So TWITCH Thinks HE Can Dance?

I have admitted my 2 summer obsessions are Big Brother and So You Think You Can Dance.. So I felt the need to give So You Think You Can Dance some bloggy love today..This show is so awesome.. It is so awesome that we watch it and DVR it at the same time, so we can watch the dances again.. Sad, I know.. But, I also feel that watching this show is helping the kids learn some CULTURE.. Where else can you see HIP HOP and the Pasodoble being performed on the same stage? I have actually learned the difference between some of these dances.. Im not saying I will be doing them anytime soon, though!!

One reason I am REALLY into this show this season is all these dancers that were struggling no-bodies coming to life! And there is one dancer on the show that is from my birth town- Montgomery, Alabama! Twitch is his name and dancin like a maniac is his game! He says he started as a young kid and actually tried to dance where he was from, but he ended up moving to Los Angeles to persue the dancing career.. Twitch's main dance style is a sort of comedic hip hop.. He actually is SO GOOD that he pretty much can dance any style.. Hip hop is just his regular style.. He was ALMOST voted on last season but lost in the last minute to another guy that has actually gone on and done well.. Last year just wasnt his year.. THIS is his year!

Another reason is another guy named Joshua Allen.. He is not a classically trained dancer, as well.. Actually, he played FOOTBALL before becoming interested in dance.. This guy can do just about any dance as well.. And he does them AMAZINGLY!! I am actually torn between the 2 dancers.. But I am more for Twitch because he is from Alabama..Both of the dancers were COMPLETE under dogs and I LOVE how they have knocked out all the past competition and made it to the top 6!

Katee Shean is my female standout.. She is ANOTHER under dog story.. She was almost not voted in this season..The judges thought she lacked enthusiasm during the pre show finals.. I didnt think she lacked enthusiasm.. I think she wanted this more than anything..But she was torn because her room mate, and best friend was also in the competition..To make a little show drama, they left the decision process down to the two of them.. Either it was Katee, or her room mate.. Katee, being the good friend, acted "non chalant" about the whole thing.. She acted like if she made it and her friend didnt, that she wasnt sure she could do it..I think she was just showing her loyalty to her friend, who was ALSO a very good performer..Well, the judges told her that she was the one they picked between the 2 and you could see her being torn inside about her friend not making it but excited about herself making it at the same time.. Good tv show drama.. FO SHO.. Anyway, the judges are extremely pleased with Katee's performances weekly.. She is a very strong dancer, especially when she dances with Joshua..Heck, shes good when she dances with Twitch, as well.. LOL

I am hoping these 3 make the top 4..Ill be watching it tonight!

Please, for the love!!

Please for the love, SOMEONE...ANYONE..EVERYONE..Evict Jessie from the Big Brother House!!! If I have to go another week watching this little punk, I will end up punching my TV.. No Joke.. I have had it with him.. He is so self absorbed and self centered that he LITERALLY makes me sick.. I know, I definately have reached PSYCHO status, being so involved in the Big Brother show.. Especially since I am BLOGGING about it.. But I just gotta vent.. There.. Done.. I feel better now!!

My STUPID Thyroid!

Ok.. I have talked before about this issue.. Seems it is becoming a major player in my life these days.. I was diagnosed with what is called "Wilson's Syndrome" about 18 months ago..It is basically where your body is stuck in a state of constant "survival mode"..Survival mode meaning that my body thinks its in a constant state of high stress.. If anyone has been through a time of high stress, like when you lose a job or have a newborn, this is the type of stress Im talking about.. Thing is, my body gets stuck in the coping mechanism.. AND STAYS THERE!!!

What really sucks about that it is VERY HARD to lose weight when your body is in SURVIVAL MODE.. Your body will think its starving ( REALLY? STARVING?) and then it will conserve and you can eat basically next to nothing and exercise your butt off and not lose a pound..

Seems that my husband has this same thing.. I have been trying to figure out why we have it.. I do so much research on the internet and sometimes I cant tell what is fact and what is fabled.. I have pretty much come to this conclusion:

- We are both predisposed to this disorder due to autoimmune diseases that run in our family
- Something triggered this response in the both of us around the same time..Im thinking it could be related to our diets or outside contaminants?
- We both had flare ups in the past that went undiagnosed..

I had always thought I had a thyroid problem, dating back to after I had my oldest son, 18 years ago..Instead of losing the post baby weight, I gained about 15 more pounds AFTER he was born.. A year after he was born, I weighed MORE than what I weighed when I went into the hospital to give birth.. I am not going to say that I didnt eat.. I was eating.. But, I wasnt eating enough to constitute a major weight gain like that.. I went to the doctor and they said I needed to stop eating so much.. UM.. OK... They tested my blood, no thyroid issues..So I dieted like crazy and lost 25 pounds and got pregnant again..

I only gained 23 pounds the whole pregnancy.. A few weeks after his birth, I noticed that I couldnt sleep.. Fierce insomnia.. Very frustrating considering I had a newborn that had his days and nights turned around until he was 6 weeks old.. You would have thought I would have slept while he slept, but I didnt.. I would cry because I was so exhausted, but I couldnt fall asleep until about 30 min before he woke up to be fed.. At that point, I was exhausted to the point of STUPID.. Eventually, he started sleeping through the night and I filled that deficit of sleep..

When he was 3 mos old, I started having these PANIC ATTACKS.. I wasnt sure what was going on..It was quite strange.. I remember feeling like I was going to "fall out".. I even felt my arms go numb and my head would spin.. I even called the paramedics one time because I was lying on the floor and couldnt move.. They told me I might have an "inner ear" issue called Meniere's Disease.. I also developed this weird fear of driving, especially at night.. I am not sure if it was the stress of having 2 small children under the age of 3 or what.. But something was definately going on.. I went to a doc and I was finally diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse with Dysautonomia.. I was told that I had basically "reflux" of blood in my mitral valve in my heart and sometimes it would send my parasympathetic nervous system into overdrive.. The result was panic attacks.. The doc put me on a beta blocker and an anti anxiety pill.. It worked.. I started to feel almost normal again..

When my son was a year old, I went to the doc and complained that I just couldnt lose weight.. He put me on Adipex and in 4 months, I lost 40 pounds! I felt WONDERFUL! I was wearing size 8 jeans..I looked so cute! Then I started college again and gained about 15 pounds, due to the stress.. Then, I got pregnant again.. UGHHH.. Gained all the weight I lost AND THEN SOME.. Then, depression took over.. I was put on antidepressant meds..

I have never been the same since my youngest was born, almost 12 years ago.. I have been through alot of life changes that probably didnt help my stress levels.. A divorce, single mom to 3 boys, a remarriage ( good thing, though) and 3 different jobs along with starting a business.. But what sucks is alot of people have major life changes and dont have issues like I have.. It just stinks!

Recently, I asked my doctor why my thyroid was so messed up.. I was told that during the times that I was tested for low thyroid, when I was younger, the reason I probably tested "within normal limits", was because my thyroid was probably in a HYPER state, trying to keep up with what was going on.. Meaning, it was slowly burning itself out.. The lack of doctors that understood the whole thyroid and autoimmune diseases was the problem.. They went solely on blood tests, rather than symptoms.. The whole if it walks like a duck its probably a duck, didnt apply.. They never considered that maybe something else was going on..Maybe some kind of connection wasnt being made..

All I know is I am on DIET PILLS and taking a thyroid replacement pill and Im still gaining weight.. The doc told me that my husband and I could have had a virus that caused this autoimmune response and its killing our thyroids.. He also said that it could have been Nutra Sweet.. I am thinking that all those years of dieting and eating those foods that were considered "light" but contained all those extra additives and preservatives are the main problem.. And it stinks because I ate those things thinking I was doing a good thing..

Heavy Sigh!

I had to let out a VERY HEAVY sigh before posting today.. Actually, I let out a few ..I realized a few things this week:

First, my youngest son had his football camp this week..I realized that day that MY BABY's team were the OLDEST kids out there.. (SIGH)

Second, this time last year, I was registering my oldest son for his SENIOR year in high school.. (SIGH) Now he is registering for COLLEGE (HEAVY SIGH)

Third, I am registering my middle son for his 9th Grade year this evening..(SIGH)

Time is FLYING by.. Before I know it, I will be registering him for College, and my baby for College..Ill be the mother of the groom, a grandmother.. uughhh.. I sometimes wish there was a way we could stop this.. When I was a little girl my mom used to tell me not to "wish" my life away.. I think I just realized what she meant by this.. Time sure flies by.. Why wish it to fly by.. Its going to do it.. Be patient.. Before you know it, its done.. Wow..That was deep.. lol

This is what my kids do with my cell phone when Im not around..

My kids are SO WEIRD.. I was minding my own business today when I found that Tyler had been playing with my cell phone and using the video thingie on my cell phone.. I thought it was HILARIOUS and thought Id share...I LOVE the wild hair he created before he made these faces..Thank God he got a haircut.. lol Im sure he will kill me when he finds out I put this on my blog.. hehe.. Thats what he gets for being so goofy!! :)

My NEW Jimbo Story.. lol

I was reading a few past posts that I wrote about my brother Jimbo, who is also autistic. It cracked me up..I have been meaning to blog about Jimbo for a while now..But, stupid BIG BROTHER has had me all tied up in knots.. LOL

We saw Jimbo on July 4th this year..He was at my parents house..I usually try to find a way to visit him when he is at my parents..Either we see him there or we meet out..Sometimes it is impossible during that time, due to other family obligations..But I still try to see him when I can.. Seems that Jimbo and my hubby, Steve, have formed a neat little bond the 2 of them share.. Jimbo knows that Steve likes him and tries to include him in when he is around..

Those 2 goobers played back and forth with a throw pillow from my parents sofa..Jimbo has what we call "his sofa" downstairs in "his den"..He always goes there when he is with my parents and he chills out down there..He looks through magazines, plays a movie on his DVD player ( usually a Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler one- good choices, IMO), plays a movie on the tv and plays a cd in the background.. He has all of this playing at the SAME TIME.. Very autistic, if you ask me.. lol Anyway, I have decided I was put on this earth to mess with him and I always do..

I will go in "his den" and sit smack dab right next to Jimbo on "His sofa" and DARE him to tell me to MOVE..Hehe.. He will get this look on his face like "dammit, shes back" LOL He will sometimes try to "push" me away..I always sit closer and bug him.. He has been known to yell at me like "UUGHHHHHHH YOU ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY STUPID SISTER!" I just get closer and bug him more.. Hey, thats what all siblings do.. I also learned a long time ago that you have to challenge autistic people.. I challenge Jimbo..He knows Im doing it.. Thats why he is like " oh shit" when I sit next to him.. hehe..

Oh, he LOVES it.. If I didnt do that to him, hed be mad at me.. Anyway, back to the game that he and Steve were playing on July 4th..Jimbo would take the pillow and hit his face with it and throw it at Steve..Steve would take it and do the same..Then Steve would yell something in the pillow..Jimbo would imitate him..They were both laughing the entire time..

A few days later, I saw my parents for a few minutes out, and Jimbo was with them..Steve was not in the car and when Jimbo got out of his car, he looked in my car, like he was searching for Steve.. He looked all put out when he couldnt find him..I asked him if he was looking for Steve..He shook his head yes.. I told him he was in the store.. He still looked disappointed that he couldnt see him.. I guess they "bonded" over that little game on July 4th.. Simple things like that are what make Jimbo so neat..For someone who cant talk, he sure does "say" alot!

Why Do I Put Myself Through This!

Why do they have to show Big Brother After Dark so LATE? LOL Geez.. I hit a brick wall this morning! I am so tired! It is difficult for me to make myself go to sleep before 10:30 at night ANYWAY.. Now, I feel obligated to at least stay awake until 11, so I can catch the Big Brother scrolling updates..Then, of course, I end up staying awake until 11:20 or so trying to figure out whats going on.. Sad, I know..I think this could be classified as either an emotional disorder or a mental sickness? Either one, it doesnt matter.. Im still gonna watch it and Im still gonna be tired.. lol Ill catch up on my sleep on the weekends, I guess! :)

This is what I have gathered so far about Big Brother: I LOVE Renny( from New Orleans) and Libra( Obama supporter and mother of 3).. Maybe because they are so honest.. I love it, nonetheless! I love watching Jerry( the 75 year old man)because he is so honest and forthright..I love how he calls em like he sees em..The games have already begun and there is one guy that is coming out a tad bit too hot.. His name is Brian and I swear he thinks he is the next Dr. Will.. I call him the "Dr. Will Wannabe".. Hes a wannabe because he ISNT Dr. Will.. If you recall, Dr. Will was one of the GREATEST players of the Big Brother Game.. He was very suave, good looking, smart and SNEAKY.. He could turn a mother against her own child and make her feel good about it, like she was doing the country a favor.. Hes THAT GOOD..

Thing of it is, Dr. Will started out S-L-O-W-L-Y..He didnt make any major obvious moves until later.. He formed a secret alliance early on and didnt start playing all ends to the middle until ATLEAST the 3rd week..Poor Brian..He outsmarted himself into being put up for eviction..I think he celebrated way too soon..He was telling everyone that Jerry was basically his puppet..And that he could guarantee people in the house "safety" if they voted HIS WAY...Im not sure what planet Brian is from, but from where I come from, you dont ADVERTISE things like that to people..You might tell ONE person that, but not the whole house.. Geez..

I know my mother is reading this and saying " Geez, Michelle, you have too much time on your hands" LOL

Another funny clip!

I guess Im on aroll these past few days.. I have been wanting to watch funny things and I was watching "That 70s Show".. I just loved that show.. All the characters were funny on the show.. My fav was Kelso, played by Ashton Kutcher.. While watching an episode with him, it reminded me of this funny clip from "Dude Where's My Car".. I swear, I thought I was the only 30 something mom that LOVED that movie.. I guess I like bubblegum for the mind movies.. lol Hey, atleast I dont have to THINK while watching it.. lol Ashton Kutcher is just pretty as can be too.. He isnt hot.. He is just pretty.. And pretty goofy too.. He always plays goofy, endearing guys.. IMO, anyway.. Enjoy!

My first take on the new Big Brother..

Ok.. I have to admit, I have been anxiously awaiting Big Brother 10..I dont understand why.. I dont get anything in return from this show.. Seriously.. All I get is dark circles under my eyes and a bad attitude from the lack of sleep, since Big Brother After Dark comes on at 11-2 on Showtime.. We usually DVR the show.. But alot of the time, I will stay awake and atleast watch the first 30-45 min of the show..

Last night I didnt stay up.. I was exhausted from cleaning out my garage all day in the heat.. I did watch the show and I have a few comments.. First, I want to thank Big Brother for allowing OLDER house guests!!! The past 2 seasons, we have seen 40 somethings on the show, and that actually added a very cool vibe, IMO.. I really get tired of the whiny, selfish, sexually motivated 22 year olds.I know, thats what Showtime is ALL about.. lol But, seriously, IT GETS OLD..

Big Brother has a house guest that is 75 years old!!! He is a retired marine and he confesss that he has watched EVERY EPISODE of BB and watches BB After Dark and also gets the live streaming as well! I am not sure if he has let his other house guests know that..I hope he keeps it under wraps for a while..He says that he has a strategy and plans on using it.. I want this guy to win! He is very endearing, of course, and this younger generation could stand to learn a bit from him..

There is another "older" person in the house as well.. Renny is 53, and a New Orleans "socialite".. You know what that means? She has a big mouth and a BIG accent and she likes to dress up.. She is the life of the party where she comes from. My mom is from New Orleans..I still have family that lives there..I knew all of that about her BEFORE I even saw the show.. I am worried her personality is much too big for this house.. I think she is a scream and I enjoy watching her.. She definatly ruffled a feather or 2 last night.. At one point, a few of the guys were basically saying she was crazy.. Shes not crazy!!! Shes from New Orleans!!!!!! Whole different world down there!!! Anyway, I want her to stay for a while..

Anyhoo, Ill be commenting on this show and talking about the players as the weeks progress, Im sure.. All I gotta say is I hope the house guests vote off this little whiny boy named Jessie, this week.. He and Renny have been put up for eviction, due to a little issue the 2 of them had.. Jessie is 22 and a body builder.. He is worried that his body is " too big" and he hopes that people arent put off by its MASSIVENESS.. Really? Geez.. THIS is why I hate self absorbed 22 year olds!! He got mad because he was trying to sleep and he kept hearing Renny yelling loudly in another room.. He claims he was asleep and she woke him with her shrieking..

SO? She woke you up? This is the Big Brother house.. Its not like you have to get up and go to work the next day, dude! Get a grip and chill out! I guess his MASSIVE MUSCLES were tired and he needed rest? Geez.. Not like you cant take a nap..Ever watch Big Brother before little one? Thats what they do to pass time on the show.. HE NEEDS TO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! JMO :)

Big Brother 10: Meet the Cast

Deedra- This one is for YOU!!! Its BIG BROTHER TIMEEEEEEEEEEEE! LOL This one looks to be VERY INTERESTING!!!

Growing Up Catholic- Dane Cook

I have recently joined a network that lets you get in touch with your old high school friends.. We all tend to revisit those old memories when faced with your 20 year high school reunion.. Couple that with a child that also graduated and there you have it- "Memories- Light the corners of my mindddddddddddddddddddddddd"

ok.. Sorry, I havent had my Adderall yet this morning.. Anyway, speaking of Adderall and memories, I decided to reprise an older post about growing up Catholic.. I graduated from John Carroll Catholic High School in 1988 and also grewup Catholic.. Dane Cook did too..Well, he didnt go to JC, but he did grow up Catholic and his take on growing up that way is the most HILARIOUS thing I have ever seen..If you grew up Catholic or knew someone that did, this little piece will crack you up.. The language isnt the best in this but it is still funny.. So if you got the kiddies around, you might want them to go play in another room or put on some headphones.. Of course, if you put the headphones on, your kid will think you are crazy when they hear you laughing uncontrollably, like I did when I saw this..If you already saw this post a few weeks back, sorry for the reprise.. It still will crack you up.. lol

Strawberry Cake is like Therapy! LOL

I have to take a moment and thank two of my friends, Teri and Leigh..Maybe we are all on the same wavelength? I am not sure.. All I know is I was having a very trying day Tuesday and they BOTH showed up at my store with the most delectible pieces of Strawberry Cake that I have EVER had.. Seriously.. Leigh blogged about Ashley Mac's strawberry cake and raved that it was better than Edgars.. I LOVE strawberry cake.. I was always a chocolate girl, but there is something about a Strawberry Cake that totally voids out my "Chocolate Tooth" LOL

Thanks ladies! I got to have a "few" bites..Hubby thanks you too! LOL He loved it as much as I did!

I need a V-8!!!

Yesterday was a very busy day for me.. I was taking my middle son to football workouts and then have my oldest son drop me off at the store to work a few hours before he had to relieve me so I could go to a doc appointment and then go to my middle son's 7 on 7 competition at Hoover High School.. So anyway, I was minding my own business, getting ready when at 8:30 am I hear this CRASHING sound in my kitchen.. Middle and youngest sons were putting dishes away at that time..

Uh Oh... Yeah.. Uh oh is right.. I run into the kitchen and there is middle son standing there with glass all around him, SHATTERED and broken peices of ceramic on the counter.. WHAT IN THE ................I asked(well, ok, I SCREAMED) him.. He stood there, almost frozen.. He looked like he was stuck in a time warp or something.. Youngest son ( God love him!) got some shoes on and started to clean up the mess and middle son made it over to the sink to rinse his right hand.. I saw that it was pretty much gushing blood at this point.. OH GREAT! is what I was thinking..This is NOT on the schedule for today.. I noticed at this time that middle son was looking VERY PALE, almost ghostly white..He got a paper towel and sat on couch and I called hubby.. I was FRANTIC.. I dont handle situations like this well, sometimes.. I realized that this was what it was and that I was going to have to take middle son to the doctor.. It looked like a pretty deep cut..

Did I forget to mention that middle son is one of the QB's for the freshman team? ANOTHER reason I freaked.. Today was the 7 on 7 competition.. Luckily, this was his right hand that was now lacerated, not his left, throwing hand.. But he STILL had to catch a ball that is snapped to him and Im sure he needed stitches.. I called the coach and told him that he needed to be seen by a doc to get stitches.. I took him to Dr. Ricketts.. He needed 4-5( we lost count) stitches and by 11:15, we were back on our way.. I took middle son to football practice and waited on him.. In all of this, oldest son opened the store and stayed there all day.. (God love him too!!)

Oldest son had to take youngest son to football conditioning too, after closing the store at 6..He picked him up and called me and seemed a little "wiped out".. I told him that he lived my typical day today.. Then I said " Now, you need to come home and cook for everyone" LOL He was NOT amused...

A few pictures from the trip~~

These pictures are not of the best quality, but hey, atleast I have some pictures.. LOL I forgot my camera ( that needs to be classified as some weird behavioral disorder) so I took pictures with my cell phone.. Oh, and that picture of Austin posing as Wendy? That was taken at a Wendy's we stopped at outside of Atlanta..He and I thought it was hilarious when he posed like that, so I took this picture..Austin is Tyler's friend..We brought him along because he is like family.. He had a good time, I think!


Tyler throwing Jack
Jack and Uncle Steve










Whit throwing Jack








Austin posing as Wendy
Jack and Me








Jeff throwing Jack
Steve loving Austin LOL









Steve throwing Jack

A QUICK Trip!

This week, we decided to take an EXTREMELY short trip to South Carolina..Whit was meeting with the baseball coach at Anderson University in South Carolina, to be evaluated, to possibly play college baseball there.. We also decided that since Anderson is only like 45 minutes from Steve's brother, Jeff, we'd stop by there and visit.. Usually when we take a trip to SC, its atleast a 3 day event.. But this time we couldnt because of the store and other work obligations..

Our first stop was Greenwood, SC, the home of Jeff, Carla and Jack Ellis.. Jeff has a pool in his backyard so all the boys, including Steve, brought their swimsuits and played..They always play this game I like to call " Throw Jack As High As Humanly Possible" LOL.. Jack has absolutely NO FEAR and LOVES to be thrown in the pool.. I think Jack is going to be a stunt man when he grows up.. lol I have a video of it and I am posting it.. That kid gets some AIR when he gets thrown.. This video was taken on my cell phone, sorry it isnt the BEST quality!

Steve's one of 6 boys in his family.. He has 3 older brothers and 2 younger ones.. Yes, he has middle child syndrome.. LOL JUST KIDDING STEVE!! Anyway, Steve's other brother, Randy, also stopped by Jeff's house to see us.. Randy is like 4 years older than Steve.. His poor mom had 4 boys within like 6 years.. What was she thinking? Im sure she was thinking the same thing back then.. LOL His mom has this picture of them all.. Steve is like 6 weeks old.. He has that newborn look.. He is gazing up at the oldest brother, who is beside him.. Randy, the second oldest, is on the other side and Jeff, who is only like 14 months older then Steve, is on all fours, behind them on a table trying to escape.. Once again, POOR MOM!!!! LOL That picture speaks VOLUMES.. LOL

Anyway, to their dismay, I made them all pose for a picture.. LOL Told them Id put it on my blog.. :)

A final note about the trip: Whit has been accepted to Anderson University and the coach told him that they have a JV baseball team so the younger players can get some extra playtime.. He then told Whit, after he had evaluated his pitching performance, that he saw Whit helping out their VARSITY team this year!!! How exciting!! So, I guess I will need a bumper sticker that says " My kid and ALL my money goes to Anderson University" lol