Blog Disaster

So no one actually informed me that I had this giant unproportional picture for my header and a blah gray background for an entire month. How embarrassing. I have really dropped the ball on this whole blog thing. My friend Ross facebooked me about my blog and it was then that I realized I haven't updated in a while. Turns out, the pictures and backgrounds I was playing around with and thought I had deleted actually stuck. Oh well. Maybe someone got a good laugh.

Anyway.... Christmas is upon us. That is officially insane. I mean, it's almost 2009! I cannot believe how fast this year has passed. I have only just begun shopping for Christmas presents, but the house is decorated and I'm really proud of how it looks. I'll post pictures as soon as I upload them from my camera. I am very blessed this year to be able to take the whole week of Christmas off of work to spend time with my family! I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to go home this year.

So, a brief update on our life here in Pike Road....

1. Ben and I placed membership at church here that we love. We have joined a "lifegroup" that meets on Sunday nights that has been the biggest blessing. More on that to come. We have also started helping out some with the youth group. It's funny because I think some of the youth group kids actually thought I was IN the youth group.

2. I am reading the Twilight Saga. I'm on book two now and I can't put it down! I know, you thought it was for teenagers... well it is. It actually sounds like a really dumb story, but these books are very well written and interesting to read. Think Harry Potter. I mean, they aren't equal to Harry Potter by ANY stretch of the imagination, but they have the same feel to them in that you continue to think about them when you aren't reading them. If that makes sense to any of you Harry Potter fans out there.

3. We had our first yard sale about a month ago to get rid of all the old stuff that we don't need after combining households. I was going to make that it's own post, but it's too far gone now. Needless to say, it was interesting. Come to think of it, I will post about this later too.

Ok, this is getting long so I'm just going to have to actually keep up with this blog better in the future so I don't get so far behind. And in closing, the next time my blog is HIDEOUS, please someone, let a girl know.

Here's To Pandora

It's been a while since my last post, but I've been so busy with traveling, working, and studying that I haven't had time to be creative. I have a lot of updates coming when time permits, but today we're going to talk about Pandora.

A friend of mine told me about Pandora a couple of years ago and I thought it sounded cool, but several months went by before I checked it out for myself. After Ben and I started dating, it quickly became one of our most favorite websites. In case you haven't heard of it yet (and you may have because I think it's become quite popular), it's a website that plays the radio. However, it's not just any radio. On pandora you can create your radio stations based on the artists or songs that you like. For example, Ben and I have created stations such as, Smack Dat radio (rap), Chris Tomlin radio, Tim McGraw Radio, Brass Bed Radio (based on a song we like), Usher radio, Frank Sinatra radio, Nora Jones radio, Enya radio for low key hanging out and relaxation..... you get the point. So Pandora will take the song or the artist you like and play other songs by other artists that are similar. It's awesome because you can listened to uninterrupted music that you love and find new groups and songs that you like as well. You can even rate the songs to fine tune your radio station. If Smack Dat radio plays anything by Master P, I can give it a "thumbs down" and they won't play anymore Master P. Thanks Pandora. Well, who plays Master P anymore these days anyway? Ugh. Also, if Smack Dat radio plays Miss New Booty, I can give it a thumbs up and so Pandora will know to play more songs like that. How cool is that?

Ben and I have really enjoyed putting on Pandora in the evenings when we are cooking dinner or just hanging out. Paying extra for the nicer speakers when I ordered my laptop for pharmacy school really did pay off for something..... Also, Ben and I don't have cable ( I know, 'YOU DON'T HAVE CABLE?!!!") so we never have the t.v. on. (Unless, of course, we are watching Lost.) Pandora makes for some really nice background music that we can sing along to.

Anyway, I just wanted to pass on the good news of Pandora so that all can enjoy.