The Rudest Person ever...

Apparently, that person is me.

According to a phone call I got today at work, I am the rudest person ever. Yesterday we did a report for a client based out of Austin. We sent them a copy of the report, a document and an invoice. This morning we received a call from a very irate person saying the search was incomplete and that we were missing several elements that they needed. She immediately starts in on a spiel about what was missing and how we needed to do our reports in the future. I tried to stop her to explain how we do our reports and that I was sure all the information she needed was there. She then very sternly told me that I needed to stop and let her finish what she was saying. I stopped talking and she then insisted on talking to my boss. So, I set the phone down and called my boss on my cell phone and told him that I needed him to come talk to this lady. He was busy so I had to take her number and have him call her back. About an hour or so later he was able to get her on the phone and found out that she hadn't even been looking at the report. She was looking at our invoice which only had a little information to verify the order. She then realized that we had also sent her a report with the information she was needing. But even after realizing that she had mistakenly chewed me out she still had the audacity to say that I was the rudest person she had ever spoken on the phone with. HA. Whatever. I don't think I was being rude...I was just trying to explain our report and if she had just stopped to listen to me for a second she would have been able to see that she was looking at the wrong thing and that we had in fact sent her all the information she needed. Oh well...I guess such is life when you have to deal with people. Sometime down the road some one is going to chew you out for something you didn't do and you just have to get over it. So now that I have blogged about it...I'm over it :D

I'm still here!!

I am still here and blogging...I have just been kind of busy lately. I have been planning a shower for my sister-in-law to be. Training a girl to take over my job when Collin and I leave in a week and a half. And today Collin and I had some pictures (and by some I mean about 650 shots :D) taken by one of the sweetest and most talented girls ever. She takes the most amazing pictures and I can't wait to see them. We went to several places here in Abilene and also took some at just random places like in an alley and on the rail road tracks. She really has a knack for making ugly things look really neat in pictures. From the few that I saw on the little digital camera screen they look awesome! I am so excited to get them back!! I will definitely be posting them on here for all of you to see when we get them.

Life is good...

It's Friday, payday, and the sun is shining!! Life is good!!


Edited to add: the Stars and Mavs won tonight so life is VERY good!!! :D

Serious Post...

So last night before going to sleep Collin and I were talking about my blog...we were trying to come up with a new title for it and were unsuccessful (hence the title still being Holly's Blog - very original).

Then I was asking him what I should post about today and he said something serious because as you can see I don't tend to post about serious and important stuff, even though I would argue that who gets kicked off of Idol and what's happening on my favorite TV show at any given time is pretty important. :D

So I have been sitting here this morning trying to come up with something serious to post about but am having a difficult time, which has led me to post a post about serious posts that isn't actually serious at all...lol. I just don't spend my time pondering the implications of stuff like Pre-millennial dispensationalism and proleptic eschatology (I have no ideal what either one of those are...I actually had to text Collin while I was writing this blog to ask him what some of those theories with really long names were...haha). My thoughts usually lean more towards the new plot line on a TV show or the cute shirt I saw at the mall last week. Don't get me wrong, I am concerned about important stuff in the world and think about those things as well but just not to the same degree as someone with a more serious personality. I can be serious when I need to but would much rather goof off and joke around.

One of these days I will come up with something really serious to post about and hopefully it will be really profound and thought provoking but until that day I will just continue to post about my favorite Idol and funny things that happen in my everyday life! I hope that is OK. :D

Idol time...

Ok well its Wednesday so that means that American Idol came on last night and its time for my pick of the week!! It was Andrew Lloyd Webber week so everyone sang songs from his amazing musicals. It is really tough to pick just one favorite this week!! My all time favorite musical is Phantom of the Opera (Collin took me to see it on our first anniversary) and the 2 people who sang songs from that musical sang them exceptionally well!! So I am just going to cheat and pick 2 favorites this week. I truly think that unless something crazy happens (like when Daughtry was voted off early) that these 2 contestants will be the final 2.

Even though last week I said David Cook wasn't one of my favorites (even though I picked him as the best of the week)this week he did amazing!! He has definitely become a front runner in my book based on last nights performance. He sang Music of the Night and did an outstanding job. I really think he sounded a lot like the guy that plays the Phantom in the movie. Here is his performance.



My second favorite performance was David Archuleta. He sang Think of Me, which is one of my favorite songs from the musical. He made it more contemporary and just has an awesome voice to sing those kinds of songs. Here is his performance.



Sadly, I think that either Jason or Brooke will be going home tonight. I like both of them but neither one did very well last night. But we will just have to wait and see. As I have learned from watching 7 seasons of Idol is that you never really know until it is announced.

On an unrelated note...I took the top off of my Jeep yesterday for the first time since like my freshman year in college. It was so much fun riding around yesterday and the weather was perfect. But you know how a lot of people say "I just have to get a car wash and without fail it will rain" well for me that is "I just have to get a car wash or take the top off my car and without fail it will rain" and I did both yesterday and what do you know...its cloudy and looks like it is about to pour...which is very unfortunate because my jeep is a hard top and not a soft one so the top weighs about 200 lbs. is back at home in my garage and I can't just put it back on when it starts raining. Right now I am lucky enough to be able to park it under a covering at work and I'm just hoping that the rain will come and pass before lunch time when I have to get back out!! Cross your fingers for me!! :D

New Layout!!

Hooray for a new blog layout...for some reason I never realized there was a whole world of layouts out there just waiting to be used. I always saw other peoples blogs that look really neat but still just thought I had to choose from the few templates Google blogger offers.

I looked for about an hour for my new layout. I was looking for something with some crosses on it but couldn't find any which is a little strange but I like the one I have decided on. (If you know of a site with some good (free) christian templates please send me a message and let me know about it!!)

I have also been trying to come up with a new and creative title for my blog. If you would like to throw in any suggestions I am open to hearing them!!

I hope you enjoy the new layout...I think it is pretty...I love the color brown!!

Oh, one more thing...today is Earth Day so do something good for the environment...pick up some trash, turn off your lights and save some electricity or car pool...we only get one Earth so lets take care of it!! :D

What to post about when you don't know what to post about?!?!?

Ya so I don't really have anything interesting going on in my life right now so I'll just post about some random stuff...

1. Tonight is like the greatest night of television ever. Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The Hills, The Bachelor, and Samantha Who? I can't wait.

2. I am going to play Pokeno tonight with M'chelle!! YAY...its really fun. It is pretty much like bingo except with playing cards!! It will be my last time to go before Collin and I move away from Abilene...so that is kind of sad.

3. I am co-hosting a shower for Lara (my sister-in-law to be) in a couple of weeks and it has been a lot of fun planning it. I have been buying stuff for it for the last few days and am excited for it to get here because I think we will have a really good time.

4. The Stars won their game last night which sends them to the next round of the playoffs...so yay for that.

5. Only 19 more days until Collin graduates so that is really exciting also!!

That is pretty much all that is going on right now!! Hooray for randomness!! :D

Playoffs...

It that time of year...both the NBA and the NHL have started their playoffs. Of course I will be cheering on the Mavs and the Stars!! The Mavs are starting their series tonight against the New Orleans Hornets and the Stars are up 3-2 on the Anaheim Ducks. I really hope they both do well this year. It is always really disappointing when your team gets knocked out early on. To be honest I usually stop watching the playoffs if my team loses. So lets just hope both the Mavs and the Stars make it all the way!!

I gotta go put my Dirk jersey on and cheer on my team!! GO MAVS!!

Idol of the Week

This week was Mariah Carey week on Idol. Everyone did pretty well but my favorite this week was actually David Cook. He usually isn't my favorite contestant but he did really well this week. Check out his performance!!



Kristy Lee Cook was voted off this week, which I think was the right choice. Next week is Andrew Lloyd Webber week and should be really awesome!!

A trip to the Mile High City

Collin and I just got back from our trip to Littleton, Colorado. We had a great time!! Again we met a lot of wonderful people and got to see what the church is like. The weather was perfect, we got everything from snow on Saturday when we arrived to 70 degree weather on Monday, it was wonderful! During this trip we had several meals with different people and just got to spend time getting to know them and letting them get to know us. Collin didn't preach or teach at all on this trip so it was little more laid back. We really had a great time and are thankful for the opportunity we had visit the church and meet everyone. We also really enjoyed the views, I mean how can you beat a view of the mountains covered in snow.



We still do not know exactly where God is calling us to but continue to be in prayer for His guidance through this process. Collin and I would ask that you also be praying for us as we continue on this journey and seek God's will for our future.

Meet Aminata

Aminata Anold Muhapa is 3 years old and lives in Kihesa, Tanzania. We have adopted her through the Compassion International program that gives support to children in third world countries. I decided to pick Aminata in particular because of her precious smile. We have already gotten a letter from her and it was just so sweet, of course some one has to transcribe it for her as she is only 3 and then it had to be translated. She did draw us a few pictures at the end of the letter that were so cute. I pray for her often because she is living in an HIV/AIDS affected area and an area that is very poor. She attends the local church to learn about God. She lives with just her mom and helps with chores like cleaning and running errands. Aminata will turn 4 on September 16th. I pray that God will bless her life and keep her healthy. I also pray that she will feel our love and prayers even though we live thousands of miles away.

Favorite Idol Performances of the Week...

My 2 favorites this week are Jason Castro and David Archuleta...In case you missed them check out the videos below!!

Jason really rocked it this week, which he really needed to do after 2 off weeks in a row.



David is pretty consistent each week...the beginning of his performance was a little weak this week but once he got into the higher pitch he sounded great!!



I think my new thing will be to post my top 2 favs each week!! So check back each week for who I think are the best of the week!!

The Nerve of Some People...

So as you know we lost one of our credit cards about a week ago and someone picked it up and used it. Well up until now we didn't really know what all they had spent because we were waiting for our new card to come so that we could set it up online and look at the purchases. Yesterday I called Citibank and got it all set up and was definitely surprised to see the damage. They ended up spending over $1000.00 in a period of about 5 hours. They spent like $65.00 at Buffalo Wild Wings, $100.00 at Hollister, over $200.00 at both Bed, Bath & Beyond and Ross, $50.00 at Sears, $30.00 at Big Lots, filled up their car with gas and then apparently paid their own credit card bill of over $300.00. Bringing their grand total to $1,050.85.

It really just blows my mind that someone can just steal money like that. Thankfully we aren't responsible for the purchases they made but man what a pain this has been. And all because our lost card was found by someone that apparently has no problem stealing money instead of someone like me that would either just cut up the card and thrown it away or call the credit card company to report it lost. But I suppose such is life. It's sad but there are people out there that aren't considerate of others and have the nerve to take a credit card that is not theirs and buy whatever they want. It really makes me appreciate places that check id's a lot more now.

It's Back

Well its official, TV shows are coming back on!! Last night a new episode of Samantha Who? came on which is the start of new episodes for all the scripted show that have been on hiatus due to the writers strike. I love TV!! One of my favorite things to do it sit on the couch and watch my favorite shows!! I have still been able to watch reality shows since they were able to air during the strike but they just aren't the same as scripted shows.

This Thursday The Office comes back with an all new episode. Next week One Tree Hill comes back and the week after that pretty much everything else is back...Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl.

A few shows won't start back up until the fall but that is OK...October Road, Private Practice and Friday Night Lights.

As you can tell I love TV and am really excited to have new episodes to look forward to each week!!

I'm so tired...

I'm running on about 5 1/2 hours of sleep after a busy and tiring weekend and I am really feeling it about now. I am one who needs AT LEAST 8 hours of sleep a night so this is just not really working for me. And with us having been in Arizona for a few days waking up at 6:30 this morning was really like waking up at 4:30 am which is just not cool. I am definitely going to bed early tonight so hopefully I can get caught back up on my sleep but usually that takes a couple of days. So most likely I will be going to bed early for several days in order to get ready to return to the mountain time zone next weekend!

Coming Home!!

Well Collin and I are now sitting at the airport waiting for our flight back to Dallas after our interview! We had a GREAT weekend!! We have met so many amazing people and love the Phoenix area! The weather was great while we were here but everyone has told us not to be fooled because in a few months it will all change and it will get up into the hundreds.

This trip has really gotten us excited about what God has in store for us whether it be in Arizona or somewhere else. We just can not wait to see where He sends us. The church in Gilbert has some awesome things going on and I know God will do great things with them whether we end up there or not. It is always exciting to see the work God is doing through His people.

We are glad to be going home because it was a tiring trip (and I miss my puppy, Toby) but we could not have asked for a better weekend. We continue to pray for God's guidance as we go through this process of discerning his will for our lives!!


And one more thing...GO MAVS!!!! Way to beat the Suns!!!!!

Today's the day...

Well today we are heading to Dallas in order to fly out to Arizona tomorrow for our first interview. I probablly won't post while we are gone because I don't know what our internet situation will be. But check back to see how things went!!

Sale Day...

Well today is what we call "sale day" at work. It falls on the first Tuesday of every month and I will have to say it is not my favorite day. I drive my boss to San Angelo which is about 80 miles each way and sometimes we come back through Ballinger and then end up back in Taylor County to do our sales. By sales I mean auctioning of properties that are being foreclosed on. It really makes for a very busy day...but the good new is that after today I only have one more left!! May sale day will be my last one, which is pretty exciting!! So hooray for that!!

Talk about a bad day...

So, it all started on Friday afternoon when Collin calls me and the first thing out of his mouth is "I have some bad news." He then proceeds to tell me that he had gotten into a car accident (no one was hurt, thankfully) and it was his fault. Then he tells me that not only did he get in a wreck but he also got a ticket for it, which I think is so stupid. I mean come on, isn't it bad enough that your car is messed up and your insurance is going to go up? Why do they have to throw a ticket on top of that? It gets worse from here.

Later that day as I am on the treadmill at the gym Collin calls me again to inform me that he has just gotten the estimate for getting his car fixed and it is going to be about $1,200 to get a new bumper. The bad thing about this is our insurance deductible is $1,000, so we will be paying for most of it.

Then the icing on the cake. Later that night we run to Taco Bell and as Collin is about to pay he open his wallet only to find that his credit card is not there. He thinks back in his mind to when he last used it and remembers that he used it at Petsmart where Toby had gotten groomed earlier that day. He remembered that he didn't put the card back in his wallet after paying because he was holding Toby. At this point we can only hope that it is somewhere at home. No such luck. We we arrive back at home we quickly look around for it but with no success. Moments later we notice we have a message on our answering machine. We push play to learn that it is from Citi early fraud protection. :( Immediately, I call them back and they ask me if I was currently buying a 3D digital entertainment system, which I was NOT. They then asked me if I had been to Top Nails earlier that day, which I had NOT. So the lady on the phone informs me that she is going to cancel my credit card account immediately and they will send us new cards the next day. What a pain!!

So, a wreck, a ticket, $1,200 on a bumper, and credit card fraud. I'd say that qualifies as a bad day.

Oh well, I guess it could be a lot worse. Thank God that no one was hurt in the wreck, we have the means to pay for the ticket and bumper and we are not responsible for the purchases made on our credit card by someone else.

New Music....

I got a new CD last night and wanted to share because it is really good!!

It is Kate Voegele. She plays the character Mia on this season of One Tree Hill (my favorite TV show). Everyone should check it out. The CD is called Don't Look Away.



I also bought the new Counting Crows CD off of iTunes last night. It is OK but not near as good as Films about Ghosts, The Best of... The new CD Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings has some good songs on it though so if you are into them it would be worth checking out.

Happy Friday!!

Interviews!!

A week from today it all begins. Collin and I will be flying out to Gilbert, Arizona, which is a suburb of Phoenix for our first official interview at a church. We will be in AZ for 4 days meeting people and interviewing. Collin will get to preach and teach on Sunday morning and then we will fly back to Abilene that afternoon. It will be a busy weekend but we are really excited and can't wait to see what God has planned for us in the future.

The weekend after we go to AZ we are flying out to Littleton, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. We will also be there for 4 days. On this trip we will just be meeting people, getting acquainted with the city a little and interviewing with the selection committee. Collin won't be preaching or teaching on this trip so it will be a little more laid back I think.

We are looking forward to both trips and are very excited about the possibilities with both. We really can't believe our time in Abilene is almost complete. We will truly miss our friends we have made here but are very excited to move into this next phase of life.

I'll give more details about our interviews in the coming weeks as we go through this new experience.

8 years, 3 months, and 25 days

8 years, 3 months and 25 days. That's how long it has been since my 16th birthday and that is how long I went without being pulled over by a police officer.

Monday was the end of that 8 year, 3 month and 25 day streak. I was driving home from work and was about to go through a yellow light when I saw him sitting at the light perpendicular from me. I panicked and stopped really fast but ended up in the middle of the intersection. I backed up and waited for the light to turn green. By that time the police officer had turned right, made a u-turn and was waiting behind me for the light to turn green. Once it did he flipped on the lights and pulled me over.

I was in the left lane so I pulled into the turn lane and then turned into a parking lot to get off the street. The first thing he asked me was "have you been drinking? Are you on any medications?" To which my answer was "no sir." I have to say I was a bit insulted because I don't think I look like someone that would have been drunk or high at 5 pm on a Monday evening but I guess that is his job. He then informed me that if you have a drivers license you are supposed to know that if you get pulled over you are always supposed to pull over to the right side, which as I said before I pulled over to the left. He then took my license and insurance and went back to his car for what seemed like an eternity. I saw him getting his clip board out in my rear view mirror and was certain he was going to give me a ticket. At this tears started to sting my eyes. I mean I didn't even technically run the light...lol. But moments later he came back with only my license and insurance and told me he was only going to give me a warning and gave me a short lecture on paying attention while driving, which I graciously received as opposed to a ticket.

Since Monday I have been much more careful while driving. (Who knows how long that will last.) I am very thankful for the grace that was show to me on that day. It was not a fun experience but unfortunately it will probably happen again some time in my driving experience. I just hope it's not any time soon. Lesson learned...for now.

Two Weeks from Yesterday...

First off...just in case any of you were wondering...Meredith made it last Thursday. It was an amazing episode and no cliffhangers!!! YAY!!! Now I just have to wait for 3 weeks for a new episode. But that is really beside the point...let's talk about what happens two weeks from yesterday.

Two weeks from yesterday Collin and I will be heading to the Big Apple...That's right we are going to New York City to visit two of our very best friends in the whole world. We are so excited!! Neither one of us has ever been to NYC before so it will be an adventure!!

We don't know exactly what we are going to do when we get there...but of course we will do the must see's...The Brooklyn Bridge, The Statue of Liberty, Time Square, Central Park, and maybe the 911 Memorial. I dont think we are going to see a show this trip because we are only going to be there for 5 days and want to be able to spend as much time as we can with Eric and Sarah while we are there.

I talked to Sarah the other day to get all the details about when we get there and it sounds like the adventure will start immediately...lol...We fly in to Lagordia Airport which is in Queens, NY and our friends live in downtown Manhattan. Since we will be flying in on a Friday afternoon Eric and Sarah will still be at work sooooo that means we will be on our own finding our way around. First we have to purchase a MetroCard which will enable us to ride the buses and subways...then we have to find the right bus to take us to Manhattan Island...then once we get there we have to find the right Subway to take us to Eric and Sarah's apartment. And Sarah warned me to pack light because all of this will be done with all of our luggage. But no worries we'll be fine...lol...I hope!! :D

But we are super excited and can't wait to get up there. I will definately give details and put some pics up when we get back. So be sure to check back in about two weeks from yesterday.

Cliffhangers...

Man I hate them...but I love them...but I really hate them. I know what you're thinking right now, I have kinda left you few people who read my blog on one lately. Sorry about that.

**spoiler alert...I am going to talk about things in the last Harry Potter book so if you don't want to know what happens skip down to the next paragraph...**

I just finished the 6th book in the Harry Potter series called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which really left things up in the air at the end. I mean our beloved Dumbledore has just been killed by Professor Snape who we thought for the 5 previous books was a friend of Dumbledore. Snape runs off with the punk kid Malfoy and Harry, Ron and Hermione have decided to drop out of Hogwarts right before their last year to go fight the evil Voldemort. And on top of that Harry has just broken up with Ginny, who happens to be Ron's little sister. It's just chaos. And what makes things worse we have to wait until July 21st to find out what happens. Will Harry live or die battling Voldemort? Is Dumbledore really dead? Will they catch Snape and Malfoy? I just don't know...I hate cliffhangers!

Now on Grey's Anatomy (my favorite TV show) they are ending with cliffhangers left and right. They are doing a 3-arc episode which started two weeks age and will conclude next Thursday. The first episode started out with a huge ferry boat wreck which caused thousands of people to be hurt or killed. The doctors have all rushed to the scene to help those involved. Then the episode ended with the main character, Meredith, being pushed off a ledge by a convulsing patient in to the icy Seattle waters. Then I had to wait a whole week to find out only part of what happens to her. I hate cliffhangers. The second episode aired this past Thursday and ended in an even bigger cliffhanger. Meredith was under water for a pretty long time but eventually her boyfriend, who happens to be the neurosurgeon at the same hospital figures out what has happened and goes into the water and brings her out. By this time she has suffered hypothermia and is in BAD shape. They bring her back to the hospital and are frantically working to save her life. However, the episode ends with her sitting up and looking around only to see 2 of the characters from previous episodes who have DIED. She then asks "am I dead?" to which Dylan responds with a nod saying YES. This is where we are now. Not knowing whether my favorite character, Meredith, with live or die. It was one of the saddest episodes Grey's has ever had. I'll admit, I shed some tears!! Once again I hate cliffhangers. And what makes matters worse is after next weeks episode they are set to air reruns for a few weeks. So, if that episode ends in a cliffhanger as well, which is very likely it will be pure torture!!! I hate cliffhangers!!

But really there is nothing you can do about it but...wait...and wait...and wait some more until the time comes to find out what happens next. It seems like this happens all to often in life as well. Whether it be waiting on test results for yourself of a family member who is sick, or waiting to hear back from that job interviewer, or waiting for your husband to graduate from grad school so you can find out where the Lord is going to lead you next...I hate cliffhangers...but I love cliffhangers because with out them there's really no reason to tune in next week to find out what happens.

The Cotton Bowl...

Well...I had my first ever college bowl game experience on Monday. It was a great time except for the fact that I have never been that cold in my entire life. Some how I failed to pack appropriately for the game. With the weather being as warm as it has been the past few weeks, I didn't expect such cold weather. Man was I ever wrong. We were sitting in the shade and with the wind in our faces so it was almost too cold to even enjoy the game.

We did have a great time though. The team we were cheering for, The Auburn Tigers, pulled through with a win, which is always exciting. Overall, it was a fun time and a great experience and a good way to spend my New Years Day. Next time I will know to wear warmer clothes though!!