3333.


1. To whom did you last give the finger?


Hmmm.... Probably my boyfriend. We both like to give each other shit, and finally, when I can't take it any longer, or if he's gone overboard a little bit, or I have no more responses, I give him the finger. He actually gets offended by it (I don't really mean anything by it) so I should probably stop doing that.



I also give him the "bang the sides of your fists against each other" thing instead of the finger sometimes. Friends, anyone??




2. If you had 1,000 dollars and HAD to spend it, what would you buy?

Well, of course I would do the sensible thing and pay off my student loans and such. But materialistic wise, I would TOTALLY buy land and build my dream house. 4 stories- finished basement (it would be the "entertainment place" with movie viewing room, lots of games, pool table, indoor pool, etc., A Regular story, and Upstairs, and an Attic (that would also be nice and pretty and would hold books and couches and be like a mini library). Oh, and it would all be eco-friendly. Somehow. :P

Of course, property taxes would be outrageous, but hey, this is MY fantasy.

3. What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself?


Definitely water. Partly because that's the only drink I have anymore (well, lemonade every great once in awhile) but partly because just a couple days ago I was drinking out of a glass and spilled water down my shirt. I fail at basic human functions :P




4. When was the last photograph you took? What was it of?



Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. If you actually know me, when am I NOT taking photographs of things? Seriously, my camera is part of my body just like everyone else's eyes are. Let me find that old camera and see....



Okay... the last photograph I took was yesterday driving home from Portillo's up in Naperville. The day before, we had gone to Naperville for dinner with the rest of the BF's family. All week, the BF had been talking about these "Chocolate Cake Shakes" and how good they were and how he couldn't believe I'd never tried one. So when we went to dinner that night, the BF ordered his meal and I just told the lady at the counter I would have what he had (he had ordered the same Beef N Cheddar that I wanted and a chocolate cake shake). Well, the chocolate cake shake was HUMONGOUS. So big. And we had two of them at our table. Don't get me wrong... It tasted marvelous (it's a vanilla shake blended together with a whole piece of chocolate icing-ed chocolate cake). But way to much for me to eat. The BF finished his, then I forced him (he was full) to eat the second half of mine. So of course a good time was had by all.



Well, the next day, the BF wanted Portillo's again for lunch (personally, while I think the food is good, I'm not crazed about it like everyone else in the family. It's not a place that I *have* to go to every time I'm up north) and once again, he ordered the Chocolate Cake Shake (only this time, the "small" instead of the "large") I couldn't believe he wasn't tired of the shakes yet, so I just had to take his picture---- and of course I had to take the photo to send to a friend who also loves Chocolate Cake Shakes and was sad that we didn't bring one home with him.





5. Who was the last person to smoke a cigarette in your presence?

I'm.... not sure. I'm trying to remember who I've seen last- My step-dad or my BF's mom. Both of them smoke so I know it was one of them. I see the BF's mom more than I see my step-dad, however, the step-dad is more likely to smoke in front of me than BF's mom. So.... one of them :P


6. What animal did you last pet or hold?

My crazy pet cat. She's insane and loves to jump and tumble and run around everywhere, however, she did break into my bathroom time to rub against my legs this morning, so she wins this question.


7. What was the last superstitious thing you did?

Ever since I was a kid, every time I drive past, or walk past a graveyard, I have to cross my fingers. When I was younger, my (also young) cousin told me that ghosts will come out and kill me when we pass the cemetery unless my fingers are crossed, which wards them away. And so I've done that Every. Single. Time I pass a cemetery. Even to this day. Hell, even to last night when we drove past some graves and my fingers go into their positions automatically. Not that I believe ghosts will kill me anymore, but, ya know, habit.



8. What was the last text message you received?

From my youngest sister. "I'm glad you your purse. :)" I had left my purse in Portillo's and hadn't realized it till we were 65 miles away. So of course I was sad because it had some important things in it (social security card, Disney ID, iPod) and the BF was upset because I told him I wanted to drive back even though we called the restaurant and they said no one turned it in AND they looked by where we were sitting and didn't see it. However, when we got back, there my purse was sitting EXACTLY where I knew I had left it :) So I let everyone know I had gotten it back (since I had let everyone know I had lost it)


9. Berleen has decided to buy twelve goats. If she trades three for some awesome pot, loses one while she was stoned, what do you think she did with the rest?

I think there is a "cook-out" in the making. "Burgers" and "Cheese" and "Milk" for all!!


10. What was the last musical instrument played in your presence?

Hmmm... Probably an accordion. We were walking the streets of Chicago the other day and of course the homeless were out trying to get some money. I guess accordions are the "in" instruments for the homeless these days because we ran into about 3 or 4 accordion players that day.


11. What was the last note that you wrote on your hand?

Back in high-school I was CONSTANTLY writing notes on my hand. I mean, not cheating notes or anything, but reminder stuff (I was super busy in high school- I was one of those types that joined everything.). It's been a long time so I don't remember exactly what the last thing I wrote was, but I'm assuming it was a note about doing some homework or going somewhere.


12. Kimber announced that she was born on another planet. Which one do you think it was and why?

Hmmmm..... I'm gonna go with Neptune because it's such an odd little planet.


13. What are you wearing as you answer these ridiculously stupid TT questions?

An old college marching band t-shirt and a ponytail. Hey, I just woke up. Didn't feel like getting all gussied up :P

Thursday Thunks: What the What??

So, since I have trouble thinking of things to write about, I've decided to do daily meme's! So I chose Thursday Thunks Let's see what happens!!!



Thursday Thunks: You give it a title

The TT questions are brought to you by Berleen, the color of lightning bolts and the number 1.



A. If you see a tornado out your window, what do you do?

Scream hysterically!!!! I hate hate hate storms on the off chance that a tornado MIGHT occur. To actually SEE one?? I would pee my pants, run downstairs, curl up in a little ball, pull every blanket/pillow/mattress/piece of armor/sister that I own on top of me to shield me from damage, and just cry.

B. A celebrity knocks on your door saying that their tour bus/limo/pedal bike broke down (you pick the transportation)... who is it and what do you do to help them?

Hmmmmm...... Well, Selena Gomez of Wizards of Waverly Place fame is currently in town, so she's the most likely to have their tour bus break down. If this were to happen, I would probably stare at her creepily for an awkward amount of time, invite her inside, then proceed to take a bajillion photos staging various scenes. I would also webcam w/ my friend Nachos and we would think we were sooo awkwardly awesome "hanging out" (i.e- kidnapping) Selena Gomez because we would stay up all night watching the Disney Channel back when we lived together.

P.S.... we're both in our 20s.


C. Brett is back on the Vikings - do you really give a crap?

I couldn't give less of a flying crap if I tried. In fact, when I first read this question, for some reason I was wondering if Vikings was a name of a reality TV show and the question was about Brett Michaels...


D. What side of the bed do you think Bud sleeps on?

Uhhh.. I'm new. Who's Bud? I'm gonna go for spread out like an eagle in the center of the bed.

E. Cookie Monster eats vegetables now. Is this ok with you?

No. C is for cookies. It's just awkward to see him eat vegetables. Do they still call him cookie monster or did they change his name too?

F. All the TT's get together for coffee... which state do we meet in?

Uhhhmmm..... uhhhh.... Kansas? So we can go find a tornado like the one referenced in question 1 and see if everyone's predictions come true?

G. Is the town you live in famous for anything? Infamous for anything?

HORSESHOES!!!!! We are the only area that makes these delicious treats. Even visitors from the northern and southern parts of our state don't know what a horseshoe is. Basically, you take a large piece of lightly toasted Texas Toast, put a meat item on top of that (the original used ham, most places nowadays use hamburgers, but you can also put any meat imaginable on it. Right now, since it's state fair time, the special is corndog), pile a whole bunch of crinkly fries on top, then douse the entire thing with a special liquid cheese. Gluttony can be so amazing. And what I just described was a ponyshoe... a real horseshoe is double that.

H. Coffee flavored bubble gum - would you?

H to the E-L-L No. It would be so weird, you'd want to swallow it, but instead you're chewing it? I don't think I could handle something solid that's supposed to be a liquid. (also, I love the smell of coffee, but I hate the taste of it!)

I. So Kimber lost her fight with a granite table.... what did you ever lose a fight with?

Hmmm... hard one. I guess I lost a fight with my tooth. It wanted to decay and come out, and I didn't want it to. It won.

J. Have you ever slept beneath the stars?

Sort of, but not really. I've been camping loads of times, but I've always been in a tent or camper. Sleeping under the stars SOUDNS romantic... until you discover all the bug bites in the morning.

K. School is starting up soon, or has for some, did you get a new pair of tennis shoes every year while you were in school?

For the most part. I tend to wear my shoes ragged. I'm rough on em. So I would get new shoes, but mainly because my old ones would have holes in them so big you could see my toes, or the heel would be flopping down as you tried to pull your foot up.

L. What two flavors do you love that you would never want to taste at the same time?

Mashed potatos and Strawberries. I love carbs, I love strawberry flavoring... but together? It makes me wanna gag.

M. If you could shave a quote into a lions fur, what would it say?

"Please tell my parents how I died."

N. Did you ever accidentally walk in on your parents doing the nasty? Did you ever purposely walk in on them?

Somehow, I managed to escape this rite of childhood. Which is odd considering I had double the chances with two sets of parents. Also- no, I can't imagine even WANTING to walk in on them on purpose.

Presenting the Presenter Eats and Blogs the Illinois State Fair

Okay, so despite the never changing, animal filled, tractor showcasing, food-a-palooza bonanza the IL State Fair is every year, it's still a tradition for people to plop on the sunscreen, shove their family in the huge family van, pay $5 for parking, pay for admission tickets, and experience the "wonder" that is the IL State Fair. What can we say, humans love "traditions".

I've missed the fair a few times the past couple years due to jobs and college, but don't worry... the years and years of me going to the fair can still allow me to walk you to the butter cow or Vose's Corndogs blindfolded.

Well, it's that time of year again, so me and BF grabbed our Free Parking Pass, our Free Daily Admission passes (Thanks 30!) and off to the fair we went!!

Normally, the one of the less welcome State Fair traditions is the sweating faces, the red blotchy patches on your skin, the desperate runs to the water coolers, and the passing out in the middle of the street. But we got really really lucky this year and tonight when we went (around 4:30) it was actually quite cool outside with one or two sprinkles that were soft enough to feel like mist. In fact, at one point, after a particularly chilling breeze, I even commented to the boyfriend that it was a little chilly outside and it would be perfect weather for a light jacket. That might have been a little overkill, but really, absolutely perfect weather :)

Now, anyone that knows me knows that it's rare to find me without a camera. So without further ado, I present a Photo Blog of Presenting the Presenter's experiences at the IL State Fair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, we walk into the fair, and this is the first thing we see-

BEARS!!!!!!

Now, I don't know why the IL state fair has bears. IL no longer has a lot of bears. Nonetheless, there's that little cage full of bears. But here's the thing- my dad hates bears. He thinks they are going to come up to the house, unlock the door, and maul him in his sleep. That's why we buy him all sorts of bear paraphernalia for Christmas- we like to hear his screams of terror. So when I saw these bears no more than 5 minutes away from our house, I immediately thought of him. Maybe he's right and the bears ARE after him and are slowly getting closer and closer to the house. These bears were going to do a Bear Show, but it was still an hour away so we decided to leave and come back later.

Now, let's get to what you're all REALLY looking forward to-- FOOD!!!

So, first things first, we went to the Agriculture Tent. This is always our first stop when we go to the fair- normally because the tent is right near our entrance, but mainly because of the FREE FOOD SAMPLES!!! Mmmmmm. This year's loot was Butter Cake, Pease's Cheddar Popcorn, Cinnamon Wheat bread... or something like that, Chips and Dip, Coffee, and Meat (maybe pork?) with Riley's Seasoning on it. It was all very very tasty.

Sadly, I did not get any photos of the samples (well besides one photo of the BF enjoying Stewarts Coffee). I ate them too fast! What can I say- they handed me that Butter Cake and it was GONE.

Who doesn't love hot coffee on a hot fair day?

Next we walked around trying to find Meat Parfaits. Before I went, I had gotten word that they were behind Ethnic Village along the fence. Well we walked allll the way down there- No Meat Parfaits. Sadness! We called 30, who then said to try and ask an information booth. Well there was NO WAY I was going to embarrass myself by walking up to the booth asking "Where's the Meat Parfaits?" so I resigned myself to not trying this year's unique fair item.

So off we went to the annual favorite-- The Butter Cow!!! Before we got there, we passed by a fudge and pizza booth. We weren't going to stop, but the barker convinced us to turn back around and get a Free Sample of Fudge. Well, who can say no to that? So he took a little 1 inch cube, cut it in half and gave half to the BF. The guy then decided the other half was too small for me, so he cut another piece in half, then gave me TWO pieces of fudge. Score!! We didn't buy anything there- but look what we could have bought!! Pizza that's shaped like an ice-cream cone!!!

Eventually, we made it inside and met the Butter Cow:

Honestly, I've seen better Butter Cows. Last one I saw was the Butter Cow and all his woodland creature friends. This year all he's got is a bunch of corn and a measly butterfly. Meh I say.


But a visit to the buttercow also means enjoyment of a MilkShake!

"Now Presenter, just why are you taking pictures of spoons?" you may be asking yourself. Well, this is all that is left of our milkshake (I took one bite with a spoon before moving to a straw). I couldn't help it! It was so good (despite being slightly melted) It wasn't until after we threw the cup away that I remembered that I was trying to do a Photo Food Blog. Ooops.

Next, we walked around Conservation World looking at the various crafts, staring at various animals, laughing at crazy redneck stuff. While there, BF mentioned he had never tried homemade rootbeer, so we decided to remedy that:

I'm not a fan of homemade rootbeer, plus, I've stopped drinking soda, so BF was the only partaker of this one. But I think he liked it? He did mention that the lack of carbonation made it different than commercial brands, but that was about his only commentary.

Remember a while back when I said we couldn't find the Meat Parfait? And I was too embarrassed to ask the information booth? Well, we passed one, and BF asked me if I was going to stop, and I said "Hell no, I'm not going up there and asking "where's the meat"" Well, BF kind of scoffed, turned around, and went up there himself to ask!!! He's so nice- I guess this proves he really does love me since he's willing to face that much embarrassment for me (meanwhile, I'm hiding up ahead past the booth--- so what does that say about me??)

Sadly, my fears of being embarrassed were not unfounded-- The lady looked at him, like he was crazy and said she hadn't heard of such a thing. But, she did look through the Vendor's list for it (we were thinking the place was called Meat Man, or something like that) but there was no mention in there about anyplace that started with the word meat. So, Meat Parfait Attempt #2 was a fail.

The next stop for food was another yearly favorite-- Vose's Corndogs!!! Corn dogs are an IL State Fair staple. Pretty much every single vendor sells them. I don't know why Vose's are the best, they just are. And there's no way to reproduce their taste. You can only get these for one week a year, so you bet they are popular. Also, remember that bear show we (well, I) wanted to watch? Well, at this point, it was either go back to watch the bear show, or get in line for a corndog. Well, obviously the corn dog won. No bear show for us this year.

Look at those bite marks on the top.... I almost started eating it before I remembered I wanted to document my food journey.

But do you want to know one of the reasons Vose's corndogs are the best? The sticks in the middle!!

Look at that! It's food with danger! Every bite you take increases the risk of STABBING A HOLE IN YOUR ESOPHAGUS!!! It's like a dagger, hidden inside a corn-bread covered meat tube. Mmmmmm, I love a dash of blood with my meal.

So, after our nice tasty corndogs, we walked around a bit more, looking at various booths and just kind of taking in the sites. Here's a few of the "food-related" sites we looked at-

It's like EPCOT....only not.

Cheese..... ON A STICK!!!

What would a Springfield Fair be without Fried Things? Fried T-Shirt please!! (Simpsons, anyone?)

This reminds me of FL. Hey! Wonder if they have Gator Tators...

I want that tree. Wait, the bottles are empty?? Nevermind then.

It says Corn in a Cup.... But when you go up there to look at the sample, the cup is just filled with yellow tissue paper.

Dude, why couldn't we have found the $1 stand BEFORE we spent all that money earlier???

Somehow... I don't know if I would trust getting my crab from a shack like this.

It says Breakfast....and yet, none of those menu items proclaim breakfasty items....

After awhile, I called 30 to ask a question. And during this conversation, she told me wonderful news. She had found it. The coveted location of the Meat Parfait!! It's on the little road that the Pizza Hut building/booth intersects. So off we went.... and look what we found-



















THE MEAT PARFAIT PLACE!!!! VICTORY IS OURS!!!

Well, despite BF's continuous "ewwwww"ing of the meat parfait images, I knew, I just HAD to try it. So, off I went to go order it.


Here it is:

Look at that meatiness!




Presenting the Presenter approves!

As for the taste.... well, it was alright. Not as good as my French Meat & Potatoes :P The barbecue sauce was nice (in fact, if we hadn't walked away, I would have put more BBQ sauce on it) the potatoes were good and filling, and the meat had a nice taste to it (I preferred the pork to the brisket, but BF preferred the brisket to the pork). The problem though was that it was very, very filling. You pay $7 for a cup, and you better be prepared to share it because it is waaaay too heavy for fair food and unless you're starving, I don't know if one person can eat it on their own- if you want to try it, be prepared to bring one or two of your close friends with you. Fair food is supposed to be light and not that heavy/filling on the stomach. But you eat a little bit of this and you can feel it sitting on your stomach. I was lucky I was eating this on a light, cool day because if it had be miserably hot like most days, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much.

Meanwhile, since I had found my "New Thing To Try", it was BF's turn! He decided he wanted to try a Fried Snickers (he was tempted with a Fried Cheesecake, but the Snicker persevered). So away we went, walking to the opposite side to the fair. While BF was in line waiting for his candy to fry, I went and got a Lemon Shakeup:

BF came back with his Fried Snickers and the warning to wait 2 minutes before eating it. Well who can wait two minutes?? He lasted about 45 seconds. He said he really liked it. I tried a bit of it, but I didn't get a lot of the candy bar portion, mainly just the fried dough, and I didn't find it too impressive. A little watery? But again, that could be because I got the side and not the main nutty nougaty goodness.







At this point, we decided to find a seat because we were carrying too much stuff, and it was starting to "mist" (it was to light to be called sprinkling) a little bit. It was also at this point that I figured out that I would not be able to finish the Meat Parfait and any attempt to would result in gross happenings.

But, with encouraging words (and lots of helping bites by my BF) we managed to conquer the Meat Parfait. Victory!

That was about it for our food adventure..... or was it?? BF was still debating about trying another new food choice. The option was Fried Alligator...or Chocolate Covered Bacon. Ultimately though, he decided to try neither of these options. Personally, I wouldn't have minded trying the chocolate bacon, but perhaps another trip. However, this was the point that we ran into another fair favorite....






Mini-Donuts!!!!! How could we leave the fair without getting mini-donuts?? So, we got our tasty fried little treats. Again, I've had better donuts (seriously, anyone who visits Typhoon Lagoon has got to buy their donuts... though, there you only get 6 donuts for like, $4 while here we got 22 donuts for $5.)




And thus, our Fair Food Adventure was over. We walked around a bit, looked at some games and rides, saw some Lincoln stuff, and finally our feet admitted defeat and towards home we went. We never got an Elephant Ear, but, ya know, there's always next year :P



Did you go to a State Fair this year? What are some of your "Have-To-Gets"? Any new favorites?

Oh Noes!!!!

So remember how I promised everyone a State Fair post? Well, I tried... I really did!!!

I wrote out a few paragraphs, talked about the weather (it was perfect!) and was all set to start the Photo Blog. So I put my memory card in............. and my computer won't recognize the card.

OH NOES!!!


Now, I'm sure this has an easy solution. I probably just need to restart my computer. But, you know, I'm kinda tired.... and I don't feel like restarting the comp.... so looks like you guys will have to wait till tomorrow to get my State Fair Recap.

Sorry!!!

Here's a cool link to make up for it. Believe me-- listen to the song, it's well worth it! Almost as good as seeing pictures of the copious amounts of food I ate.

Pre-Fair

Okay, count this as a "Pre-State-Fair" Post.

As I've mentioned before, I love food. Well, while surfing facebook, I ran across this (Thanks CACousin!)

It's called a "Meat-Man Parfait"

It's BBQ pork (or BBQ brisket) in layers with mashed potatos, drizzled in BBQ sauce, and a "cherry" tomato on top.

Now, I already have my list of Foods That I Must Eat At The Fair Each Year. A Vose's Corndog. Lemonshake up. Donut Family's Mini Donuts. Milkshake from the ButterCow building. Which is quite a lot. But.... this Meat-Man Parfait.... I just might have to spend even MORE money ($7 for this plastic cup) and get one.

Sure, it may look gross to you. BUT, last year, at EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival, I got this sampler from France that was a cup of mashed potatoes, but when you took a bite, you discovered there were beef short ribs in the middle. And It. Was. Amazing. Soooo good.

So unassuming, but sooo tasty.

So sure, this Meat-Man Parfait might turn out to be horrible and gross. But my salivary glands are currently going in full force in remembrance of France's food so I'm going to HAVE to try IL's version to see if it stacks up.

It's not gluttony, it's a science experiment!!

You folks have 3 and a half hours to talk me out of it, so try your best!!!

*****UPDATE*****

OH NO!!! I forgot to mention Elephant Ears on my list of food I have to eat tonight!! How could I have forgotten Elephant Ears???

Long Discussions or Turtles

I think the title of this post should actually be the title of my blog. Because I either post really long, rambling posts where I just go on, and on, and on, or I post videos about turtles.

I can't help it though, I really don't have much going on in my life. Waiting for the school year to start so I can start subbing again. Thinking about getting a part-time night job so I can buy a tree (don't ask.) I guess I can start blogging more about TV shows I watch, but I'm already enough of a loser that I don't know if I want to admit to you guys just how much TV I watch.

Tell you what. I'm going to the State Fair tomorrow and I promise I will blog about it the following day. And if I don't, you all have permission to come to my house and hit me with a fish.

(See what I did there? Now when I don't post, you guys all have to come to IL and visit me! I be so smart!)

And since this is a short post, I gotta share a video! Lesse.... This time I will share a home video of mine. This is my crazy cat. More about her later.

The First Ever Presenting the Presenter LiveBlog!!!

So, I love the show SYTYCD. It's a lot of great fun and I love it so much more than other dancing shows. The people on the show can ACTUALLY dance, the judges are SO MUCH NICER than other "judging" shows, and criticisms they give are actually relevant and designed to help them rather than just say they suck and are pitchy, and the host is wonderful at her job.

Anyway, I try to watch every season, but I've missed the past 2 or 3. I try, but I just got really busy (hey, I was living in FL with free access to Walt Disney World at any time I wanted to go- I wasn't gonna waste that on watching tv). But this season I managed to catch every episode. And boy, was it a wonderful season. I loved almost everyone on the show (I didn't care for the tap dancer, and I barely remember the girls that were eliminated at the beginning). But the boys were WONDERFUL as well as Lauren- the last girl standing. In fact, I hated having to eliminate everyone each week because I didn't want to lose anyone. So it was actually a blessing when people kept getting hurt so I didn't have to choose!!! :P (though, I was sad when they got injured and they couldn't dance anymore :( )

Anyway, tonight's the finale! And my three favorite dancers are the final three contestants!!!

Kent- Kent has been my favorite since auditions. What can I say- I love a small town bright eyed boy. I love his personality, and I love his dancing. I've loved everything he's done. While I love all three people and don't care who wins, I am pushing more for Kent to win.

Lauren- Ever since Hollywood, I have been a fan of the boys more so than the girls. They just seemed to have more personality and I loved their dancing. But, Lauren also stood out to me. I loved her audition piece, and I loved her dancing during early Hollywood auditions, but she started to get overshadowed by the boys. But then, she got on the show, and she re-installed my love for her! She's such a talented dancer. She has a great personality (not as good as Kent, which is why she's slightly under him in my rankings) and she's a wonderful dancer!!!

Rob- Rob was a dark horse for me. During the show when they were announcing who was going to be on the show, I had 5 boys I had picked out who were my favorite boys and HAD to be on the show. (I didn't have a list of girls I liked w/ the exception of Lauren) Despite my love of his audition piece, Rob was not on my list. Well, as the show went on, every. single. one. of my guys I wanted on the show made it. With the exception of Billy Bell. Well, it's down to the final slot, and it's between Rob and Billy Bell. So, of course, I was rooting for Billy. And then Rob got the spot. So I was a little disappointed. But then they said Billy got to be the 11th person!!!! Well, anyway, despite Rob not being one of my top 5 guys, every single week, I grew to love Rob more and more. I started rooting for him, and the week that two were going home, I hoped against hope that Rob would not be going home and instead they would send Billy home. I felt so bad for Rob that he kept being in the bottom 3, and I'm so glad the judges kept him on (and finally yelled at America for not voting for him and sending him to the bottom so much) because we got the opportunity to see him grow as a dancer- so much more than the others. I was sooo happy for him when he finally started being "safe" and not in the bottom. So while I'm still hoping for Kent to win, and then Lauren, I will be extremely happy if Robert wins and surprises everyone.


But, like I mentioned a few times, I will be happy with any outcome. I love them all so much :) This was the greatest season I've ever watched. Everyone brought such a high level of expertise and I can think of very few routines that I didn't like.

Anyway, since I love the show so much, and I've run out of things to talk about on my blog, I've decided to do a liveblog!! Basically, I watch the show and type my comments as I think them. If you don't watch the show, you probably will have no idea what is happening. But if you DO watch So You Think You Can Dance Finale, then you can probably figure out where I am in the show and what I'm talking about. So without further ado....

*PLAY*



Squeeeeee it's Alex!! I love Alex! And how cute is it that they wheeled him out on a chair and he did a hip hop esque chair routine?

Loved that first group routine!!!! Such wonderful choreography, incorporating all those styles, and I loved seeing everyone do their thing. And I know they do it every season, but I still love the focus on the final three at the end.

Hmmm.. I did love the "baseball" routine, but I will have to see what other routines they choose to see if I agree with that being one of the "best routines of the season" Don't get me wrong, I loved the routine, but there were others I loved more.

Yay Mad World Routine!!! I loved that one :) Plus I love the song

This is a cute routine, with Quest (or how do you spell it?) But is it sad that I can't tell which one is Hawk? Was he the half bald one at the beginning? Cuz I didn't think he was bald... Or maybe he was.... I dunno. But I liked it :)

Instead of taking time to talk about this routine, I will instead take this time to talk about the choreographer. While they are not my favorite choreographers, I love love love Nappytabs. They are absolutely amazing and I love their routines. Who knew that hip hop dances could make you feel emotional and tell such amazing stories? I'm so happy when I see someone pull them out of the hat.

Hmm, Kent "first kiss" routine. I love almost every dance this season, so I'm not really going to complain about what routines they do as long as I see them dance, but first kiss, while very good, was never one of my favorites. Again, not gonna complain, I just hope to get to see some of my favorites. If I get to see the ones I want to see, then I'll be happy with everything else :P

The more I see the "They got shot, they got shot, they got shot." commercial, the more I want to watch Raising Hope

Oooo, Another Nappytabs routine. Lesse what it is.... CRAZY CLOWNS!!! Wooooo!!!! Still very good, but I think I liked it better the first time. Lol, did everyone see Dominic give an angry look" when Cat gave Rob a kiss?

THIS KID IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! I WANNA JUST CARRY HIM AROUND IN MY POCKET AND PULL HIM OUT EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE AND HAVE HIM DANCE FOR ME!!!!!! WOW!!!! (kinda sad that I didn't get to see another big Nigel dance though)

Sorry older kids, but that young kid had a cute factor that you just can't live up to. Though, I do like the second half of your routine where you're doing songs and stuff, and, well, okay, actually, you're pretty cool too.

Yaaaaay Lauren! Again, not one of my favorite routines (even less so than the other ones I "complained" about) But again, I don't really care unless I don't get to see her "duck in heat" dance, then I'll be pretty sad that they chose this one over that one. I must say though, I enjoyed it more this time than I did last time :)

Awwww, the Travis Wall Fix You routine. I loved loved loved this routine. But remember how I said Nappytabs wasn't my favorite choreographers? Well, the only reason they're not my favorite is because of this man right here. Travis Wall. He is absolutely amazing. Every. Single. Routine. he does brings out some sort of emotion in me. I love everything he does. He's young too. Like, 22. So he has a long, wonderful career ahead of him. He needs an Emmy. If he doesn't get nominated for next years Emmys, there's something wrong with the world. It'll be a Mad World :P

You know, I started watching last years SYTYCD, but I was always busy and ended up not finishing the season. But from what I saw of the season, I liked Russel. I wish they had DVDS of past season so I can catch up on the few seasons I missed.

Oooo... The excaliber routine! I like this routine, but I also still think that I saw a very similar routine once on a different season? But no one knows what I'm talking about. I wanna say it was Benji and Travis, but they did the nerd one, so I don't think it was them. But anyway, yeah, I like this routine because like they said, you really don't get to see two B Boys do a choreographed routine and it's pretty cool.

Yay for seeing Neil, and yeah, SYTYCD has to do their cross promotion with their other editions.... but I think our Lauren is soooooo much better than this girl. They should have a dance off!!!

Ooooo....... Here we go! The first of the elimi----LOL I love Rob's outfit. I guess this means we get to see Rob's Bollywood routine soon :D And we GET TO SEE KENT AND NEIL'S STAB IN BACK ROUTINE!!! THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES THAT I WANT TO SEE!!!

Awww... Poor Rob. I love Rob, even though I only gave him 3 votes last night (I gave everyone at least one vote :P Kent got about 30, Lauren got about 9, and Rob got 3). So. It's down to Lauren and Kent, my two favorites (they were just a smidge over Rob) Again, I love this season, so I have no high hopes for anyone to win (though, if Kent wins, that means I get to see him cry and babble and give his million dollar smile, all of which makes me swoon)

Huh. Another Nappytabs. As much as I love love love Travis, Nappytabs are probably the stand out choreographers of the season. They had a really good year :) I do like this routine, it's cute. Again, would have preferred Duck in Heat, but this one was one of Lauren's great ones. Like Adam said, really showed her strength.

YAAAAAAAAY THE ALEX DAN--- oh wait, this isn't the Alex dance I wanted :( I wanted the Alex Hip-Hop with Twitch :( Don't get me wrong, I like this one, and I love love love the song, but I heard Cat say Alex and I got excited for the hip hop, and it wasn't, so now I'm just disappointed. I think this routine was performed before Alex started ascending to my favorites. I always liked Alex, just not as much as others, but I don't think it was till a few episodes later that I realized I loved him.

Oh heeeeey, I would have never thought they would choose this Bollywood routine to do! (*snark*) I love Bollywood. I am so so so glad they decided to make it one of the regular dances of this season (just how many Bollywood routines did we see this season?) It's so different from the other dances and it's SO FUN!! So much better than disco. And Rob's smile makes him fit the category so well :)

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY ANOTHER NEIL AND KENT ROUTINE!!! AND IT'S THE BACKSTAB ROUTINE. So I didn't get to see the duck dance, but I did get to see one of my absolute favorites, so that's good :) Not only is Travis one of my favorite choreographers, but I love love love love love seeing Kent and Neil dance together. and this routine is absolutely the greatest thing ever. And look at their characters!!! Neil stays soooo angry throughout the entire routine, and Kent keeps glancing over at him longingly..... but I love the end when Kent's by himself. He looks so hurt and awful, I just want to give him a hug. AWWWWWWWWW Neil came back and gave him a hug. They made up from all that fighting. Yay! Tee Hee and how cute was Kent forcing Neil to bow?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??? WHY ARE HIS LIPS SO BIG???? IT'S SCARING ME SO MUCH!!!! STOP SHOWING IT!!!!

I always enjoy seeing the real version of the goodbye song, but I HATE that they cut away from the video screen to show the singer. I don't care about watching the band, I want to watch the full "season recap" video. I do NOT want to watch Huge Lip dude.

So... we didn't get to see the duck dance. And we didn't get to see Kent and Lauren's prom dance. And we didn't get to see Alex's hip hop dance (though that's for an obvious reason). Booooo, looks like I need to make a trip to YouTube once the show is over.

OMG!!!!! WAIT!!!!! I SEE THE THERAPY COUCH!!!!!!! IT'S THE ALEX HIP HOP ROUTINE!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!

SQUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LITERALLY JUST SQUUEEEED OUT LOUD FOR A LONG LONG TIME!!! I CAN"T BELIEVE IT!!! IT'S ELLEN!!!!! THIS THIS IS AMAZING!!!! OMG!!!!! WO WOW WOWO WOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW I HAVE NO WORDS!!!!! GREATEST THING EVER@!!!!! I love Ellen :D AND THERE IS ALEX ON HIS CRUTCHES!!! Poor Alex. That boot is huge.

So here we are at the end. My two favorite dancers made it to the end. Can we get another kiss? I love them both. Like Kent just said "Here we go" I think I want Kent to win over Lauren, but I will be happy with any outcome.

And the winner is......

LAUREN!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay for Lauren!!! This was such a male dominated season, and she was able to rise above that and show that not only was she the strongest female dancer, she was the greatest. Like one of the judges said earlier (I wanna say Mia) Lauren didn't really need to win the show- she was already an all-star.

Poor Kent though. Did anyone else notice he didn't come back out at the end? He was probably crying :( Lot's of emotion going on.

Welp, that's it folks!!! Season's over. Off to YouTube I go!!!

Day by Day by Day

So I turned to my dad and asked "What should I blog about today?". His response was some sort of cheesy "blog what you feel and what's in your heart and what you want to tell the world"

Well, once again, I have nothing to say, so I leave you with ANOTHER TURTLE VIDEO!!!!

Day by Day...

So, I have nothing really to blog about today. Okay, well, I could blog about this past weekend, but I'm lazy. So instead, I leave you this:

Fatty, Fatty, bo-batty. Banana-fana fo-atty. Fee-fi-mo-matty. Fatty!

So... I am fat.

And no matter how many people do the polite thing and tell me "you look fine", it's not denying the fact that I desperatley need to lose weight.

And so.... once again, I am attempting it.

I've tried it several other times before, but, it just never works out. But I'm motivated this time. Someday, I will be wanting to try on some pretty dresses, and the skinnier I am, the better choices I will have. And I won't have to worry as much about bulges. But, the longer amount of time I give myself to lose this weight, the better it will be, rather than trying to lose weight desperatley for one year.

So here's what I've been doing. I've been using Wii Fit Plus to track my progress. They have a graph of my BMI and Weight. I use the Wii Fit Plus routines to choose what exercises I do for the day. I don't really have a set "routine", I just go through and choose what I want to target for each day. For example, I start off with the "cool down" category, throw in the "figure" category, some "arm", some "tummy" and some "over-indulgence" I then tell Wii Fit to choose 2 exercises from each category to give me and I tell them I want to exercise for ~30 minutes. They then choose what exact exerices I do (it's random) and away I go!

Next, I get on my elliptical and turn on the tv. I've noticed that I exercise better when watching dancing shows or wedding shows compared to when I'm watching food shows, lol!!! Anyway, when I do the elliptical, I focus primarily on the distance I've gone. As of right now, my goal is 1.00 mile per day. I can't go very fast, and I average about 2.4 mph, but I do a steady "jog" with absolutely no stopping (despite wanting to!!!). It averages out to be about 420 calories burned each time. Currently it takes me about 25:30 minutes to do a mile. Perhaps once I get in better shape I can do faster miles.

Then, at some point later, I try and do another half hour of Wii Fit. This second time isn't quite as intensive. What I'm thinking of doing is just picking a cateogry and going through every exercise in it. For example, last night I went to "balance" and did every balance game. So there's no set time I do this for, I just kinda take what they give me. I mght cut this part of my schedule, I dunno. It's not part of my "must do everyday!" list.

So yep, there it is. My mom wanted to start exercising too, so we decided to do the Wii Fit portions together so we could motivate each other and force each other to do it everyday. And then, of course, my sister wanted to join in too!! The only problem then, is that it takes sooooo much time!! Each weigh in takes about 10 minutes, then we each have 30 minutes of exercise... so that's 2 hours of the night overtaken with WiiFit! When are we supposed to have time to watch tv??? (My mom doesn't get home till 6:30 and goes to bed around 10:30) So we have to re-evaluate how we do this. Because we can't just weigh in and not exercise! Do we kick Sabra off the plan? I suggested I do my exercising during the day,but then what happened to us doing all this together and motivating each other? Then again, today is only the third day of this so we'll eventually settle into a routine that will work :)


Now, losing weight involves two processes. Exercising....... and healthy food. And this, my friends, is my achilles tendon. I love food. I love to eat food, I love to read recipes, I love to read blogs about people cooking, I love to read blogs about people eating food, I love to watch shows about the history of food, I love to watch shows about people cooking food, I love shows about people teaching me to cook, I love browsing photos of food....

Oh food... you are so wonderful.

So... it's going to be very very very hard for me to give up my favorite foods. Chicken strips and honey-mustard dipping sauce.... alfredo.... steak.... french fries.... I LOVE THESE THINGS!!!!

And so.... for right now, I'm not. Yes, yes, the point of this post is about how I'm overweight and need to lose some pounds and all that, but at this point, eating healthy is just not something I can accomplish. I'm counting my calories (Have you guys seen the LiveStrong website? It's very cool!!! ) but I'm not really changing anything, just making myself feel guilty about what I eat regularly.

At some point, I do want to change this. I just know that you have to want to change it first, and at this point, my will is just not strong enough. All my will is being used towards making myself exercise everyday. Which at least I am doing that now, so that is better than nothing! Plus, Poker Run is this weekend, Ladies Weekend is next weekend, and then it's the State Fair!! So baby steps... I will get there eventually :)


Anyway, I really need you guy's support on this (I know you're out there!! There are 10 of you who have stopped by my page.) Leave a comment now, or randomly on other posts later so I can look at that and force myself off the couch and onto the elliptical! I have a habit of starting things and never finishing them, so I need you guys to keep my motivation up!

Let me tell you what I think and why I'm right.

Omg.... Six Flags was RIDICULOUS!!!

Okay, to set the scene, it was massively hot. I mean, it had to have been at least 200 degrees outside. The Weather Channel claims it was only 92 degrees (not including heat index) but we all know they like to lie. Anyway,we leave bright and early in the morning and head on over. First order of the day? Water Park!!! Now, normally, I am not a water type of girl (I'll do another post on this at some point, but if you would like some homework, google "Aquagenic pruritus"). I've never been a big fan of swimming, and especially not a big fan of water rides. But, my boyfriend loves them, and I'd never been to Hurricane Harbor before, and with the previously mentioned HELL WEATHER, I was all for it. I actually enjoyed myself quite a bit. Their wave pool was a lot smaller than either Typhoon Lagoon's or Knight's Action Park, but they didn't have the horrible feet slashing bottom and the deepening of the water was at a nice ratio. Plus, the wave pool wasn't as crowded as others have been (this could also be because they don't have tubes in the water like most places). But, lazy river? boooo. It was decorated nice, and they had a lot of water falls and stuff, but you were only allowed to go around once and then they took your tube away from you. I like to just lay there and float around and around and around, but not here, and you had to wait in a line to get in! Soooo not worth it.

Anyway, we'd been there for a couple hours, and we were STARVING. Well, with girl's swim suits, once you're out of em, there is noooo getting back into them. They're wet, and cold, and it's just not a good idea. So I told the boys once we left, we left. Well, we were all wanting corn dogs and fries- fair type of food, and the only options inside the water area was pizza or Johnny Rockets, so we decided we were done for the day. So off we went, the boys drying in the sun, me, changing into a whole new outfit (side-note- boys suck totally unfair.) And then... the minute we left the area....it hit us.... the Heat. We walked over to 1904 World Fair, but by the time we got there, we decided that nice tasty foot long corn dogs were just not going to be worth sitting outside for. So we looked at the map to see what indoor options there were, and the place we decided on? Johnny Rockets. Ugh. Don't get me wrong,the food was good (although of course overpriced). But if we had known about how hot it actually was outside, we could have just gone to the J.R in the water area. But, too late, we just had to suffer.

But anyway, as the day went on, I couldn't help but compare my experience at Six Flags to my multiple experiences at Disney. And not just because I ran into this guy-

Why has Disney not sued???

Overall, I ended up ranking Disney as faaaaar superior. Sure, I can get into little piddly diddly details, like how Disney has better theming, how Six Flags is stupid for using black asphalt, Disney has better characters... I could go on and on. But for today, I just want to concentrate on a small

List of why Disney is Far Superior to Six Flags

1.) Disney has a better ratio of indoor/outdoor rides.

Like I may have stated a few times, it was hot outside. Like, I wanted to go home and sleep in the freezer hot. But, I never had this problem in Florida, land of the heat. I mean, sure, when I was working outside I had fans and water bottles, but I went to the parks a lot and I was there from open to close. How can I not be able to stand a few hours at Six Flags? Well, here's the answer. Six Flags (besides the black asphalt... I mean, come on guys!) does not "do" indoor rides. Think about it. Yes, they have better roller coasters, but you go from Batman where you stand outside in a non-covered queue line then go on an outdoor coaster to Mr. Freeze, again, outdoor queue line, outdoor ride, then Boss, outdoor queue line, outdoor ride, Tony Hawk, outdoor queue line (though, to be fair on this one, this one at least has a cover over your head in some parts of the queue), outdoor ride, Evil Knievel, outdoor queue line, outdoor ride. You barely get any shade at all the whole day!! Now, on the other hand, think of Disney. Sure, you've got your outdoor rides and queue lines, but you can also balance your day out with some nice cool rides like Space Mountain, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Muppet Show, Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Philharmagic. And for the most part at Disney, even when you have outdoor rides/queue lines, they're COVERED, which believe me, helps a whooole bunch. Plus, this part I'm not 100% on, but it seems like there were better fans at Disney. Were there fans in queue lines? I don't recall now. But in any case, it was a lot easier to deal with the heat!! (now, some people will invariably bring up at this point "Yeah, but what about Animal Kingdom? It's super humid and hot and the majority of rides are outdoor" to which I will then say "Yes, but it is balanced out by Epcot, which is nothing BUT indoor rides and attractions" So na na na na na to you.) But yes. Six Flags, there is nothing to do to balance out those hot rides. They're all that way. Now, at one point, we decided to ride the Scooby Doo ride because it's an indoor ride (think Buzz Lightyear, but not as fun) thinking that we would be able to take a break from the coasters and cool down. Bad. Choice. Out of everything we did that day, that was the hottest!!! The queue line is entirely outdoors with the exception of maybe 5 minutes inside a little room towards the end, and the queue line is tucked kind of in between two buildings. Which means there was absolutely NO breeze coming through. So, no breeze + sun overhead + black asphalt = 3 miserable 20 somethings. That right there was what inevitably led to us leaving early (sure, we did a few more rides after that one, but we were in such a blah mood from the heat of scooby doo that it bled over into other stuff)

2.) Disney is much more subtle in their money making schemes

Okay, yes, Disney is a corporation, and thus, loves to make money. But compared to Six Flags, you'd think Disney was completely free and just handed season passes and merchandising away. Disney does their advertising for souvenirs in a subtle way. Sure, the joke is that every ride ends in a gift shop, but it's more atmosphere (and air conditioning!). And they're not shouting in your face "BUY THIS" it's more like they're gently whispering "Hey, look at this stuff, it's pretty cool, isn't it. Wouldn't you like to own some of these items?". At Six Flags, EVERYWHERE you go, there are signs saying "Buy these souvenir cups!" or "Save money and buy a season pass!" And when I mean everywhere, I mean everywhere. You know at Disney, on Primeval Whirl, as you go up the hill, there are signs that are telling a little story about how you're going back in time, and to watch out, and the comets about to hit, etc.? Well, at Six Flags, on the ride Boss, they have those same type of flags you read as you're traveling up the first big initial hill. Only, do you know what THOSE signs say? BUY A SIX FLAGS SEASON PASS AND SAVE AFTER ONLY TWO TRIPS!!!! GAAAAH!!!! I'm riding a ride!!! I don't want to be bombarded by advertisements while I'm strapped into a little car and can't get away!! Just leave me alone!!! By seeing all your advertisements everywhere, it makes me want to NOT buy your crap!!!

So in other words- Yes Disney is more expensive, but it is totally worth the price. Six Flags needs to up their game. Until then, they are big, stinky, HOT, losers.

Bzzzzz

So I have been a busy busy bee lately!! It seems like even though I'm doing nothing with my life, I seem to be doing a lot.

This past week, BF and I took BF's niece up to my old college town's Children's Discovery Museum. It was a LOT of fun. I've always wanted to be an aunt, and since my sisters don't plan on ever having children, I have to live vicariously through my BF. At first, she was just BLOWING through the museum, spending only 10 seconds at each area... I was afraid she was going to go through the entire museum in an hour and she'd want to leave!! Luckily, once the excitement of arriving finally wore down, she settled down some and started to really enjoy herself. We ended up staying there from 9:30 to 4:50... a full day of running around and crafting and playing. It was craaaaazy.

Then, Saturday, it was one of my cousin's wedding (which of course meant Friday was spent shopping for something to wear). Again- up early in the morning then staying up late all night partying.

Today, I drove down w/ my mom to my step-dad's place (1.5 hour drive). That's where we stored my stuff that I've packed up from various times moving, and I had a few things I needed to unpack and bring home w/ me. And of course, whenever you spend anytime with my parents, you know we end up shopping. So that's what we did :P

Then, tomorrow me, BF, and BF's BF are going to Six Flags. While I'm not a fan of water parks, I've never tried the Six Flags one, and Disney changed my mind on public displays of swimsuits (when you've worked at Disney/lived in FL, you've seen it all and no longer care (as much) what you look like in public). So we might hit that up- especially since the BF LOVES water parks- as well as the rides. Wooooooo Mr. Freeze! And no. I am absolutely NOT riding the superman tower ride again. Once was enough for me.

Anyway... I should post about how CRAZY and INSANE I am and how I'm surprised I haven't driven my boyfriend away yet w/ my insanity; however, that is a story I'm saving for an email to my friends first. Sorry ya'll- you get the leftover hand me down stories. :P

Till Next Time!!