Saturday, March 29, 2008

New Life Video **REVISED**

Here's the music video Justin and I made for his song "New Life". You see it first. We made some adjustments and added some more stuff...Check it out!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

American Idol Review...and a Bradford Update

I am no Simon Cowell, but I thought that after last night's show I had some comments to make, critiques to give, and apologies to hand out. First of all, I think Ramiele was crazy for singing that Heart song, after Carly Smithson sang it earlier in the competition. Most of the song choices were just strange, I didn't even know what half the songs were. My favorite song choice of the night was by my LEAST favorite Kristy Lee Cook...and by "favorite" I mean, "my aren't you clever". As soon as she started singing, Justin said "Oh, now she's gonna play THAT card!" and it was true! Even the judges commented on it. She didn't do that bad, I just think there were better singers than her that were voted off...leaving her standing, with her strange fingernails. David Archuleta...what can I say? I am over it. And can someone please give the boy some chapstick?! It drives me batty to watch him lick his lips between every line. Justin never noticed it, but now every time he sings, I act like I'm a frog catching bugs...and well, it makes him laugh. Carly Smithson, who I love, didn't do the greatest but we still know she is a better singer than most. Brooke White...I like her, I liked the song alright. The others, whoever they are were, I don't have much to say about...Except for David Cook--who I humbly owe an apology to. I don't know why but I couldn't stand to look at him before. I thought his hair was really weird. Like he was bald and grew his hair really long and combed it forward as bangs. (I understand this more now that I saw his huge forehead on the clips from his childhood, haha). His hair looked better, as if he got it cut or something. And hello, he's the only stinking contestant that comes out every week and does his thing, in his own unique way. They used to say he knows he's good...Well, we know he's good too now. I loved his rendition of Billie Jean. And I'm proud to say that possibly for the first time, I called in and voted :) One vote for Carly, one vote for David Cook. So now I have the official right to complain if either of them is in the bottom three tonight...We shall see!


On a more serious note...One of much more value anyway...My friend, Felicia, is doing well. They have put her on complete bed rest, and she is not going home until she has the baby. The umbilical cord is not wrapped tightly around little Macie's neck, so as long as her vitals remain good they are gonna keep her in there...The doctors told them they want her to "bake as long as she can". Felicia will be at 32 weeks on Sunday. They would like to put off the delivery until at least 34 weeks if at all possible. This will give her time to develop as much as possible. Please continue to pray for the Bradfords, because we know nothing is impossible for God! Chris has to go back to work tomorrow (that's the Navy for ya), but Felicia's parents are here for now. I'm planning on going up there later today...I'm gonna take her some magazines, books...something to keep her entertained for the next while. Thanks again for the prayers!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Say A Little Prayer

I regrettably have to post a serious blog...one having nothing to do with tv shows or the like. Our good friends Chris and Felicia Bradford need your prayers! They are due to have a baby on May 26th. I got a call yesterday from Chris saying that when they went for their scheduled ultrasound, the doctor immediately admitted Felicia into the hospital. After a lot of not knowing what was going on, they finally explained to them that the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck twice. For now, it's not "tight", but they expect to deliver the baby by Friday. They are administering a medication to help develop the baby's lungs...you have to realize the due date is still over 2 months away! Please keep their family in your prayers. These are some of our closest friends here in Virginia...As soon as Justin gets home from work today, we are going to go visit them. I will update when possible! Thanks in advance for the prayers sent up. I know they appreciate it, as do I.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter!










First and foremost, Happy Easter! This has been an extremely busy (but fun) weekend! My mom flew into Norfolk on Friday...It's always nice to have her here, but this time it's even more special because it's Easter AND we celebrated her 50th birthday (a little early). Anyways, Alana had her show-and-tell dance class on Saturday, which is basically a regular class, but the parents get to sit inside the class instead of looking in through the two-way mirror. We ventured out to find a place to get REAL, FRESH, GOOD seafood last night. We do live on the water after all. We found a place, and we will go back :) We came home and colored eggs. Then this morning we woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had taken one of Alana's eggs (the one she marked with an X) and left her surprises in its place. Justin made up this elaborate story last night about the Easter Bunny, telling Alana that the Easter Bunny comes and takes one egg and leaves something for her...and then we realized at 11:30 p.m. that we didn't plan for that story...Thank you, Walmart for being open until midnight! The Easter Bunny took the smelly egg and left a DVD, a bunny, some Twizzlers, Starbursts, M&Ms (Alana's favorite)...Justin and I decided we are gonna leave baskets out next year :) So we went to church today, and then Crack-Up Barrel...We hunted the eggs this afternoon...about a half a dozen times. I don't even want to think about all the candy that we have in our house right now...I'm going to post a bunch of pictures from the weekend instead...Enjoy!

P.S. Alana got the most amazing gift from Grammy...It's a real tent--with a sleeping bag, backpack, flashlight, and water bottle...I think she is going to move into it permanently!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Say What?!?!?!?

The first thing wrong with American Idol this week...they performed Beatles songs again. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan but this was overkill. Secondly, Carly Smithson was in the bottom 3 this week. What in the world? Just last week Simon compared her to Kelly Clarkson...I shouldn't complain, because I don't actually phone in votes. I always say that if I don't vote, I can't whine about people not making it through. Which brings me to the last (but certainly not least) issue that I have with American Idol...or America for that matter. Kristy Lee Cook! She's there because why? I'm going to reach here and say it's because she's the only "country" singer...or maybe that she is cute (but really, not so much in my eyes). I will say this--if they had a line you could call in to cast votes for people to get kicked off, I would spend hours dialing and redialing...whatever it took. I feel like this is Sanjaya all over again. Come on, people! COME ON! That's really all I have to say about that for now. On a much brighter note, my mom is coming to visit tomorrow. There's something to sing about!

Oh, and I'm SO voting next week.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Pop Fiction


So I know what ya'll are thinking...All this chick blogs about is television shows. Well, this is my life :) Just kidding, I DO have a life in the realms of reality, but I find tv watching as my favorite guilty pleasure. Alana took a 3 hour nap today, so I decided to do a little catching up on my DVR recordings. I think I set a record and did not watch a single show on tv for 3 days. I watched a couple of shows, (It's amazing how time efficient watching them on a DVR is)...and then I stumbled upon my Pop Fiction recordings. I have previously admitted my secret obsession with reading pop culture or celeblogs. I READ them, but I believe about 2% of what I read. So I think that this show is absolutely hilarous. For those of you who aren't aware, Ashton made a show that is basically "punking" the paparazzi. He and the other producers get together with a celebrity and decide what they are going to get the paparazzi to believe they are snapping pictures of...By the time their fake setup is over with, there are already pictures on every tabloid website with their very own, very made up story to go with them. It's so easy...Hook, Line, and sinker. I love this show. I probably won't even watch it much, but just knowing it exists makes me smile. And while we are on the topic of tv, any thoughts on what's going to happen on American Idol this week? Please America, for the love of Allison...Vote off Kristy Lee Cook. I don't know how much more I can take. She should have been gone two weeks ago, and Asiah Epperson should still be there...Just my humble opinion. Chikezie redeemed himself in the Portas household last week. He made me want to get up and dance...well, almost. My favorite is Carly Smithson. Justin likes Carly Simon, I mean, Brooke White. He also likes David Archuleta, but I am over that after last week...Dinner is home, I mean, Justin is home...So good tv watching to you all!!!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

A Portas Family First


I feel like shouting from the rooftops! Today was a first in the Portas family...We ALL three went to (and sat through) an entire movie together! We took Alana to see "Horton Hears a Who" after her dance class today. We were reluctant, after Justin's first attempt to take her to a movie (albeit a while ago) went horribly awry. She is much more mature now, however, (as mature as a 3 1/2 year old can be) and sat in her seat the entire hour and 28 minutes like a champ! Justin said it was the best day of his life :) After Horton, we went to the Bradford's house to have a mini-birthday celebration for Felicia. It was a busy kinda day...MUCH better than yesterday! I have to wake up bright and early to drive Justin to the ghetto town of Portsmouth...He has duty, and we need the car to go to church. The sacrifices we must make...So I shall close with the stand-out highlights of my day:
1) Alana saying her favorite part of the movie was "when the kangaroo came nice"...and the "feck" (speck) that the Whos lived on.
2) The cheesecake that Bradford paid $9 for...It was worth every penny.
3) The sunshine and 70 degree weather.
It's the little things in life...
A person's a person, no matter how small!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Flats and Heroes

I'm setting records by blogging twice in one day...But this day deserves to be blogged about while it's fresh in my memory. Mind you, I'm still going on little sleep from my Amy Grant concert last night. So I had a doctor's appointment today...pretty routine. I have had a really bad time with the military hospitals finding time to see me and Alana...which is why she is almost 4 and still hasn't had her 3 year well exam. Oops! Anyway, we (for whatever reason) are assigned to the army base next to our old apartment. It's like 30 miles from where we live now, and I could change this over but I haven't done it for reasons too lengthy to bore you with. SOOOOO...Justin gets off work early, comes home so I can go to the doctor. No kids allowed in the doctor's office I'm going to. I make my happy way there...have my appointment. Things started to go downhill from there. I won't get into specifics, but the visit didn't go as I had hoped and I ended up getting shuttled around from floor to floor and desk to desk...And of course, not successfully accomplishing anything. So I literally feel like I am going to cry...I am having a crummy day. Go out to the car to recompose myself and call Justin...and as I get closer to my car, I see that the back tire is as flat as a pancake. Did I mention I was already having a bad day? AND that I was a good 30 miles from home? Oh and our neighbors that might be able to help out, well, they are on vacation...visiting the set of One Tree Hill :) Ah, so where was I? Oh yes, I was sitting in the grass at Ft. Eustis Army base, literally in tears. I tried asking, basically begging people for help. Did I find any? Nope! I make my way back into the hospital to the information desk and ask the two lovely gentlemen there if they can help a girl out. They did make an attempt, feeble as it may have been...but did they get my tire changed? NO! I found out that apparently MPs (military police) are not "allowed" to help damsels in distress...something about liability. And the same goes for security...And the maintenance people...well, they are just too busy maintaining stuff to help anyone. I tried to find the positive, bright side of things...and then I looked up at the sky. Ah, yes! At least it's not raining! The sun is shining and it's 75 degrees outside...Wow, a ray of hope. But shhh, we don't want to jinx it! I pick up my phone and wonder who in the world can I call? What can I do to get my frustrated body home? And then it hit me. Call Marc Knauss. He will surely be home on Friday afternoon...And I mean, his son IS superman after all (at least that's what Alana tells me)...so maybe HE can help me out. I dial the number and await an answer...I am not sure if I cried or begged or pleaded...oh wait, I didn't have to. I just spoke the words, "I'm in a crisis" and literally 20 minutes later, Marc was there (with his precious baby Luke) changing my tire. The moral of this story is that there ARE good people in this world. Marc, you are one of them for changing my tire...Melissa, you are one for letting your husband leave your "Office" watching to do so. Justin, you are one of them for being so supportive through all that I went through today...And with that being said, I should also point out the bad people in this world--All the ones that couldn't help me today, regardless of your reasons! JK!!! But for seriously, though...God is GOOD...ALL the time!

My Own Vision


First let me say congratulations to Jenna and any others who watched Eli Stone last night...I did not. I forgot, I don't typically watch it on Thursday night because while I am usually up...Justin is usually snoozing away by then. So we save it until Friday night or another night where we can watch it together. All together now... "AWWWW". The DVR that brings couples together :) Let me not lose my train of thought here...So a lot of stuff has been going on here...A lot of change...Change is good, but change tends to bring anxiety along with it sometimes. I got out of bed this morning, after a long bout of insomnia last night. Ugh, I thought I was past this, but that's a whole other story. The first thing I remembered as I made my way downstairs was the song that was playing over and over again in my head for hours last night. Now granted, it wasn't George Michael...Haha, I laugh because it was even better. It was Amy Grant! I didn't even think of the whole Eli Stone connection until I sat down to blog...and I'm reaching, but hey. I have not heard this song for probably 10 years...have not thought about Amy Grant in at least that long...So this seemed rather odd to me. As I tossed and turned in bed, though, the words to one of her songs played through my head. I could almost hear it, as if it were playing through speakers..."Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a Light unto my path...Nothing will I fear, as long as You are near"...Ok, so those words might not even be what the song actually says, but that's what I heard. Again, it's been YEARS since I heard the song. So what does this have to do with anything you ask? Well, I was awake, thinking about the day ahead (today)...I try to tell myself that today has enough troubles of its own and all that, but sometimes it doesn't help. What I learned from my Eli vision...To turn to the Bible and trust that God will take care of us every step of the way...Maybe I didn't have a "vision"...maybe it wasn't an "omen". Justin told me last night that there is no such thing as karma, just God...What's next, no Easter bunny? :) This seems to be all over the place, I just wanted to share my revelation with those who will read. Always remember Who is in control. That kind of takes the worry away...now I just have to worry about how to get rid of that awful 80s hair in my vision...

Thursday, March 13, 2008

No, seriously...

Eli Stone...It's on tonight...after Lost on ABC. I don't know what time zone my lovable blog readers are in...So that part is up to you to figure out. I'm quite sure I know where I'll be at 10 p.m. Eastern, though...I expect a full report from each and every one of you. (I'll cut you a break, Jenna...That's past your bedtime) :)

Saturday, March 8, 2008

A Prophet of New


So it's been a while since I've blogged...I've been reminded of that. I wish I could say that I haven't posted anything new because I have been busy changing the world. Unfortunately, I haven't done anything of the sort. The last weeks have been filled with more loss and bad news than I care to think of. I have been working hard to find scholarships to apply for to cover that last $1700.00 my school wants from me. I've re-conjured up my love of kickboxing...and I've fallen in love with a new show. I regularly watch shows like General Hospital and American Idol, but I don't have much time for getting wrapped up in any new dramas. However, thanks to the lovely writer's strike, and my husband who thought he would record the series, I am smitten. I just started watching Eli Stone a couple weeks ago...We had all of the episodes stored away on our DVR. I came close to deleting them plenty of times, but in the midst of Justin's month-long illness we decided to watch one...and then we watched the second...and then the third. And we are hooked. I know I'm silly for getting so excited about a tv show...but come on! What's not to like about Eli Stone? Besides the fact that he was once married to Angelina, but I can forgive him for that :) When I saw the previews for this new series I scoffed at the idea of some lawyer dude having visions of George Michael...but it's so much more than that. It's about Eli trying to do good and possibly foreseeing the future, and using that to benefit people. It's funny, sad, and clever all at the same time. I can hear Justin saying "Poor guy" every time Eli has one of his "episodes"...It's just an amazing show. Did I mention one of my all-time favorite actors, Tom Cavanagh, plays his deceased dad? Well, he does! I highly recommend that everyone watches at least one episode of Eli Stone. And for all of you Lost-obsessed people, it conveniently comes on right after your show. In other Portas family news, I start my pre-reqs for Nursing school in April sometime. I was supposed to start on St. Paddy's day, but apparently thanks to scheduling issues, I get to wait another 4 weeks. It's ok, it is actually better for us that way. Justin is about to take his test to make 3rd class...for those of you who are non-military, he will be a petty officer and make more money. That about sums it up :) Alana, well, she is growing like a weed and now I have to go so we can get ready for her Magical Kingdom ballet class this morning...