It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Where did you begin 2008?
In a hotel room in Dallas

What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Was apartment hunting

Were you in school (anytime this year)?
No

Did you have to go to the hospital?
I took my dad after his bike wreck

Did you have any encounters with the police?
No

Where did you go on vacation?
Dallas, Hawaii, St. Louis, Fort Worth

What did you purchase that was over $500?
Nothing

Did you know anybody who got married?
Melissa and Andrew, Tina and Sam

Were you in any weddings?
Yes, I was a bridesmaid in Tina's.

Did you know anybody who passed away?
My great Uncle Glenn

Did you move anywhere?
To the plaza.

What sporting events did you attend?
7 Mizzou football games (including the kU game and the Big 12 Championship)

What concerts/shows did you go to?
Reba and Kelly Clarkson, Tim McGraw, American Idols Live, Yallapalooza, Howl at the Moon Bash, Birthday Bash, Jake Owen, the Ting Tings, The Christmas Carol

Where do you live now?
Kansas City, MO

Describe your birthday?
I worked. We went out to lunch at PF Changs, I went shopping and had dinner at the Capitol Grille, ate at the Peachtree the night before.

What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2008?
Met Chase's Mom

What has/have been your favorite moment(s)?
There have been plenty, boating with HB, 5 year reunion (and afterwards), Hawaii, Tina's wedding

What's something you learned about yourself?
I really can do anything I put my mind to

Any new additions to your family?
Gus

What was your best month?
October? They were all good

Who has been your best drinking buddy?
Jen, Matt and Ann, Amber

Made new friends?
Yes

A few Favorite Night[s]out?
Tina's Bachelorette Party, Melissa's Bachelorette Party, 5 year runion after party, Homecoming, with Matt and Ann on the Plaza, Ashley's Birthday Party, Jen and Sam's Birthday Party

Any regrets?
Never

Overall, how would you rate this year?
8.5

What would you change about 2008?
Nothing

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
Harvesters (work)

Have any life changes in 2008?
Joined AmeriCorps, moved out of my parents' houses

Change your hairstyle?
It's getting long and I am going back to my natural color.

Get a new job?
AmeriCorps VISTA at Harvesters

How old did you turn this year?
24

Do you have a New Year's resolution?
To get a permanent job and look into buying a house.

Did anything embarrassing?
I'm sure I did.

Buy anything new from eBay?
No, Amazon though, yay used books starting at .79

What was/were your favorite purchase[s]?
My mom 's christmas present

Get married or divorced?
Neither

Get arrested?
Not this year

Be honest - did you watch American Idol?
Yes

Did you get sick this year?
I had like 5 or 6 colds, a motorcycle burn, poison ivy, swollen lymph nodes

Start a new hobby?
Not that I can think of

Been snowboarding?
Nope

Are you happy to see 2008 go?
Yes and No, it was good, but why dwell?

Drank Starbucks in 2008?
A few times, but never coffee, and I never paid for it myself

Get Rhythm

1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
So anyhow...here goes:

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Money (That’s What I Want) – The Flying Lizards (Wedding Singer Soundtrack)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Heard ‘Em Say - Kanye West

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A BOY?
Sweetheart – Jont (Wedding Crashers Soundtrack)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Alma Mater: Old Missouri – Marching Mizzou (vocal)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Video Killed the Radio Star – The Presidents of the United States of America

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
What I’ve Been Looking For – Ryan and Sharpay (High School Musical)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Listen – Dreamgirls (Dreamgirls Soundtrack)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Ardy Party – Incredibad (The Lonely Island)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Look at Me I’m Sandra Dee – From Grease

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Mr. Midnight – Garth Brooks

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sleeping with the Telephone – Reba McEntire

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
I Put a Spell on You – Creedence Clearwater Revival

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Aunt Hagar’s Blues – Jim Cox (Majestic Soundtrack)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Patience - Dreamgirls

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
My Next Broken Heart – Brooks & Dunn

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Dream Big – David Cook

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
The Star Spangled Banner – Marching Mizzou

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
The Orchard – Thomas Newman (Phenomenon Soundtrack)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET
Cecilia – Simon and Garfunkel

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Mean Eyed Cat – Johnny Cash

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Strangers In the Night – Frank Sinatra

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Always Be My Baby – Mariah Carey

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
The Ballad of Unzer Charlie – Clem Snide

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Why Ain’t I Running – Garth Brooks

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Big Money – Garth Brooks

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Felling – The Righteous Brothers

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
I Know Where I’ve Been – Queen Latifah (Hairspray)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Jumpin’ Jack Flash – The Rolling Stones

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
The Luckiest – Ben Folds

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
We Will Rock You - Queen

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Get Rhythm –Johnny Cash

There's only us, there's only this, forget regret, or life is yours to miss.

This is from the USA Today’s list of best-selling books over the past 15 years.
bold what you’ve read, italicize what you own, star** books on your “To Be Read” list!

1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - J.K. Rowling art by Mary GrandPre
2 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution - Robert C. Atkins
3 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
9 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
10 Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson
11 The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston
12 Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom**
13 Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
14 What to Expect When You’re Expecting - Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway 15 The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren
16 The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom**
17 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey
18 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini**
19 Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray
20 The Secret - Rhonda Byrne**
21 Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter**
22 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
23 Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff … And It’s All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson
24 The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd**
25 Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert**
26 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
27 The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
28 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter - Kim Edwards**
29 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
30 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
31 A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
32 Oh, the Places You’ll Go! - Dr. Seuss
33 The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
34 Angela’s Ashes - Frank McCourt**
35 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold**
36 Body-for-Life - Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso
37 New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
38 Night - Elie Wiesel, translations by Marion Wiesel and Stella Rodway**
39 Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
40 The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw
41 Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
42 The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
43 Wicked - Gregory Maguire**
44 Good to Great - Jim Collins
45 Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
46 Eragon - Christopher Paolini
47 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells**
48 Your Best Life Now - Joel Osteen
49 In the Kitchen With Rosie - Rosie Daley
50 Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach
51 A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer**
52 A Million Little Pieces - James Frey**
53 The Testament - John Grisham
54 Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger
55 Deception Point - Dan Brown**
56 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho**
57 Marley & Me - John Grogan**
58 Dr. Atkins’ New Carbohydrate Gram Counter - Robert C. Atkins
59 Life of Pi - Yann Martel**
60 The Brethren - John Grisham
61 The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide - Arthur Agatston
62 The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - John Grisham
63 For One More Day - Mitch Albom**
64 The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg
65 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald**
66 The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
67 What to Expect the First Year - Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, Sandee Hathaway
68 Love You Forever - Robert Munsch, art by Sheila McGraw
69 Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
70 A Painted House - John Grisham**
71 The Rainmaker - John Grisham
72 Skipping Christmas - John Grisham
73 Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier**
74 The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
75 Life Strategies - Phillip C. McGraw
76 Seabiscuit: An American Legend - Laura Hillenbrand
77 The Summons - John Grisham
78 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt
79 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien**
80 The Runaway Jury - John Grisham
81 Goodnight Moon Board Book - Margaret Wise Brown, art by Clement Hurd
82 The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger
83 Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson**
84 The Giver - Lois Lowry
85 Embraced by the Light - Betty J. Eadie
86 The Chamber - John Grisham
87 You: On A Diet - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
88 The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson
89 Holes - Louis Sachar**
90 Digital Fortress - Dan Brown**
91 The Shack - William P. Young**
92 The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger**
93 Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
94 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini**
95 The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav
96 Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
97 The Partner - John Grisham
98 Lord of the Flies - William Golding**
99 Eldest: Inheritance, Book II - Christopher Paolini
100 The Broker - John Grisham
101 The Street Lawyer - John Grisham
102 A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 1: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
103 The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
104 Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer**
105 The King of Torts - John Grisham
106 The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
107 The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans**
108 Hannibal - Thomas Harris
109 The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
110 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
111 The Glass Castle: A Memoir - Jeannette Walls**
112 My Sister’s Keeper - Jodi Picoult
113 The Last Juror - John Grisham
114 The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
115 Left Behind - Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
116 America (The Book) - Jon Stewart and The Writers of The Daily Show
117 The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
118 John Adams - David McCullough
119 The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans
120 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares**
121 Sugar Busters! - H. Leighton Steward, Sam S. Andrews, Morrison C. Bethea, Luis A. Balart
122 Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
123 The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
124 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life - Don Piper, Cecil Murphey**
125 The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
126 1776 - David McCullough
127 The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller**
128 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts**
129 The Ultimate Weight Solution - Phillip C. McGraw
130 Protein Power - Michael R. Eades, Mary Dan Eades
131 Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
132 Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer**
133 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides**
134 Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
135 You: The Owner’s Manual - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz**
136 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List - Patricia Schultz
137 Self Matters - Phillip C. McGraw
138 She’s Come Undone - Wally Lamb**
139 1984 - George Orwell
140 The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis**
141 The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko
142 The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
143 The Zone - Barry Sears, Bill Lawren
144 The Pilot’s Wife - Anita Shreve
145 The Lost World - Michael Crichton**
146 Atonement - Ian McEwan**
147 He’s Just Not That Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo**
148 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
149 The World Is Flat - Thomas L. Friedman**
150 Cross - James Patterson

When the band plays the tiger war song and when the fray is through, we will tramp, tramp, tramp around the columns with a cheer for Ol' Mizzou!

As the title (an excerpt from "Every True Son") might suggest, this post is about Mizzou. I am a lifelong Missouri Tiger football fan. I have, Saturday after Saturday each fall made treks to Columbia, from before I could walk and it was an easy walk to the game in the five falls I lived in Columbia. I, and fellow Mizzou fans have loved the football team through thick and thin, through losing seasons (there have been a few), and everyone always saying this just might be their year (year after year). Well, this might actually be their year (which you can't say in front of any other Tiger fan because they might accuse you of jinxing the team or getting ahead of the game this Saturday). So when will it be okay to be excited about this team?

We all love Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin, and Derrick Washington and marvel at how wonderful they play on offense. But then we have to always follow up with concern for our secondary if there is any praise. I read an online article recently from an Oklahoma newspaper about the Mizzou/Oklahoma State match up this next weekend where people were allowed to post comments after the article and one OSU fan was saying that Mizzou saw this game as a no-brainer and we probably scheduled them for Homecoming (No, we are playing Colorado for Homecoming [and yes, MU invented Homecoming]) because we were just so confident. I don't know where this person got their information, because if you ask any Mizzou football fan that I know they are worried about this match up just as much as they were for last week's game against Nebraska and as much as they will be for Texas next week. Mizzou fans know nothing if not that a win is never guaranteed for the Tigers. I never hear boasting out of Pinkel, his coaching staff, or any of his players. Mizzou doesn't do a lot of trash talking because we don't have a lot to trash talk about (except kU, but that's an entirely different story).

I seem to be rambling a bit. My point is, I wish Mizzou fans could be happy about the success the team has has this year (which we are). But be more confident instead of nervous because after each victory the Tigers achieve come Monday morning all the fans can think of is all of the ways we could lose next Saturday.

I read a blog this morning that I feel sums up how I and many other Mizzou football fans feel:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/therundown/2008/10/mizzou_football_has_arrived.php

p.s. I love Chase Daniel. Go Mizzou!!!

Feels something like summertime, Top down ain't nothing but time, Radio's on and you're by my side, Feels something like summertime ~Bon Jovi

Okay, so I haven't posted since July 16th and a lot has happened since then.
I went to a coworkers birthday party;
my brother, his girlfriend and I all went out on the plaza;
I saw The Dark Knight Returns (twice);
my grandma made me a pot roast;
I saw X-Files: I Want to Believe;
I went to a Royals game;
I went out on the boat;
I volunteered for Extreme School Makeover for the Independence School District;
I house sat for my dad and step mom and watched Zorro and Sadie;
I went to the Power and Light District for a bachelorette party;
I went to Mel's wedding;
I went to an open house for Sam Graves;
I went to a Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Happy Hour (my 2nd);
I went to my grandpa's 70th birthday party;
I played some beach volleyball;
I went to my 5 Year high school reunion (and stayed out till 4 am);
I had a family farewell dinner for my cousin who just left for college;
played bartender at a reception we had for our new board chair;
and had a family reunion.
Also, I was obsessed with the Olympics while they were on.

All of the movies I have seen this summer (rented - R and in theaters - T):
Sex and the City: The Movie (T),
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (T),
I am Legend (R)
Into the Wild (R)
Definitely, Maybe (R)
The Dark Knight Returns (T)
X-Files: I Want to Believe (T)
Gold Rush (R)
The Bucket List (R)
Juno (R)
21 (R)

All of the books I have read so far 2008:
Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne
A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Sellevision by Augusten Burroughs
Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze Orman
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

I was hoping to go into more detail, but I don't have the time. If you want details (or my opinion on any of the books or movies) just ask!

You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope someday you will join us, and the world will live as one. ~John Lennon

People want to know exactly what I do and wonder what AmeriCorps is. I will tell you.

AmeriCorps (sometimes referred to as the domestic Peace Corps) is an organization that helps meet needs in communities all over the country. There are a lot of things one can do in AmeriCorps: work with kids, help the environment, aid in disaster relief, fight poverty. I am in AmeriCorps VISTA and we focus on the last one, fighting poverty, but before I get into the different branches of AmeriCorps I will tell you in general the benefits everyone gets. I know this is going to sound like an ad or a recruitment tactic, but I just want people to know what I do; I get a lot of questions and it's not the easiest thing to explain.

In AmeriCorps (VISTA, State & National) we sign up for one year of service to the country. We don't get paid a salary, but a living allowance, which sustains us at about poverty level (it's on purpose). At the end of your service you can take a $1,200 stipend or a $4,000 education grant (for paying off student loans or going back to school). I chose the stipend because I don't have student loans and I am not planning on going back to school. If you do have student loans you get loan forbearance during your service and they pay the interest in the interim. You can do AmeriCorps up to 3 years, but you can only take the education grant twice and the last time you have to take the stipend. You can see that they drill all of this into us, because I know about a lot of programs and things that I didn't even use.

Now the branches...

I will start with AmeriCorps VISTA because it's the best (I know that's debatable, but it's the one I know the most about because I am a VISTA)! Vista stands for: Volunteer In Service To America (We take the same oath the president does!). AmeriCorps VISTA is specifically devoted to fighting poverty. We aren't allowed to have any outside jobs or take any classes and must be available if our sponsoring organization calls us, 24 hours a day, 7 day a week. Luckily Harvesters usually on needs me Monday through Friday during regular business hours. We have a PSO (Pre Service Orientation), which is based by region, and ours was in Albuquerque, New Mexico this year. We learn there about poverty, misconceptions, our general and specific roles, networking and how to capacity build. Capacity building is a key term, it's like giving a seed roots so it can grow into a tree. VISTA's specifically have jobs that there shouldn't be a use for when they are done with their service. If you do your job right you should complete your task/s, grow your project, and work your way out of a job. I think we have more rules than the other branches, but VISTA has been around longer that AmeriCorps (which came about during the Clinton administration). Vista came from and is still associated with the Corporation for National and Community Service. I still don't quite know how all that works but VISTA was created in 1964 and is the oldest of the national service programs (include AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve AmeriCorps, and Senior Corps). We do secondary service, we don't work directly with clients. We leverage human, financial, and material resources to increase the capacity of low-income communities across the country (that's directly from the manual). There have been roughly 177,000 VISTAs. Oh, and we can't be political or religious if it's in any way linked to our service. I also applied directly to Harvesters, not to AmeriCorps and then placed somewhere, like I think it can be in State and/or National, but maybe they're all like that. To learn more about VISTA: http://www.americorps.org/about/programs/vista.asp.

AmeriCorps State & National is similar to VISTA because we both serve a year an all of the stuff I said two paragraphs ago. There are some of them at Harvesters too. They can work primarily with clients, mentoring youth, assisting crime victims, restoring parks, and building affordable homes, etc.) Instead of having an end date one calendar year after their start date like VISTAs do, State and National programs count hours and it usually works out to be about a year. I may have gotten some of it wrong, because I am not in AmeriCorps State &/or National. You can learn more about it here: State - http://www.americorps.org/about/programs/state.asp; National - http://www.americorps.org/about/programs/national.asp.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a little different than the other two. I don't know much about it, so I will direct you to the AmeriCorps website for that one: http://www.americorps.org/about/programs/nccc.asp. They live on a special AmeriCorps NCCC is what it says.

Okay, now have I really confused me. Feel free to ask me questions, I would be happy to at least try to answer them.

Here is the link to the AmeriCorps website: http://www.americorps.org/

Good Morning, on this day we become legendary, everything we dreamed of; I'm like the fly Malcolm X, buy any jeans necessary, Detroit red cleaned up.

Those are lyrics from a Kanye West song. I love that it mentioned Malcolm X, I read his autobiography and he had a pretty fascinating life. But this post is supposed to be about the sunrise, so most likely it will be pretty boring, and I am apologizing up front for that. I got up at 5:30 this morning to go for a walk (I am doing a program for work where we count our steps everyday and try to increase our total each week). I usually walk in the evening, but I am busy tonight so I planned ahead. I love the morning, it's much more private. I think about all the people who see the sunset and then this morning I thought of how many fewer people are out and watching the sunrise. There were a lot of people exercising in the a.m., and the people seem to be much more friendly, I got a couple of "Good Morning's" from people and the are no good afternoon's or even hello's if you are exercising later in the day. See, I told you this would be boring. I'll mention some more of the highlights of today, I went to the new Chik-fil-a in Independence for lunch with 9 of my co-workers and I am still very full. I picked up lunch for a meeting from the Mixx and it smelled wonderful in my car all the way back. I am 300 steps away from 10,000, which is the most we are allowed to count for a day, so I am pretty stoked. Last night I finished the book Everything is Illuminated, it was really good. Now I am reading Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson (Augusten Burroughs[Running with Scissors]'s brother). I am eating dinner tonight with my dad, stepmom, and their dog Zorro at Spin Pizza (It's doggy night on the patio--complete with puppy pizzas). I won't be able to see one of the new shows I am obsessed with, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, luckily it will be online tomorrow! So are you asleep yet? One more thing about mornings outside, theer is just a feeling of newness and hope (and less humidity) in the air that really energizes you (who needs caffeine?). Hmm... I think I might be asleep now. Peace.

"You Don't Get Harmony When Everybody Sings the Same Note" ~Doug Floyd

I live in the greatest city in the world, okay, at least the greatest in Missouri, that's right St. Louis, I think Kansas City is awesome. I have to give props to HB who wrote a post about how this city rocks, and I am totally just copying her. I have always said that I am from Kansas City, but this is the first time I lave actually lived in the city limits. I am finding a lot to do here too, and am wondering why I spent so much time in the suburbs, oh right, they're great too. Now, as it might suggest from the name of this blog and the title of this post --I love music, I am not totally musically inclined (I can play the piano and sing - in the loosest sense of both). I come from Blue Springs, along with such talents as Vedera, Tech N9ne (honestly don't know their music, but they are from BS), and of course our hometown boy David Cook. But, in the suburbs you can't just walk down the street and hear bands playing here and there. Free live music every Thursday on the Plaza and great free concerts on the KC Live stage in the Power & Light District are what I am talking about. What is it about when music is outside that makes it so much better? Go outside and listen and we'll talk about it later.