Sara Evans

I posted a few months ago about going to a Sara Evans concert and how much I admired her - for being a good person and good mom.
And I've posted about my love for Dancing with the Stars and that she was on it this season.
Call me crazy, but when she was voted to continue on the other night on the show and the other woman was knocked off and I saw Sara crying at the end, it struck me as a bit peculiar.
Well, today we know why. She quit the show because of her filing for divorce. Her husband was cheating on her, among other things. You can read the story here.
As being one of my favorite singers, I certainly wish her the best in what will come.

Now that she is off the show, I wonder what they will do...I predict they will bring back the one who was just knocked off.

50 things about me

In my looking back at past Silly Hily posts from before I started reading her, I saw that she answered a 50 question survey. So since I don't have anything to really talk about today, I figured I would answer the survey. I know some of you don't like these things, but I like finding out things like this about people. And I like sharing. So here ya go:

1. Your name spelled backward:
ynnej

2. Last incoming call on your phone?
Oneida

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
Yahoo Music Jukebox THAT IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY

4. What's your favorite restaurant?
Fast Food: Wendy's
Other: Lalos (a Chicago semi-chain of Mexican restaurants)

5. Last time you swam in a pool?
NEVER

6. Have you ever been in a school play?
No

7. How many kids do you want?
One or two

8. Type of music you dislike most?
Hard-core rap

9. Most embarrassing moment recently?
Can't think of any off hand.

10. Most gratifying moment you can recall?
Just off the top of my head, I would say running the carnivals at the parishes. Even though they were not technically financially successful, the fact that I was able to be in charge of such an undertaking is probably one of the things I am most proud of.

11. Have you ever ridden on a mo-ped?
No

12. Ever made a prank phone call?
Well, let's just say I guess I attempted one once and Harris Bank answered instead! (Molly - ;))

13. Best friends?
Molly

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
Um, NO.

15. Furthest place you ever traveled?
Absolutely pathetic but Cincinnati Ohio

16. Do you have a garden?
Well, there are some rose bushes in my backyard but I don't do anything with them.

17. What's your favorite comic strip?
I don't read the comics much anymore, but I tend to look at Dilbert and Love Is...

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?
Yes.

19. Bath or Shower, morning or night?
Usually a shower in the mornings.

20. Best movie(s) you've seen in the past month?
The Illusionist

21. Favorite pizza topping?
Sausage, onions and green peppers

22. Chips or popcorn?
Chips with other food; popcorn alone

23. What color lipstick do you usually wear?
I don't really wear lipstick. But when I do it is usually a dark red/brownish shade

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells?
I don't even know what that means...so I'm guessing no.

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
Uh, NO.

26. Orange Juice or apple?
Orange

27. Who were the last people you went out to dinner with?
Annette and Tony

28. Favorite type chocolate bar?
Cadberry Dairy Milk

29. Person with the most dirt to blackmail you?
See #s 12&13 above!

30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
Sometime last summer, from Oneida's garden

31. Ever won a trophy?
No

32. Are you a good cook?
I think I am. I love to cook and can make some pretty decent meals. I have been part of a "small team" that cooks dinners for groups of people and am called on to prepare dinners and receptions.

33. Do you know how to pump your own gas?
Um, yeah! Do some people seriously NOT know how to do this?

34. Do you have a significant other?
No.

35. Sprite or 7-Up?
Diet Sprite.

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work?
No

37.The last thing you bought at Walgreens?
Make-up

38. Ever thrown up in public?
No - not that I can remember

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love?
True love

40. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Not really. But it can certainly develop into love from an initial deep attraction.

41. Can ex's be just friends?
I guess they can but I think it's pretty rare.

42. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
My grandma, of course - ALL SUMMER LONG

43. What is your biggest fear?
Dying alone.

44. What message is on your answering machine?
Pretty normal. My name, leave your message, blah, blah...

45. Where would you like to go right now?
Anywhere but here. How about far away and I'll choose Italy. Or a bit closer to home?...Hobart, IN to visit my friend and her children!

46. What was the name of your first pet?
We had 2 dogs when I was small named Taffy and Coco. They were not technically mine.

47. What kind of back pack do you have, and what's in it?
I do not HAVE a backpack. I did carry a briefcase to and from work everyday until I left the job in August.

48. What do you first look at on the opposite sex?
Eyes

49. What is one thing you are grateful for today?
That I was able to go see a movie.

50. Who is one person you admire?
I think I would have to say Oneida. I say it all the time but she is probably the best person I know. She has a heart of gold that would help anyone. She is faithful, trustworthy, caring and strong. She has faced/faces many difficulties in her life and yet is able to come out on the positive side, while still making others laugh.

The things we do...

When I wrote about my weekend the other day, I purposely failed to include a part of the story that kind of linked the two events - the Toby concert and the Tony installation.

Before the concert on Saturday, I had a wedding to work at (for those of you who don't know I am also a "wedding coordinator" at a nearby Catholic university). Well they left behind 4 gigantic sprays of flowers for our chapel. Our chapel is not all that big and these flowers kind of were a bit much for the space. So, the thought entered my mind - "tomorrow is Tony's installation - these flowers would make a nice touch at the church." So I preceeded to load 2 of them and their stands into my car to take to the church where I was headed anyway to meet to go to the concert.

Well, I kind of forgot, as I was putting the flowers in my back seat (which was currently occupied with my change of clothes for the concert), that the things the flowers were in also were holding WATER. So before I knew it, it kind of tipped over and spilled water on my change of clothes. I yanked the clothes, threw them in the front seat and finished loading the fragrant flowers.

I pulled away and as I did I bent over to grab my change of clothes to inspect the damage. The shirt - OK. The jacket - the sleeve just a little damp. The jeans - dry, except for saturated right in the crotch area. Perfect.

I can throw them in the dryer when I get to the rectory, I thought. But no, because that would take too long before we have to leave for the concert. So the next best thing crossed my mind.

What did I do? I put my heat on as high as it would go, turned the fan on as fast as it would go and drove all the way to the church holding my jeans with their wet crotch up to the dashboard vent of my car with one hand and driving with the other. Re-positioning my jeans every couple minutes to make sure it all dried. Sweating to death in the process.

But it worked. If our friends only knew the things we go through for them sometimes.

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Lost a Sock.

So here goes...

Three people who make me laugh
Molly, Oneida, Tony (but the list could go on and on)

Three things I hate
Being accused of something I did not do, knowing that money is being wasted or spent unwisely, PMS (ya got a problem with that?!)

Three things I do not understand
Why Master P lasted so long on Dancing With the Stars last season, injustice and prejudice

Three things I am doing right now
Drinking Diet Pepsi, eating a cookie, listening to the Channel 7 news (Jerry is coming on in a second!!)

Three things I want to do before I die
Travel to Italy, learn how to play the piano, be a pastoral associate in a parish

Three things I am able to do
write poems for people that pick out their traits and personalities, somehow able to usually figure out why a computer won't work, proofread very, very well!

Three words to describe me
dedicated, grounded, misunderstood

Three things I cannot do
Swim, skate, back up straight (hey, that rhymes - I said I can write poems!)

Three things I want to learn
To sing better, play the piano, speak Spanish fluently

Three favorite foods
Soft gooey chocolate chip cookies, cheese enchiladas, big juicy cheeseburgers

Three beverages I drink regularly
Diet Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Diet Pepsi (oh and Crystal Lite Peach Tea)

Three shows I watched as a kid
Cosby Show, Who's the Boss, Mr. Rogers (well kid can be anywhere from, what, 0-18?)

Three people I tag
Silly Hily, Frema, anyone else who wants to! (sorry, I don't read many blogs)

Camera NOT Ready!!!

Well, I was so excited to post my pictures from my last 2 days events. The Toby and Tony weekend. First of all, I have to say that last night was a ton of fun at the concert. The concert was very good, but for me the real show was walking into and out of the concert. You see, the one person I went with is the same person who was installed as pastor today. To gear himself up for what I am pretty sure was his first ever country concert, he borrowed a pair of cowboy boots. His feet were hurting him before we even got in the car to leave. Walking to and from the parking lot, I just could not look at him walk, I was laughing too hard. I WAS tempted to turn the video on on my camera and record him from behind, and then post it here for everyone to see, but I thought that just might be a bit too cruel. That and it is the story of my life that I always let opportunities pass me by to take pictures to always remember. Like my first Kairos retreat... I have ONE photo from that week.

Anyway, I DID take pictures of Toby and here are a couple of the best.





I also took a couple of videos of parts of a couple of songs. When I figure out You Tube I can show you those too.

So, as you can see, a couple of the pictures here were decent. And we were pretty far back and it was dark.

Now onto today.

I was SO PISSED during the entire Mass because almost every picture I took was too dark or blurry. I adjusted every setting imaginable to try to make it work. Most of the time NOT using the flash worked better than with. And just about every picture is blurry to some degree. SOMEBODY HELP ME who may have some idea what I am doing wrong. This is an excellent camera with up to 8.0 megapixels and 5.0 optical zoom.

Anyway, here are a couple of the best (after lightening them up).