Famous Relatives? Me? Nawww....

Ok, I have to blog this. For several years now I had heard that my grandpa's sister's daughter was some kind of a movie actress, but not having seen her name or any of the movies she had been in, I really didn't think much about it anymore. Well, I was in KC last weekend, and my Aunt Diane had found an old home video of a bunch of B-day parties and Christmases from waaaay bcak (from 12 years ago). At the end of the tape was a recording of an Oprah Winfrey show on which my cousin appeared. Turns out, she was April O'Neill on Broadway w/ the TMNT. Anyway, last night I did some more thorough web searching and found out that my cousin was much more of a Broadway star than movies. She has been in The Almost Perfect Bank Robbery (1999), and Marci X (2002 w/Lisa Kudrow), but I guess her theatre performances are more noteworthy. She was Amneris in the show Aida from 2000 to 2004, and she has performed in several othe musicals , such as Grease, as well. Here is some more info:
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Star_File.aspx?CI=40824 (sorry, but stupid link shortcut thingy didn't work). Michelle also sent me two songs from the Original Cast Recording for Aida that have Sherie on them. Thanx to Mitch!
Now for the kicker.
I called my Aunt Pauline, who is the resident family tree expert, because I didn't remember if Sherie's mom was my grandma or grandpa's sister. Well, she also told me someone else in my family tree is famous. For those 80's rock fans out there, you may know of Gary Richrath, a founding member and lead gutarist for REO Speedwagon fom 1971 to 1988? Believe it, he is a cousin of mine as well.
Anyway, I was so excited to find out somebody from my family is actually cool that I couldn't hold back.

Andy & Jenna, sittin' in a tree.....

After reading Brooke's blog, I realized that I must surely be the last to give congrats to Andy and Jenna. I am ashamed at such a thought. so here it is:

CONGRATS TO ANDY & JENNA
Sorry that I don't have any great philosophical pearls of wisdom for you two, but then I'm not really the sentimental sappy type (usually). God Bless the both of you!

P.S. - Jenna, this is from Ashley the Boy :)

Aaron's Finals Week Project 

Delicious BBQ and Aaron the handyman

Well, I guess I kave gotten into a once-a-week type thing for my blog. Sorry if that has disappointed any of my fans :). Anyway, last week was finals week, and now most everyone has left for fun, family, and Christmas. Oh, well, life goes on. This past weekend was a blast, as usual. The annual Wales/YG Christmas bash was great. I love KC Masterpiece on the Plaza. The only gripe is the staff there is still as uncooperative when it comes time for the check with a party of 35+ people as they have been for the last three years :( . Anyway, here is a pic of my roomate Aaron's finals week project. If you want to know why there was a hole to be fixed in my bedroom wall, you'll have to let your imagination go with it.:)

Yes, I am still here...

Sorry for the long break between posts, I am not quite into the daily update routine. Anyway, I have a new experience to add to my list of "Things To Do At Extremely Late (oe early, depending on your perspective) Hours". I have been introduced to the world of blotting. This actually took place last Fri. nite and Sat. morning. If you've read Brooke's blog, you are already somewhat familiar with the activity. If you haven't, it involves a pie (or multiple pies depending on the number of people involved), a somewhat busy street (at least for midnight-2 am), and a camera/video camera to document the act. As Brooke also stated, the pie(s) do not get thrown at any cars. It's a unique experience, to be sure. I also got to do more caroling since my last post. First was the Bern/Sabetha YG Caroling on Sat. and then Garden Grove Sun. afternoon/evening. Both were a blessing. I will say this, however. Being the only song leader all Sunday and then leading all the carols gets a little tough on the vocal chords :). Honestly, it was just a long day, starting at 5:30 am Sunday morning through 11:30 that night.
This Monday's prayer meeting has left me feeling somewhat depressed. There are now people graduating that have been here at KSU for at least the same amount of time that I have, and I'm not so sure I will be able to handle them being gone very well. Make special note, this is a rare emotional moment for me. So I think I'll stop before I get too sappy or choked up :). Anyway, I hope everyone has a blessed holiday season, and pray that the true meaning of Christmas will be on each of our hearts.

Pic mixup

Ok, so I've got no idea what I'm doing, but someone asked me to try and figure out the pic hosting for Blogger. Well, I got a pic to publish to the blog, but as you can plainly see, it didn't really post in the right place. I guess it automatically goes after your most recent post. I'll try again some other time.

Average day

Well, already I feel my interest in blogging to be waning, but I can't disappoint my fans :).
Christmas caroling last night was a blessing. An old man at one of the nursing homes must have been a choir director or music teacher because he rolled up in front of us and hummed, tapped his foot, and conducted while we sang. He had the biggest smile on his face the whole time. It warmed my heart to think that so much enjoyment could come from something I take for granted most of the time. Our chili was awsome (I thought), but my opinion seemed to be in the minority because we have probably about two gallons left over. I guess most people don't appreciate "wild" chili (we used ten pounds of ground deer venison). Well, I'd like to have some other super exciting incident to report, but.... I don't. Well, anyway, just thought I'd drop a line for those who simply must know what is happening in my life. That's a joke. Have a great, blessed day!

KSU/Washburn YG Fall '04 

Here Goes...

So, I thought I would try this out for kicks and giggles. I've never really been one for journals or diaries, so I'm not sure if this will last or not. On the other hand, time is not exactly a rare commodity for me right now, so we'll see.
First off, there must be a lot of people using this site. I went through five different addresses for my blog before resorting to the basic, boring, my-name address. So I'm sorry if it seems uncreative (lol).
This marks another attempt of mine to venture into new territory. Yesterday I got sucked into the whole MSN IM crowd (username: crash). Actually, I have tried that before, with Yahoo, but since my typing skills and speed are woefully inadequate, it never got off the gtround. Maybe I should learn from history...nah.
I am having fun making chili for Christmas Caroling tonite. As those of you who know me well (atually, it isn't hard to see), food is just one of my many passions. Our chili from APt. 1 is going to be the best again this year...yawn. hehe
Anyway, that's my first shot.