Archive for April, 2005

CHOCOLATE!!!

admin April 28th, 2005

Ok, tonight was AWESOME! I just got back from a “Death by Chocolate” party at The Chocolate Affair in Highland. One of our secretaries from work also works there, and she put the party together for a few of us from work. It was basically several courses of chocolate…kind of like a progressive dinner…but with chocolate! We were greeted at the door with various types of Chai tea to try. I tried the raspberry chai, and it was delicious. We also had gourmet chocolate covered raisins, cherries and cranberries. In the next room we had fresh chocolate chip cookies. In the next room we had fresh raspberry iced tea. After that we had triple choclate mess cake with hot fudge and whipped cream. Then we had chocolate fondue with strawberries, marshmallows and pretzels. Oh…in each room someone was given a door prize. My number got drawn and picked out a bag of jumbo double choclate malted milk balls….yuuuum! The last room was the chocolate room, where we got to pick one thing to try. We were also given envelopes that we opened at the same time. This would be our last prize for the evening. Well….it was my lucky night and my envelope named me the “Chocolate Queen”! It was so cool! They gave me a tiara and a wand to keep as well as a big mug that I got to fill with whatever I wanted in the chocolate shop. I got so much stuff….they made me fill the mug to the top! I’m so excited to try all of the things I picked up. It was such a good time and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to get out with some girls too. I’m gonna go drink some milk and hopefully try to get some sleep…even though I’m not sure if that’ll happen. I’m so wired on chocolate right now! :-)

Yay for Days Off…

admin April 26th, 2005

Well it was a great weekend for me. Friday night was the usual weekend Wal-Mart run to pick up a few groceries. We bummed around most of the night. Saturday morning I was up at the crack of dawn because it was scholarship day at the college. Scholarship Days are always really long and really tiring, but it went well. I got back home, napped, ate supper and then Jared and I went to see “The Phantom of the Opera.” (The movie.) It was actually really good. It’s one of my favorite musicals to see on the stage, so I was nervous about it becoming a movie. The music was good, the acting was good…and I was overall pleased! Sunday afternoon I headed up to Emden to visit my family. My mom got us tickets to see Michael W. Smith, so we went to the concert that night. It was a great show! I haven’t been to a concert in such a long time, so it was fun. We got back home late and watched “The Notebook”…which was great, as always. It was so much fun to just veg out with my mom. It was 2:00 a.m. by the time we got to bed. I took the day off from work on Monday so I could spend the day in Emden. I slept in and when I got up, Grandma was there to take mom and I out to eat at our local diner. (Which was yummy as always!) After a yummy lunch, mom and I headed up to El Paso to shop the antique and craft malls. I picked up a few Beatles records I didn’t have yet and a few crafty things for around the house. We went out to eat with my brother Geof and my sister-in-law Lauri. We went to Monical’s Pizza….drooooooool! Seriously, that’s the best pizza in the world! You must have some! We stuffed ourselves silly, and around 8:00 we realized we needed to head back to Emden. I packed up my things and finally hit the road around 10:00. I made it home around midnight…good times! All in all…it was a great weekend and an awesome day off from work. :-)

Seriously…I’m posting monster today!

admin April 22nd, 2005

In case you get bored! :-)

1. Who are you?
2. Are we friends?
3. When and how did we meet?
4. Do you have a crush on me? or did you ever have a crush on me?
5. have we kissed??? if no, Would you kiss me?
6. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.
7. Describe me in one word.
8. What was your first impression?
9. Do you still think that way about me now?
10. What reminds you of me?
11. If you could give me anything what would it be?
12. How well do you know me?
13. When’s the last time you saw me?
14. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn’t?
15. Are you going to put this on your journal and see what I say about you?
16. what is the biggest memory you have of me?

One more thing!

admin April 22nd, 2005

Oh yes! I forgot about one other cool thing that happened today. To start off with…I love Cornerstone…it’s the best! So today, it got approved me to be a rep. at the festival this year…and Jared gets to go with me for the whole week. That’s right…I’m getting paid to go to Cornerstone! (And the college is paying for everything!!) I haven’t been in like 4 years, and I miss it so much. I just can’t believe that I get to go again…and I don’t have to worry about paying for anything. I just have to be a college rep. and watch over our booth in the merch tent. Woo-Hoo!!!

I love Paul…

admin April 22nd, 2005

Ok, so it’s been a really great day so far. I got up early and made it in to work before 9:00. I’ve had a couple meetings this morning that have gone really well too. Called my mom up this morning and finalized plans for the weekend. I’m going to Emden on Sunday afternoon and then going to see a Michael W. Smith concert with my mom. I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve never seen him in concert before, even though I’ve always loved his music. I’m excited for some mom time too. It’s hard living so far from home. Jared and I both love family time…so we’re excited when we get a chance to visit. In other exciting news…Jared and I got tickets to see Paul McCartney up in Chicago!!! He promised me that we could go see him if he went on tour again, and guess what…he is! I was eligible for pre-sale tickets, so I snagged those this morning as soon as they went on sale. I can’t wait!! I know I’ve already seen him in concert once, but I can’t wait to see him again!! I love me some Paul McCartney! I wish I could’ve gotten more than 2 tickets…so my mom could go too. She loves her some Paul McCartney too. She got to see the Beatles in 1966 though…so really she’s the lucky one! :-) Anyway, hopefully this day continues to go well. If anything…it’s a Friday…and that’s always a good thing. Have a great day!!!

ABC’s of Ginny

admin April 19th, 2005

A – Age you got your first kiss: 5 (Yes…I was in kindergarten…and was dared to do it.)

B – Band listening to right now: The Notebook soundtrack

C – Crush: Jared (duh!)

D – Dad’s name: Stephen

E – Easiest person to talk to: Jared

F – Favorite bands at the moment: You know me…anything 80’s and anything Beatles

G – Gummy worms or gummy bears? Gummy Worms (the sour kind!)

H – Hometown: Emden, Illinois

I – Instruments: Saxophone (since 4th grade), some guitar, and I can play a mean recorder (thanks to 3rd grade music!)

J- Junior High: Hartsburg-Emden Jr. Sr. High School

K – Kids: Not yet

L – Longest car ride ever: Greenville, Illinois to Roma, Texas (close to 20 hours) and then from Roma, Texas to Puebla, Mexico (15 hours) and then from Puebla, Mexico to Oaxaca, Mexico (12 hours) and then from Oaxaca, Mexico to Aculpoco, Mexico (18 hours on small windy moutain roads), Aculpoco, Mexico to Mexico City (12 hours)….and so on and so forth….basically 30 days of non-stop driving and site-seeing in Mexico/Texas….we drove FOREVER!!!!

M – Mom’s name: Patricia

N – Nicknames: Ginny, G-Dawg, G-Dawg Funky Funk, G, Gling, Smith, Sparks-Smith….

O – One wish: For our own house…no more renting! (Even though we’re quite happy in our current apartment)

P – Phobia[s]: The crazy man in our closet/basement….(see my last entry)

Q – Quote: “Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons…for you are crunchy and taste good in ketchup”

R – Reason to smile: Life

S- Last song you heard: String of Pearls

T – Time you woke up [today] : Today I got to sleep in a bit since I’m staying late at work tonight…so I got up around 8:30.

U – Unknown fact about me: I’ve always wanted to be a fashion or interior designer…but alas, I studied sociology. I love my job though…and I’m happy with what I’ve done.

V – Vegetable you hate: ALL!!! Veggies are merely invaders of my plate! NO MORE VEGGIES!!!

W – Worst habit(s): Nibbling my nails

X – X-rays you’ve had: Entire body for the most part (they checked out all of me after the car accident…to make sure nothing was broken or messed up).

Y – Yummy food: Homemade mac n’ cheese, cheesy potatoes, fresh chocolate chip cookies….

Z – Zodiac sign: Capricorn

Monday…Again…

admin April 18th, 2005

So it was a pretty good weekend for me. Friday night Jared and I were craving Pizza Hut, so we headed to Vandalia to fulfill our pizza needs. It was awesome, as always. There’s just something about Pizza Hut, you have to eat the pizza there…or it’s just not as good. And good it was! We stuffed ourselves and headed over to Wal-Mart. Grocery shopping is so much cheaper when you’re not hungry! We made it out of Wal-Mart without spending more than $50.00! Yay! We watched the Italian Job when we got home. (Thanks to Netflix.) For some reason we hadn’t seen it yet…but it was super awesome. Jared worked on homework after that, and I colored my hair. I got bored and figured it’d be a fun thing to do. I don’t really think it’s very different though. It’s a bit darker with some red tints to it. I can tell…and so could Jared…but nobody else has yet. So, we’ll see. I’m still happy with it though. Saturday morning we slept in, as always. I then proceeded to lay around watching HG tv for a good part of the day. Jared was prepping for his digital video project. We worked on his movie that afternoon (of which I was the star). It involved me wearing my winter coat, scarf and hat….walking down our sidewalk and stuff. People kept staring at me like I was some sort of freak for wearing my winter stuff on a beautiful 80 degree day. I just smiled at them. :-) Anyway, Jared worked on homework the rest of the day and I cleaned around the house and made a most-fabulous supper. (Ranch basted chicken, cheesy hashbrown casserole and buttery corn…yum!) We went to the late show to see “Amityville Horror” that night as well. It was so much better than the original. Totally freaked me out for the rest of the night. (It didn’t help that Jared kept telling me to watch out for the scary person in our bedroom closet!) Anyway, Sunday we went to church and small group and then home for lunch. Jared, once again, worked on homework all day long. (I can’t wait until he graduates!) I went to Value City to buy fun things to put around the house. I actually got quite a few buys. (Big new mirror for living room, candlestick sets, candles, big vase, and yes….some clothes.) I got out of there for less than $40.00 though…so that’s always good. I bought the vase because we have a lilac bush in our yard now, and I wanted to snip some of the flowers to put in the house. It looks so pretty! That night I watched “Whale Rider” while Jared was working on his Core 401 project. It was actually really good. It was different, but I enjoyed it. Very artsy and captivating. Two thumbs up! Ok…and yes….I’m at work….so I’m going to work now! Bye!

admin April 15th, 2005

Well the weekend’s almost here…thank goodness! I’m so ready for it! (Then again…when aren’t I ready for the weekend?!) Seriously…I’ve been such a good admissions counselor this week. I’ve gotten soooo much done! I haven’t made as many phone calls as I should…but I’ve done a lot of other important things. I must say, I’m starting to feel like I’m making admissions a little bit more “transfer-friendly”…and I’m really proud of that! I have rough days at work, but then there’s the days that I really connect with a student and it’s all worth it. I just have to learn to make the good overcome the bad. Things have been good with Jared and I this week too. (Like always!) We’ve finally gotten the apartment cleaned up again. It’s amazing how quickly stuff piles up over the week. He had a meeting for a class at our place last night…so I wanted to make sure it looked ok. I even had time to make homemade brownies and sweet tea. (Yummmm…sweet tea!) Yesterday I also booked our chalet for our vacation. We ended up having enough money to stay at the same place we did on our honeymoon…which is fabulous! I can’t wait to just get away for a week! Anyway, this weekend should be good…though not to eventful. Probably a lot of time at home, but that’s ok. And back to work I go….

Yummy Food…

admin April 12th, 2005

Ok, so last night after we got the good news about the lease being over..finally….we decided to celebrate. I had promised Jared that we’d go out for BBQ the day our lease ended or someone else moved in. So…BBQ it was…and it was awesome! Our place of attack was Smokey Bones BBQ. We’d never been there before, but we’d heard it was really good. So we headed on over to Smokey Bones…and it was oh-my-delicious! Jared got like 10 pounds of BBQ ribs (not really) and I got a mass of BBQ pulled pork and briscuit. It was sooooooo good! I have never been so full in my life. (I say that, but only because the memories of how much food grandma Sparks makes at Christmas tend to fade after a few months.) So yeah…lots of food…yummy fries…yummy cooked apples….drooooool! We went to Sam’s Club after that and bought a couple things. You know…household staples: Laffy Taffy and Tide. So yeah…to Sam’s we went and then on the way home we were dumb and decided to get Blizzards at Dairy Queen. Why we thought there was still room in our tummies…I’m still unclear. However, we got the Blizzards…ate them….and were pretty much miserable for the rest of the night. Anyway, it was a great night. It’s been so long since we’ve just been able to go out on a whim and do whatever we wanted. Yay for only having one lease!!!

MAJOR UPDATE!!!

admin April 11th, 2005

Attention Everyone (if anyone) who reads my blog! After loosing much of our savings account due to the craptastic landlord Douglas T. Marti….I’d like to announce that SOMEONE HAS FINALLY MOVED INTO OUR OLD APARTMENT!!!! Yes, you heard me correctly, 2 months before our lease ends (and 3 1/2 months of paying rent for no reason)…our apartment has finally been rented….thus releasing us from the clutches of Doug Marti. We’ll even get some money back in the process (which hardly makes up for the money lost). Jared and I are going out to celebrate…for this is most excellent!!! Stop what you’re doing and have a party…just because! Ok…that’s it…woo-hoo!!

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