Bad Idea...yet very resourceful....

Yesterday, I was changing into my gym clothes at work and realized I had left my sport bras at home (yes I have to wear two). Needless to say...I was not going to make it for my two hour classes without..unless I drove home and completely missed my first class. SOOOOO, I decided it would be a good idea to improvise and decided to use packing tape to...tape myself down instead. Hope (such a good friend) assisted me in the taping process. At first, it was fabulous - there was no movement at all. I looked like a completely different person...kind of creepy. Then - I get to class. After causing my friends from class & the instructor to bust out laughing after I told them what I had done....I ended up taking it off about 30 minutes into class. Apparently we had taped me down a little to tightly and I was basically hyperventilating. It was hilarious..... But, next time I get a MacGyver inspiration ...I'll think about it a little more.

Slacker

So, I know I'm being a horrible blogger again....and no one is probably reading this, but I'm perfectly OK with that! I restarted this for me...as a release....and so that Emily would have away to keep up with my life :) OK - & Hope too...since I made her start one & then quit blogging.

New stuff.....Emily came into to the state for a lovely visit on her birthday weekend. I was able to get to spend a wonderful evening with her beautiful children, Poppins, Voldemort and The Man. It was so much fun! But do you know what I realized on the two hour drive home.....I DIDN'T TAKE ANY PICTURES!!!!!!!! I HAD MY CAMERA!!!!!!! One of my bestest friends from high school (well, just bestest friends ever) comes into town from UTAH and I didn't TAKE A PICTURE!!!!!!!!! I was kicking myself the whole way home, it caused lots of bruising.. :)

New Stuff #2 - Very exciting, momentous day this past week. I got my first ever business cards. I have handed my cards out to no one related to my actual work...except for Hope....I figure they will come in handy for entering contests, etc. I asked the big boss if it would be OK if bedazzled, feathered, girlified my business cards - his response was "the company giveth & the company can taketh away"
Hope said I could do just one - as long as I didn't give it out to ANYONE.

New Name

So I renamed my blog because this fits me more....now. I do try to always find the bright side in most situations (work is excluded in this statement). This being said, I have to tell you a funny story about my friends Hope and Lisa's new opinion of me... At lunch one day it was determined that out of the three of us, I would be the most likely to be a serial killer....because I am so happy & chipper all the time, and that no one would believe that someone could be that way unless there was something mentally unstable about them. They then proceeded to discuss how I would be the Disney serial killer and would dress up my victims in princess gowns....I was quite frightened, disturbed and slightly amused. Can you tell we all watch too much TV....

Previous to this, I had also determined that I was most likely to get tricked into smuggling drugs unknowingly into the country and spend time in a foreign prison. This came after watching a program on National Geographic while on the elliptical machine at the gym. It was basically the real story behind Brokedown Palace. But it was so sad, because as I was watching it, I was thinking...I could so see myself falling for this. So I have made a note to myself - no accepting free trips out of the country in exchange for bringing packages back for strangers.....

So...I'm back

I know it has been awhile and I'm sure no one who used to check my blog is still actually checking this anymore.....but I'm giving it another shot at the encouragement/inspiration of Emily . So I'm going to give it a shot again and see what happens. I'm not promising anything profound or deep contemplations about....anything, just me being me and saying what I'm thinking which at times can be quite interesting.

The most AWESOMEST (ha ha) wedding reception

So, after a very fun wedding reception this past weekend, my sister Katie & I started planning my imaginary wedding reception. We both decided this will be the reception to end all receptions (this of course does not include Hope or Emily's receptions). For those of you who don't know....I am a HUGE 80's fan. I know it must be hard to imagine, but my entire wedding reception is going to be 80's themed. Instead of throwing the garter - throwing the legwarmer. Instead of throwing a bouquet of flower - a bouquet of scrunchies. Wedding part decked out in 80's gear (for the reception only) - this may limit the # of people in the wedding party, but I at least know Katie would be willing...Tab is a possibility...Hope is a negative....not sure about Emily..... But on to more details. A few years ago we went to another super fun wedding and they gave everyone mix cd's as wedding favors, of songs that meant a lot to them as a couple - it has become one of my favorites - so I figure I could give 80's mix CD's as favors. Each table at the wedding would have a theme - either a favorite song or movie of mine from the 80's. Location = well we thought it would be cool to have the reception in....a gymnasium. So we could decorate it like a cheesy high school prom from the 80's with a cheesy theme - like Under the Sea or Hawaiian Luau. So, as you can see I really have no life since my sister and I spent the better part of an hour (granted at least 30 minutes of this was in the car) brainstorming these ideas. The only problem is - I am single. Just a minute detail. So if anyone of you know someone named Jesse.....it would really help me out, because then I could really be Jesse's Girl :)

On a roll now

Ok, so I keep thinking of things to share. First, here is a picture of the fantabulous birthday cake I made for my friend Tab for her birthday, well not really made, since it was basically stacking Krispy Kreme doughnuts on top of each other, but still.


And here are a few pictures from our day at the Nature Center. Josie had a clogging performance there, so we got to walk around, see all the animals, get attacked by a chicken, learned how to imitate a peacock call (I do have to say we got pretty good at it - we were trying to get the peacock to expand his fan) and of course, watch my girl clog (she's the one in the center) :)

Sharing Time

As most of you who read/have read my blog at some point know, I was in school this past semester (yes I do plan on going back again this semester, as long as finances allow). During this time, I wrote A LOT of papers. I had lofty aspirations to post some of the ones I actually enjoyed writing here on my blog. So for your reading enjoyment - here is my compare/contrast paper for my writing class:

Sister: a female who has one or both parents in common with another. This is the definition of the word sister according to Webster’s Dictionary. I, on the other hand, have come to my own, complex definition of sister during my lifetime. As the oldest of 4, I have had a lot of experience being “the big sister” and have come to realize you can’t just describe this type of a relationship with one word, emotion or feeling – although I will attempt to compare and contrast here how my experiences as a sister has changed throughout my life.
I first became a sister at the age of 3 – my little brother Joshua Tyler Cameron. I honestly don’t remember much about his arrival in our family. I do know from pictures and what I have heard from my parents that I adored my brother. Two years later, when I was 5, my sister Katie LeeAnn Cameron, was born - I do remember her birth. I was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital with Josh and a family member, I was coloring in my Herself the Elf coloring book, and someone came in and said “Heidi, you have a new sister!”, I responded with – “So?”. Needless to say, I remember not being particularly thrilled with the birth of this new member of the family. Since I was the oldest, I did feel some responsibility to teach them things, how to play with Barbies, how to play dress up (yes, I was able to get my brother to participate), play house/doctor/school, what the best cartoons were, the fact that we bleed orange in our family (Clemson) and how to have fun at Clemson football games. As they grew older, I found I was beginning to learn things from them as well.
My brother started playing baseball at the very young age of 4 – from that point on, my summers revolved around watching my brother play baseball. I learned from these experiences my brother is an exceptionally talented baseball player, he is a good sport and an asset to any team he has been on. The time our family spent traveling to watch him play baseball also allowed us to grow closer together and gave us the opportunity to make new friends. We were able to see parts of the country we may not have seen otherwise – even if it was Abingdon, VA. I was basically given two choices with baseball, considering the amount of time we spent watching it, either love it or hate it. I chose to love it, and still do. The relationship I have/had with my brother has gone through the typical stages most brother – sister relationships go through. Annoyance, love, anger, tolerance – however, I feel that my relationship with my brother isn’t just “typical” – especially now that I can look back on it. As young children, I know it wasn’t a perfect lovey-dovey relationship, but we have a very strong relationship today. We have helped each other through some difficult times -we both had our hearts broken by our “soulmates” within a week of each other. Through all of the hitting, bruises, pulling hair, hugs, laughs and games – I am so lucky to have experienced it all with him and I am so proud of the man he has become.
My sister Katie on the other hand, was the “thinker”. She participated in OM – Odyssey of the Mind. Through this, I got to see a creative, outgoing person that usually was hidden some where inside. I went to many of these competitions and practices and through this, I learned more about thinking outside the box and how to be creative. I thought, and honestly still do, of Katie as the smart one. She was the one who always concentrated on her school work – not one to be easily distracted. She started playing the violin in middle school, she practiced diligently and became a very talented violinist – as opposed to my experience playing the clarinet, another story for another time. My relationship with Katie is very different from my relationship with my brother. I love them both equally, yet there is something different about my relationship with her. She is my best friend - the closest thing I have found on this earth to my soulmate. Even though we don’t live together anymore, when we do get together, we are constantly finishing each other’s sentences and saying things at the same time….it’s creepy. I know I can call her at any time and talk if I need to and she can do the same. We have a bond that only sisters can have - it’s very special and can never be broken.
And lastly – for the surprise ending – Josie. I became an older sister again at the age of 18. My parents told all of us the day after I graduated from high school that my mother was 3 months pregnant. As you can imagine – this was quite shocking to an 18 year old, who thought parents don’t have sex. I honestly can say I wasn’t sure what to think about my parents having another baby until she was born. The day she was born and I held her in my arms, I was in love with this little beautiful girl. I was in college at the time, so I didn’t start developing a true bond with her until about 5 months after she was born, I moved back home and didn’t go back to school. This is when she started slowly wrapping me around her finger. I spent a lot of time with this little munchkin – I helped my parents out as much as I was able (minus a year or so that I was having some..issues). I have loved every second of having her in this house. I don’t want to know what my life would be like without her. She has brought so much joy, laughter, love, and amusement into my life, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Her amazement about finding out how things work, learning how to read, learning about the Bible and God – it makes me rethink the way I live my life and maybe my life wouldn’t be so hectic and stressful if I could just look at life through a child’s eye and see things with amazement and be awestruck at the world God created the way she is.
If you had asked me when I was 8 or 9 years old how I liked being an older sister, I may have just shrugged my shoulders and said – it’s OK. Back then, I thought the big sister just meant I was born first – I didn’t associate any responsibility with it. Over the years, I have come to realize it’s a much bigger responsibility than just being the first born. It involves being a best friend, a fill in mother sometimes, an advisor and so many other jobs. Now that I am able to look back on the time I have spent with each one of my very different siblings and reflect on the different ways we have shaped each other, I have to say they are all amazing relationships in their own, special, very different way.

Tired of the pestering

OK, so I know I am slacker. Yes, I pestered Hope to start a blog talking about how great it is and fun, etc and do I update mine as often as she does? NO!! And do I hear about it??? YES!! :) (Just kidding Hope, love you bunches) So here goes - a blog to catch the 4 of you who read my blog - everyone else have given up hope on me ever updating again. Let's see, basically the most exciting thing to happen to me since I last posted was going to visit Emily and her lovely family. I had a fabulous time visiting, relaxing, getting to know Emily better as who she is now - and that is a FABULOUS, TERRIFIC, SUPER, AWESOME, mom and friend, writer, wife, daughter, sister, all of the above. We had a very good visit - especially considering I was super paranoid beforehand that she would end up hating me and never want to speak to me again. Utah is beautiful, I would consider living there - if I HAD to move somewhere other than the South.

Not much else exciting has happened recently - started a new baby blanket (for my cousin Gretchen who by the way posts way less often than I do.....must finish this blanket soon as her due date is in like 2 weeks.

I have read some good books - Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner, Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella and of course the highly recommended Bitter is the New Black - loved them all. I especially loved having the TIME to read them, it was fabulous.

My sister & brother are home from school. My brother, just for the summer, my sister is home on a....more permanent basis. She had some "problems" with Pharmacology and one other class and can't go back to UNCC. SO she is taking a year off for now and working. We may get a place together (yay I finally have a roommate)
but we will just wait and see.

Pimento Cheese Black Market

Sadly, I have to admit I have an addiction. It's not just me - it's my family too. I may be a BIT worse than they are, yet still, I'm not alone. Living in the South - we do love our food. One of the very Southern items we love is pimento cheese. We even have our favorite brand - Palmetto Farms. This is where it starts to get ugly. You see, Winn Dixie, the ONLY grocery store where my FAVORITE brand of pimento cheese is sold, has closed ALL of it's stores in NC, SC and I believe parts of GA as well. I have tried many different brands and have been unsuccessful in finding a replacement. So, I started searching the internet for the manufacturer - no luck. I then sent Winn Dixie themselves an email asking if I could order it online through them, only to find out that I cannot AND they are the ONLY distributor of the brand. I have been assigned a case number with Winn Dixie, in case they ever offer online sales (how sad is that) I do however have a solution - there are still stores open in Alabama. My little brother is in school in Alabama. We have arranged a deal where I will put $$ in his account for him to bring back pimento cheese - possibly by the case - and we will sell this fabulous spread to the masses here in WNC who have been deprived of this as well. OK, well maybe not, but it sounds like a good idea. He is going to really bring me some back, but I wouldn't want to part with it by selling to others. Don't mess with a Southern girl and her food.

Post in the works for 3 months

I know, it's horribly sad, but oh well. I do have an excuse - school, but there is also the fact that the LAST thing I really want to do when I get home from sitting in front of a computer all day at work, is get on the computer again. Hope has tried to convince me to seperate in my head my work computer from my home computer - which they are of course physcially, yet mentally - it's still a computer. It's evil, makes horrible noises sometimes, screams at me and goes unbelievably slow - just to aggrevate me. So, this is also another reason for my lack of posting - but I promise to try and be better over the summer.....

So here it is - what I have been meaning to post for 3 months now.

A friend of mine sent me this fun email (can't even remember who sent it originally now) where you had to describe them in ONE word. Then you were to send it on to your friends and family. It was so fun to get all the answers back to see what people thought about you. Here were some of my responses:

Dynamic
Beautiful
Fun
Generous
LUMINOUS (my FAVORITE - thanks Emily)
Sweet
Flirty-fun (ok, so it's two words)
Rockin'
Fun-Loving
Caring

Luckily no one said anything horrible about me, that was very nice of them. It was quite a self esteem booster. As was this assignment I had to do for my communications class - a Johari Window

Shoddy haircut leads to house fire and death of beloved dog

Yes, this could be a headline sometime in the near future in my area. Let me explain - a few weeks ago, I went with my very good friend Hope to her hair salon. We were out for the day doing wedding stuff and she had an appointment, so I went alog. AND since I needed a hair cut as well, we decided to see if someone at the salon could do my hair as well, since normally, I would just go to Wal-Mart and get it cut. We thought we were SOOOO lucky when someone else was free. Side note - this was NOT the Wal-Mart salon, it was a very nice salon. So, I got my hair cut - decided to opt out of the blow dry, since that made it even more expensive. Well I dried my hair as I normally do, and noticed that my left side was doing the dreaded flip. I kept working at it and could not get that side to turn under - the right side was perfect as always. So when my hair was perfectly dry, I started to freak out - WHY IS MY VERY SIMPLE YET STYLISH HAIR CUT, NOT WORKING??!?!?!?!! Hope's very sweet hairstylist offered to help me fix it with the curling iron and it sort of looked better. I kept hoping this was just a fluke. I soon found out it wasn't. The first time I washed and dried my hair I was filled with anxiety, hoping it was all just a very bad dream. I begin to notice it happening - the flip AGAIN. I fought and fought with it, trying to prevent it from happening, yet despite my best efforts, it happened. This is where the paranoia sets in - I had to use a curling iron. Yes, this doesn't seem to be something to set fear in the heart of a 26 year old woman, but apparently it is for me. See, I have never had to use a curling iron. I have ALWAYS had hairstyles that require little, to no maintenance. Needless to say, having to use said curling iron has turned my world upside down. Every morning I have to use this horrid device. And every morning on my way to work I begin to panic - wondering - Did I turn it off? What if I didn't turn it off? What if the house burns down? Even worse - WHAT IF LUCY BURNS TO DEATH IN THE FIRE???? (my dog) I have turned around and gone back to check this a few times - it's ridiculous. I have left a curling iron rule my life. I need serious help :) Or a better haircut - which I will be receiving in T-Minus 13 days and counting.

Update time

OK, so a quick update as to what has been going on in my life since the last time I posted....

*Had a birthday - Happy #26 to me!!!
*Bought a new car for my birthday - 2004 Toyota Matrix - no pictures yet Em....sorry
*Started dating a new guy
*Stopped dating new guy
*Made a 98 and then a 100 on two papers in my writing class
*Made a 100 on all my journals for one class - the only grade I have so far in that class...
*Love my communications class -think I am making an A
*Possibly thinking about majoring in communications and minoring in psychology...field in Public Relations...we'll see
*Planned a trip to go see Em in late May/beginning of June - so very excited about this
*Dyed my hair - it's almost natural
*Got a raise
*Went on a major shopping spree at my birthday - BUT - I was an awesome bargain shopper - spent $110 - saved $430!!!!!!
*Went to Alabama for a long weekend to see my brother for the first time at his new school - not really new anymore since this is his second year
*Hope picked out her wedding dress
*Hope picked out our bridesmaid dresses
*Went to a plastic surgeon to have a consultation about having breast reduction...
*Decided to give myself one year to lose some more weight before I have the surgery.

WOW - I can't think of anything else new, but I'm sure I'm forgetting something....I'll try to update again soon...maybe...

Not Dead

I am still alive, breathing, sort of functioning here - I have just sunken into the dimension where the only thing that exists in my life is working my 40 hour plus job, then going to school three nights a week - the other 4 nights are spent doing homework or catching up on sleep missed during the week. I no longer have a "social life" - my friends think I have dropped off the planet, it's not a pretty picture. HOWEVER, I am getting an education, that's what I keep telling myself. It's OK, that I never have hardly a second for fun stuff or that my dog hates me - I'm getting my degree - very slowly, but I am going to get that sucker if it kills me.

I wanted to be the Swedish Chef...

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

It's right!!

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty. At work and school, you do best when you're researching. When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often. In friendship, you are considerate and compromising. Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking. You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

The Birth Order Predictor