I am changing, I’ll get my life together now...

At 31

I thought by now
A wedding I would have had.

With parties-gifts
family, and friends, and
dresses in the latest fad.

I’m all grown up
And although my dreams
have not
all come true

I’ve got awesome friends
Family who cares
And so much more to do.

I’m becoming a grown-up
A task I have dread.
Adding more bills,
a mortgage,
and a home.

It’s a little house
A starter place
at most
With a full backyard
in which to roam.

It’s all pretty exciting
A big event
in this girl’s life
So a party is in place

A housewarming affair
With food and fun
And my new home
on display.

I’ve got a good sense
of color,
of fabric, and style
With big items already bought.

But I need your help
to finish the look
The simple, everyday,
items
Of which
I have not.

My style-
We’ll call retro modern,
My colors-
brown green orange
blue cream and pink

Bold yet classy choices
For this grown-up girl I think

So here’s the invite
to one and all
A party to attend

On February 9, 2008
For me
family
and
Friends!

If you can’t come
I do understand
For some of you
the distance is to far

So let me say now
I appreciate your kind thoughts
And your generous
gifts
From the heart. :)

More information (for people who can attend)
such as directions and time to come later.

Angie Bates is registered at: walmart.com--- target.com--- bedbathandbeyond.com

(although these lists contain stuff that I liked, they can be used a guideline--cause let's face it
you seasoned mothers, wives, and homeowners probably know more than me about what "i need")

here is a swatch of my basic color scheme:

ch-check it out...wh-wh-what's it all about

My friend Emily aka: em wizzle, bootsie, and currently rockin the "Em K Dub" status has joined the blogging world. Ya'll should check it out, so you can see for yourselves how funny, random, and just plain silly this girl is.



http://biggirlsneedlovettoo.blogspot.com/

holla!

i'm in to you...no one else will do

TOP 10 SONGS I CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO:

10. FALSETTO-the dream. Any song that can use melodic moaning as a chorus gets my vote.

9. GROWN WOMAN-mary j blige. Mary j's new album is so fabulous and so far her three released singles, work that, just fine, and now grown woman show what an r'n'b powerhouse she is.

8. LET IT GO-keyshia cole. "they gonna mix it with biggie...it was all a dream". great hooks, great beat, amazing vocals.

7. JUST A MOMENT-nas. Not a new song, in fact it came out a couple years ago, but for some reason my friends and i can't stop listening to it. the chorus is just so addictive. "as day comes, and night falls, for rest of my life we'll miss y'all..."

6. ROC BOYS (AND THE WINNER IS)-jay-z. One of my favorite rappers of all time, and with his new album American Gangster he proves what an amazing lyricist he can be. The beats of this song are awesome, and the use of the trumpets give it an old school jazz vibe.

5. ON THE HOTLINE-pretty ricky. Not kid appropriate, but a girl like me who has loved songs like "freak me" or "doin' it" or "i'll make love to you"...this song is a catchy little number that i can't get enough of.

4. LIKE YOU'LL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN-alicia keys. I have praised alicia's new album in the past, and this song is just another example of the power of alicia. the beat is smooth, vocals are tight, and with lyrics like "kiss me like you'll never see me again"...you can't deny that alicia is queen.

3. LOW- flo rida. "Shorty had them apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur..." c'mon you know that hook is catchy! and with that beat...undeniable. This song just makes me move every single time i hear it.

2. NEVER-jaheim. Jaheim's new album is so amazing...let me just get that out there. As he states in the first track of the cd he is the new king of r'n'b. And with his hit single never-jaheim shows off his smooth lyrics and soulful voice. my favorite line..."never would this playa hang his jersey up and leave the game"

1. WITH YOU-chris brown. "I need you boo, gotta see you boo..." Oh chris brown..you have a special place in my heart. P.S. The video for this song, once again shows off chris' amazing dance skillz, so check it out, and try to deny the fact that chris brown has got something special that won't fade anytime soon.

who loves you pretty baby...

"They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were 30. JERSEY BOYS relates the rags-to-riches story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time"


Saturday me, michelle, emily, mindi, and my mom drove over to seattle to see "jersey boys" at the 5th avenue theater. so amazing.

The 5th avenue theater is such a gorgeous building, and I have such a strong tie to it as most of my first musicals were seen in that fabulous theater. Our seats were up in the balcony, but it didn't matter, because the music, the laughter, and the tears were felt throughout the theater hall. Frankie Valli and the four seasons had such amazing hits, that the soundtrack to the play was phenomenal.

Songs like--can't take my eyes off of you, my eyes adored you, walk like a man, sherry, big girls don't cry, bye bye baby (baby goodbye), stay (just a little bit longer), who loves you, and workin' my way back to you made everyone want to clap, dance, and of course sing along.

It was an amazing story of four guys from the block in jersey and their successes, failures, tragedies, and triumphs all highlighted with their hit songs. An A+ musical in my book, and not a shock that it won the tony award for Best Musical.

something has come over me and i think i know what it is...i think i'm in love

I'm in love......




with a dessert.

Arby's Cheesecake Poppers.

Has anyone else had these things? OH MY GOODNESS...to me these things are just more evidence that god exists. So amazing. These warm, creamy, and downright amazing cheesecake morsels are coated with a scrumptious graham cracker crust and served with a delicious raspberry dipping sauce. oh wow!! I am not usually a huge dessert person (no my fat intake always came from just wayyyyy too much food on my plate) but cheesecake has always been my kryptonite, and these little bites of heaven may be the death of me. Good thing only one or two does the trick right? I will save these amazingly delicious calories for special occasions, but just knowing they exist makes each day worth living.

all I wanna do is have some fun...

Utah was sooooooooo fun. Its hard after a full trip to really be able to capture every moment, every joke, every memory and put it into a blog. so I will go with my....

TOP 5 FAVORITE MOMENTS/MEMORIES OF THIS PAST WEEKEND:

(what the sex and the city girls might look like if they actually liked to eat...hahahahahhaa)

5. Roadtrip:
food stamps may not be able to buy diapers (as eminem once said), but they can buy a heck of alot of snacks for the road (thanks em).


With good music playing, good conversation,


an amazing new car game invented by michelle where you take pictures of drivers along the road from your passenger side window (just picture us laughing so hard after getting smiles, looks of confusion and amazement, and some middle fingers from drivers along the way)

and plenty to eat we hit the road.


The roads were a breeze for a champ like me, and thanks to an overnight pit stop at kimmie's (on the way down) the trip went amazing. The way home was a little rough as I had only gotten 3 hours of sleep before waking at 6am to hit the road for a 11 hour trip home,


but with these girls in the car who couldn't have fun?

4. FREESTYLE BATTLE:
a tradition started over a year ago, and yet lives on to this day.

helquist plays the same rhythm on the guitar and you sing a few lines from a song to that rhythm. then someone uses a word you just used and figures out a new song to sing. it usually ends up being a rap battle but is amazingly fun. Emily won this one when she bust out the "i got a cute face, chubby waist, thick legs, in shape...." complete with dance moves. you can't beat that....we got served!


3. THE MEDIA ROOM:
My cousin Cali was so nice and let us chill at her house while she was away. What an amazing place in general, but that media room stole my heart. I never wanted to leave. We had a blast watchin' Stomp the Yard, Dreamgirls, and the Justin Timberlake concert on that big screen and pretty much felt like we were "in the movies"....which gave us the idea to stand next to the screen and pretty much play the parts we were watching. me and emily do an amazing re-inactment of "its all over/and i am telling you i'm not going" scene from dreamgirls.


2. DANCE BATTLES:
My friends and I (mostly Emily) often break into dance parties as it is,

but add in some girls that can really move and you have yourself a party.


then add in some white boys who aren't afraid to bust a move "rhythm or no rhythm" and things just get plain crazy!



Three of my sista tamu's girls came over one night to hang out, watch a movie, and teach us some new dance moves.


...oh i love them.
(yeah my voice is obnoxious...so pay attention to the dancing)

(gettin' "hifey" with E-40 and some freestyle)

("walkin it out")

(breakin')

1. NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY:
As I posted earlier I love my girl Tamu. We met in beauty school almost 10 years ago, and have been like sisters ever since. Her family

has become my family and the time i get to hang with them is always so awesome.

(he just doesn't know how to handle his sparkling cider i guess)


Her girls are my "ride or die" chicks, her boys are the future heartbreakers of america, her husband is a great example of what a man and a husband should be


and Tamu, is now and forever one of my closest friends and someone I trust with my heart.

With my girls, our friend John (who luckily had nothing better to do , so we got to spend some quality time with him)



some bubbly


some singing, some amazing food

and a party attitude.


we rung in the new year with style.


Here's to a fierce and fabulous 2008!

I drove all night to get to you...

Well in a couple of hours my friends and I are packing up the car and leaving on yet another adventure. We are heading to utah to spend a couple days and ring in the new year. The actual reason for our trip is to attend the homecoming of elder jay helquist

or "helquist" as he will be known forever. he served here in the moses lake singles ward for like....ever...and we all became really good friends....so why not head to his homecoming. plus it gives us a really good excuse to get away. I am also wayyyyyyyy stoked to see my sista Tamu and hang out with her family. I have known them for almost ten years now, that seems crazy, and I love love love hanging out with them. The twins are 18 now, weird, so we are taking them dancing saturday night....so I expect i will be back home in a couple days with some new dance moves to show off at papa's. holla! The roads down to Utah don't look super amazing, so with some good driving skills, caution, and a prayer hopefully we get there safe. Since I will be out of town for the new year I am posting now my new year's resolutions....plus i figured if i write them down here then I am more responsible for getting them done.

1. fit into a size 8 jean in time for family pictures this summer
2. learn how to cook like my mom
3. get my own place
4. actually learn how play at least one song on the guitar I bought a year ago.
5. Be a better, nicer person

happy new years to all of you!

No one...can get in the way of what I'm feelin'

in honor of her birthday here is my...

TOP 5 REASONS I LOVE EMILY:





5. She loves costumes just as much as i do.
Whether it be dressing up in cool wigs or figuring out the perfect outfit for a themed dance, Emily puts it all together so perfectly. She may change her mind a few dozen times, but in the end it always turns out.






4. She is..well..emily.
No concept of time or distance. Puts her foot in her mouth on occasion. Spills food on herself almost every meal. Things never change and i love her for that.



3. She is goofy.
Whether it's kissing the pickle, posing for awkward pictures, or krumping in the empty parking lot, emily is our little clown who is willing to do what it takes to make us laugh.



2. She has soul.
Whether you hear it in her voice or see it in the way she dances. The girl feels the rhythm. She is my rap partner and my dance partner and "going-out" would not be the same without her.




1. She is a perfect friend.
Non-judgmental, good-hearted, kind, funny, spontaneous, loyal, encouraging ......emily is everything that you look for but rarely find in another person. she is always there for me, and i am grateful that i found her.
(wow...that got a little sentimental at the end there...sorry)




happy birthday bootsie!