liar, liar, pants on fire!

I fell into a hole.


I was visiting my sick aunt.


I was attacked by savage raccoons.


My dog ate my blog.


Okay, so none of those are true, but they are all reasons as to why I haven't posted in forever.


I made it to Disney and home again alive. Here's a pretty picture to drool over:



I had a decent Christmas. Not great, but it could have been worse. It got dangerously close to "worse", but I'm just not thinking about that right now.

I got job-ish. I now work as a Guide for ChaCha. So if you text a question to ChaCha (242-242!) it could be me who's answering! It's pretty fun so fun. It's a very flexible schedule too... meaning I can work whenever I want, and as much as I want. And I don't even have to leave the couch.

I also posted the first chapter of the very first NCIS fanfic I wrote. It's here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5615672/1/

So go read it and comment because I love feedback! I'm STILL getting feedback from "Retaliation" every once in awhile. I want to get back into writing fanfic, and I have a story nugget, but it has an original character in it, and I'm not sure if I really want to share that story just yet. We'll see.

Yup. That's all. I have more of That 70's Show to watch now.

~Christine

M-i-c-k-e-y M-o-u-s-e!

I've decided that letting fate have it's way with me seems to be the best choice when it comes to how I live my life.


The day after I wrote my last post, I got an email from Bill McMurray saying that if anyone else wanted to chaperone the Rotary Disney trip, there was space! So guess who's going to be leaving for Disney on Thursday! *points thumbs to self* This guy!


I am ridiculously excited. No really, I've been saying for weeks that I need a change of pace and I need to get out of here. Now that my family isn't going to Disney after Christmas, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to the RotEast trip in March. But now, I just have to wait a few days!


In honor of my upcoming Disney trip, I'd like to post a few pictures from my last trip to Disney almost two years ago.


Exhibit A: The O'Donnells ride a monorail "sober":


Exhibit B: The O'Donnells sport very attractive bug glasses (also "sober"):


Exhibit C and D: Father and Eldest Daughter O'Donnell attempt to be Mexican:





And finally, Exhibit E: The entire O'Donnell clan in front of Spaceship Earth:


Expect more pictures when I return.

In the meantime, I have approximately seventy billion things to do, and most of them are fun. Tomorrow I'm meeting Brenda for some Chipotle. Then Monday my mom and I are visiting Kent State. Then Tuesday I'm planning on working out, doing laundry, and then going shopping for some things for my trip. Wednesday I'm meeting up with the Rotary group and then we leave Thursday morning!

It's a good thing all this extra exercise has really boosted my energy. I made it to the gym FOUR times this week and I feel fantastic! I know I still have a long way to go, but the way I see it, I am a work in progress. And Disney is a lot of walking, so at least I'll be getting plenty of exercise on the trip... except for bus days. I've looked on the websites for the hotels we're staying at, but the only one that has a gym listed is of course, the hotel in Florida. Where it doesn't matter if I get to the gym or not. Who knows, I may not get to work out at all. So next week won't be as good as this week. But the week after that, I'll be back on track, scout's honor!

~ Christine

I gotta get outta this place...

I wasn't planning on writing anything tonight, but Megavideo seems to be convinced that I've already watched 82 minutes of video today when I haven't, so I can't watch the next episode of Army Wives. Which gives me 53 minutes to write. Blah. And by the time I can watch something, I bet I'll be too tired to watch it. Damn. I would just download the episodes on iTunes, but for some unknown reason iTunes still has season 3 listed as a season pass, which puts it at a whopping $47. No thank you! I be poor.

I worked out again today. Hooray! I'm going to make a bigger effort to get to the gym on a regular basis. My mom has set a goal for me to lose five pounds a month. It doesn't seem like much, but in a year, that's 60 pounds... if I can stick with it. I'm hopeful, but at the same time I'm already expecting failure from myself because when it comes to weight loss, I tend to do a better job of gaining weight than losing it.

We finally got around to activating Home Sharing on iTunes this past weekend. So I got some new music from my brother's iTunes. I got about 140 songs and a few TV shows. Oh, and the movie Stepbrothers. He originally had 1200 songs set up to download, but only about 700 went through.

Oh no. Now I'm going to have "Marco Polo" stuck in my head. I know Bow Wow is from Cbus and all.. but REALLY. How the hell did he turn a childhood pool game into something sexual?

42 minutes to go...

I started a fanfic about McGee not understand The Sound of Music a long time ago, but I never finished it. I also haven't published the first story I wrote that I waited over a month for Katie to edit. Hm. Maybe I should work on that.

Well, my family is officially not going to Disney at Christmas this year. I was hopeful because it seemed like my mom was really on board with the idea, but my Debbie Downer dad brought up the money issue, so now we're not going. I'm super bummbed because I really need to get the hell out of Ohio. I have not done nearly enough traveling to satisfy me. Pretty much the only thing I have to look forward to is the Eastern Trip (which I'm chaperoning again - yay!) but that's not until March. I may explode before then. I need sunshine. I need warm weather. And I need Mickey Mouse. Okay, well maybe not the last bit. But someone cute who always has a smile on their face would be nice.

Oh yes, and I'm back on the "I want a dog" kick. I'm applying to work at a few pet stores in the area and just walking into the stores today made me want to get a puppy. I know they're a lot of work, but as I pointed out to my mom earlier, if I had a dog I would HAVE to exercise everyday because doggies need to be walked. Really, any cuddly animal would do. Rosie's a fabulous bunny (as seen by the 3,424,325 pictures of her I've taken recently) but she's technically not mine, she's Katie's.

"Thunderstruck" just came on. Now I'm thirsty and I want to go to the Fieldhouse. Which reminds me, at one point in my mental breakdown last night, I burst out into tears because I missed UD. They don't prepare you for that one during freshman orientation... just saying.

33 more minutes.

I do believe I tweeted about this fairly recently, but I'm completely in love with the Jay-Z/Linkin Park mashups I got from Mike. I'm not sure who came up with the idea to combine the two, but they are a musical genius. And I have a BA in music, so I feel justified in saying that.

I just rewatched the men of NCIS jibjab video I made a few weeks ago. It never fails to make me smile.

18 minutes... maybe I'll play Airport Mania for a bit.

If anyone's seen my life, please let me know. I want it back.

~Christine

Side Note: HOLY MACKREL! Look at all the labels that applied to this post! I'm so random.

John Mayer, I say you can't get stoned

I've been wanting to write about this for a few days now, but I just haven't yet.

Anyway, I think I know what I'm going to do. I want to get my Master's degree in Library and Information Sciences. It makes sense to me. I'm organized, and I love books, plus doubled with my B.A. in Music, I could get a job as a music librarian. Granted, there aren't many of those jobs out there, but even if I don't get a job doing that, I can always work as a regular librarian elsewhere.

The only school in Ohio that offers this program is Kent State... so guess where I'm applying! I've never even been to the campus, so I'll probably do a visit too, but since it's the only in-state school I could get the Master's degree that I want at, I'm going to have to go there. There's a possibility of doing an all-online program at another school, but let's be honest. Would I stay on top of that? Probably not. Just doing Philosophy of Music online this summer was a pain. And I kind of want the experience of getting my Master's. I wouldn't get that with an online program. So... cross your fingers for me!

On an unrelated note, I can't get enough of "3" by Britney Spears. I'm so happy that she's skinny and back to the old Britney again. Fat and crazy Britney was a dark time.

I finally found where I can watch the episodes of JAG that I've been hunting down! They're on surfthechannel.com, which is where I found the links for NCIS this summer. The only problem is that JAG is on megavideo.com only, and I can only watch 72 minutes of video at a time. But I've found a system that works. I watch an episode, then I click for the next episode to start playing, but I mute it. Then I do something else for awhile. By the time I come back to the next episode, I can watch all of it at one time.

Anyway, there are two episodes from season eight of JAG that started NCIS. It's like a little time capsule. Gibbs is there, as are Tony, Abby, and Ducky. Even the first director (before Jenny) is in it. But there's a whole bunch of other people too. There's this random black guy agent who isn't in it much. And worst of all, there's this redheaded agent who used to be in the FBI who is the most obnoxious person EVER. If you thought Kate was annoying, whoah man, this chick has Kate beat by a thousand! And Ducky has a thing for her, which is just creepy. And Tony and Abby do some hardcore flirting like McGee and Abby in seasons 1-2 of NCIS. There are so many wrong things. I decided that it's like watching an episode of I Love the 90's after having lived through the 90's. You know what it's supposed to be like, but it's like experiencing it through someone else's eyes.

There are also several episodes of JAG where Sean Murray plays the Admiral's love interest's (Dr. Walden) college age son. It's not much of a subplot, except that Sean plays a pothead who has his mom wrapped around his little finger, which ultimately leads to her dumping the Admiral. Honestly, Sean's character is a little annoying. He's overly cocky like McGee was in season 6 of NCIS. Plus he has really dark hair for a few of the episodes, and in my opinion, it looks like a cheap toupee. He also plays Ensign Guitry in one episode in the fourth season, but that particular episode isn't on megavideo, and I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Oh, one last thing before I wrap this up. Catherine Bell is one of the major characters on JAG. She plays a Marine named Mac (nickname for... something with Mac in the last name) who's a JAG lawyer. Don't know who Catherine Bell is? Lemme help (she's on the far left):

That's right, she's Denise from Army Wives! Talk about going full circle... from playing a Marine to being married to a soldier. Anyway, this is what she looked like on JAG (she's the fourth from the right... sorry this picture is crappy, but I was having a hard time finding JAG pictures):

Like I said, small world!

Oh, and for any NCIS fans who read this (ahem... Brenda.... Mike) I STRONGLY recommend watching the JAG-NCIS crossover episodes. They're from the eighth season of JAG. The first is called "Ice Queen" and the second is called "Meltdown". You can find them through surfthechannel.com, but for some reason when you search for "JAG" it doesn't show up, so you have to click on 'Channels' and then 'Television'.

I'm watching the VH1 Top 20 Countdown from this morning online and "Party in the USA" just came on. All the sudden, I feel angry. Too bad Miley Cyrus isn't the victim in Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" video.

~Christine

apparently I have bad karma

Technology has reared its ugly head and snarled at me yet again.

Let's start with my car. On Sunday, I drove Katie to theater practice. While she was getting out of the car, my check oil light came on, but it was blinking, like a turn signal. I'm going to be honest and own up to the fact that I haven't had the oil changed since I bought the car in February. But I've also only driven 5,000 miles in it, and it was changed shortly before I bought it. Then the light came on again when I was stopped at a traffic light, but once I started driving again, it went away. Friggin weird, right? Since then, I've driven and it hasn't been a problem. So my dad I checked my oil yesterday and I'm at the maximum level of oil. Huh. He's part of some online car forum thing, so he poked around to see if anyone else had a similar issue. Basically what it boils down to is this:

Option A: The oil pump is dying.
Option B: The engine is dying.
Option C: There's a problem with the indicator thingy. (clearly I don't know much about cars).

I'm hoping for C. Or maybe A. But not B!! If my engine dies, that's it. That's the death of my Sebring. :( So for the time being, I'm being extra nice to my car. I'm praying that since the light hasn't come on again, it was just an indicator thingy problem. And even though it's a car and not a person, I really can't handle any more loss in my life. (side note: WHY THE CRAP IS MY KEYBOARD ONLY REGISTERING EVERY FEW LETTERS I TYPE?!?!? ADD: BASTARD LAPTOP TO THE LIST!!)

Oh, and did I mention that starting in December I now have to start paying my own car insurance? Not a big deal, except that my insurance is over $100 a month because of that goddamn accident last year. Seriously, I hate ice. This winter I plan on never driving. We'll see how that works out. But at this point, if my car kicks the bucket, I may just say "Eff it all! and pack up my things and move to a city in Florida with really nice public transportation. I don't know what city that is, but I'm going to move there. Just you wait, Henry Higgins!

Onto my next issue: I play The Sims 3. A lot. Especially because my internet at home is sketchy if I'm downstairs (ADD THAT TO THE LIST OF WHY MY COMPUTER IS A BASTARD). Unfortunately, this means that I get bored with the game sometimes. So I was reading on thesims3.com forums a suggestion to erase all the pre-made simmies in a town and put in people and families that I had made. So I did! It was a lot of fun, and took a majority of my time yesterday. I even made a chart in a notebook so I could keep track of everyone.

And then... Patch 1.6.6 came out! The first expansion pack is set to come out today (World Adventures... yay!) and so was a new patch for the game. 1.5 was supposed to be for the base game and 1.6 was for people with the new expansion pack. Except EA is dumb and didn't think that November 17th would start for some people in the US very early, compared to those on the West Coast (i.e. where they all are... self-centered idiots). So many people in the Eastern time zone had this patch made available to them before the expansion pack was even released! What's worse is that the updater didn't even make patch 1.5 available... just 1.6. I hadn't even heard of 1.5. So last night I installed 1.6 and now... I can't save the town I spent ALL day yesterday working on! There's some stupid error 16 message that keeps coming up, and in the readme file, the error messages only go up to 15. Cruel. I'm actually kind of lucky that this is the only problem I'm having. People have lost entire legacy families where the sim who was 'alive' was the great-great-great-grandson of the original. Apparently mods (which I guess I installed one and didn't know it!) and custom content (which I have probably over 200 files of...) cause BIG issues with this patch.

And now thesims3.com forums aren't working. Probably because EA realizes that they MESSED UP.

So now here's my debate. Do I uninstall the game and reinstall with no mods/cc? I mean, I have the info on all of those families I made yesterday, and I don't ever go back and play old games. Or do I uninstall just the mod that I have? (ironically, it's a mod designed to help ease the process of installing custom content.) I can't even ask advice from fellow simmers because the forums aren't up right now.

Even though it's Tuesday, which means that NCIS is on tonight, I'm still super bummed about everything. I would like to crawl into a hole and hide from the world until I die. That would be fantastic. :(

Oh, and the crack dream I had last night isn't helping things either. I dreamed that Bill and I went back to UD to visit, and he started playing hackey sack with some old friends, until the hackey sack hit him in the face and got lodged BEHIND his eyeball. I know that's not even possible, but I am seriously freaking out right now. And then I went to find Jen and tell her about the Sebring (since it was her car at one point) and she had joined some super snobby sorority (which just happened to be called Zeta Beta Zeta... I haven't even watched Greek in about 2 weeks!) and she wasn't allowed to talk to me anymore.

I have issues.

~Christine

I'm seriously considering putting 'hoodia' on my Christmas list

Have you ever been so tired that you feel drunk, but you're actually completely sober? That's how I feel right now. So I'm keeping myself awake so I can blog. I know, I make no sense.

I have had "Country Roads, Take Me Home" by John Denver stuck in my head since Friday. Like I said, I make no sense. What I want to know is if there are so many songs out there that are earworms, then why hasn't anyone come up with the anti-earworm? I've tried white noise (specifically, the HEPA air filter in Bill's apartment) but it doesn't work.

I started writing another fanfic last night. It's about McGee being confused about The Sound of Music. I'm hoping it'll be funny, but I haven't gotten very far in it. I still haven't published the first fanfic I wrote. Katie finally sent it back to me with edits almost a month ago now, but it's a saddish story and I've been feeling sadder and sadder, so I don't feel like sifting through her edits.

Speaking of sadder, I feel like a whale. I have to go back to working out, but so far I haven't had a chance. Yesterday I had to take Rosie to the vet in the morning, and then I ended up eating lunch at my Grandma's, and today I had a doctor's appointment. Tomorrow I'm going to an open interview thing, Thursday I'm going shopping with my aunt. So hopefully I can get there on Friday? I'm praying that I don't get sick again. Right now I want to take a knife to the front of my face. My sinuses are killing me. Even though the infection's gone, my doctor told me today that they still look 'angry' (her words, not mine). I would like to thank whoever created saline nasal spray. They are a god among men. However, my sinuses have now decided that just saline spray isn't going to cut it anymore, so now I'm on a steroid.

Do you see why I'm so freaked about losing health insurance in February? Sometimes my body feels like an electronic device made in France. Doesn't (or at least didn't) look bad, but has zero functionality.

Ugh, I'm giving in and going to bed. Night.

~Christine

two peas in a pod

I'm the kind of person who keeps their promises. So here's my promise to all 2.5 of you! (I really should get a site meter thing so I can see how many people actually look at this page.)




My All-Time Favorite TV Couples! (In no particular order)


1. Casey and Cappie - Greek



They are just too friggin cute together! I think it'll be interesting to see if/how they've changed when Greek comes back in a couple of months. We've heard all about them dating freshmen year, but all we've seen so far is the random hook-up. Good stuff.

2. Jesse and Rebecca - Full House

I'm going to give these two the "Hottest Couple" award. If anyone can look gorgeous in shoulder pads, it's Lori Loughlin. And John Stamos... oh baby!

3. Monica and Chandler - Friends

Last year when I watched all 10 seasons of Friends (pause for applause...) I always liked these two better than Rachel and Ross. Plus Chandler's good for a laugh and Monica reminds me of myself sometimes.

4. McGee and Abby - NCIS

I'm giving them the "Cutest Geeky Couple" award. Even though they aren't together right now on NCIS, they dated early on, and there's still some hardcore chemistry (read: jealousy) between them!

5. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar - 18 Kids and Counting

These two are the happiest people I've never met! And they're actual people, not just actors! I really wonder how they stay sane with 18 kids (and counting, haha!) but I think the answer to that question is that they have 18 kids. Bow chicka wow wow.

6. Jim and Pam - The Office

I have loved Jim and Pam from the first time I watched The Office many moons ago. Thankfully, it would seem that their wedding hasn't caused the fantastic dynamic between office-mates to change too much. Although as of late, Pam has become more and more annoying in my opinion. Yes, your boss dating your mother is weird, but they are both adults, so get over it. And for someone who's 6 months pregnant on the show, she really doesn't look it at all. But you know, I still love them as a couple.

7. Luke and Lorelai - Gilmore Girls

Again, another couple I've loved since the beginning of the show. They clearly bring out the best of each other, even though no one would think to pair scruffy Luke with quirky Lorelai. Thankfully, even after they broke off their engagement and spent most of the seventh season apart, they rekindled their love in the very last episode of the show.

There you have it. I know seven is a weird number, but I couldn't think of anyone else. Jon and Kate Gosselin used to make this list, but considering they're getting divorced and Jon has become the scum of the world, they don't really count. Kate might make my fabulous females list though. Hmmm... maybe that'll be my next list! Hooray for new ideas!

~Christine

how do you expect me to grow up if you don't let me?

Last night/early this morning, as I laid in bed, I contemplated the various TV couples through time who are my favorites. But now I'm too pissed to be cute and bubbly.

I am so sick and tired of people telling me what I should do with my life. No, I don't want to work at Target. No, I don't want to use the cell phone lot to pick up Bill. I've done the loop-around many times and it works just FINE. No, I don't want you to turn the lights on when you wake me up in the morning. Get your head out of your ass and start giving me the respect and PRIVACY I deserve! I had JUST gotten to the point where I was okay with getting a job, and now I'm not because someone couldn't mind their own damn business and had to turn a simple shopping trip into a job hunt. I AM NOT A FUCKING CHARITY CASE SO STOP TREATING ME LIKE ONE! Yes, I clearly have a problem, but I'm working through it on my own, so just fuck off and leave me alone.

This little trip to Dayton couldn't have come at a better time...

~Christine

I'd like a do-over, please

I wrote an entry earlier about food. But then the interwebs broke and when I had to restart, it went away. Sad. Oh well, moving on.

I'm awake. I wish I wasn't. I should be asleep right now and battling whatever it is I have. I'm starting to think that the sinus infection I had last week never left, but no worries because pneumonia hasn't been ruled out officially- yet. The medicine I'm taking for Disease X (as I'm starting to think it should be called) won't allow me to take antacids while I'm on the antibiotic, so of course tonight I have heartburn and can't take any Tums. So I'm resorting to a large glass of milk. I don't know why this remedy works, but it does. Something about the calcium?

Soooo... I'm a hot mess. I don't know why I do this to myself, but I spent almost an hour tonight going through tagged pictures of myself on Facebook. I know, I'm a narcissist, but really, who isn't? Okay, who in America isn't? Back on topic... I'm completely disgusted with myself. I have really let myself go, even since the end of summer. There are still cute pictures of me from the last (and second...) workie party shortly before I moved home. But now... ick. I have no pride in myself anymore. I started off okay, working out when I could, skipping dessert, that sort of thing. But now I just don't care anymore. I haven't worked out since the Friday of Bandcoming, and granted, I've been sick a lot since then, but that's not really a valid excuse. The simple fact of the matter is that I can't think of the last time I liked myself. Not just physically, but emotionally. I got to pictures from graduation back in May, and I feel like I was looking at pictures of a completely different person. I had ambition back then, I felt like I had something to live for. And now, here I am just a few short months later, and I can barely stand myself. I KNOW I need to get a job, and I KNOW I need to figure out what I'm doing with my life, but I just don't want to. I don't want to leave my house. Even though sometimes it barely feels like home, it's all I have right now, so it'll have to do. Maybe if I had made more of an effort to move in back in August, it would help things now. I'm STILL living out of suitcases and laundry baskets. Gradually, some essentials have moved into my room, but generally, nothing here is from college. If I want anything from the past 4 years, I have to go digging for it in a box in the garage. I don't even have my printer set up. And the worst part is that I don't care. I have no desire to change anything. I would be perfectly happy if I could spend every day of the rest of my life sitting on the couch watching TV and playing The Sims 3. That's a really scary thought. I'm going to turn into one of those rednecks living in a bathrobe watching daytime TV. And I'd never thought I'd become someone like that! I used to know what I wanted. And now I just don't know. I thought I was doing the right thing by spending so much time at home, but I don't think that's the case anymore. I told my mom on Monday that I'm afraid to leave because I'm afraid that I'll miss out on something. It's a core part of who I am, and now it's a problem. Even when I was little, I never wanted to take naps because I could miss out on something while I was asleep. And now I don't want to turn my back for a second because if I do, someone else could die. I'm still really shaken up from losing Nana and Grandpa this summer. And my Grandma isn't handling life well. And my Papa was diagnosed with emphysema and lung cancer today. And I would say that if I lost anyone else, I would lose it completely, but the last time I said that, my Grandpa died, so let's not go there.

I apologize if you actually read that monstrocity of a paragraph. But if you didn't and you skimmed down to here, let me spare you the gory details.

1. I don't like how I look.
2. I have no motivation to do anything with my life.
3. I still miss my Nana and Grandpa.
4. I live in fear that someone else will leave me.
5. I may be insane.

Time to finish my milk.

~Christine

Free of Heinous Bitches is brought to you today by the letter 'J'

The idea for this post came to me yesterday as I was blow drying my hair. I'm not sure why I thought of it when I was drying off, but oh well. In anticipation of Michelle Duggar's nineteenth bun in the oven, it would seem like they're starting to run out of J names. Okay, get ready for...

18 'J' NAMES THE DUGGAR FAMILY HASN'T USED YET (AND THEIR TRADITIONAL MEANINGS, ALONG WITH THEIR MEANING FROM URBANDICTIONARY.COM):

1. Jacklyn
French, meaning "supplanter".
UrbanDictionary: Extreme pimp. Amazingness in the flesh.

2. Jamal
Arabic, meaning "handsome"
UrbanDictionary: A very common name among the black race. To the average white man, this is every black person's name.

3. Janet
Hebrew, meaning "God is gracious" (I'm really suprised they haven't used this one yet!)
UrbanDictionary: A girl who while seemingly sweet and innocent is truly very sexual and slutty.

4. Jared
Hebrew, meaning "descendant"
UrbanDictionary: A man with a legendary sized penis who dresses extremely fly. Usually of Brazilian decent.

5. Jasper
Persian, meaning "treasurer"
UrbanDictionary: A man from Melbourne, usually doing strange things to male grizzly Bears.

6. Jeffrey
Germanic, meaning "God's peace"
UrbanDictionary: A name that represents honor, caressing, and love. Also known to be a very romantic person, or very successful person in life. This represents all the attributes of "Jeffrey" on the SwiftIRC IRC chat network.

7. Jericho
Hebrew, meaning "City of moon gods or fragment"
UrbanDictionary: A town in Nassau County in New York. Where every girl owns something from Juicy Couture, So low, Fendi, Prada etc... and if they don't chances are they dont "fit in" "Jap" is the common word for girls in Jericho.

8. Jocelyn
French, meaning "Tribal name of the Gauts"
UrbanDictionary: The femanine name for Jesus

9. Jodi
Hebrew, meaning "Of Judea"
UrbanDictionary: Very pretty! Smart and is a good mate, will stick up for her mates. Popular and everyone likes her! One heck of a person

10. Joel
Hebrew, meaning "The Lord is God"
UrbanDictionary: Refers to a cool, intellectual, popular, well-liked, needed, or otherwise important person. A person that's more important than regular people. Arrised from the word "yo" which resembles the word "joel," used to call important people who have been predefined as a joel.

11. Jordan
Hebrew, meaning "Descend, flown down"
UrbanDictionary: A different word for very large penis

12. Josephine
Hebrew, meaning "He will enlarge" (!!! And that's not even the UrbanDictionary definition!)
UrbanDictionary: a sexy chic woman who loves fashion. her smile always gets the guys attention.

13. Journey
English, meaning "A journey" (no kidding...)
UrbanDictionary: To be so high on drugs that you have kind of an out of body experience, and you almost have no control over your thoughts.

14. Jude
Hebrew, meaning "Praise"
UrbanDictionary: to describe a particularly attractive male of British descent. Derives from the actor 'Jude Law,' but appropriate for any exceptionally handsome English guy.

15. Julia
Latin, meaning "Down-bearded youth" (Now someone please tell me what THAT means?)
UrbanDictionary: a name for girls. Most julia's are artistic, smart, romantic, beautiful and also very charming. Julia's can get whatever they want if they try. They can be very sexy so watch out! They are romantics and love old movies, art and books. they love old stuff! They usually aren't very athletic but if a julia is athletic she's kick butt! they have great fashion sense and usually look smokin'. A julia will most likely become a mother because they love kids. They are very successful in life and there is just something about them that draws people in. Also they are ah-mazing dancers!

16. June
English, meaning "The sixth month of the year" (Well blow me away, sailor!)
UrbanDictionary: The month the hottest people in the world are born.

17. Junior
English, meaning "Youth"
UrbanDictionary: The son of a successful business owner who is smug, short-tempered and arrogant, and as an added bonus, he really is not capable of doing anything except pissing off customers, vendors, and employees, and within 5 years of "helping" Dad with the business, finds himself in the unemployment line.

18. Justice
Latin, meaning "Righteous"
UrbanDictionary: A saying used in conjuction with a fortunate event that has either happened, or is going to happen.

There you have it! I really had to stretch to find 18 names, but if Jim Bob and Michelle really want another 18 kids, they can at least all have J names!

~ Christine

well howdy doody!

"A lady doesn't wander all over the room and blow on some other guy's dice." - Luck Be A Lady

Yes, I'm listening to the Broadway Showtunes station on Pandora. Sometimes I just need a healthy dose of cheese and pep to make me feel better, hokay? NO JUDGING.

On to more important matters. What/who is Howdy Doody? The only time I've heard of him was in a super depressing episode of Full House. You know, the one where Stephanie and Michelle have a neighborhood dog show and DJ volunteers at a nursing home where she's buddied up with a guy who has Alzheimer's (except she doesn't know it because he tells her he feels perfectly fine.) So she busts him out of the home (rebel rouser!) to take him to the dog show. Except then he has an 'episode' and thinks that DJ is his own daughter in her teenage years and he lectures her that if she doesn't do her homework (or something) she can't watch Howdy Doody. To which DJ replies, "Howdy Doody? That was on before I was born!"

(Just you wait, Henry Higgins, just you wait!- is playing now and I LOVE My Fair Lady)

Luckily, a nurse from the nursing home figures out where the old guy went and tracks him down at the Tanner home. Except this is also the episode where Becky makes Jesse wear the maternity belly so he could feel what she was going through, so the old man starts rambling about the dog show and seeing a pregnant man. And then he's promptly wisked away by the nurse.

The scariest part of all of this is that I haven't seen that episode in years. Think that's bad? My sister has more episodes memorized than I do. She used to walk around the house reciting lines from the show. Not just little bits, but full out monologues.

("Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom of the Opera just came on, and now I have goosebumps. Also, listening to the lyrics made me realize that they're REALLY sad and entirely about death. Boo.)

Have you ever wondered if mock turtlenecks actually feel self-righteous when they see real turtlenecks? (Beauty and the Beast just came on... seriously, how has it taken me so long to find this station??) I can totally picture a mock turtleneck saying to a turtleneck, "Haha, look at you, you have to be CUFFED you pansy!"

I'm drinking milk. Not rum. I promise.

Based on interviews I've seen with her, I feel like Cote de Pablo and I would be besties if we were to meet. She's quirky and giggly, like me! I think I would be intimidated by Pauley Perrette. She seems awesome, but she's so politically charged, I would be afraid to say something ignorant around her. Let's face it, I don't like politics. There are certain issues that I am enthusiastic about, and at least gay rights is one of those that we have in common, but I think she knows so much more about it than I do. Michael Weatherly seems like a really fun guy to know. I've read that the producer-types have to remind him that he has to take some things seriously. Fun in a social setting, but I don't know that I'd like to work with someone like that. Sean Murray on the other hand seems to take everything TOO seriously! I saw some behind-the-scenes pictures from an upcoming episode of NCIS where Pauley, Cote, Michael, and Sean are all sitting on the floor of Abby's lab with an evidence box and they're clearly not in character. Pauley, Cote, and Michael are all cracking up about something, and Sean's just sitting there like, "Get me out of here!" Womp womp.

Oh man, Pandora is letting me down right now. I hate that I can't skip more than 5 songs. So just for kicks, I'm switching to the disco station... "Night Fever" is the first thing that came up. Ha.

I'm sorry I dragged you people through this trainwreck of an entry. My life is just too bizarre for words sometimes. Which is why I ramble.

OH! Today my mom and I spent about 20 minutes discussing if I was the "Willis" from "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?". Most of this was spent with us giggling because my mom pointed out that after awhile, the name Willis starts to sound funny. Then she left to go take a shower, and I got a text from her that just said "WILLIS!" I live on a funny farm.

I wish that when I was in college, I looked like the girls on Greek. Seriously, what college did the producer-types visit where EVERY girl was no bigger than a size six? And even the 'ugly' girls are still very attractive. I'm not saying that UD girls are all fat cows, but we're a healthy mix. And where do they get all their money? I understand some of them are rich (Rebecca Logan... biotch!) but what about the Cartwrights? Casey spends a lot of money and she has a lot of stuff, and no job! What the heck?

I can't tell if I'm too tired to watch an episode of Greek or not. Now that I'm home and we have ABC Family, I've become hooked on it again, but I missed almost every episode from the first two seasons, so I'm playing catch up by watching them online.

The disco music is really mellowing me out... isn't that the opposite of what it's supposed to do?

~Christine

don't judge me, I'm only human! - Chandler Bing

I did it! I posted my second story! This one has a fun backstory too.

Two days ago, I found a link to an article in someone's profile on the fanfiction site that I write for. I was curious, so I clicked on it. Here is that article:

http://christwire.org/2009/10/is-ncis-the-worst-television-show-ever-made/

Yup. Ultra-conservative, "Christian" smut bashing one of the most popular television shows out there today. Not only is the article extremely biased and factually inaccurate, but the author is rude and disrespectful to the people who leave comments pointing out the error of his ways. He is homophobic, sexist, and racist, even going so far as to call a reader "clueless" because he is Scottish. Naturally, I commented on the article. However, Katie and I have decided that any comment that appears to be grammatically correct and intelligent, the author doesn't comment on. Probably because he's intimidated.

Then last night, I was struck with a fantastic idea. I've read stories before where the characters of NCIS discover fanfiction websites. So why not write a story where the characters find this terrible article? I did, and published it this morning! Here's the link:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5442181/1/Retaliation

Please leave a comment if you read it. You don't even have to register with the site to leave me some love!

Oh, and while I was bunny-sitting yesterday, I took loads of pictures and videos of Rosie. I'm gonna be a proud bunny aunt and show you my favorite... drumroll please!

Between playing with a baby bunny most of the day yesterday, and then watching the Duggar grandbaby, I am all about the squishy babies right now.

Yup. I'm completely distracted by Friends right now. So peace out.

~Christine

stream of consciousness: NCIS edition - part deux

Howdy all!

This was fun last time I did this, so I'm gonna do it again... my thoughts as I watch this week's episode of NCIS: 7x04 Good Cop, Bad Cop

- *sings* I'm on a boat...
- reminds me of Forrest Gump
- okay, not the dead body part!
- still the same damn intro!
- I love the clucking noise.
- feisty McGee!
- sneaky Ziva... she's been taking lessons from Gibbs.
- DiNozzo sucks at computers. kinda.
- soupy flesh? GROSS.
- ROTFL @ The Toothpick being bested by a toothpick
- this guy is fuzzy looking.
- don't break Ziva!
- lotsa colors. in a blender.
- (yay Pauley Perrette supporting breast cancer research!)
- bad toothpick! you dare you reject Ziva!
- Gibbs playing spy man...
- I bet DiNozzo faked the virus
- haha, the talk faster bit sounds familiar...
- oh I love that alien noise.
- oh gawd, if something pops out of Ziva's chest...
- what is it?
- ooh! I like Abby's skirt!
- snow? REALLY McGee?
- man, Abby's indecisive today!
- oh gross, Ducky.
- dear Tony, you're holding a skull
- for a second, I didn't recognize McGee when he walked through the door.
- oh man, I hope Ziva didn't kill them all.
- awe, I love Ducky.
- I'm so scared for Ziva
- BAMF subtitles
- great. more women-haters.
- how many copies of that picture are there? I thought Ziva's copy got blown up when her apartment exploded.
- way to use your womanly guiles to trick the scary man with a gun!
- wow, Ziva wakes up fast!
- oh I really don't like this guy... Ziva better not kiss him!
- YEAH STAR OF DAVID NECKLACE!
- bickering boys.
- Ziva doesn't work for Mossad anymore... go 'way Officer Gidon!
- Gibbs use a coaster? Ha!
- and what if Ziva doesn't WANT to go back to Israel? Huh? Huh?
- oh great, another POV
- I don't understand a lot of what's going on right now... def. going to need a re-watch tomorrow.
- Wet Monday at science camp? ewie.
- I do believe Abby has cracked.
- high five for Ziva!
- man, they're both really weird in a sweet way
- sneaky Ducky...
- I still don't get what's going on on the Damacles
- sooo... kill some people... it's all good
- wow, that's super jaded, Ziva
- Gibbs! you're breaking your own rule!
- oh noes Ducky! feel better!
- yay Team Gibbs!
- *Gibbs-poke*
- woah. it was Gidon. suck on that, Eli David!
- sooo... can Ziva be an agent now?
- wait, Eli isn't a good guy? WELL BLOW ME AWAY, SAILOR! (erm, Marine)
- and there goes the old toothpick...
- stupid Gidon... I really don't like you
- (my dad is muttering to himself... annoying)
- poor Ziva. I want to give her a hug and a puppy.
- WHAT DID GIBBS SAY TO HER?
- okay, I like Vance a little more now
- haha... Probie Ziva!
- foaming keyboard? oh next week will be good!

~Christine

adventures in bunny-sitting

A series of unfortunate events has led me to where I am right now, which is sitting on our family room floor with my sister's rabbit, Rosie, in a laundry basket next to me.

1. I don't have to work today - hooray!
2. I believe I ate something yucky at Bob Evans yesterday, leaving me with a tummyache today and zero desire to do anything.
3. Back in August, we called the asphalt guys to come out and resurface our driveway. Guess when they finally decided to show up! Today!
4. It's cold out, even for bunnies. So we moved Rosie into the garage for winter a few days ago.
5. Outside our garage is our driveway (duh) which now smells very strongly of fresh asphalt. The smell wafted into our garage, which is now Rosie's home. So we've moved her inside so the smell doesn't bother her.

So here I am, hanging out with my bunny-niece. She's pretty freaking adorable. I've already taken lots of pictures, and a vew videos too. She started licking me earlier, so I grabbed my videocamera with my free hand (unfortunately it was my left) and started filming.

What does it mean when a bunny licks your hand? She seems to be getting a big kick out of this!

Ahhh, too distracted to keep writing... I'll probably write another NCIS entry tonight.

~Christine

achieving a new level of nerd

I did it! I published my first fanfic! It's not the one that Katie's editing for me, it's just a little thing I wrote up last night when I couldn't sleep. Now go read it!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5430280/1/Theres_Someone_In_My_Bed

Go Eagles! Beat DeSucks!

~Christine

musings

Why, hello there!

I'm feeling strangely calm because I changed the look of my blog... again. Just look at those pretty, pretty circles against the black background. Feel the calm? Ohm....ohm....

Anyway, I finished my fanfic... a week ago. My editor has been slow/lazy/busy with high school, theater, and marching band. So whenever she's done with it, I'll start posting it, and then I'll share the link with all 2.5 people out there who read this. In the meantime, I've been wanting to start another fic (that won't be edited by Katie) but all of the ideas I had while writing the first one have left my brain permanently. I'm a firm believer in writing one thing at a time, but I'm starting to think that maybe I also need to be a firm believer in writing notes as I think of ideas too.

I've gotten into a good workout routine this week. I'm feeling the burn from it, but I'm hoping that it'll be worth it in the end.

Sorry, I'm being really lame right now. I've actually had a fairly busy week, but a week of lame-ness.

Today at work, a guy had me help him pick out underwear for his wife's birthday present. It was more than just a little creepy.

Why is it that so many cosmetic surgeons look creepy? Aren't they supposed to be selling beauty?

I really like cop shows. Not just NCIS. Right now I'm watching Police Women of Broward (sp?) County and it's pretty awesome. I could never be a cop, I'm too much of a softie, but I still like to watch crime shows.

Rosie O'Bunny tried to run away this morning when my mom went out to feed her. Luckily, mom caught her. Now she's in the garage. Rosie, that is, not my mom.

Okay, time to watch Jim and Pam get married on The Office!

~ Christine

stream of consciousness: NCIS edition

For today's blog, I'm going to write my thoughts as I watch NCIS 7x02- Reunion. So, here's your warning: if you haven't watched the episode yet and you plan on watching it, don't read this!

- Star Wars?
- My mom doesn't understand what strippers do...
- Filmore? Who the hell is she??
- I already don't like her.
- HOORAY!! She's outta here.
- Tony's good for something... annoying people.
- Ziva lies. She's so not fine.
- Exploding chisel? Nah, not her style.
- That's a lot of verys.
- Oh noes! Fight for her, Gibbs!
- Good Gibbs. :)
- Oh, yeah. Talk to Tony!
- Strippers have managers?
- ROTFL @ McGee's face with the business card
- Bald guys
- There's a scientific term for razor burn?
- Auctioneers have a school?
- Oh man, McGee really is a sidekick.
- This is awkward.
- Oh nooooes.... so not a McZiva fan!
- Hey, where's Abby?
- Ziva's a grownup. She doesn't need to ask her daddy's permission.
- Oh I guess she does...
- Damaged goods. Ouch.
- This guy sounds pretentious.
- Haha, oh Tony. Everyone wakes up wishing to be a prime suspect in a murder investigation.
- I bet she slept with her boss.
- FINISH A SENTENCE!
- Palmer= Lame Duck
- Ducky= Pimp Duck
- Still no Abby. :(
- I wish David McCallum was my grandpa.
- Oh McGee... you're a nerd.
- Gibbs is behind you.
- Angry Gibbs!
- McGee also looks confused by the strippers.
- Damn, McGee really did get skinny. Guess he gave up the Doritos again.
- Hi Ziva!
- That's right, run away to your Nutter Butter!
- Wow, could cut the tension with a knife.
- Uh oh... here comes the Abby moment.
- I'm scared for Ziva.
- Oh that is NOT a good face.
- HO MAN AM I SCARED FOR ZIVA.
- Fear the wrath of Abby!
- Tony: 1 Ziva: zilch
- Awww... hug time!
- LOL @ the sign
- I've got Seoul. :D
- HOORAY! Come back Ziva!
- Sign it Gibbs...
- Who the hell cares about Eli??
- Good Gibbs... we need Ziva.
- Bad move, McGee. McBlabbermouth.
- Tony called McGee Tim?
- Since when does Tony shoot lefthanded?
- Where did McGee go?
- Tony's a celebrity?
- They were tricked!
- Oh Tony... drama king.
- He made a sound like a puppy when Gibbs slapped him
- Sad Zee-vah.
- More awkwardness.
- How often do we see just McGee and Ziva? This is freaking me out.
- Good McGee, cut to the chase.
- McGee= Yahweh
- Tony runs funny when he has to pee.
- Swirlies?
- Gibbs is so mean to Tony... love it.
- HE SINGS WHEN HE PEES?!?!
- Ziva doesn't understand the concept of a men's room.
- Why don't we see the women's room?
- Warm and fuzzy Tiva moment!
- She trusts the wrong people a lot...
- Uhh... what? He's a cop... you should have kissed her back, dummy!
- McSidekick. Love it.
- Creepy...
- Trace it, McGee!
- They always say to come alone... but they never do.
- That's a crappy phone.
- Eww... homeless guy.
- Welp. He's dead.
- Now Gibbs has AIDS.
- Way to state the obvious, Gibbs
- Is McGee allergic to autopsy?
- OMG IT'S THE SHITTY COLOGNE!
- Shaving what? Your eyebrow?
- Why would they take a plane?
- Club Pubis? Gross!
- McGee looked at Abby like she was speaking loooove
- Ugh, irritating Brit.
- Elena looks familiar... I wonder who the actress is.
- McProof! This is full of goodies!
- Aww, they look so happy arresting her!
- Don't hesitate Gibbs!
- I wonder how many times they're going to show the clip of Ziva shooting Ari...
- He's her HALF-brother... and you were okay with this for a really long time Gibbs!
- Good Ziva.
- AWWWW!! Daddy Gibbs!
- Now hug her!
- I still say Vance reminds me of Obama.
- Awkward.
- McRomeo! ANOTHER ONE!
- Ziva's here... and bearing an Easter lily?
- YAAAY!
- WTF is up with the music at the end? Sounds like the theme if NCIS was a kid's show on PBS.
- Blogs and dogs next week? WOO HOO!

Okay, that's all for now. Time to write!

~ Christine

I'm a cracked out, fat, and depressing nerd!

I've been conducting my own little sleep study to see if what I eat and drink before bed affects the outcome of my dreams. Ever since my cracked-out safety town dream, I've been wondering if there was something I could do to stop it. It's still giving me the heebity-jeebitys.

What I Had Before Bed:
3 nights ago- glass of milk
2 nights ago- glass of milk and cookies
Last night- diet coke and a 100 calorie pack of Hostess cupcakes

What I Dreamed About:
3 nights ago- a friend of mine who just got married was extremely unhappy with her marriage (NOT true in the slightest, by the way) and she couldn't get all the lights in their apartment to turn off. Whenever she turned off one light, another would turn on.
2 nights ago- I was packing up my stuff to fly to Atlanta to go to a memorial service for my Grandpa, but I was rushed with my packing and forgot stuff. Our plane flew from Columbus to San Antonio, where we landed on a crowded freeway and our pilot then drove our very wide (it was about 15 seats across) plane through the crowded downtown streets of San Antonio. Oh, I've never been to San Antonio, and I don't think my Grandpa ever went to Atlanta.
Last night- I befriended the Duggars from 18 Kids and Counting. The oldest girl (Jill? Jana? Janessa?) was knocked up, and all of the older girls were hiding their secret boyfriends around the house from their parents. Turns out they're all a little bit slutty. Anyway, we were going to go to this religious retreat at a mall, but first we had to shop at Old Navy. So we get to this retreat, and everyone sits on the floor in a big circle, and the guy leading it starts talking, but I'm not really listening. I think at one point he insulted Catholics. Then I had to get up for Mass. Ironic, I know.

In conclusion, eating or drinking ANYTHING before bed is a bad plan. Especially Diet Coke, because then I couldn't get to sleep until almost 2 AM. I thought I would be okay when I finished my drink at 11, but I was really alert until about 1:30. Whoops.

Last night my mom and I saw the movie Love Happens. It wasn't bad, but neither of us realized that the ENTIRE movie is about death and the grieving process. In the previews, he just says that his wife died. But the whole movie centers around that. We made it through the movie, but there were definitely moments when I was gripping my hands so tightly, I thought I was going to break my own bones. So if you've recently lost someone (or two someones) in your life, don't see it yet. Maybe in five years or so you could try it.

The movie did have its merits though. For instance, I now know why I'm not losing any weight. Apparently people who are in mourning have a significantly harder time maintaining a healthy weight. So that's two strikes against me. Oh, and before the movie, there was a commercial for some cable station that plays a bunch of crime procedurals, and NCIS was in the commercial! My mom poked me and asked me if that made my day. (It totally did!) But then it got better! Sasha Alexander plays a photographer in the movie! She actually had a decent amount of dialogue too, but she was only in the one scene. So at that point I poked my mom and said "That's Kate!" Then I heard a lady behind me chuckle. I'm guessing she's a fan too.

I took the plunge last night. I started writing my first NCIS fanfiction. I really enjoyed it too! It's been a long time since I wrote anything fiction. I think it was Power of the Pen in 8th grade. Since then it's been mostly academic papers. Oh, and blogs/journals too. There was a brief period in high school where I wrote a bunch of angsty poems, but I threw them all away a couple of weeks ago. No need for anyone else to read those! Anyway, I made it through the first two chapters, which worked out to be about 2,100 words. When it's done, I'll post it on the site where I read most of the fanfiction I read. I haven't asked her yet, but I'm going to ask Katie to be my editor. I reread the first two chapters twice last night, and I was really suprised at how many mistakes I made, even with auto-spellcheck.

Time for Mass!

~ Christine

ello, mate!

Someone in Australia is watching me. I don't know how, but they're definitely Aussie and they may have seen my knockers.

So here's what happened. Tonight after a not-so-exciting-but-very-sparkly shift at work, I came home and got on the cbs.com message boards. It's like going to AA for me. I need those people because I need to know that there are people out there who are more obsessed with NCIS than I am, and that's where I can find them. Someone had posted a link to an interview with the cast on the Aussie TV show Ten. (Get it, like hang ten? Because clearly all Aussies do is surf and eat Nutella!) So I click on the link and the page pops up with the youtube clips and I get excited because the announcer has a swarthy Aussie accent and there are very attractive NCIS men on the screen. Oh, did I mention that I had started changing into my pjs, but gave up halfway through when I saw this link, so I was sitting on my bed topless? Right, so I notice after starting to watch the first clip that my built-in webcam had magically turned itself on. After battling my way through the Microsoft "Help" center, I tried to search for 'web', 'cam', and 'webcam' on my hard drive to see if some sort of application would pop up. It didn't. So I put on a shirt because by this time I realize that somewhere someone is seeing what very few people in this world have the right to see. Coincedentally, Bill calls me right as I contemplate restarting my computer and saying SCREW YOU AUSSIE WEBBIE. Unfortunately, he didn't offer much help, and at this point other internet windows that I had up (it may or may not have been NCIS fanfiction...) start to malfunction. So I do what any good Windows Girl does: I restarted my computer. So for a little bit I was safe from the Aussie peepshow, but boy do they know my weaknesses, and sure enough I was back at the website with the NCIS interview, and my webcam turned on once again. It's still on. I hope Aussies are enjoying watching me write my fantastic blog and chew my Trident White. *sticks out gum*

Australians always remind me of that one Mary Kate and Ashley movie where they witness a murder and are placed in the Witness Protection Program, which naturally transfers their family to Australia. Of course they're pre-teen girls and can't keep their yappers shut (or their legs) so they blow their cover and find boyfriends too! I always envied that. WHO FINDS A BOYFRIEND ON VACATION? It seems so romantic... you're off in a faraway strange place (or the Hotel Atlantis) and you find a boy to explore the local sites with you. And solve crimes. And OMG GO SHOPPING!!

I shouldn't drink milk before bed. Last night I drank milk and I had one of the most effed up crack dreams. It involved the following things:
1. Youtube
2. Safety Town (for anyone who doesn't know, it's a preschool safety camp that they used to offer in Columbus. it taught you about how to cross a street without being hit by a COTA bus and all sorts of fun things.)
3. Genetic mutations that made me apparate
4. Michael Lowder (he was a mutant like me)
5. Runaway trains that randomly pulled U-turns
6. A bad mutant who tried to kill us all!

So even though I slept from about 1:45 AM until 9:15 AM, I woke up feeling exhausted. Can you see why? So it's either the milk or it's the cookies. Tonight I had milk and an Anthony Thomas candy bar my sister bought off one of the dance team girls for me. We'll see if I have crazy dreams again tonight.

I don't know how I feel about having all of my tweets on the sidebar of my blog. It makes me painfully aware how often I use #NCIS as a trending topic. I really need a more productive hobby. Fanfiction? I actually have some halfway decent ideas for plotlines, but they're not fully hashed out yet, and I don't want to be one of those irritating fanfic writers who writes 40,000 words about a really heartbreaking storyline between Abby and McGee and guilt and gunshot wounds and forgiveness and hospitals and then leaves you hanging before they realize that they're acting stupid and just kiss and make up already!

*waves at Australia*

I got Hocus Pocus out of the library! I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing, but in celebration of my watching movies with NCIS cast members in them, it needs to be my next movie! Seester doesn't like it, but I may trick her into watching it with me, just for McGee. We watched Chasing Liberty on Monday night. It's a kinda cute movie, and the one Secret Service agent assigned to Mandy Moore's character reminds me of the perfect Kate-Ziva hybrid. After Hocus Pocus, the movies on my list become less well-known, but I'm going to see what the Wo-town library has available.

Mmm... Death Cab for Cutie just came on my playlist. Now I'm sleeeeepy. Goodnight any brave reader who stuck it through this completely terrifying look into my mind. Goodnight Australia! *waves again*

Oh, and just in case any of you want to watch the Ten interview (and your lappy doesn't have a webcam that will turn on automatically) here's the link:
http://www.markharmonweb.com/ncis/channel-10-behind-the-scenes.html

K, goodnight for realz now. Lolz.

~Christine

fair warning: this entry took almost 4 hours to write!

I have a few favorite things in my life right now. They include NCIS, lists, watching movies, and IMDB.com. So I thought, why not combine all of these things and make a fantastic list of movies (actual movies, not made for TV movies or TV shows) that the cast of NCIS has starred in, researched on IMDB.com! I know, I'm a nerd. But I'm a nerd who has fun!

And now...

The List of Movies that Cast Members of NCIS Have Been In!

Mark Harmon Movies
1. Weather Girl- plays Dale (I know nothing about this movie, except that it also stars Tricia O'Kelly, who played Nicole on Gilmore Girls)
2. Chasing Liberty- plays President James Foster, aka Mandy Moore's character's dad
3. Freaky Friday- plays Ryan, aka Lindsay Lohan's step-dad-to-be and Jamie Lee Curtis' love interest (who I think bears a striking resemblance to Lauren Holly)
4. Local Boys- plays Jim Wesley {never seen this movie; apparently it's a movie about surfers... mmmm...}
5. The Amati Girls- plays Lawrence, who is undoubtedly a minor character, since his character wasn't even listed on the first page of the cast on IMDB
6. I'll Remember April- plays John Cooper (also stars Haley Joel Osment... he's the only other person on this cast list who I've heard of!)
7. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- plays Magazine Reporter at Mint 400 (I wouldn't bother watching this one since Mark's character doesn't even have a name, except that the cast is full of really fantastic actors, such as Johnny Depp, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, and Cameron Diaz!)
8. The First To Go- plays Jeremy Hampton
9. Casualties- plays Tommy Nance (I've never heard of this one, but Mark Harmon's one of the leads, and it looks like a decent storyline.)
10. The Last Supper- plays Dominant Male (this one looks a little odd, even though it stars Cameron Diaz)
11. Magic In The Water- plays Jack Black (no, not THAT Jack Black, but this movie also stars Joshua Jackson a la Dawson's Creek)
12. Wyatt Earp- plays Johnny Behan (also stars Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, and Gene Hackman. OMG! Dennis Quaid was Lindsay Lohan's dad in The Parent Trap, and Mark Harmon was Lindsay Lohan's step-dad in Freaky Friday! Small world!)
13. Cold Heaven- plays Alex Davenport
14. Till There Was You- plays Frank Flynn
15. Worth Winning- plays Taylor Worth (his hair isn't gray in this one! Woah! Granted, it's from 1989...)
16. Stealing Home- plays Billy Wyatt
17. The Presidio- plays Jay Austin (also stars Sean Connery and Meg Ryan)
18. Summer School- plays Mr. Freddy Shoop (directed by Carl Reiner. I saw an interview on youtube of a clip from The Bonnie Hunt show where Mark and Carl meet up again and talk about this movie. Classic 80's humor, including a surfing dog. Also stars Kirstie Alley, not playing the dog... haha!)
19. Let's Get Harry- plays Harry Burck Jr.
20. Tuareg- Il Guerriero del Deserto- plays Gacel Sayah (not sure what he's doing in this movie)
21. Beyond the Poseidon Adventure- plays Larry Simpson (also stars Michael Caine and Sally Field)
22. Comes A Horseman- plays Billy Joe Meynert (also stars Jane Fonda)

Michael Weatherly Movies
1. Charlie Valentine- plays Danny Valentine (I haven't heard of anyone else in this movie. Doesn't bode well.)
2. Her Minor Thing- plays Tom (also stars Kathy Griffin)
3. Trigger Happy- plays Bill (another movie where I haven't heard of anyone in the cast)
4. Venus and Mars- plays Cody Battle Vandermeer (also stars Julie Bowen, who played Carol Vessey on Ed)
5. The Specials- plays Verdict (also stars Sean Gunn, who played Kirk on Gilmore Girls)
6. Gun Shy- plays Dave Juniper (also stars Liam Neeson and Sandra Bullock)
7. The Last Days of Disco- plays Hap (also stars Jennifer Beals a la Flashdance, and Kate Beckinsale)

Pauley Perrette Movies
1. Satan Hates You- plays Marie Flowers
2. Potheads: The Movie- plays Lulu
3. A Moment of Grace- plays Dr. Grace Peters
4. Cut and Run- plays Jolene
5. Brother Bear (yes, you read that right)- voice of Female Lover Bear
6. Ash Tuesday- plays Gina Mascara
7. Hungry Hearts- plays Cokie Conner
8. The Ring- plays Beth (FINALLY! Something with actors I've heard of!)
9. My First Mister- plays Bebe
10. Almost Famous- plays Alice Wisdom (I know I've heard of this movie, but I can't think of where, and I've never seen it)
11. Civility- plays Carolyn
12. Hand On The Pump- plays Hi-Girl
13. Hoofboy- doesn't say what she plays, but the movie is about a guy who has hooves for feet and the women who won't touch them. Uhhh... WHAT?

David McCallum Movies
1. Cherry- plays Mammy
2. The Titanic Chronicles- plays Host/Narrator
3. Healer- plays The Jackal (reminds me of this past week's episode of Greek)
4. Dirty Weekend- plays Reggie (I have a hard time picturing David McCallum in a movie called "Dirty Weekend"!)
5. Fatal Inheritance- plays Brandon Murphy
6. Hear My Song- plays Jim Abbott
7. The Haunting of Morella- plays Gideon
8. The Watcher in the Woods- plays Paul Curtis (also stars Bette Davis, plus it's a Disney movie)
9. King Solomon's Treasure- plays Sir Henry Curtis
10. Dogs- plays Harlan Thompson
11. The Kingfish Caper- plays Benedict
12. La Catturra- plays Holmann
13. Mosquito Squadron- plays Quint Munroe
14. Three Bites of the Apple- plays Stanley Thrumm
15. Around The World Under The Sea- plays Dr. Philip Voker
16. One Spy Too Many- plays Illya Kuryakin
17. The Greatest Story Ever Told- plays Judas Iscariot (also stars Angela Lansbury, my favorite teapot!)
18. The Great Escape- plays Lt. Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt "Dispersal" (also stars Steve McQueen, who Tony references in NCIS)
19. Freud- plays Carl von Schlossen
20. Billy Budd- plays Steven Wyatt, gunnery officer
21. The Long The Short and The Tall- plays Pvt. Sammy Whitaker
22. Jungle Street- plays Terry Collins, a mugger
23. A Night To Remember- plays Assistant Radio Operator Harold Bride (this movie is about the Titanic, and later in life he narrated a movie about the Titanic)
24. Violent Playground- plays Johnny Murphy
25. Robbery Under Arms- plays Jim Marston
26. Hell Drivers- plays Jimmy Yately
27. The Secret Place- plays Mike Wilson

Sean Murray Movies and TV Movies
(I gave him an exception because if you don't count TV movies for Sean, he has 3 movies and that's just sad)
1. Spring Break Lawyer (TV)- plays Nick Kepper
2. The Sleepwalker Killing (TV)- plays Christopher Lane (also stars Hilary Swank)
3. Fall Into Darkness (TV)- plays Jerry (also stars Tatyana Ali)
4. For My Daughter's Honor (TV)- plays Ralph (also stars Gary Cole, Alyson Hannigan, and Tom Virtue of Even Stevens)
5. The Lottery (TV)- plays Henry Watkins (also stars Keri Russell)
6. Trial By Fire (TV)- plays Danny
7. River of Rage: The Taking of Maggie Keene (TV)- plays Matthew Keene (also stars Larisa Oleynik, who played Bianca in 10 Things I Hate About You {the movie})
8. Hocus Pocus- plays Thackeray Binx (also stars Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker)
9. This Boy's Life- plays Jimmy Voorhees (also stars Robert DeNiro and Leonardo Dicaprio)
10. Too Romantic- plays Tim (another Tim!)
11. Backfield in Motion (TV)- plays Joe Jr. (also starred Roseanne and Tom Arnold)

Cote de Pablo Movies
1. The Last Rites of Ransom- plays Bruja

That's it for Cote's movies. She hasn't done much since she's fairly new to acting.

This is an extremely long list, and as much as I love Brian Dietzen, Lauren Holly, Sasha Alexander, and Rocky Carroll, they're just going to have to wait until round two. Now all I have to do is watch as many of these movies as I can find! Some of the older ones that David McCallum was in might be hard to find. Ditto to all the really crappy TV movies that Sean Murray did.

Kudos to anyone who actually read through the whole list!

~ Christine

Can Febreze expire?

I did it! I cleaned out my room so I can get my new bed tomorrow! Hooray!

Granted, "cleaning" translated loosely means, "put the majority of your crap in Mike's room since he's away at college". But it's mostly out, which means that I can get rid of my crappy bed. It's a little bittersweet in a weird way. This bed has been through a lot with me! (get your minds out of the gutter...) It moved from our old house here, it survived me having my own room, sharing my room with Mike, then sharing my room with Katie, then having my own room again. I've cried myself to sleep countless times on this bed (especially as of late). I wrote stories and poems on this bed. I did all of my high school homework on this bed (desks are overrated). I even made a slide out of this bed when I was little! And now tonight's my last night on my bed.

Sheesh, I get entirely too emotionally attached to inanimate objects. Probably explains why I have so much crap.

I got to break in out brand-new vacuum cleaner tonight! It was pretty exciting for me... I do love a good vacuum. Although this one and I got into a bit of a fight, but I won in the end. It's one of those nifty bagless kinds that just has the plastic tub to dump out. After cleaning my floor, the edges, and the valences above my windows, it already needs to be dumped. I've never vacuumed under my bed before. I know, it's gross, but under my bed was my junior high storage spot/ hiding stuff from Mom spot. And then high school came and I got more storage things for my room. And then college came and I was at home for a total of about 7 months in 4 years, and in the last 2 years I was never at home for more than a week at a time. I lived out of a suitcase when I was at home during college, so why would I think to vacuum under my bed? Haha. Anyway, it's all prettyful now. Hopefully tomorrow my mom and I can go and get some bedding for my new bed because otherwise I'm not sure where I'll sleep tomorrow night. Eventually, my whole room WILL be redone! I just need to get help from one of those people on HGTV...

Mission: Make My Room Organized and Relaxing! (MMROR?)
1. Remove excess crap from room, including the dreaded 'far side of the bed' region. {Partially done}
2. Vacuum up dusty crap that lives everywhere. {Done!}
3. Remove old bed, install new bed!
4. Buy new bedding in a prettyful and soothing color (TBD).
5. Clean out remaining clothes in dresser and closet. Determine which will go to charity, which will go to Katie, and which I will keep to wear (or for sentimental reasons, like skating dresses).
6. Reload closet and dresser with clothes that fit!
7. Remove all wall hangings (including glow in the dark stars on ceiling!)
8. Remove all furniture (with help from someone who can actually carry the heavy stuff).
9. Paint walls a prettyful and soothing color (again, TBD).
10. Put furniture back in the room, in a different layout that it's been for the past 10 1/2 years.
11. Clean off bookshelf and put newer books in.
12. Clean off desk space.
13. Clean out the 'stuff' side of the closet.
14. Clean off the shelf in the closet.
15. Put stuff I like/is from this millenium on shelves in closet.
16. Put any stuff that is still wanted, just not on display, in boxes. Deposit boxes in black hole aka the basement.
17. Put up wall decorations.
18. Find a job.

That's... overwhelming. Help?

~ Christine

lame duck

I'm back from my mental vacation.

To be perfectly honest, I haven't felt like writing anything recently. My life is lame and the good parts aren't that great. Annie and Adam's wedding was so much fun, and I was so happy to see my UD friends (who I've missed a lot!), but at the same time it was kinda sad because life is changing for everyone, but not me. I have a degree that no one wants. Going to grad school was a brief possibility, but I can't afford it in addition to all of the loans that I have to start paying back in February.

Presently, I'm watching a show on TLC called "The Lottery Changed My Life". Totes not helping.

Anyway, I'm still on the hunt for a better job. There's a job that my mom actually applied to last year, but she had to turn it down because of schedule conflicts that I'm thinking of applying to.

Tomorrow's plan is to shovel out my bedroom because I'm FINALLY getting my new bed delivered on Friday! I've slept on the same mattress since I was 3 and I got my very first big girl bed. I'm 22 now. I think it's time to upgrade.

Yes, getting a full size bed is the big thing going in my life right now. I'm lame.

~ Christine

take your pick

I can only fix one thing at a time. I can either:

A. Attempt to eat healthy/work out in order to lose weight and appease my Grandma
B. Find a full-time job that will get me enough money to pay back those damned loans, and move out of my house (to appease my sister and parents)
C. Figure out how to get out of the slump caused by the recent death of 2 of my grandparents to appease myself

I can't make everyone happy. I'm not even touching on my relationships with people! I'm sure several of those need some help.

A year ago I never would have thought that life could have gotten any worse. But sure enough, it has.

~ Christine

I dream of... NCIS?

In honor of the NCIS related dream I had last night (involving someone on the show who I didn't even know I had a 5th grade crush on!) I've decided I'm going to express my dreams that I have for NCIS in the coming seasons. I feel pretty safe using the plural of 'season' because let's face it, NCIS isn't going anywhere! Okay, so these dreams are a little more specific than the usual McAbby/Tiva/Bring Jenny back from the dead! dreams.

1. Fatty autopsy
I want Ducky and Palmer to perform an autopsy on someone who is severely overweight. Not just "I ate too much at Thanksgiving dinner" fat, but morbidly obese and in desperate need of a lap-band. Think of it, they slice the person open and then have to dig through mounds of fat! It would be such a challenge! I know all the Hollywood-types are twigs, and Sailors and Marines are physically fit too, but not everyone who's a victim is supposed to be skinny.

2. "It's a dead body... whatevs!"
You know how at the beginning of the episode, you either learn how the murder/crime happened, or you see the person discover that there was a murder/crime? Well, the person who always finds it either screams or looks horrified. Just once, I want the person who finds the body to be like "It's a dead guy. Okay." Or even better, be grotesquely fascinated with it!

3. This is one doodle that can't be undone, home skillet!
Last (for now) I want one of the ladies to have to go through pregnancy on the job. Ziva would be more of a challenge with this, since she's a trained killer and all. But even Abby would be fun, especially if it was McGee's baby! (okay, I know I said no McAbby, but I couldn't help that one) Oh man, and since Gibbs views Abby kind of like the daughter he never had (or rather, had, but lost) this baby would be almost like his pseudo-grandchild! Crazy!

That's my list for now, but you can be sure that if I think of more, I'll post them.

Now for a bit of whining. I hurt. My left shoulder has been cramping, my right hand is sore, can't grip anything, and my inner right elbow hurts too. I can't carry anything in my right hand, which has made general life pretty interesting. Okay, that's all for whining.

Good news! This afternoon my Dad and I went to the Worthington Rec Center and re-signed me up for membership. So now I have someplace to work out! Yay!

~ Christine

consolation prize

Last night I had a dream about my Grandpa. He and my Grandma were stopping by our house (our old house on Rosslyn, not where we live now) to drop off something. I could tell in my dream that he wasn't feeling great, but he was still smiling, so I asked him how he was feeling, and he looked around and said "I'm out of the hospital! What more could I want, Chris?" Then I woke up, and for a few minutes, I forgot he had died. But then I thought about it some more and I've decided that this dream is his way of letting me know that he's without pain now in Heaven.

~ Christine

working woman?

Today is my Grandma's birthday. I'm not really sure how this is going to go. She hasn't spent a birthday apart from my Grandpa in over 57 years.

Enough sadness! As of yesterday, I officially restarted my job hunt. So far, I have nothing. But I do have a list of j0bs that I wouldn't mind.

Jobs That Won't Cause Me To Hate My Life (I Hope):
1. Professional person working for a professional symphony orchestra
2. Music librarian working for a professional symphony orchestra
3. Author
4. Front desk person at a hotel (as long as the hotel is nice and not in a seedy part of town)
5. Daycare person
6. Work for Disney!
7. Work at a bookstore

So we'll have to see how this all works out for me. I do need to find something kinda soon so I can start saving so I can pay back student loans and move out of my parents' house. Plus, I have to start to want to work. Right now, I just don't feel like it. I would be perfectly happy hanging out at home for awhile.

Oh, and I have to lose some weight!! All the food that nice people have dropped off at our house has caused me to gain weight. I don't have a place for my scale in my house, but I can feel it in me that I'm porking up again. Yesterday, my mom jokingly told me to go on a crash diet. I reminded her that while I lost 35 pounds doing that the last time, I also surivived on one meal a day and lots of diet coke. Not really healthy eating at all. The scariest thing is that the last time I remember being happy with how I looked was probably... well, just weight, I liked me my freshman year of high school. But actual physical appearance was my senior year of high school. Ugh. Fail.

~ Christine

the shit just hit the fan

This has been the worst summer of my entire life.




ECKENRODE Thomas John Eckenrode, age 83, of Columbus, entered eternal life Sunday, August 2, 2009. Tom was born March 31,1926 in Columbus, Oh. He is survived by his beloved wife, Margaret of 57 years; his daughters, Emma (Alton) Lewis of Brownsboro, Ala. and Susan (Tim) O'Donnell of Worthington; his grandchildren, Christine, Michael and Kathleen O'Donnell of Worthington; his step-grandchildren, Stella (Chris) Ferrell of Richardson, Tex., Deborah Lewis of Dallas, Tex. and Amber (Barry) Oosterwaal of Cudahy, Wis.; step-great-grandchildren, Austin and Jared Ferrell and Carmen Oosterwaal. Also survived by his sister, Kay Hucle; and sisters-in-law, Laura Eckenrode and Polly Hafner; and many nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his parents Lyman and Lula Eckenrode, brother and sister-in-law Frank and Emaree Eckenrode, brother Robert Eckenrode, brothers-in-law John Hucle and Joseph Hafner and niece Anita Manter. Tom was a graduate of St. Joseph Cathedral Grade School, Rosary High School and the Ohio State University. He was a veteran of World War II Army Air Force. Retired owner of Thomas J. Eckenrode and Co, CPA Firm. He taught accounting for several years at Franklin University. He was an active member of Holy Name Catholic Church for over 50 years, where he served on the financial committee and was a lector and altar server. He worked on the Bishop's Annual Appeal for over 30 years. Tom was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a lifetime member of the Ohio Accounting Society. He was a member of University Kiwanis, where he served as President 1985-1986. Tom was also a member of the Catholic War Vets; Shamrock Club; Knights of Columbus, post 3727; Agonis Society; the Record Society and Our Lady of Peace Leisure Club. Tom was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He loved genealogy and he presented the Eckenrode Family Tree to his family as a present for Christmas 2007. His example of a strong faith was known to many people. His compassion and charitable contributions were numerous. Friends may call Wednesday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at EGAN-RYAN FUNERAL HOME, 403 E. Broad St. Prayer Service Wednesday 8 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial Thursday 10 a.m. at Holy Name Church, 154 E. Patterson Ave. Burial St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Holy Name Church, 154 E. Patterson Ave., Columbus, Oh. 43202 or the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital, 300 W. 10th Ave., Suite 519, Columbus, Oh. 43210. Visit http://www.egan-ryan.com/ for condolences.


Yes, in three weeks I lost two of my four grandparents. No, I am not handling it well.

I found out that Grandpa died while I was at work on Sunday. Unfortunately, I had volunteered to work an extra 4 hour linen shift and I didn't have my phone on me, so my mom had to call Bill, who happened to be in Dayton looking at apartments, to have him try to get ahold of me. I had just settled in at the desk for my quick lunch break when he came in and told me. I cried. It was such a shock to me. The last I had heard, he was doing better, they had even moved him out of the ICU and into a step down unit. I found out later that on that Sunday morning, they even got him out of bed for the first time and into a chair, which for someone who has (had?) a broken neck is (was?) a huge accomplishment. Then they got him back into bed, and he laid down to take a nap and never woke up. None of us got to say goodbye.

This threw a kink into my plans. I was originally supposed to move home on Tuesday, but I needed to be home sooner than that, so with a little bit of Bill's help, I managed to pack everything on Sunday night and my dad came over on Monday morning to help me move home. Monday I was doing okay. I had about a million things to think about, so the whole death thing wasn't even present in my mind. Believe me, when I thought about my last day of college, this was not what I had in mind. But I figured that if Megan could survive college when her dad died the day she moved in, I could handle ending college on a terrible note.

Tuesday was a decent day. Bill and I ran some errands because he was having his parents ship him his dress clothes, but he still needed some things. Then in the evening we went over to my Grandpa and Grandma's house (can I still call it that?) and had dinner. Oh, and of course my Grandma developed laryngitis, which still isn't better. Wednesday was a very long day. We had visiting hours in the afternoon and evening, and in between we went to Schmidt's for dinner. There was a staggering number of people who showed up to pay their respects. The guest book says 181 people/families were there, but we know that there were many people who were there and just never signed it. I still hadn't cried since Sunday when I first found out, and I felt a little guilty about that, but I was chalking it up to an overall lack of emotion. Ironically, Saturday night after Bill got in town, I was telling him how since Nana died, I only felt bad things. Good things just didn't make me happy, and as much as I wanted them too, I felt nothing when something good happened.

Thursday was the worst day by far. I've decided that my least favorite part of a funeral is when you go to the funeral home the morning of the burial to say your last goodbye. It was hard with Nana, but it was unbearable with Grandpa. With Nana, I had done a healthy amount of crying everyday, but I had let my emotions bottle up with Grandpa. I finally got a glimpse of the reality that he was gone. And then I lost it. I don't know if this is socially inappropriate to say, but the man in the coffin didn't look like my Grandpa. I know he's been through a lot physically recently, but there was just something odd about him. I half expected him to open his eyes and say "Gotcha Emmer, er... Suser.... er, Chris!" That morning before we left the house, my mom told me that I needed to be there for Katie today. So I was. I had been feeling like I was there for everyone. My Grandma was completely devasted; it hurt me so much to see her in that kind of pain. Then my mom and Aunt Emma were upset; they lost their daddy and now their mom was in pain. My Dad was upset because he didn't like seeing my mom in pain, plus he's still mourning his own mother. Actually, Grandpa's funeral was the third time in my life that I've seen my Dad cry. He cried when he found out that one of his coworkers was fatally shot in the line of duty, and again three years ago when Uncle Bill passed away. Anyway, everyone else higher up on the totem pole of authority was so upset that my brother and sister (who I believe are towards the bottom) had no one to lean on, except me. Even though Mike has Lizzie, she was really sick and couldn't be at the funeral home, though she made it to the funeral. And Katie didn't even want to tell her friends at all, although it ended up being posted on the Watterson Band website. So that left me as their big sister to be there for them. But I also tried to be there for my mom and Aunt Emma and Grandma. Everyone was so strung out that I felt like I had to save everyone, which clearly is impossible. And now I'm paying the price.

I just want to go back to UD. After Nana died, I was fortunate enough to go back to school and mourn in my own way. But now, we have to mourn the way my Grandma wants us to, and it's driving me crazy. I want to be left alone. I want to be able to stay in my pajamas all day and watch NCIS because that's what I do to make me feel better. We were supposed to go to the State Fair tomorrow, but my Grandma got upset about it because she thought it was disrespectful to my Grandpa. Quite honestly, I bet my Grandpa would want us to go. He always enjoyed going to the fair. My Grandma told my mom earlier that she should go to church and if she had a job, she would be okay with going to work, but nowhere else, and certainly not anywhere fun. It's so frustrating because everyone grieves in different ways, and since my aunt and uncle are still in town, my mom thought it would be a good chance for us to be together as a family. She's hardly been home since Grandpa fell, and Mike leaves for school in a couple of weeks. So tomorrow, I bet you anything we're going to spend yet another day doing nothing but sitting around at my Grandma's house.

I feel like I'm being pulled in a thousand different directions. I know that I need to take care of other people, but I need to take care of me too. Yes, losing your husband or your father is awful, but what about losing two grandparents in less than three weeks? I still hurt over losing Nana, and combined with losing Grandpa, and now I have to save my family too? I can't do it all! I just want my Grandpa to come back. This all has to be a horrible dream and someday I'm going to wake up and it will all go away. I can still hear his voice telling me about what Monsignor said, or what "Your Mudder" (as he affectionately called my Grandma sometimes) did when they were younger. It's just not fair. He's still supposed to be here.

~ Christine

*blink*

I did this when Uncle Bill died, so now I'm going to do it again.

Lorraine Marie O'Donnell
O'DONNELL Lorraine Marie O'Donnell, age 84, of Grove City, passed away Friday, July 17, 2009 at Riverside Methodist Hospital. Lorraine was a member of Bethel Lutheran Church, and was a well known piano teacher in Grove City. She worked in Washington D.C. for the Navy Dept. during WW II. She cherished her role as a loving wife, mother and grandmother. Preceded in death by her daughter Bridget A. O'Donnell. Lorraine was survived by her husband of 52 years, Neil O'Donnell; son, Tim (Sue) O'Donnell; daughters, Erin (Dan) Stout and Amy Brotherton; brother, John Nigon; and her grandchildren, Amanda and Danny Stout, Megan, Emily and Katie Brotherton, Christine, Mike and Katie O'Donnell; nieces, nephews and dear friends. Friends may visit on Sunday from 2-5 p.m. at THE SPENCE-MILLER FUNERAL HOME, 2697 Columbus St., Grove City. Funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Monday at Bethel Lutheran Church, 4501 Hoover Rd., Grove City. Pastor Peter Ray officiating. Interment Concord Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Bethel Lutheran Church in Lorraine's memory. Online guestbook at http://www.spencemillerfuneralhome.com/

Okay, now that that's over with... just when you think things couldn't get any worse, they probably will. Remember that.

Monday evening after we came home from Nana's funeral, we got a call from my Grandma saying that my Grandpa had fallen down the basement stairs and was unconscious. Presently, he's in the ICU with a broken neck. The good news is that he didn't have a stroke like the originally suspected. The bad news is that he broke the top two vertebrae in his neck, and things aren't looking good for him to be mobile again. It's not impossible, but at his age, it's unlikely. He's got a huge gash in his head, and he's on a ventilator. Needless to say, things are pretty tense in my family right now. So again, if you're a praying person, please pray for us. And if you're not... think good thoughts.

Throughout all of this, I almost forgot the REALLY good news! Bill got the job in Dayton! Yaaay! I really am happy for him, but I'm not doing well with feelings right now, and if I wasn't so upset about everything else, I'm sure I'd be much happier. There are only so many feelings a girl can handle at once.

Did you know that you can hurt your eyes from crying too much? I've experienced it firsthand. Thankfully, I haven't cried yet today, but I said that yesterday and then I came home from visting Grandpa in the hospital and I sobbed for a good ten minutes. I'm tired all the time. Not even kidding, all I've done since 12:15 today is watch NCIS. Thanks to Katie, it's my new obsession. It's actually a pretty strange show for someone who's just buried a grandmother to enjoy so much... about every case involves a dead person. But somehow, it's helping me. It's so involved and intense that it keeps my mind off of things. It's also helpful that I've developed a bit of a crush of McGee. It's that whole hot nerd computer thing. Reminds me of Bill. I'm watching the episodes online in order, but there's been a marathon on USA all day today. It's like a double dose!

I need to eat... I haven't had an appetite yet, but I still get queasy if I don't eat.

- Christine

loverrrrr(s)

I have two new lovers. Their names are Michael Bublé and Josh Groban. Don't judge.

I love a good singing male voice. But it has to be good. Not just an "Oh, I love him and he's singing to me, which is sweet, so that makes it good." NOPE. Call me a musical snob, but that doesn't count. I want a genuinely good, preferrably classically trained voice. Once upon a time, an ex-boyfriend sang to me a song he had written for me. This falls under the category of things that SOUND romantic and sweet, but in actuality, are incredibly uncomfortable.

Anyway, after using iTunes for almost 4 years, I'm finally going through and rating my music, all 5354 songs of it! It's taking forever, but in the meantime, I'm rediscovering music I had forgotten about. Plus I'm getting good ideas for playlists I want to make once I'm done rating.

Through this process, I've discovered Michael and Josh, and the three of us are getting along quite swimmingly. Though they're no Bill, together they make a halfway decent substitute for when I'm feeling lonely. Which right now, is a lot. I told Bill the other day at Graeter's that I would probably be the worst Army wife in the world because everytime he leaves, I shut down emotionally. Either I start to pull away before he even leaves so I don't have to deal with the pain, or I sob uncontrollably. In both situations, it's not healthy, and definately something I couldn't deal with on a regular basis. It hasn't even been a full year yet of being long distance and I can't stand it. I quite honestly don't know how military spouses do it. So kudos to them for being much stronger than I am!

So I can't stand the girl living in the room next to me. I don't even know who she is, but she's a little diva and I can't handle her. She keeps knocking on my closet at night or in the mornings when I have the TV on, and it's completely unjustified. I really don't have the TV on loud at all, and besides, it's a DORM. Not the Hyatt. It's going to be a little noisy. So suck it up and deal with it. Besides... there have been louder noises coming from my room!

I meant my music... what were YOU thinking? Pervs... haha.

Anyway, I'm plotting my revenge on her. I plan on leaving my TV on all weekend when I'm gone, so that there's no one around to turn it down when she raps on the wall. Mwhahaha. Last night I was watching Frasier, and she knocked, so I turned it down. THEN THE BITCH KNOCKED AGAIN. So I turned it down again, and then I realized it was now so quiet that I couldn't hear it anymore, so I just gave up and turned it off. This kind of stuff has been going on all summer. Once she knocked when I was blow drying my hair in the morning before work. HELLO, it's a blowdryer! What does the girl expect? I'm SERIOUSLY suprised she didn't knock all weekend... I mean... yeah. So now I just need to find the most obnoxious TV channel to leave my TV on when I leave Friday morning. I'm thinking either MTV or VH1. And if the bia knocks again, I'm just going to knock back. In triplets. Suck on that!

~ Christine