Robbed!

No, not me. I'm referring to the atrocity that occurred in the women's uneven bar event finals. I normally do not become quite as passionate as my dear sister when it comes to matters which do not personally affect me. However, I'm willing to allow myself to make an exception in this case.

For those of you who have not been paying attention to the greatest TV event ever, otherwise known as the 2008 Summer Olympics, you've been missing some incredible feats of athleticism. I've become enraptured with this year's games, and urge you to tune in if you haven't already.

Anyway, on to my point...over the past week or so, the U.S. women's gymnastics team has competed in prelims, team finals, individual all-around and event finals. Throughout these events, despite phenomenal performances, we (yes, as an American citizen, I consider myself an integral part of this) have repeatedly been underscored and blackballed. I've been able to overlook these indescretions, but after last night's seemingly deliberate debaucle, I am no longer able to ignore the superfluous errors that continue to plague the gymnastics competition. In yesterday's Olympic coverage, Nastia Liukin (the current Olympic champion, mind you) competed in the uneven bar event finals against the seemingly perfect, (according to the corrupt and defunct judging) underaged Chinese gymnasts. Although she tied for the highest score in the event (even though she clearly outperformed her competitors), she was not awarded the gold medal. Instead, a ridiculous tie-breaking formula was inputed to break the tie, which resulted in Nastia receiving a silver medal. She was ROBBED! What kind of operation are these people running? Who do they think they are fooling? Well, I tell you this, they're not fooling this girl! Their continuing bias in favor of the Chinese gymnasts has officially gone too far! This is an outrage and I can only hope our coaches are challenging this decision...and with that, I shall end my diatribe.

5 songs I'm embarassed to admit I like...

I got tagged by Brooke to publish this post. Here are the rules:

Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others that you like and tell why.
Tag 5 people at the end of post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So...let the mortification commence.

#1. "I'm Leavin'" sung by Jesse McCartney - I'm particularly embarassed when I sing the incredibly articulate refrain (if you could even call it that) which consists of "no stress, no stress, no stress, girl you deserve nothin' but the best, no stress, no stress, no stress...yeah, that's a lot of stressing!

#2. "You Oughtta Know" sung by the intensely bitter Alanis Morisette - I don't know why, but anytime this song comes on, you can bet I'll be singing along at the top of my lungs like the scorned lover that I am clearly NOT...ha ha.

#3. "Fergilicious" sung by Fergie Ferg - I honestly can't believe someone actually had the audacity to label themselves as such, but I can't help myself from belting out the empowering lyrics..."My body's stayin' vicious. I be up in the gym just workin' on my fitness. He's my witness." Yeah, those are some powerfully insightful and truly riveting lyrics! I hope you catch my subtle sarcastic undertone.

#4. "Tainted Love"...gosh, who sings that? It is by far one of my favorite songs to warm up to when taking dance classes. I get so into it, and yeah, it's pretty embarassing.

#5. "Way Back Into Love" sung by Hugh Grant and the pop singer in the movie Music & Lyrics. Yes, if Hugh Grant is singing, it has to be shameful...and I happen to love the cheesiness of it all!

So, there you have it. I could go on and on with this list, but I will stop myself at 5 as instructed by the tag. Please comment on your shameful secrets...as it applies to songs. I don't want to know the sordid details of your love life.

Plano may be plain...

...but today, I am grateful for just that: Plano. I know it may seem silly, but I feel like all too often we are complaining about this darn heat, or how bad the traffic was on 121, or how boring suburbia can be. Because of this, I thought it completely necessary to give a shout-out to good old P-town. I was walking along a trail 2 nights ago and I realized just how blessed I am to even be able to go outside and stroll, completely carefree. There are so many people in this world (in this very country) that do not have that luxury due to crime, gangs, poverty and even war. I'm sure they would give anything to live in a boring old town like Plano. So, from now on, even though it might not be the prettiest place to live, or the most interesting, or the most cultural, I am going to try to be grateful for Plano.

Summer love

No, don't be ridiculous, I'm not referring to a new boyfriend or any sort of romantic relationship. However, I am in love...with the summer. I'm sure I sound like a broken record to anyone who knows me, but I love everything about the summer and it actually makes me emotionally upset to even think about the winter - true story. I suppose it's no coicidence that I find myself living in the equivalent of the Sahara desert (otherwise known as Texas), but I am truly mystified that I ever survived the harsh, arctic conditions of New York City. Granted, my time there was fairly brief, but I will never forget the occasions where I just stood on the street crying because I was so physically cold. Yes, I am laughing out loud at myself as I'm writing this. I'm quite pathetic, so for now, let's focus on the positive: what I love about summer.

• I love getting to wear flip-flops everyday
• I love throwing on shorts and a tank top vs. layers upon layers of coats and other superfluous articles of clothing
• I love walking outside barefoot, especially in the grass
• I love barbeques outside
• I love hanging out at the pool with a frosty beverage
• I love frosty beverages
• I love sitting on the patio for dinner
• I love sitting on the patio, period
• I love that with the summer, comes a casual laid-back attitude, not felt once fall hits and everyone's back in school and planning for the holidays
• I love going to the lake
• I love drinking ice cold lemonade (it only seems appropriate during the summer)
• I love the smell of people grilling in their backyard
• I love getting my drinks at Starbucks iced, instead of hot
• I love that the summer makes people want to linger outside after dinner instead of hurrying to their car
• I love the way the sun feels on my skin after I've been inside an icy building
• I LOVE SUMMER!

I could go on and on, but I will spare you (yes you, the ones that love winter and wish Texas had 4 real seasons). Just know, that the 1st time the temperatures dip below 70, I will most likely be shedding a tear...mourning the last days of summer...

Kori and I enjoying the pool

Enjoying some time at the Hula Hut on Lake Travis

Haylee on the 4th of July

Grateful - Friday edition

Today I am exceedingly grateful for my job. I'm a manager at a bakery, and I couldn't be happier. It's a fun environment, low-stress, and I love the girls I work with! I spend my days icing cupcakes, stocking the pastry case, helping customers, working parties in the community room and overall, just helping people satisfy their sweet tooth.

I'm fully aware that I did not attend NYU to work in a bakery, but I have finally realized that the only person I need to please (in terms of my career), is myself. It has been a 4-year process, but I can finally say that I've come to peace with my place in life.

So here's to you and finding a job that you can honestly say you like! I truly hope each one of you finds it...

Grateful.

At the risk of sounding cliche, I am exceedingly grateful for this country. As the holiday weekend came to a close, I found myself more and more contemplative. I cannot even imagine the life I would be forced to live had I been born in Sudan, Taiwan, Budapest, Cuba, Iran, Palestine...the list goes on. What did I do to deserve such great abudance and why do I still find a myriad of things to chronically complain about? It truly is a shame that I have been given so much and yet appreciate so little. I got to spend the weekend celebrating our country's independence with my family, in the comfort of an air-conditioned home, eating enough food for a small country, watching an entirely superfluous fireworks show that probably cost more than the net worth of all the developing countries...I am spoiled. I am so spoiled and I'm just now beginning to realize the breadth and depth of my spoiled state. Sure, by Plano terms, I am anything but spoiled...but throw Plano terms out the window! This concentrated community of hyper-wealthy, over-priviledged, under-stimulated blue-bloods is anything but reflective of the life led by the majority of humans on this planet.

It all comes back to perspective. Sure, my little Honda Civic (who happens to bear the name
Andi) might not be anything compared to my neighbor's Porsche, but I have a car! So many people in this world cannot say that. I may not have True Religion jeans or Christian Louboutin heels, but I have so much clothing that I actually have to make a decision as to what to wear in the morning. My God - how many girls around the world would kill for such a predicament! How quickly most of us lose perspective when we are driving in our cars and miss a light, or we hear the alarm go off in the morning and immediately loathe the idea of going to work, or see our friend's new big-screen TV and immediately feel inferior...or worse...begin to resent them for it.

For all two of my readers, I encourage you to not only attempt to find this perspective, but to constantly remind yourself of it. I am so grateful that I live in this country, and I don't ever want to take it for granted. It is truly a blessing that not one of us deserves because we did nothing to earn it.

A shout out... (grateful, but in a much more personal context)

I know there's only like 2 of you reading my blog, but I felt compelled to send a little shout out to those in my life:

To anyone who has ever been there for me,
to anyyone who has ever given me a hug,
to anyone who has helped me celebrate a birthday,
to anyone who has patiently waited for me to return their phone calls,
to anyone who has ever said a prayer for me,
to anyone who has made me laugh,
to anyone who has seen me cry,
to anyone who has uttered a kind word,
to anyone who has supported me,
to anyone who has believed in me,
to anyone who has not given up on me,
and to everyone who believes this story has a happy ending:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING A PART OF MY LIFE. YOU HAVE IMPACTED MY LIFE AND AM FOREVER GRATEFUL AND HONORED.