It's that time of year again!

Hello free music! :)

- Civil Wars (email required)


I'll add more as I find 'em. :)

Free Music!

Cuz who doesn't love some free tunes?

Josh Ritter - 500 Miles (Hedy West Cover) [email required]
The Icarus Account - 7 songs [nothing required]
The Civil Wars - Live at Eddie's Attic album [email required]
GRO - Wait A Minute album [email required]

I'll add more later. :)

Picture of the Day

Tennessee Flood Relief

I recently read that the flood that hit Nashville was the worst in something like 500 years! Whoa. Talk about about crazy. Anyway, check this link out for some free music from Nashville artists! Any and all donations go straight to helping bring relief to the flood victims.

Includes music from artists such as: AutoVaughn, Trent Dabbs, The Civil wars and more!

Also hit these links for free music by Joy Williams and Paper Route! (again all donations go directly to help bring relief to Tennessee)

ps. Don't forget to donate!

"Christianity is not about religion..."

"...it's about faith, being held, being forgiven...finding joy, finding a home" -Bear Grylls


Bear Grylls participated (and is now a spokesman of sorts) in this program called "Alpha." It's a program that's supposed to, in a friendly way, introduce people and help them deal with the tough questions in life like "Is there a God? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going?". So on and so forth. But that's not what this blog is about. That was just a sidenote. haha. 


In one of his interviews, Bear comments (to the affect of...) God being his backbone. Like a backbone, God runs straight through him and is his main support.That just really struck me. Without our spine, we'd be a pile of mush. Even with all the other bones in our body, without the spine, we would be, to put it simply, a mess.


And that just got me to thinking, without God our lives are, simply put, a mess. How aptly did Bear describe God when he said He was his backbone? Lifting and supporting him through life's trials and tribulations.

Twitter Crazies

So I refuse to be one of those people that tweets ALL the time (especially since my tweets update my Facebook statuses...), but today I've had quite a few moments when I thought "huh I should tweet that." So I just decided to post them here. :)

1) "The volunteers are awesome on a normal day, but when they bring food...OMG they ROCK my world! So good."

2) "Data input owns my life. I almost had a TGIF moment, then realized 'Sorry honey, it's Thursday.' Seriously? Ugh. Get me out!!"

3) "This weather needs to make a decision. Nice or nasty. One or the other. This flip-floppin deal it has going on is killing me!"

Back to work...more later.

Fallback

Regardless of the fact that I have full intentions to stay on top of the shows I watch...I just keep falling behind! Thank goodness for Hulu!! I've decided rather than try to catch up on nine episodes of Lost that I've fallen behind on, I'll just wait for the season to end then watch them all in one fell swoop. (I also won't have any horrible cliff-hangers!) I always find cliffies worse when you've sat and watched like 6 episodes then you're caught up...and have to wait a WHOLE WEEK for the next one. LOL.

Anyway, last night we were doing some recordings for the Lost Son, so I missed both Bones and Fringe. But whatever, I'll get caught up! haha. (side note for Sarah, I'm also now three weeks behind on Flashforward...one of these days I'll be caught up.) Now that I've veered off on yet another tangent...the recording was a BLAST! Granted we didn't have the full cast, but it was still good to be back together! I've definitely missed just being in that atmosphere (The Passion of the King had a totally different atmosphere, not bad...just different.)

Last Monday was Phoenix's FIRST BIRTHDAY! Crazy to think that a year has already flown by!

So while in the middle of writing this, I got a tweet about Green River Ordinance's (GRO) new music video "On Your Own". Go check it out!!

Fallback

Have I mentioned my aversion to Wednesday mornings? No? Well let me tell you. I greatly dislike them. Every Wednesday, I say to myself, "I really need to get to bed early on Tuesday...because I just need more sleep." But inevitably, every Tuesday I stay up extra late. It's this horrible vicious circle, I can't seem to get out of! Take for example yesterday.

I knew that I was going to have a longerthanusualWednesday, because I had taken last Thursday and Friday off! So what did I do? I went out and bought Avatar then proceeded to watch it. Now, I went out shopping at 7PM...came home at 9PM...then started a 2.7 hour long movie. Brilliant, I know. (but I'm not gonna lie...it was well worth it.) Needless to say, I slept in as long as possible this morning, but miraculously I managed to shower, do my hair AND make-up, and get breakfast in! all in a 40 min. period. YAY! (understand the first three events usually take me an hour...)

It's now 2:13PM, and the day as pretty much dragged by. Except for when I had projects to do. Then it went by pretty swiftly. :)) <-- that's a double-chinned smiley. haha.

I also want to note that I'm now 8-9 weeks behind on Lost and 2 on Flashforward. ugh. I need to get some time in front of my laptop soon. LOL!

Side-Note. I'm also entering a "No-Spend April - May/No Candy/Soda til...". :-P

AND PHOENIX TURNED ONE!!

i heart boston

Today was our "grand day out" with the Tougas's.
We're on the ride back, but I thought I'd post this. End of the trip we went to Mike's. And if you've been there, you know how crazy it is inside. Arielle, Leah & Caity decided to leave the bakery and find a bathroom. I somehow missed them. So when I left with Mom and Aunt Michelle, the girls I and headed back to the bathroom, cuz I had to go. First off I had to wait like ten minutes (only mildly exaggerating...) for this old man (who stunk it up...) to get out. Then this young chick. Finally my turn comes. First off this young guy tries to walk in on me...thankfully the rather shoddy lock withstood his attempts. Then someone says "someone's in there." To which the intruder swears and apologizes. Not gonna lie...I found that highly amusing. Anyway, I walk out...and you know how you have that awkward moment when you come face to face with the person who tried to walk in on you? Turns out he was a very attractive young guy. So what do I do? Take a step and almost fall flat on my face. Oh yea. Don't ask me when a sill plate appeared there...but what ever. While I was mildly embarrassed...I was also comforted because Mr. Attractive TOTALLY put his arms out to catch me if I had fallen. :-)

Love 'n Hugs!

Definition of Life

Facebook Groups I would join if I had been at Facebook when I was 12.


"Mom makes me some food?" "Get it yourself." "Nevermind, I'm not hungry."
I yell at video games when i die.
Open fridge, nothing. Freezer? Nothing. Might as well try the fridge again.


I'll add more later. :)

Hope GROs

It would seem that [for me], this week's theme is "Hope". No joke, I can't tell you how many times it's come up in the last like two days. The one that I want to tell you about, however, is Hope GROs. One of my favorite bands, Green River Ordinance (a.k.a. GRO, pronounced like "grow", not "Gee Arr Ooh" regardless of what my sister says...), posted their new website today. They already have a permanent place in my heart, but this website just makes it that much more concrete of a position. It's dedicated to raising awareness and funds for five (5) different charities (one per band member) through the sales of GRO's older music that you can't find anywhere else!! How sweet is that? Sadly, I have 8 out of the 10 songs (we had bought tickets to see them play in Hartford, but the lead singer got sick...so we got their first cd free...). Not gonna lie, I was tempted to buy them again...just to support! haha. :)


Anyway, check it out! There are some great charities, AND there's a vid that explains why each member choice the charity they did.


Love 'n Hugs!
-Corey

Happy Tuesday!


I was starting to feel a little aimless at work, so I decided I needed to take a break and refocus. haha.


Caity bought Dave Barnes new single "God Gave Me You." I've pretty much had it on repeat for the last hour. No joke. I'm sure the other people in the office are tired of hearing it (or have just gotten really good at blocking it out), but I still love it!! :) The chorus goes:

"God gave me you for the ups and downs

God gave me you for the days of doubt

For when I think I’ve lost my way

There are no words here left to say, it’s true

God gave me you"

And while this song is about a romantic relationship, I can't help but be reminded on how thankful I should be for each and every person in my life. Whether they brought me smiles or tears, I need to remember that who I am today is because of who I interacted with yesterday. 


Looking back on the past 16+ years (let's be real, I don't really remember the first 4 years of my life! haha), I can't help but notice how in my time of need, God came through. Whether through making new friends, or reconnecting with old friends, or even just having a chat with some acquaintances...God gave me someone to either bring me joy or make me stronger (nice twist on those who brought me pain, eh? haha). There have been some serious ups and downs in years past, and I am so extremely thankful for the people God has blessed me with. Sometimes we don't know it, but a smile, a quick Facebook note, a text, etc they can have a huge impact...and it only took like ten seconds on our part. 


When Pop was deployed the first two times, there were people who I really have no relationship with outside of the "Hey how are ya?" comments as we pass in the hallway at church. Those people would come up and say the required, "Hey how are ya", but they'd also give me a hug. They (probably unbeknownly) made my day. And you could probably say that it was just a coincidence, but I know it was God.


Another example. This past Christmas I sent out cards to some of my close[r] friends. I very clearly printed their name on the front of the card, and put my own on the back (in much smaller print.) However, the United States Postal Service somehow messed up, because like two days after I sent them, one came to my house. What the heck!? haha. So rather than sticking it back in the mail, and chancing it coming back to my house again. I just stuck it in my purse with the intentions of giving it to this person the next time I saw them. Well it was a few days before we met up. So I told them the story of the messed up mail and went on my merry way. Later that evening, I received an email about how much that little note inside affected them. I don't remember what I wrote in the note, I don't know what was going on in their lives. But God used the USPS to get that card and that note to that person in their time of need.


Moral of the story? God is in control. Be thankful.






(now back to work.)

I talked to Billy Blue Eyes yesterday. It pretty much made my entire weekend. : )

Papercuts and Memories

10 Things I Want

1. The complete series of Stargate Atlantis
2. For these darn allergies to go away
3. To spend some quality family time
4. To laugh so hard I cry tomorrow at Heather's
5. A Mac
6. To paint my room
7. A cheeseburger (strange want considering it's almost midnight...)
8. To have time to scrapbook
9. For the spiders to leave my room
10. For the weather to stay consistent

9 Musicians/Bands I Love (no particular order)

1. GRO
2. Sleeperstar
3. Michael Buble
4. Phil Wickham
5. Lady Antebellum
6. Ben Rector
7. Rascal Flatts
8. Needtobreathe
9. Jim Croce

8 Things You Do Everyday

1. Laugh
2. Smile
3. Hug
4. Text
5. Listen to music
6. Sing
7. Sleep
8. Be happy

7 Things You Enjoy

1. Photoshoots with bands
2. Going to concerts
3. Hugging
4. Spending time with my family
5. Working with my youth group
6. Blogging
7. Food

6 Things That Will Always Win Your Heart

1. Baby laughter
2. "Real" hugs
3. Little “Thinking about you” gifts
4. Kindness with no thought of reward
5. Acoustic music
6. Older couples

5 Favorite: movie, song, book, food, season (at the moment)

1. Pride & Prejudice
2. God Gave Me You - Dave Barnes
3. James
4. Cheeseburger
5. Summer

4 Smells or Scents You Enjoy

1. Men's soap
2. Cinnamon
3. Old books
4. Sensual Amber

3 Places You’d Like To Go

1. Italy
2. Australia
3. Scotland/Ireland

2 Favorite Holidays

1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas

1 Person You’d Marry on the Spot

1. That's for me to know...

Heck yes!

The Day Before You

This past week the church office was closed...so I had the week off!! Whoot.

As I was cleaning my room (a week-long process, mind you). I stumbled upon a cd entitled "June 08 Mix." Curious, I set it aside with intentions of listening to it later that day. Well later, never happened. lol.

So this morning, I grabbed it to listen to while I brought Caity to work. Crazy that the cd was from 2 years ago!! But here's what's on it. (since I know y'all are just dying to know!)

1. Sweet and Low - Augustana
2. Moody - Saeed Younan Mix
3. Shout It Out - Generation Unleashed
4. Stitches - Haste The Day
5. Partners in Crime - Jim Brickman & Dave Koz
6. Stay Beautiful - The Last Goodnight
7. In Your Arms - The Last Goodnight
8. Pictures of You - The Last Goodnight
9. The Day Before You - Matthew West
10. Bounce - Manafest
11. Divine Romance - Phil Wickham
12. How Strong Are You Now - Rascal Flatts
13. Moondance - Van Morrison

Hello Vacation

This just made my life.

Disclaimer: I don't condone all actions shown in video...



Also, list of shows to watch/catch up on (in no particular order):

• Lost
• Supernatural
• White Collar
• Castle
• Bones
• Vampire Diaries
• Fringe
• Flashforward
• Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution
• Stargate Universe

One Day You Will

• 27 Dresses - check!
• 300 - check!
• Avatar
• Caprica
• Continuum
• Defiance
• Dirty Dancing
• Ironman - Check!
• Ocean's Eleven
• Rise of the Lycans
• SG1 - Children of the Gods
• Stargate Atlantis S. 4 - check!
• Stargate Atlantis S.1
• Stargate Atlantis S.2 - check! (once Jake gives it to me for my b-day...)
• Stargate Atlantis S.3 - check!
• Stargate Atlantis S.5 - check!
• Star Trek - check!
• Terminator Salvation - check!
• The Dark Knight - check!
• The Proposal
• Underworld
• XXX  

One day I'll own all these movies...one day. (I'll add more later...)

Open up your arms and let me in

Remember when I saw GRO and Sleeperstar at Harper's Ferry in Boston? You should, because it was a pretty lengthy blog post/concert review. :-P


Anyway...both of them have free acoustic music out right now!! Click for some GRO-goodness. Check out the melodious sounds of Sleeperstar.


And for a good laugh, click play. :)

Mr. Blue Sky

Wednesdays are the longest days of my life. Seriously. I get to the office at 0800 (or around there) and don't leave till 1700. And then add in days like today, when we have Passion of the King. And not only do we have practice, but we have a dress rehearsal. Do you know what that means? It means if we're lucky, we're home by 2300. And yes, I know there are people who have these kinds of days everyday, but I'm not one of them. So this is wrecking havoc on my sleeping habits. I woke up this morning at like 0530 and couldn't go back to sleep. So I just laid in bed until the alarm went off at 0645. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love, what I'm doing. However, being an asthmatic, means I'm already prone to looking like Uncle Fester when I wake up. Add sleep deprivation to it. Let's just say it's not a pretty picture...


I also just want to bemoan the fact that I'm still not caught up on Lost!! Boo. But I promise I will. And I will also have my handy-dandy notebook close by, so that I can take all kinds of notes to post on here. :)


So I'm gonna be the "traveling woman" in April. Not gonna, lie, I'm pretty excited! :)


Here's the sched:


4.4: NYC w/ the family! Going to see the Statue of Liberty...it's the 50th anniversary of when my grandparents and uncles immigrated to America! :)


4.18: "Grand Day Out" - Boston w/ the Tougas'!


4.22-24: Celebrating Mom's birthday/Parent's Anniversary with a trip to Maine!! SUPER excited for this. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Maine! :)


Now I need to get back to work. :-P
But thanks for the distraction.

Of Cinnamon Scents and Paper Cuts

You know that lovely smell that assails your nose when the air isn't moved around enough? That's what an office can become like. So we purchase candles, or aerosols to help battle the mediocre. Last year, for my birthday, one of the choir ladies was super awesome and surprised me with a birthday gift! In it was one of those White Candle & Co (but it's sold at Bath & Body) plug-in scent thingys. I've had it in the office, free in the ability to plug it in whenever the air feels anything less than fresh. However, yesterday I walked into my 'cube to the almost overwhelming scent of cinnamon. Seriously, almost nauseating. To my dismay, the liquid that resides in the plug-in module had tipped over and spilled all over my desk. Ugh. A day later and it still is overwhelmingly strong. This morning when I went to put on my jeans (coincidentally the same ones I wore yesterday) and was hit with the cinnamony aroma. At first I was dumb-founded. Then realized why. So if you see me in the next few days and smell cinnamon...you know why. :-P


ps. 16 days from now, Clash of the Titans opens!!! So excited for that! :)

Minimum Speed

• Mail for "Mr. Corey Leamy"
• Messing up a Sudoku
• Misplacing important notes
• Heading towards a destination with a purpose, only to realize you forgot your purpose once you reach your destination
• Throwing recyclables in the trash
• When people speed up to cut you off, then slow down once they're in your lane
• Broken headphones

The Same Power

"When You see me, will You know me?"

Those are lyrics from Sleeperstar's song: The Journey. Whenever I listen to that song, I always tune into that part...I'm sure that's happened to you. You're busy working, but whenever a certain song comes on, or a certain part in said song, comes on it's like your ears automatically pick it up and decide to actively listen. And this morning I was struck by that part (I'll admit, in the past I've often been struck as well, I just didn't feel like blogging about it! haha). Anyway, Warren Barfield had a song awhile back that said,

I shouldn't have to tell you who I am
Cause who I am should be speaking for itself
Cause if I am who I, I want to be
Then who you see won't even be me
Oh the more and more I disappear
The more and more He becomes clear

Til everyone I talk to hears His voice
And everything I touch feels the warmth of His hand
Til everyone I meet
Sees Jesus in me
This is all I wanna be
I wanna be mistaken
For Jesus
Do they only see who we are
When who we are should be pointing them to Christ
Cause we are who He chose to use
To spread the news
Of the way the truth and the life
Oh I want all I am to die
So all He is can come alive

And while the two are saying different things, they [sorta] mean the same. With Sleeperstar's lyrics I tend to think about how God sees me. Does He see me fulfilling the path He's perfected for me? Or does He see me going my own way? Am I using the gifts and talents He's blessed me with for His glory? Or my own? Am I living my life so that others can clearly see I'm His?

Which brings me to the next song. Warren Barfield sings about wanting to be mistaken for Jesus. Are we living a life that when others see us, they see God? The chorus touches on our senses. Hear, Feel, See. When people hear us speak, do they hear God? Can they plainly tell just by the use of our language that we're different? Do we lift others up with our words? Or do we push them down? When we touch others, do they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that "the same Power that conquered the grave lives" in you? Do the people you walk by see that you're different than others? Do you dress in a manner that doesn't invite trouble? Do you smile at others...regardless if you know them or not?

To love the "unlovable" was once my goal, and I think I've veered from that path...but I'm working on getting back on track. So that others can Hear, Feel, and See Jesus through me.

Watching the time go, the second hand is moving too fast...

• OPI Nail Polish
    

• Miami Beat
• Aphrodite's Pink Nightie
• Prince George's Passion (pictured)
• Vampire State Building
• Nice Color, Eh
• The power of white-out!
• Primeval (by that I mean James Murray)
• The throbbing you feel in your chest when the bassist starts playing at a concert
• When you secretly laugh at people who sing in their cars...only to realize you probably look the same way (cuz you know you do it!).
• When a song gives you the chills
• Songs that have "woah-ohs" (or something similar) in it...so you can belt it out! (because it's the only part you know...)
• Falling Apart - Matt Nathanson
• Texas Rain - Sleeperstar

I'd Walk A Thousand Miles

In 78 days, I turn 21. No big whoop...haha not like I'm gonna go party and drink! :-P But just the same...I've decided to fast candy til then. Maybe beyond then...we'll see. I've done pretty well...though I did have a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on Sunday at group. So I decided to just say Monday was my starting point! haha. :)


I also decided in February that for 2010, I was gonna try my hardest to give up Starbucks. However, I do love their Raspberry Passion Iced Tea Lemonade, so whenever I do get something from them, I've decided to also send some coffee to a soldier through Green Beans Coffee's program Cup of Joe for A Joe. Which is pretty sweet. Not gonna lie. :)


Check it out.


Love 'n Hugs!!

Of Power Cords and Thin New Books

I realized I've neglected my blog for more than two weeks. Sorry! I still haven't caught up on Lost...I feel I have this reoccurring bad habit of missing Lost for a few weeks then catching up on 3+ episodes all at once. :( So I promise that I will catch up! But while we're on the subject of Lost Sarah had a great thought and I'm inclined to believe it.

you know how the smoke monster is in locke's body right now? did he used to be in jack's dad's body? because his dad died, but he was alive on the island. and if i remember right, him and claire were together at the end of last season, weren't they? but now jack's dad is m.i.a. and claire and "locke" are bffs...

Yup, I definitely agree with that.

So moving on, while at Target the other day, I got a new OPI nail polish! It's called Italian Love Affair. Caity and I were twins on Sunday, in some pretty scary ways, not gonna lie! haha. :) My hand is on the left, her's (obviously) on the right. I'm excited for when I'm tan...it will look much better on me then! (It's ALOT brighter than it looks in this picture). The color looks like one of my favorite OPI colors Aphrodite's Pink Nightie, which I still haven't purchased. But I intend to in the future. (well as soon as I see it in a store, haha!)

I was greatly disheartened to learn that my laptop battery cord is once again on the fritz. Boo! : (

With Pop scheduled to head to the giant sandbox, I recently dropped out of our Praise Team. Let me tell you, it is a weird experience! I walked into church late (by like 2 minutes...so not too rebellious!), got to park in the regular parking lot, and got to leave right after service. So I also find myself with seemingly hours more to my day morning. So I started to read Sex God by Rob Bell again. I started it when I went to Guatemala last July and never finished it. The books tagline is "Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality and Spirituality". Someone asked me about it yesterday, so I figured I'd put a few of my favorite excerpts in here. (I would definitely suggest you read this book).

We're addictive creatures. We try things, we experiment, we explore, and certain things hook us. They get their tentacles in us, and we can't get away from them. What started out as freedom can quickly become slavery. Often freedom is seen as the ability to do whatever you want. But freedom isn't being able to have whatever we crave. Freedom is going without whatever we crave and being fine with it.

------------------------------------------------------

If you're God and you want to express ultimate love to your creation, if you want to move towards them in a definitive way, you have a problem, because just showing up overwhelms people. You wouldn't come as you are. You won't come in strength. You wouldn't come in your pure, raw essence. You'd scare everybody away....So how would you express your love in an ultimate way?...You would need to strip yourself of all the trappings that come with ultimate power and authority. That's how love works...This is the story of the Bible. This is the story of Jesus.

------------------------------------------------------

It takes spine to turn the other cheek. It takes phenomenal fortitude to love your enemy. It takes firm resolve to pray for those who persecute you.

------------------------------------------------------

I went back and re-read chapters I'd already finished, because it's just so filled with little nuggets of goodness that I might have missed the first time around. :-P

Of Oatmeal and Keurigs

Our office has the fantastic invention known as the Keurig. A piping hot beverage of your choice virtually ready in seconds. Decaf, Regular, Morning, Spring, Hot Chocolate, Tea, the options are seemingly endless. However, this little fantasy world of instantaneous gratification is rudely interrupted when the unfortunate person gets stuck with the flashing button signaling that the water tank is empty. Somehow, I still haven't figured this one out, that unfortunate person always ends up being none other than yours truly. I've already refilled it twice today...and I've only been here for 2.5 hours.

One day, while shopping in one of my favorite stores, Target, I bought one of those mondo, ginormous boxes of instant oatmeal. I think there was like 34 packs in there. Granted I use two each time...so it's really only 17. But it would seem that was a very smart move. Because whenever lunch rolls around, I realize I've once again forgotten to find some sort of sustenance at home to bring to the office. And I'm not all that fond of going out to Wendy's, or Subway...so I turn to my stash of instant oatmeal. I think I've had it for lunch 3 out of 4 days for the last three weeks. haha. Good thing I love it, eh?

Tuesday Morning & There's Not Enough To Keep Me Going in This Coffee Cup

Title = my thoughts exactly. Only substitute Tuesday for Thursday. haha!

As a born and raised New Englander, I've seen my fair share of crazy weather. But I think this year takes the cake. For one, did any of you experience the lightning storm in the middle of the snow storm? Craziest thing I've ever seen. Caity and I were sitting in Wendy's, eating dinner before I had to bring her to class, and get myself to Lost Son practice. It was pretty much white-out conditions, when suddenly the sky lights up. At first, Caity thought it was a camera flash...until we heard the thunder. Like I said, crazy NE weather.

Now good 'ole NE can't decide whether it wants to stay cold enough for snow, or just warm enough for rain/sleet. Makes for slightly miserable days. I can sit in my cubical and pretend that it's sunny outside (I've actually mastered this art), but that little dream is smashed to oblivion once I step out and look to the great outdoors. haha.

So last night I finally caught up on Lost! Crazy, but I'm starting to see the connections. My favorite was that Jack Shepard's number is 23. Coincidentally Psalms 23 v.1a says "The Lord is my Shepard..." coincidence? I think not. And just for posterity's sake, I refuse to believe that Matthew Fox cheated on his wife with a stripper.

So yesterday, I pretty much spent the entire day at church (0800-1900). And when I came home, Mom instructed us to look as our front lawn. It would seem a school bus mistook our lawn for the pavement. Not even funny. I'll try to post pix later. That should be an answer for one of those games like Scategories..."Reasons for being late"..."School bus ran over my lawn". haha. That's how laughable it seems. Geez.

Can I just saw again, how much I LOVE Sleeperstar? Seriously, like top 10 favorite bands of all time. Read about their concert in Feb here.

And can I just saw how much I adore the Student Ministry kids!? For serious. Last week at our junior high meeting, there was a new girl. So I asked one our regular students to go over and chat it up with the new girl. And she immediately did! Not even sure I would have done that when I was her age! (at least not without some trepidation...remember I was homeschooled. haha).

Now I have to go have my weekly meeting with the bossman.

Later folks!

Love 'n Hugs!! :)

Finally Caught Up!

BEWARE!
If you haven't seen the newest
Lost episode "Lighthouse" go no further.














___________________________________________________

So here are my notes from the last two episodes of Lost. "Lighthouse" and the one before it.

First one.

I watched it online with the "enhanced" version. And it said that the timeline where they land safely in LA is a flash "sideways" so in essense a parallel universe. (KJ you were right!)

Moving on...Locke a.k.a. Mr. Black Smoke Monster = pyscho/master manipulator

anyone else notice there was a crab on the "real" Locke's head?? struck me as funny.

The enhanced version, notes that the cemetery where they bury Locke is called "Boone Hill" because Boone was the first survivor buried there. Ironic that Locke gets buried next to Boone, because it's Locke's fault that Boone died in the first place. :(

WHY ARE THEY PROTECTING THE ISLAND!?!?!

Candidate names and corresponding numbers:

23 - Shepard
8 - Reyes
16 - Jarrah
42 - Kwon
4 - Locke
15 - Ford
51 - Kate (as seen in the Lighthouse)...

Now onto the Lighthouse

When Jack hangs up on his mom (cuz he forgot to pick up his son that we have never heard about), what was she gonna say??

Ps. 23 and 108 are both written by David (just thought I'd bring that up...)
And Psalms 23 (Jack's number) is "The Lord is my Shepard"...

The numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 (when added together) total 108...the number of degrees Jacob told Hurley to move the dial to.

(sorry this is all out of order)

When Jack brings David to "his" room, he says he hooked up the cable so he could watch Red Sox games. But in his mother's house, David is seen in pictures with a Los Angeles Angels (kinda redundant, eh?) cap on.

Loved Hugo's reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi. :)

"I hope you find what you're looking for" - Kate Seriously!! They didn't kiss AGAIN! ugh. They'd better get their act together and "get married and have a million kids."

Of course I'm your friend...you have a needle embedded in my leg. Jin's thoughts as Claire stitches him up...

Jack refuses to share a drink with his mother, but when he's home and can't find David, there's a beer on his desk.

And finally...Claire = psycho!!

Nite!

Oh My, My

When you’re in school, you never think this will happen. But it did. I miss it. haha. So I decided to write a concert review on the GroSS concert. Here we go.

Date: 13 February 2010
Concert: Green River Ordinance with Sleeperstar
Venue: Harper’s Ferry – Allston, MA

In 2009, we saw Green River Ordinance (GRO) open for Needtobreathe in Danbury, CT. It was pretty much love at first note. We were pretty excited to learn that they were going to be in Hartford! Only to learn the day of the event that the lead singer, Josh Jenkins, was sick and they couldn’t perform. So we were SUPER excited when were learned that they were going to be in the Boston area! We grabbed our friends and trekked to Boston.

The opening band was okay. Vocal range and arrangements were good. But the lead singer kept swearing…to the point I wanted to throw water on him.

Then came Sleeperstar. And they were amazing. A five part band from Texas, they rocked the house. Regardless of the fact that I was against the stage (which I’ve often found to be the worst spot soundwise), the sounds coming from the stage were incredible. You could feel the bass strumming down to your core (my favorite way!), but you could also hear the piano’s melodies floating through and above the strumming guitar and pounding drum. I was highly entertained by the lead singer, Chris Pearson, because he not only had some freakin’ amazing pipes but he could play a mean guitar and pluck out some amazing melodies on the piano. As a lead singer, and a background singer, I can appreciate both forms of vocals. And Sleeperstar was well rounded in both areas! I absolutely LOVED the background vocals. As I listen to their cd, I find myself singing along with the background vocals more than the lead…which is something I rarely do! Haha. So while I can go on and on about Sleeperstar, and how amazing they were (and how I fully plan to attend any concert they have within my reach…), let’s move on. But first, let me comment on how I adore when bands are awesome on stage...but are also just awesome people. And for sure this band is made up of some super star guys.

The first time I saw GRO, they were the opening band. This time, there were the headliner. So much fun to have a full set! They put on a stellar show. For serious. If you haven’t heard of them, listen. They are such a blast to be around. On and off stage, these guys are amazing. I’ve fully entranced every time they walk on stage. Whether pumping through the stereo, or going acoustic, they will be a sweet sound to your ears. I went through the entire show with a smile on my face (except for when I was frowning at the obnoxious drunk people). I absolutely LOVE when bands enjoy what they do…and clearly show it through their music and through their facial expressions. There’s something magical (for lack of a better word) that happens when a whole crowd joins together and sings a song or a chorus. Maybe that’s just my nerdy musical side showing. But I live for that stuff. Between my sister, myself, and the girl next to me, we had a three-part harmony going for their song “On Your Own”…nothing makes me smile bigger than that stuff. Haha. Probably why I enjoy Lights Up ministry so much. We do that stuff all the time!

Overall, it was a night to remember. Good friends, good food, and great music! I’ve had Sleeperstar’s cd on repeat pretty much since I got home Sunday morning. Later friends.

Love 'n Hugs.

You're Not Alone - SS

So I have lots to blog about today. Not really sure where to begin. haha.

First off, I just want reiterate how attractive it is for a guy to play the piano. Like OMG. Then if he can also sing...wow. Drummers are hot. Guitarists are sexy. I'd best describe pianists as sensual. ugh. Gotta love 'em. haha.

Facebook convo...

Joyce Canfijn-Leamy: dinner & jim brickman "intimate performance" fundraiser w/ the ♥ of my life... ;)

Caity Leamy: Jim Brickman is a hottie.

Corey Anne Leamy: mhmm. Skilled pianists are just by nature hotties. haha. :-P

Ed Knoeckel: Nice to know.

LOL. ps. for those who don't know, Ed is a mad skilled pianist.

So funny story. Sunday morning (after our crazy looong Saturday!) I got up to go to second service. And knowing I'd be there all day (and by night time it would be cold), I grabbed a pair of leather gloves to stick in the car.

So after the entire day had almost transpired and I was getting ready to drive home I reached to pull my gloves on. Only to realize I had two left gloves!! haha. Good thing I drive with my left hand. :)

So when I actually have time, I'll blog about the amazing concert I went to on Saturday.
Sleeperstar and Green River Ordinance. Check 'em out if you haven't already! :)

Love 'n Hugs!

Just Give It Time...Now Isn't Forever

I think I mentioned awhile back that I had bought a bunch of new (used) cds. This morning I slipped Jon McLaughlin's Indiana in the cd player. Oh how I love gifted pianists!! No joke, your attractive level sky rockets if you play the piano. haha. :)

I really need to get back to work, but I'm not feeling very artsy...and that's what alot of today's work is. :(

So I'm going to go procrastinate and do today's Sudoku. :)

Love 'n Hugs!

ps. We get to see GRO tomorrow!!

What Kate Does

BEWARE!
If you haven't seen the newest
Lost episode "What Kate Does" go no further.















___________________________________________________
So I most definitely had a notepad next to me for this episode. I didn't take too many notes...Jake watched with me, so I was [trying] to explain the crazy, twisted plot that is Lost. :) So moving on...

Sayid = smoke monster

Ethan!!!! wth!? He needs to stay away from needles...

3 years in the future?

What happened to Claire!?

OMG she's alive! Smoke monster!!

oh and there was a note that says "Mar 18 - Flashforward" YES!

Let This Fire In Me Burn

Favorite Tweets of the Week:

calebdcole "Hey I'm in need of a student or leader to come in this afternoon and do some data entry for me. Anyone interested?" haha story of my LIFE

davebarnesmusic "Drinking coffee before my visit to the dentist. Take that, teeth cleaner lady" haha! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks stuff like that!

jameyice "I would like to thank Al Gore for the most snow the North East, Oklahoma, & TX has had in 100years!!" My thoughts exactly!! lol. This got retweeted. :)

natestweeting "I've used four hundred text messages in the last five hours. Thank you unlimited." That's just a little insane...

kevinhammonds "If you don't have a girlfriend or boyfriend valentines day is depressing... It's a whole day reminding you of what you don't/can't have...." I think all the singles in the world should get a holiday...preferably one where we don't have to go to work.

_______________________________________________

Now on a totally different wavelength...yesterday Pastor Sean closed the office (whoohoo!) 1)because of the horrible snow storm that was supposed to drop on our poor, helpless New Englanders (seriously, we should know how to drive in the snow by now...) and 2) to give us a break b/c we've all been going non-stop since the Lost Son.

So anyways, while I was out 8 hours of work...it was soooo worth it! I pretty much did nothing all day. It was great. We watched Jaws 2 (oh how I LOVE those movies), I did some work in photoshop for the upcoming Passion of the King performance, cleaned my room, and then when Pop came home we watched the [extended edition] Lord of the Rings (we started at like 7 or 8...by the time it finished only 2.5 of the original 6 were awake, and two of them were snoring rather loudly. haha). All in all (despite not getting any real snow to speak of) it was a good day.

This Saturday starts our practices for the Passion of the King! So excited!! This year is going to be even better than last year (namely because Arielle is gonna be in it, lol!) And then we're going to the Green River Ordinance concert!! Insanely excited about that! They just released a new song "Rise Up" on iTunes. It's pretty much been on repeat all day since I bought it. lol.

And finally my [work] day is over!

Maybe I'll blog later...but I have to stop at TyTy's to pick up some camp paperwork (so excited he's going!), then over to Filomena's to grab dinner! Delish. :)

Love 'n Hugs!

ps. I still haven't seen this week's episode of Lost. I'm gonna try to watch it tonight.

Days of Hot Chocolate and Photoshop

Heyo!

So a few years ago, I got Photoshop. Let me tell you, it pretty much revolutionized my life. I am by no means a "pro", but I like to dabble. :)

Being the Student Ministries Admin Assistant has some great perks. In that I get to fiddle around with Photoshop all day long. :) Brochures, newsletters, posters, mailouts, etc. I get to do it all in Photoshop!

And our suppliers recently ran out of the normal hot chocolate...so he gave us BETTER ones. Whoot. My day is pretty much filled with glasses of water, mugs of hot chocolate, and photoshop. Not a bad life! (yesterday I cleared like 7 different glasses/mugs from my cube...I had used all of them that day...and some were used twice! haha. not sure how that many came to be in my cube...but whatever).

-Corey

LOST!!

Beware:
If you haven't seen LAX pt. 1 and 2, stop here!!










________________________________________________
So I finished watching the newest episodes of Lost...and the one thing I'm left with is that the FREAKIN' smoke monster has been disguised as Locke this whole time!? [just as a point of reference, I TOTALLY knew that he had really and truly died...] I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting that. And I just want to say that Richard is strangely attractive. And I think he's a god. [not with a capital 'g', but a lowercase 'g'] Because 1) he's MAD old. 2) he knows how to keep the smoke monster at bay 3) Locke mentioned he'd been in chains [not sure what that makes me think of the gods, but whatever]. haha. I'm sure I could think of other reasons, but I'm currently sitting in a meeting. :)

ps. Jack is so stinking ATTRACTIVE!

pps. Sayid is alive and Jacob is DEAD!? What?

No-Spend February going strong! :)

No Spend February

So I'm on the mission to acquire a new phone. Preferably the sexy motorola Droid, but I'll probably end up with the younger sibling, the Droid Eris. And seeing as it is definitely a step up from my current phone...the charges also go up. So I'm embarking on a "No-Spend February".

Now don't get me wrong, I will most definitely be spending. Because I obviously need things like gas (HOLY MOLY is that expensive!), lunch, insurance, etc. What I will be cutting out will be frivolous spending. Which I do WAY too much of. Goodbye Target. Sampai jumpa Starbucks. Adios Ebay. Arrivederci Amazon. (you get my drift.)

So here we go...welcome to "No-Spend February."

Vignette's of Life

So as the past few weeks have flown by, I've had this compulsive desire to blog.

However, as you can tell, I haven't. haha.

I find myself driving to work (or at that time, most often driving to The Lost Son practice). And little events would occur, that I would think to myself "hmm, I should blog about that." Then I'd arrive at my destination and TOTALLY forget that I was gonna blog about it. :-P

But I just got some of the cds that I ordered and was SUPER excited. So I figured what better excuse to blog than new cds!?

The ones that arrived are:
- Graham Colton: Here Right Now
- Josh Kellley: Special Company
- Jon McLaughlin: Indiana
- Graham Colton: Drive

I'm a happy gal. :)

Pants On The Ground

So for most of the world that watches American Idol...you know the all about Larry and his "pants on the ground" song. [this story really has nothing to do with that...but on we go] Saturday we had an all day practice for The Lost Son...in the process I have quite a few very, very quick costume changes. I can't always make it to our assigned dressing room areas...so I wear tights and a tank top under everything...so I can just strip [for a better word] wherever I need to.

Well I realized that for one change I could make it to an area. So I grabbed my clothes and hung them in the changing area. The next scene arrives and departs and I run to the changing area to switch costumes. As one of the girls is helping me change tops I look down and realize...I FORGOT MY PANTS! haha. They were clear on the other side of the stage and I needed to be on stage in like 15 seconds. [slight exageration] Thankfully the other girl runs pretty fast. HAHA! Just thought I'd share that. :)