Ode to the Magic Eraser

My new favorite item in the world is the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. They seriously are magic and I am hooked. I think If I had a large industrial sized M.E. I could clean entire houses in 1 hour tops. This has been the savior of our "getting the house on the market quickly" bit. Seriously, I could look at a door that is supposed to be white, but now appears dingy yellow- get at it with a Magic Eraser and its a brand new door. If you dont believe me, try it for yourself. I have cleaned walls, crown molding, baseboards, doors, scuffs, stains, vinly siding...you name it AND it works fast. I should be the new spokes model I love it so much. I know Brent thinks its dumb that I have devoted an entire blog to them, but I just had to share my joy. I love you Magic Erasers!

Backstage Pics from the "woods"

Leah Luker as "the Witch"

The Stepfamily

Me and Brent (above)

Annalisa and Jennifer

Oh the Progress...

As most of you know Brent and I are trying to get his house ready to sell. It has been a long road that we started about a year ago or so. We just didnt know it. I wish I had before and after pictures to show b/c that would make this blog much more interesting, but I don't. So, you will have to settle for reading the details instead. So, since I have come into the picture these are all the things that have been done to his house- Some with my help, some without:

-Completely re-did his bedroom. painted, rearranged furniture, new pics on walls, new bedding ect. It looks a million times better now.
-Cleaned out his garage
-Cleaned out the playroom/Reorganized (it looks sooo good)
-Painted the backyard fence
-Replaced the screen on screened in porch area
-Cleaned out ALL the kitchen cabinets
-Rearranged living room
-Cleaned carpets
-Painted the hallway
-Cleaned out both girls rooms-(mostly they stored the billion stuffed animals that were in their cribs) We took the cribs out too- Carly is 12 ya know.
- Several yard work days!
-Replaced some windows
-Replaced blinds in girls' rooms
-We are in the process of stripping the bathroom wallpaper and painting it a neutral color
-This weekend Brent is pressure washing the entire house (thank you dad for giving us a pressure washer!)

I'm sure Brent can think of several more things he has done like touch up paint and such, but you get the gist. We have done alot- he of course more than me, but its been fun. Once we see the complete finished product and it sells we are going to be super happy. We really do enjoy doing this together. We make it fun.
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MmmmmmmmmmAGIC MUFFINS!

I've been craving Magic Muffins for about 3 weeks now, but Im just too lazy to leave early enough to get one in the mornings. SO, I went at lunch today. If you havent had a "magic muffin" they are great. Mainly b/c the magic is that they are either Fat Free or Low Fat. Some things in the store like the cinnamon rolls are not so much fat free as WONDERFUL, but I love the lemon poppyseed fat free muffin. If you live in Birmingham run, dont walk and get one. I guess I am running out of things to blog about.

Interesting night

Last night was different and I'll tell you why. The girl that played the Baker's wife in Into the Woods is desperately trying to adopt a child from China. It is a very expensive project I am told so she is attempting to raise money. She has a beautiful voice and her idea was to do concerts in churches around the area. In the opening song of this concert she needs a "choir" or several voices for back up and since we can't all be there at each of her concerts she needed us to record our voices on a track. So, last night after one 20 minute rehearsal we met at the Sound of Birmingham recording studio to record it. We split up into the 4 parts around microphones and put on the headphones that you see them doing on music videos and such (We are the World) Anyway, it was really really neat. They were able to "stack" our sound so that although there were only 13 people singing, it multiplied us by 3 and sounded like 39 people.
One thing I realized while I was there was that I was the only one NOT extensively trained in music. Everyone was saying things like "Oh, you have to jump to the E natural on that bar" and "Thats a F sharp, but in quarter notes". When I say everyone, I mean everyone...but me. The part that shocks me is that I have been in church choirs and theatre pretty much my whole life and I still can't read music. I feel SO dumb. My extent of music reading is knowing this note is higher than that note b/c its higher up. Wow. What makes a note "natural" anyway? Does it come from nature? I just wish one day I could be like "oh yeah, crescendo there to enhance the dynamics" What?

Into the Woods Pics

The American Village

I wanted to post pictures of the site for the Jones/Kennedy nuptials. We went out there on Saturday with parents, Nathan, Amy, Carly, and Zoe. I wanted everyone to see its charm. I just love htis place! It has such character to me. Some pics are of the barn where the reception will be and the others are in the chapel.

Opening Night

Tonight we open Into the Woods. Lets just say I hope it goes well. There are still some elements that arent in order and it scares me. I have decided that I just can't worry about the things I cannot control. I am going to have fun no matter what and i just hope some people come to see it. We found out last night that our pre-sales for tonight are very slim. If you've ever done theatre you know how disappointing it is to work for months to get a show ready and then have no one there. So, I'm hoping for some major walk-ups tonight! Anywho, my parents are coming into town to see the show for Saturday night. Nathan and Amy are coming Saturday as well. I'm very excited! Tomorrow we are all trecking to Montevallo to see American Village. It should be a very fun weekend!

My Honey!

I feel compelled to write a blog devoted to my sweet future husband Brent. He is soooo wonderful to me I can't even explain. No one has ever made me feel as loved as he does and for that he deserves a blog.
A few fun things about him: Brent has to mimic all sounds as he hears them. When a phone beeps or a garage door is coming down. He makes the sound unintentionally and it is freakishly accurate. I dont know how he does it. When tires shreak or any machine makes an odd noise he without fail will make the exact same sound. I love this trait mainly b/c he really doesn't know he's doing it and is not trying to show off his "sound immitation skills' its just one of those cute quirks I love.
He's so animated yet so calm in an escalated situation. When he's talking to you about something he thinks is exciting or fun he gestures wildly and talks loud with really wide eyes. HOWEVER, if he is merging into another lane and a car is about to hit us, he doesn't say a word, just merges back as I "FREAK OUT". Its really quite funny when I think about it. Its not as funny in the car.
He loves to just play. I don't mean like "lets play Wii or lets play tennis" but I know at any moment if I want to play freeze tag or "not it" at any moment he is game. We love road trip games and "gotcha last" Its completely elementary but SOOO me. The fact that he can be just as silly as I am and sometimes more, its such a rare quality that I need in a man.
Hes a communicator. This too is a rare quality. I have never known a male that is so good and open to "talking" about problems than Brent. In fact, sometimes I might take on the guy role of "lets dont talk about htis anymore" and he will press the issue so we don't hold grudges or stay angry. I'm very thankful for this quality in him.

I love you B!