Second Time's A Charm.

One of my favorite people in the whole world, Courtney, just got married to Pete, another one of my favorite people in the whole world.

They met at my TV station a little over 3 years ago & got married about 2 months ago.

A few months before Courtney moved to Arkansas, she ended her engagement to her boyfriend of 6 years. She wasn't really looking for love...& she explains why.

"When I called off my wedding in the fall of 2006, I actually had a friend say to me, "you know, it takes half the amount of time you were with your ex to get over your ex." Um, I wasn't liking that. I was with my ex for 6 years, did that mean I had to bench myself for 36 months before I was ready to jump back in?"

But...

"I met Pete about six months after I called it quits with my ex. I had gone on a few blind dates in those months and entertained a few worthless flirtations, but I wasn't ready for a relationship until I met him. As our courtship got going in earnest, I started to worry that it was too soon to dive into something serious, but the only thing holding me back was what I had been told, not what I was feeling. As soon as I gave in and let my heart do the driving, it was like throwing open the curtains and letting the sun in. So ladies, trust me... and just trust your heart."

So, friends...please welcome Courtney to the wonderful world of blogging! I know you'll love her just as much as I do!

Here's a link to her blog: Second Time's a Charm.

Crazy 8's.

I was tagged by Shanna at Moody Musings to take part in Crazy 8's.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to your photos files and select the 8th photo folder

2. Select the 8th photo in that folder/album

3. Post that photo along with the story behind it

4. Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same

This is my picture...

It's my niece, Riley & Matt. This was Matt's 32nd birthday celebration in October 2008. We had our families over to our house for his birthday dinner. My niece LOVES to help open gifts & she LOVES her "Mop" (what she calls Matt.) I love this picture of them both. Isn't it cute?

Ok, so I need to tag 8 bloggers now... (which I will do shortly...so please...check back soon...)

FINALLY.

Well, folks, it happened.

Finally.

I got to meet K*ris Allen!!!!!

He went to Rwanda with TOMS shoes & Bridge2Rwanda in late March, early April to hand out shoes to kids who are in desparate need. After that trip, he flew home to Arkansas to participate in TOMS Barefoot Bash & "A Day Without Shoes."

On Wednesday, April 7th, he spoke about his trip at Heifer International's Barefoot Bash. A bunch of my friends (the ones I've met over Twitter) & I went.

DUH.

K*ris & his friend/band mate, Cale, performed 3 songs: "Live Like We're Dying", "Man in the Mirror" & "Send Me All Your Angels."

Afterwards, he greeted fans & took pictures.

And, I think I finally feel comfortable enough to tell you guys what I've been wanting to tell you for almost a year now.

I'm doing K*ris' American Idol scrapbook!!!!

(And, if I'm being honest, I actually met K*ris the night before this event at his parents house. But, I don't feel comfortable blogging about that. Not because it wasn't FABULOUS...because it was. It's just that when this all started, I promised his mama that I would keep any conversations, meetings, etc private.)

I will tell you this. My life is so much different now than it was this time last year. A good different. A kind of different I could never have imagined.

Meeting Danny Gokey. Again.

Ok, so I guess the title of this post is wrong. I guess you can't really "meet" someone after you've already "met" them.

But, I don't care.

My friend, Laurie & I took a last-minute trip to Tunica on March 27th to see Danny Gokey perform at Bluesville, a club inside Horseshoe Casino.

We left my house at 3:30pm, got to the casino at 6:45pm.

The show started at 8:00pm.

It ended at 9:15pm.

We stood around & talked to Danny & some other people til 11:00pm.

We got back on the road home around 11:30pm & pulled into my garage at 2:00am.

It was a crazy night, but SO MUCH FUN.

While there, I met one of my Twitter friends, Lisa, who had front row seats. Her husband was kind enough to switch seats with me for one song, so I could take some good pictures of DG.

Don't you just LOVE him?

I do.

Back at my seat...which were actually really good seats.

Me & Danny after the show.

Me & Laurie.

Danny signing autographs.

Me & my Twitter friend, Lisa.

Me & Brandon (one of his bandmates, who likes to blink when the camera flash goes off.)

Lee Ann, Reba & George...5 Hours of Entertainment.

On Saturday night, I went to see Lee Ann Womack, Reba & George Strait with two of my friends from work (Shannon & Sonseeahray.)

We had a BLAST! All 3 were amazing!

2 Video's from Riley's 5th Birthday. Enjoy.

Some Random Stuff.

Do y'all remember when I got to meet Danny Gokey?

(I'll pause for a moment so that you familiarize yourself with the story...)

(Are you up to date now?)

Ok, so...after I interviewed him, he asked if I was on Twitter.

WELL, OF COURSE I'M ON TWITTER, DANNY GOKEY AND MY TWITTER NAME IS ROBINT1978 AND I LOVE YOU AND I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES.

(Ok, no...I didn't really say those last 2 things. Seriously. I'm not THAT crazy...)

Anyway, a few days later, I'm on Twitter & I see I have a new direct message.

AND OMG IT'S FROM DANNY GOKEY.

DANNY FREAKING GOKEY.

A MESSAGE TO ME FROM DANNY GOKEY.

Has that sunk it yet?

If not, here's proof: (You KNOW I had to take a picture.)

See? A DM from Danny Gokey.

Ok, ok...I'll stop now.

But, only because I want y'all to watch these 2 commercials with the eTrade baby.

HILL-FREAKING-LAIR-E-OUS.

I watch these video's at least 3 times a day. Especially if I'm stressed & need a laugh.

New Designs Project.

My friend, Melissa, asked me to design the invitations for her bridal shower in April.

40 INVITES. As in like 4-0.

She paid for the blank invites & is paying me $45 dollars ($15 in materials + $30 in labor.)

I'm also going to do "schedule cards" for her bridesmaids for the day of the wedding (hair appointment times, picture times, etc) & little booklets for her out-of-town guests that explain what to do in Massachusetts. I have never done either of these projects, so I'm excited to see how it all turns out.

Snow, More Snow & Valentine's Day.

Here's what the snow looked like on Thursday. (When you watch it, turn your volume up so you can hear my new FAVE song, "American Honey" by Lady Antebellum.)

And, here's a random snowman in downtown Little Rock (on Tuesday.)

Another snow video from Thursday.

Matt & I were NOT supposed to give each other gifts on Valentine's Day. You probably won't believe me when I say I don't really care too much for the holiday. I don't need flowers that cost $60 dollars or a dinner that costs $75. I'm not saying those of you who do like that stuff are wrong...it's just not me. I would rather spend the $60 dollars on new clothes or save it to help pay for a weekend away. However, my husband is the sweetest & took it to heart when I mentioned I'd rather have new clothes. When I woke up this morning, I found the above present on the kitchen counter.



It was this shirt from American Eagle. Too cute! I love it!



And, instead of that fancy dinner, I bought some pork chops at Walmart for $6 & we cooked dinner together at home.



It also snowed again today. Here's a quick :03 second video of it. I know....it's not like you haven't ever seen snow. But, humor me & watch it anyway. Thanks.

I have had a webcam & been a "member" of Skype for over a year now, but I never used it until today. (I guess because most of my family is here in Arkansas, so I haven't reallly had a reason to use it...however, Brad & Tiffany, if you're reading this...I think you guys have a webcam. Now that I know how to use mine, let's talk...I would love to see Emma & baby Drew.)

Anyway, I used mine to talk to my friend, Alissa. I'm about 8 years older than her & I've known her all her life. In fact, she was my first babysitting job. I was 10 & she was 2. I made $6.25 for 6 hours & 15 minutes. I still remember Anita (her mom) counting out the dollars & handing them to me. I thought I was rich! Back then, $6.25 actually went pretty far! And, to a 10 year old, that was pretty cool.

OMG SNOW GO AWAY.

We're on DAY FOUR of snow that fell on MONDAY.

The interstate's are are mostly dry, except for the on/exit ramps & bridges. There are still slick spots. Plus, the snow that's melting is then turning into thin sheets of ice.

Our neighborhood is still CRAPPY. The snow is FROZEN...like you-think-it-might-puncture-your-tire-when-you-drive-over-it frozen.

That's some serious stuff.

There are areas around my neighborhood that don't get a lot of sunlight & NOTHING has melted...the snow is still 6-8 inches deep.

Snowpeople that were built on Monday are still perfectly in tact.

And, as I type this, we're waiting on more snow to come in overnight....at least another inch or so. PLUS, MORE SNOW ON SUNDAY.

Three snowfalls in less than a week.

NO MORE SNOW.

Now, don't get me wrong.

I don't actually mind the snow.

When we can plan for it.

Sunday night, one of our meteorologists was AT OUR HOUSE for a Super Bowl party & he assured us we'd only get rain. ONLY GET RAIN.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 3am to go to the bathroom, looked out the window & saw about 1 or 2 inches of snow on the ground.

Ok, we can handle that.

When I got up a few hours later, I immediately turned the TV on us...to watch the weather. I'm told we're just going to get snow & maybe another couple of inches.

I can drive on snow. I'm not worried about it.

Matt & I go to work, where it promptly starts snowing VERY LARGE FLAKES & very fast. Then, it starts raining. And, the rain starts freezing on the roads.

The latest weather data comes out & it predicts we're going to 10-12 inches.

HOLY COW.

This is where I start to freak out because Maisy is at home by herself. If it keeps snowing & raining & FREEZING ON THE ROADS OMG, we can't get home to her.

Normally, had we known this was going to happen, we would taken her to Matt's mom's house, in case we had to stay overnight in a hotel (it's happened before...remember Christmas of 2000?)

BUT WE THOUGHT WE WERE ONLY TO GET RAIN.

I know it's bad out there when Matt comes in & says, "Wow. It's almost undrivable out there."

Great.

Around 2 or so, it stops snowing/raining & we start to see a little melting going on. Enough to where I feel pretty confident that I can drive home after my show.

I do okay...only feeling myself fish-tail once or twice.

I make it all the way home, only to get stuck in my driveway. (See picture in previous post.)

So, thankfully, Matt & I both made it home safely to Maisy.

Speaking of Maisy, this dog HATES THE SNOW TOO.

She can't walk in it.

Parts of it are frozen, so she can actually walk on TOP of it, but some spots are soft & her little paws fall right through. I have been so scared that she's going to break a leg or something.

I cleared an area for her, but she does use it? NO.

Stubborn dog.

Anyway, we'll see what tonight & Sunday bring...hopefully Old Man Winter will STAY AWAY!