Congratulations Matt!

My friend, Matt, just got a NEW JOB... whoo hoo!!! :)

John + Gwen = Cute x 2

Haha, Gwen had this picture in her backpack when she got home from school today... John made it for her (the heart says "John + Gwen")... awww, how sweet!!!

We're Hanging Out With Kanye!

Poor Gwen, she hasn't been feeling too well since Saturday and I'm staying home with her today. HOWEVER, she's finally feeling alot better now and it's been such a good day!!! :) We're listening to Kanye West's new CD, 808s & Heartbreak, and just being silly and dancing... AWESOME CD and GOOD times! Ok, Kanye's attitude might be a little questionable at times, but he's an absolute genius when it comes to music! There's so many great songs on Kanye's new CD (duh... Heartless and Love Lockdown) but, I think our two favorites from today would have to be:

Paranoid (Feat. Mr. Hudson)



Street Lights



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Gwen + John = Cute

Awww, I just had to show this really cute picture that Gwen drew of her and her "boyfriend," John. ;)

Autism: 1 in 150

A really great cause that is near and dear to my heart is autism because my nephew, Cameron, (also my twin sister Tiff's son) was officially diagnosed with it in December 2007. He has PDD-NOS on the autism spectrum, which stands for Pervasive Development Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified, so he doesn't really fit into a specific category.

Some interesting facts about autism (source: National Autism Association):

::It's a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3.

::It impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. Individuals with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

::Individuals with autism often suffer from numerous physical ailments which may include: allergies, asthma, epilepsy, digestive disorders, persistent viral infections, feeding disorders, sensory integration dysfunction, sleeping disorders and more.

::It is diagnosed four times more often in boys than girls. It's prevalence is not affected by race, region, or socio-economic status. Since autism was first diagnosed in the U.S. the occurrence has climbed to an alarming one in 150 people across the country.

::It does not affect life expectancy. Currently, there is no cure for autism, though with early intervention and treatment, the diverse symptoms related to autism can be greatly improved.

Celebrity Jenny McCarthy also has a son, Evan, with autism and has started an organization called Generation Rescue. Jenny has also written two books about the subject of autism:

(click to read reviews/purchase at Barnes & Noble)

(click to read reviews/purchase at Barnes & Noble)

Tiff read through a good part of both these books and said it started off interesting, but would mainly be a good read for someone who is not too familiar with autism. Tiff has a friend, Stacy, she met through work that also has an autistic son, Cade, and she said Stacy really liked Jenny's first book!

There is also another very worthwhile book about autism that my mom and Tiff both REALLY enjoyed called Born On A Blue Day (Inside The Extraordinary Mind of an Autisic Savant) by Daniel Tammet. You can get a description and reviews here!

Interesting Tidbit: Graham Streeter, a filmmaker from Hollywood, CA, is shooting a movie right here in Normal, IL about adults with autism called "Normal Folk." You can read the article here!

FYI, Tiff mentioned a local organization called the Autism Society of McLean County is also a great source to learn more about autism...

Cameron Babcock, age 6

HaPpPy BiRtHdAy SaMaNtHa!

TODAY is my niece's (my twin's daughter) 4th birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!!!



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It's Official... PRESIDENT Obama!

Bob Evans Placemat Masterpieces

On Monday nights, Gwen has gymnastics and we usually go out to eat afterwards. We take turns in picking where we go and tonight was Mikey's choice... Bob Evans! Not so bad! :) Mikey usually gets the "Farmer's Choice Breakfast," Gwen gets the "Plenty-o-Pancakes," and I get "Bob's BLT&E."

ANYWAYS, haha, here is the artwork Gwen and I created with our placemats while we were waiting for our food:



Screaming Potatoes by Missy



??? by Gwen

Have a GREAT night!

Ok, I know it's been a couple days since I last posted, but I promise to get back into the swing of things TOMORROW... hehe, I'm going to bed now! ;) Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and Have a GREAT night!!!

IT'S FREEZING!!!

WOW, according to AccuWeather.com for Bloomington-Normal, IL:

Currently at 10:49 PM
-12 °F RealFeel®:-37 °F
Clear
Humidity: 74% Dew Point: -18 °F
Pressure: 30.89 in Visibility: 10 Miles
Winds: W at 14 mph

Thursday Night, Jan 15
Low: -18 °F RealFeel®: -29 °F
Mainly clear with temperatures falling to near the record of -20; extreme cold can be dangerous.

WELL, I think I'm going to invest in some Cuddl Duds!!!

How To Say I Love You

Mikey actually told me about this REALLY sweet independent short film on YouTube he saw "by accident" the other day called "how to say i love you"... aw, he thought I would enjoy it because he knows I LOVE love, cute guys with accents, and living in a fantasy world (heh)! ;) Yep, I DID enjoy it... Cheers!!!



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Fashion Label: LISA By Lisa Merry

YAY... I'm so excited! I asked Lisa to send me some pics of the AMAZING clothes she's made and here they are!!! Hm, maybe she'll be the next Christian V. Siriano from Bravo TV's Project Runway? ;)

Here's a video of Christian's work for his FIERCE Spring 2009 collection and also some fun runway music to set the mood while you look at Lisa's pics!

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Picture Fun Weekend

Gwen had her first YMCA basketball game of the season on Saturday! Mikey's brother, Brian, is REALLY good at basketball, so we're hoping he can make it down to one of her games because we think he would really enjoy it... he lives in Milwaukee, WI so we don't get to see him too often! (Gwen's #9 and, heh, the one with really long shorts!)















We also went ice skating Saturday night at the Pepsi Ice Center! Poor Gwen kept falling down, but I was so proud of her because she kept getting right back up... she got more frustrated as the night went on, but she wanted to keep on skating. GOOD GIRL Gwen... way to hang in there! ;)











Gwen got to play with her cousin, Samantha, today (Sam is also my twin sister's daughter)! Heh... looks like Mikey even had a good time (haha, you know he's just saying "help me" in the first pic)! ;)













YEP, that was our weekend!!! :)

A Taco Bell Wedding?

Ok, here's a wedding to remember... a couple who lives here in Normal, IL got married at a local Taco Bell! You can read the article here.

(Really neat fact: the couple met through an Internet dating site and while the groom, Paul Brooks, is originally from here, the bride, Caragh Brooks, is originally from Australia... how very cool is that?!)

Update: Paul and Caragh Brooks get a call from the CBS "Early Show"... read article here!

Star Wars- The Clone Wars

Friday nights are Gwen and Mikey's night to watch Star Wars- The Clone Wars on TV! It's really cute that Mikey got Gwen interested in Star Wars... heh, she even got a Star Wars- The Clone Wars Reader for Christmas and really enjoys reading it with Mikey! ;)

Here's just a little preview:

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Hopefully, you know by now that Mikey REALLY likes anything having to do with Star Wars (btw, his favorite movie is The Empire Strikes Back)! Hah, he even found a site that has everything you've ever wanted to know about Star Wars called Wookieepedia... pretty cool for all you Star Wars fans!

Enigma: Seven Lives Many Faces

Tonight, I'm listening to a new CD by Enigma, which is not bad! Here's a song called "Seven Lives" that's pretty cool and funky:



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FYI, I really liked "Distorted Love" but, unfortunately, I think it's much too provocative to post on here... however, if you're not very easily offended here is the link for the song on YouTube!

Blackmail... Er, I Mean "Blast From The Past!"

Hah, someone who used to be on my older sister, Kandy's, tennis team back in high school in the 80's posted this on Facebook (very addictive btw...). Kandy's the really hot one standing in the middle with the sexy "Illinois" sweatshirt. GREAT blackmail pic, Kandy... Love ya!!! ;)

Makes Sense... ;)

A positive attitude might not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
Herm Albright 1876-1944

And, This Is How You Make A Bracelet...

Heh, Gwen looks a little possessed at the end of this cute "how to" video (again, not the best quality... sorry!) so you might want to stop it at 1:40... I'm just saying! :P

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BTW... Don't Do Something You Tell Your Kids Never To Do!

UGH, I just had to tell this because I can't believe I did it... hah, and I guess I also felt the need to really embarrass myself! ;)

Tonight, Gwen and I were sitting in front of the fireplace (um, which was turned on and had been "burning" for awhile... it's an automatic gas fireplace) and she mentioned she is NEVER supposed to touch the protective glass shield in front because you could really burn yourself. Um, ok... so, what did I do??? Right away, I TOUCHED the glass thinking, oh, it can't be THAT hot. Yeah, it was. HAH, good thing I only touched it with the middle and ring finger on my right hand, so now after running under cold water and putting on ice for awhile, I only temporarily lost the use of those two fingers (and, my left pinky due to Guitar Hero... awesome, I'm a true video game nerd now!)... ahhh, not a good couple of days! :( Wow, I still have no idea WHAT I was thinking... yep, it was a total role reversal where Gwen was acting like the grown-up and I was acting like the kid!!!

Moral of story: DO NOT do things you tell your kids not to do (there's probably a good reason you tell them not to do it) and, hah, don't do stupid things in front of your kids where they can see! Yep, lesson learned!!! ;)

Suggested Blog: Heather Merry-Raggett

Lisa also has a TON of sisters... nah, just kidding... there's only FIVE of them including her! ;) In order from oldest to youngest, there's Jennifer, Lisa, Katie, Heather, and Megan... they're all really cute and look alot alike. Heh, I hope they don't mind me including this pic of them, but here they are (l-r: Megan, Lisa, Jennifer, Katie, and Heather)! Besides Lisa really needing to get started on a blog (uh hem), Heather has one called Do What Now? Daily Life of Jeff and Heather that I would suggest you check out... sorry, the link won't work so please copy and paste this into a new browser window: http://www.swimmerhouse.net/blog/index.php! :)

Update: Heather has a new blog on Blogger called Kansas City Livin'!

It's Over... Already???

WELL, the nice long weekend is over and it's back to work again tomorrow, which I'm NOT looking forward to at all! *sigh* Ah well, at least it was a fun weekend!

On Friday, I got to see Tiff and her cute little belly, which is getting bigger every time I see her, aw. YAY, not too much longer before Alex is here... can't wait to meet the little guy! Nope, February 5th can't come soon enough! ;)

Saturday was AWESOME... so much fun!!! I got to see my good friend, Lisa, and she showed me alot of great pictures she has. She makes wonderful clothes (heh, can you believe even underwear, which was really, really cute... it looked like something right out of Victoria's Secret!) and she's been to some really interesting places, like Haiti! Wow, you should've seen those pictures... absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I've asked her to send me some of the pics of her clothes so I can post them, which I will do the second I get them! :) No matter what, I'm going to make her have her own blog because seriously, it would be SO good! Lisa has so many talents that it's crazy... sewing, design, drawing, photography, baking, and the list goes on.

But, we also went out to eat dinner (TGIFriday's... yum) and met up with some other friends at a local downtown bar (Bret and Chris, we had fun!). Here's to a GREAT night with friends and a tab that only came to $13.75 after being there for about four hours (hah, I really hope I added the tip correctly)! Yep, I'd also like to give a shoutout to Lady GaGa and Akon... great music btw! ;)

And finally, TODAY, Gwen and I had a good time hanging out at home together (hee hee, she made a guitar out of a cereal box and a wrapping paper tube... pretty cool!) and I even got to play some Guitar Hero- World Tour... ROCK ON (heh, even though I had to stop after about an hour because my left pinky couldn't take it any longer and started cramping up)! :D However, after playing, I now have this really good song stuck in my head called Monsoon by a German Emo group called Tokio Hotel and here it is (btw, this has 30.5 million plays so far!):

I also have to post this YouTube video that Mikey mentioned he saw tonight... heh, I'm sure all you guys will really appreciate it too!!!

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Some Other Great Xbox 360 Games

Mikey got his brother, Brian, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe for Christmas and we all got a chance to play it while he was here visiting. It was pretty cool and even Gwen was loving it (um, not too sure though it was such a good idea that she played, but it was a good time!).



Mikey also got Fable 2 for Christmas that he has been playing ALOT. It's a fantasy role-playing game, which he really enjoys... :)



We've had LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga for awhile now, but Mikey and Gwen really like playing it together... awww!



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Wow, Guitar Hero- World Tour REALLY Does Rock!

Mikey got me Guitar Hero- World Tour for Christmas (hm, wonder how he knew that's exactly what I wanted... j/k, I asked for it!) and I finally got around to playing it on New Year's Eve. I absolutely LOVE it... it's by far the best of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band games. If I had to rank them, it would be 1. Guitar Hero- World Tour 2. Rock Band 3. Guitar Hero 4. Rock Band 2.

The song selection in Guitar Hero- World Tour is wonderful and the set up is even better... I'm addicted again! If it weren't for Guitar Hero/Rock Band, I would've probably never listened to songs that I now can't get enough of... in World Tour there's Steely Dan (Do It Again), Tool (Parabola, Schism, Vicarious), Coldplay (Shiver), Modest Mouse (Float On), Ted Nugent (Stranglehold) and those are to only name a few (yep, that'll for sure be my next playlist!).

I mainly "play" the guitar (I'm working my way through hard on World Tour), but have "played" the drums before and those are pretty tough because I'm not too good at keeping a constant beat like that (heh, Gwen has played the drums on Rock Band too and is surprisingly good... she has wanted to play "real" drums ever since she saw School of Rock a year or so ago, but we thought this would work for right now... aw, it's so cute watching her play though). And, I will NEVER try to sing because I can't carry a tune to save my life... heh, nope, don't want to make too much of a fool out of myself!!! Although, I will only play when I'm by myself or in front of Mikey or Gwen and that's it... so, I guess it won't really matter if no one's around to listen, eh? Anyways... ;)

HAHA, here's a video of Mikey that he actually let me take of him playing World Tour with Linkin Park- What I've Done. (I also got a little video camera called Flip Video for Christmas from him that I wanted to try out!) I'm sorry, it's not the best quality and it's a little long, but some of the moves that Mikey makes are great (hee hee)... and, if anything at all, you could sing along to the song! (Oh, btw, Mikey has a sock monkey hanging around his neck that I got him for Christmas... hehe). ENJOY!!!



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HAPPY NEW YEAR... Welcome 2009!

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