when irish eyes are smiling....

Happy St. Patty's day!!

From Angie, Qiana, Bono, the cranberries, Westlife, and Van Morrison

shorty had them apple bottom jeans...

One of the sad things about a baby growing is that the they grow out of their cute outfits. This has been one of my favorites and now it's just fitting the same anymore. sad day.

Let those eyes sparkle and shine...Never a tear, baby of mine

Well I thought we had gotten over the sickness, but apparently Qiana likes the love and attention, and has decided to be sick again....okay maybe it's not by choice...oh poor girl.

Her nose is so freakin' stuffy it's painful to hear her try and breathe. I hope this time doesn't last as long as before, cause more than anything it just isn't awesome watching your child in pain.

But that's just a sidenote for this post.

I really wanted to take the time to write down how grateful I am for my baby Qiana.

People tell me all the time "you know your're pretty lucky right?" when I tell them about Qiana and her easy disposition...and I just want to say YES I KNOW.


I KNOW it may not be normal for a 5 month old to be good for a whole 11 hour car ride, only crying once and easily soothed with a simple hand laid on her face.

and

I KNOW it may not be normal for a child to give me these smiles all day long and only whimper when she is hungry or getting tired.


My favorite thing Qiana is doing lately...pilates! It's the funniest thing. I don't know if this picture captures it, but she lays on her back and lifts her head and feet as if doing a "core" crunch. She thinks she is sooooooo funny.

The way you make me feel...you really turn me on

Even with all of his issues and fact that he is a complete weirdo, Michael Jackson is still one of my favorite artists of all time. He is a brilliant pop artists who gave us so many hits, with two of my absolute favorites being "PYT" and "Human Nature"....so imagine my utter glee when last night's American Idol had a Michael Jackson theme, and my two favorite contestants Danny Gokey and Matt Giraud sang my favorite Michael Jackson hits. Oh joy!!

So far this year I have less than thrilled about many of the performances and last night was no different. Besides my two favorites, I think there were a couple other good performances, and the others I think should just be voted off and put out of their misery. The funny thing about posting your american idol thoughts is that usually atleast half of your readers disagree, but I think I will do it anyway. What it comes down to is this. Whatever type of music you listen to in real life is usually gonna be the type of singer you like in this competition. If you are a boy you like the cute girls, or if you are an old woman you like the clean cut white boys....it's just a fact.

SO HERE IS MY OPINION AS A WHITE GIRL WITH SOUL, WHO LIKES BOYS THAT CAN DANCE OR PLAY AN INSTRUMENT...

lil'rounds: overrated. Maybe it's because I expect more from black artists, but she has yet to move me. I like to think I have r'n'b in the soul, and for some reason she just doesn't speak to me. And comparing her to Mary J. Blige is just plain blasphemy.

blind guy: If he didn't have a disability this guy wouldnt have made it past Hollywood week. He has a decent voice, but decent voices don't sell records. And don't get me started on his haircut...the guy is blind...why doesn't his parents at least make him look good.

danny gokey: nevermind the fact that he looks like robert downey jr, this guy can sing. white guy with soul, and I love it. plus, despite what simon said I think his dance moves made him that much more sexy. I am really glad he sang an up tempo song, and that he chose my favorite song.


Michael aka: fat Nick Carter: I like him. Will he win? no. But he has a good voice, a good backstory, and doesn't annoy me...so he can stay as long as he wants.

Kris Allen: There is something about a boy that can pay a musical instrument that makes him that much cooler, and Kris Allen is cool. He's got a good voice, a cute smile, and plays the guitar. I think he did a good job on that song, and put his own little twist on it...good job.

Megan: ROCKIN ROBIN! REALLY? and the dancing! aghhhhh. This girl has got to go.

Jasmine: The judges loved her from the beginning, and I never knew why. I think last night they were wondering why too. Not good. just not good at all.

Jorge: LEAVING TONIGHT. Well unless the whole country of Puerto Rico bans together and votes to save him...hey it worked for Jasmine in season three and the whole state of Hawaii.

Annop aka: Kumar: I wanted to like him. I really did. Anoop Dogg...now that's funny. But he just hasn't impressed me in these later stages. Poor guy, and poor michelle...she really loved him.

Allison: she sounds like a 60 year old diner waitress when she talks, but the girl can sing and by far is one of my favorite girl contestants this year (not that there is a big competition for that title this year).

Adam: The judges loved him...I watched the performance a couple of times to see why...I still don't get it. He has a great voice....for broadway...but a pop album...no way. Plus his facial expressions drive me crazy!!! He was okay, and better than alot of people last night...but I'm not jumping on the Adam bandwagon just yet.

Alexis: My favorite girl in the competition. She's little with a big voice, and I like it. I was entertained by her performance, and that's saying alot.

Matt: a little elliot yamin- a little justin timberlake. This guy is one of my favorites, and I think he did a great job last night. The judges said he was "okay" compared to Adam's "amazing" (barf) performance, but I think that he did a great job. But how can you go wrong with a cute guy sitting at a piano singing "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson?

So So for sure we ain’t playin...hang with no lames, if you bumpin say it.

I spent this past weekend in Utah at an Earl Cousins Girls weekend, and it was amazing. Although I'm sure that every girl is going to recount the events on her blog, I want to be able to look back on my own personal blog journal and remember what a good time I had (so sorry for the repeat info)....

MY TOP 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE EARL'S:

5. We LOVE to Talk and can carry on multiple conversations at once. We Earls like to talk, and we all talk LOUD, so it's quite funny to just sit in a room with 14 Earl Girls and try to follow all the conversations that are happening. Plus we all think (or know) that we are entertaining and funny, so it's a battle to see you can capture the attention of the most people. I think Ashley was our winner this weekend!





4. We LOVE Food. One of the most important jobs I had in planning this weekend was making sure we had plans for good food, and I think that mission was accomplished. We were never short of something to put in our mouths, and it was all DELICIOUS. When we went out Kim and I shared, and yet I never felt hungry. At mimi's cafe we had the french onion soup and the crab quiche...delicious. At Cheesecake Factory we got the crab wonton appetizer with the chicken costelleta for dinner...oh man, i'm dreamin about it right now. Then we had tons of snacks at the house including hummus/pita and little smokies from Britney, queso dip with chips and chicken wings from Kacey, and multiple pieces of cheesecake that got passed around. Ever since I had the Kneader's bread pudding that Justin and Angleique brought to the Superbowl party I have cravin it like nothing else, so I had to make a trip to Kneader's and pick up some for everyone to try...I don't know how I have lived this long without it.



3. We LOVE to snuggle. Sure there were chairs or plenty of room on the floor to lounge, but almost everyone just sat on the couch and got comfy while we chatted. Add in some blankets, and things got real snuggly real fast.



2. We LOVE to take pictures. Of course we had to have a little photo shoot, and like most things we do, we had to "take it up a notch" and do multiple poses. My favorite part of the photo shoot, was Alysha (after the "model shot" thinking she didn't get it right....now look at her pose! Oh alysha!)

(the "normal" shot) aka: Cali and I as "ma and pa" and our posse.

(the "conversation" shot) Qiana wasn't happy that people weren't paying attention to the camera.

(the "model" shot) although I am doing more of a "godfather" pose, but hey atleast Qiana is looking at the camera...such a good baby.


1. We LOVE each other. I have a hard time keeping in touch with people from my life and I only consider a few people my "best friends", but out of those few about 90% are my family. They are the ones that know the most about me, the ones I feel most comfortable around, and the ones that I have the most happy childhood and life memories with. I am so happy that we have remained close throughout our lives, and that we are basically the same people we were as children. I love that we can laugh at ourselves and each other, and still feel that we are loved unconditionally. I love my girls.


I think this shot, totally captures the look of these poor "young" girls faces, when are conversations gave them a little bit TOO MUCH INFORMATION....hahahhahhaa.






This weekend was a blast, and I am so glad that it all worked out the way I had envisioned in my head. Even though the drive home on Sunday was long, it was completely worth it. Thanks for everyone who came, and let's not wait too long to do it again!

we are a family, like a giant tree...

This weekend I am heading to Utah for an Earl Cousin Girl's Weekend and I am super stoked! I seriously love my cousins, and consider them some of my best friends. So the thought of us hanging out, eating, playing, and catching up all weekend...with no distractions...is making me super happy. I wonder if we will make up a dance routine, write a play, or play "talk show" like we did when we were younger? Or maybe I can just make Alysha cry, and that will be nostalgia enough...hahahhaha. I, of course, will take plenty of pictures and post them when I return.

I am changing...seeing everything so clear

Well my house has been a den of sickness for both of us, but we are turning a corner and things are looking up. I am back at work after a week off (ouch the paycheck is going to feel that), and Qiana is able to breath easier and smile even more. Although I do have to admit even when she was at her sickest she still managed to give me some smiles, amid all her coughing and throwing up....gotta love her. She still has a slight cough, and some sniffles but no longer sounds like an 80 year old with lung cancer so that's good. Our house has gone from

THIS


TO THIS

you rock the party that rocks the party

Quest crew DOMINATED last night on ABDC. So for those of you who missed it here were there two performances. The winner will be announced next week.

It's just another...lonely...day

life has been rough the last couple days. Qiana has been sick and actually tested positive for rsv...it's still a mild case and hasn't made its way to her lungs yet,but has taken its toll on her head, completely clogging her sinuses and causing a nasty cough. Today has been the worst day as she has been choking on the nasal crap in her throat and has thrown up all over herself three times today. I am doing okay, but today has been tough emotionally, and I have felt very alone.nothing a good cry can't fix.

go shorty it's your birthday...

Yesterday was my good friend Michelles' birthday so of course I had to help her celebrate. Last year we were in disneyland during this time of year, and since there was no way to compete with that I decided to keep it simple. I took her on a progressive dinner to some of Moses Lake's hot spots.
Our first stop was Denny's for appetizers and drinks.

Every birthday girl should have a crown and boa.

even Qiana joined in the fun, although she wasn't feeling as perky as usual.


Our next stop was Inca for our main dish of Nachos. There nachos are sto delicious there. Piled high was ground beef, shredded beef, chicken, beans, and lots of cheese!


wow....that was A LOT of nachos.

Even Qiana got tuckered out.


little sidenote: funny story, so last night while we were dining at Inca we saw the skinny homeless walking guy (a moses lake icon) eating at a table near by. Emily wanted to get a picture of him for a future blog so we tried a covert op to get a picture....well apparently skinny homeless walking guy has special powers and totally caught us trying to take a picture and yells out "no". seriously the most awkward moment ever. I tried to quickly recover and took the camera from michelle and pointed it at them, like we were taking pictures of everyone at the table, and quickly erased his picture just in case he confronted us. it was so awful.
anyway, as is tradition at Inca I got the staff to sing happy birthday to Michelle...really anything for free food right?

After Inca we headed to Shari's for dessert. Then home to watch American idol (go danny!)


What fun night! Now for a quick list...


TOP 5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MICHELLE:

5. She is a Westlife super fan. Seriously if they have a version of a song she has it. She also is the queen of random rap remix's and always knows the lyrics. One of the best people to have in the car with you on trips.


4.She has the best smile. It's so contagious, but in a good way.


3. She is down for anything. Roadtrips. acting silly. Taking random pictures.




2. She is always willing to help. She has an amazing work ethic and if she signs up to do something she pulls through.


1. If she's not funny then why does my face hurt...

Like kids, Michelle says the darndest things that then become part of our vernacular.
"just do what feels good"
"you're silly"
"everything's better in three's"
"....(question mark)"
"it must be my portuganity"