Merry Taxmas!!
Yep, I said it.... people have thought it, but I claim the first declaration of Taxmas Season.
What is Taxmas?
Let's face it, times are super rough right now for everyone with an income below $100,000. But chances are, if your below the Federal Poverty Guideline, you REALLY hurt around Christmas time. Right?
So what do you do if you have children? You make it up at income tax return time!! Hence.... Taxmas!
Ever since I gave birth and was able to claim my son on my income taxes, it's been this way. I never really recognized it until the last few years when the holidays proved to be extra disappointing to him. Bless my son tho, he never complains, is always grateful Christmas morning and I believe understands that I would love to give him more, but am just not able to.
The answer...... Taxmas!!!
And even though Taxmas officially starts sometime in January (when some lucky folks get their W2's) and lasts clear to the middle of April (Tax Deadline is the 18th this year, woohoo!!), it is personalized to your anticipation date. Typical wait time is now about 8-9 days, depending on where you go to get them done and how you file. When that check arrives or your direct deposit clears, don't you have that feeling of bliss, just like Christmas? Your initial reaction is to go out and just blow it all on junk, or pay off some past debt (possibly Christmas shopping debt?). If you are smart, you create a very reasonable budget for your returns, this much goes here, this much goes there and so on.
But I guarantee, someone in your household gets something new, be it toys, clothes, cars, electronics, etc.
So whether you believe in the REAL reason of the season, or you just make up for it later on....
MERRY TAXMAS EVERY ONE!
Who is the Butterfly?
- MajestikButterfly
- Just a mom trying to make life better for herself and her son. "The most beautiful of stones have been tossed by the wind and crushed by the water and polished to brilliance by life's strongest storms."
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Getting stuff out of my head!
For the past few days, I have been thinking about a certain few people in my life. The situations between us are just beyond my control and there isn't much I can do about it. But I just can't stop thinking about it, so the only thing I think might help me is to write about it, so here goes!
Person #1: I miss her so much, and it truly kills me that I can't see her or even be more involved in her life. She is so young and I have missed out on so much of her life. She is my sister. I have tried to be a part of her life, but for whatever the reasons are, my dad and her mom make it seem like they don't want me around her. I would never hurt her or do anything to her but love her and be there for her. I am the only sister she will ever have, just like our brother is the only brother we will ever have. She needs that sibling love and they have pretty much gone out of their way to make sure I feel so uncomfortable around them that I don't want to stir the pot. I call up there, they never call me back. They rarely call anyway, and when they do, it's just so awkward. I just don't know what to do about it, should I confront them and most likely make things worse, so just live with it and wait it out til she is old enough to drive or be on her own and then hope and pray she wants a relationship with me?
Person #2: This one is my brother. We sort of had a falling out last year and it has just been weird between us ever since. My opinion of what he did really hurt me and he has never done that before. We have always been so close, and I don't think what he did was intentional. I just feel like it was careless and that he didn't take into consideration other peoples feelings. I've gotten over what happened, we started talking about it again and agreed to disagree. But ever since then, just seems like he has this odd attitude about things and gets into more disagreements with me and over the smallest things too. It almost seems like he is just irritated with me, but he doesn't understand certain things I am going through and has this view of life being a certain way. It's fine for him, but not for everyone else. I know he is super busy and probably tired of hearing me whine about my problems. So I have not been talking to him about it so much. He was my one true outlet for a lot of things and I feel like maybe he is just going in a certain direction in life and wants to do his own thing. That's fine, I completely understand that. I love him to pieces!! I just don't understand the superior attitude he throws at me sometimes. I am like 10 years older than him and in many ways, it seems like he is the older one. It's just weird and I don't know what to do about that either.
Person #3: Oh man!! This guy, lemme tell ya.... I have been seeing him (not dating him, just hanging out) for a couple months and he has a girlfriend. I just hang out with him once in awhile and I have such a crush on him for all the wrong reasons. He is no one I would EVER want as a boyfriend or husband, but when we are together, I dunno, can't really describe it but I just love it when we are together.
Person #4: I'm really worried about this person. Her situation is so bad and there isn't anything I can do to help her. I mean I do what I can, but she needs a major change and I just sit here worrying about her to the point I get irritated with others and have cried about it. I pray everyday for her, but it just isn't enough.
So those are the 4 people that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It's tough, but I just gotta ride it out. There..... I do feel a lil better getting my thoughts gathered. Until next time....
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I'm going to add a 5th person here. Someone I am pretty smitten by.
When I am with him, I notice my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. My toes curl when he touches me. The butterflies flutter around when he kisses me and my entire body relaxes at the sound of his voice.
It's a bittersweet situation, I feel one way about it and hope for another way. My heart tells me to let go and go for it, but my head has this HUGE wall around my heart and tells my heart to shut the hell up, it's NEVER gonna work and I am wasting my time. When this happens, I usually go with my gut, it has never let me down. So I turned to that gut feeling and what does it tell me???? It's telling me to wait and see....
Thanks gut... yer no help at all!
Just wish there was a sign from person #5 to tell me how he feels. My self conscience says that he isn't interested in me like that... I think my self conscience is buddy buddy with my head. It makes me say things that I don't really mean to protect my heart.
My soul is hanging out with my heart though and whispering on the other side of the wall that he's the one. Soul says that it's time and I should give it another shot. What do I have to lose? But my soul has been wrong before. My soul makes fun of my dignity all the time. Poor dignity..... you get lost way too often.
What I wish I could do is find a really nice guy that I can date and fall in love with and eventually get married and have it be real and wonderful. I've been dating guys for about a year now and none of them have lead to anything serious or worthy. It's just disappointing. If I meet someone else, I know my attention will be on them. But for now, I am just crushing so bad and it's bothering me because I know I shouldn't and honestly don't want to. It's worse when you don't even know how they feel about you. I just can't make that first step and get that embarrassing rejection. That part scares the hell out of me. I really don't like that I feel this way.....
I guess I just have no choice but to go with my gut and wait and see.
Person #1: I miss her so much, and it truly kills me that I can't see her or even be more involved in her life. She is so young and I have missed out on so much of her life. She is my sister. I have tried to be a part of her life, but for whatever the reasons are, my dad and her mom make it seem like they don't want me around her. I would never hurt her or do anything to her but love her and be there for her. I am the only sister she will ever have, just like our brother is the only brother we will ever have. She needs that sibling love and they have pretty much gone out of their way to make sure I feel so uncomfortable around them that I don't want to stir the pot. I call up there, they never call me back. They rarely call anyway, and when they do, it's just so awkward. I just don't know what to do about it, should I confront them and most likely make things worse, so just live with it and wait it out til she is old enough to drive or be on her own and then hope and pray she wants a relationship with me?
Person #2: This one is my brother. We sort of had a falling out last year and it has just been weird between us ever since. My opinion of what he did really hurt me and he has never done that before. We have always been so close, and I don't think what he did was intentional. I just feel like it was careless and that he didn't take into consideration other peoples feelings. I've gotten over what happened, we started talking about it again and agreed to disagree. But ever since then, just seems like he has this odd attitude about things and gets into more disagreements with me and over the smallest things too. It almost seems like he is just irritated with me, but he doesn't understand certain things I am going through and has this view of life being a certain way. It's fine for him, but not for everyone else. I know he is super busy and probably tired of hearing me whine about my problems. So I have not been talking to him about it so much. He was my one true outlet for a lot of things and I feel like maybe he is just going in a certain direction in life and wants to do his own thing. That's fine, I completely understand that. I love him to pieces!! I just don't understand the superior attitude he throws at me sometimes. I am like 10 years older than him and in many ways, it seems like he is the older one. It's just weird and I don't know what to do about that either.
Person #3: Oh man!! This guy, lemme tell ya.... I have been seeing him (not dating him, just hanging out) for a couple months and he has a girlfriend. I just hang out with him once in awhile and I have such a crush on him for all the wrong reasons. He is no one I would EVER want as a boyfriend or husband, but when we are together, I dunno, can't really describe it but I just love it when we are together.
Person #4: I'm really worried about this person. Her situation is so bad and there isn't anything I can do to help her. I mean I do what I can, but she needs a major change and I just sit here worrying about her to the point I get irritated with others and have cried about it. I pray everyday for her, but it just isn't enough.
So those are the 4 people that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It's tough, but I just gotta ride it out. There..... I do feel a lil better getting my thoughts gathered. Until next time....
------------------------
I'm going to add a 5th person here. Someone I am pretty smitten by.
When I am with him, I notice my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. My toes curl when he touches me. The butterflies flutter around when he kisses me and my entire body relaxes at the sound of his voice.
It's a bittersweet situation, I feel one way about it and hope for another way. My heart tells me to let go and go for it, but my head has this HUGE wall around my heart and tells my heart to shut the hell up, it's NEVER gonna work and I am wasting my time. When this happens, I usually go with my gut, it has never let me down. So I turned to that gut feeling and what does it tell me???? It's telling me to wait and see....
Thanks gut... yer no help at all!
Just wish there was a sign from person #5 to tell me how he feels. My self conscience says that he isn't interested in me like that... I think my self conscience is buddy buddy with my head. It makes me say things that I don't really mean to protect my heart.
My soul is hanging out with my heart though and whispering on the other side of the wall that he's the one. Soul says that it's time and I should give it another shot. What do I have to lose? But my soul has been wrong before. My soul makes fun of my dignity all the time. Poor dignity..... you get lost way too often.
What I wish I could do is find a really nice guy that I can date and fall in love with and eventually get married and have it be real and wonderful. I've been dating guys for about a year now and none of them have lead to anything serious or worthy. It's just disappointing. If I meet someone else, I know my attention will be on them. But for now, I am just crushing so bad and it's bothering me because I know I shouldn't and honestly don't want to. It's worse when you don't even know how they feel about you. I just can't make that first step and get that embarrassing rejection. That part scares the hell out of me. I really don't like that I feel this way.....
I guess I just have no choice but to go with my gut and wait and see.
Some of my favorite quotes that I live by daily
• "Your opinion of me is none of my business." ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
• "I want it, it's on its way, there's nothing to fuss about!" ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
• "You'll get everything you want in life as long as you help enough others get what they want in life." ~ Zig Ziglar
• "Success is my only muthaf*** option, failure's not." ~ Eninem
• "I want it, it's on its way, there's nothing to fuss about!" ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
• "You'll get everything you want in life as long as you help enough others get what they want in life." ~ Zig Ziglar
• "Success is my only muthaf*** option, failure's not." ~ Eninem
Some of my Favorite Recipes!
Biscuit Casserole
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs of ground beef
1 big can of baked beans
1/2 bottle of sweet BBQ sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 bag of shredded cheese
1 can of jumbo buttermilk biscuits
Instructions:
Brown your burger, drain really well.
Get a large casserole pan or baking dish and dump the burger in in along with the baked beans, BBQ sauce, brown sugar and 3/4 of the bag of the cheese. Hold the rest for later. Mix together.
Place biscuits across the top, Cover your pan with the lid or foil.
Depending on what baking instructions are for the biscuits, reduce the temp by 50 degrees and cook for 30 minutes longer. But keep checking to make sure your biscuits cook thoroughly and don't burn on top.
Once done cooking, pull pan out of the oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top of the biscuits. Let sit for 5-8 minutes so everything thickens up. Otherwise it will be a gloppy mess.
Oh so rich and yummy
----------------------
Ham and Vegetable Chowder
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup sliced green onion
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 1/2 cups cubed ham
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour, basil, salt, black pepper, and broth. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in potatoes, carrots, and green onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until potato is crisp-tender. Stir in cream, ham, and corn. Heat thoroughly.
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SUGAR COOKIES
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Additional sugar to press cookies flat before baking
Using electric mixer, beat butter, oil, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in egg and vanilla.
Sift flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt over and mix in. Cover mixture and chill until firm, about 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter (or spray) cookie sheet.
Roll 1 tablespoon dough into ball. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing balls evenly on sheets.
Dip flat-bottomed glass into water to moisten, then dip into sugar and press dough to 1/4-inch-thick round. Repeat with remaining dough balls, dipping bottom of glass into sugar before pressing each. (NOTE: If you use a glass with a pretty bottom, you'll get a pretty cookie!)
Bake cookies until light brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.
Makes About 36
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Chicken/Cheese/Rice Bake
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can water
1 cup uncooked regular white rice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
A few boneless chicken breasts or cut up to cubes
1 bag shredded cheese
Heat the oven to 375°F. Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper and vegetables in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with the chicken. Cover the baking dish. Bake for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with the cheese. Let the casserole stand for 10-15 minutes to set. Stir the rice before serving.
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Pork Cop Bake
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 pork chops
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
Season salt and pepper to taste
1 package frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
1 bag shredded cheese
1 can French-fried onions, divided
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Coat chops with season salt. Add pork chops and saute until browned. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towel. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix together soup, milk, sour cream and season salt and pepper to taste. Stir in potatoes, cheese and onions. Make sure to save some cheese and onions for later. Mix together and spread mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange pork chops over potato mixture.Bake for 30 minutes or until chops are thoroughly cooked. Sprinkle cheese and onions on top when almost done.
----------------------
Drunken Gummy Bears
Prep Time = 5-7 days
Ingredients:
Gummy Bears - any color or flavor you wish
Liquor - any brand, type or proof that is complimentary with fruity flavors
Fruit Juice - any flavor you wish
Instructions:
Figure out how many Gummy Bears you wanna make. Place in a large bowl with a sealed lid. (Container from GFS is perfect for a party size and you can leave in the container!)
Get you a bottle of your favorite liquor that goes well with fruit flavors. I recommend 100 proof vodka but you can use any proof, brand or type. Pour over Gummy Bears until they are completely covered. Seal lid tight and place in the back of your fridge to chill for no less than 3 days or when the liquor is completely soaked into the bears. Stir or shake container about twice a day so the bears don't stick together. This is an important step, so don't forget!
WARNING: The bears will expand! So make sure your container has plenty of grow room at the top. And make sure NO CHILDREN have access to these!
After all the liquor has been soaked into the bears, or 3.5 days have gone by, pour your fruit juice over your bears to completely cover them. Continue to soak in the sealed container for 3-5 more days in the fridge. You can sample them to see if the center of the bears are completely soft. If they are chewy or hard in the center, they still need to soak.
When they are ready, drain any remaining juices from the bears. You can discard or serve as a shot. Place the bears in metal or glass bowl. In a larger bowl place ice cubes and place the smaller bowl inside to keep the bears chilled. Make sure you have little plastic cups on the side so your guests can easily scoop several to eat. About 6 bears should equal one shots worth.
These won't last very long before they start to grow bacteria, so keep them chilled or refrigerated for up to 3 additional days, after that, they aren't good and could make you sick. Cheers!
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs of ground beef
1 big can of baked beans
1/2 bottle of sweet BBQ sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 bag of shredded cheese
1 can of jumbo buttermilk biscuits
Instructions:
Brown your burger, drain really well.
Get a large casserole pan or baking dish and dump the burger in in along with the baked beans, BBQ sauce, brown sugar and 3/4 of the bag of the cheese. Hold the rest for later. Mix together.
Place biscuits across the top, Cover your pan with the lid or foil.
Depending on what baking instructions are for the biscuits, reduce the temp by 50 degrees and cook for 30 minutes longer. But keep checking to make sure your biscuits cook thoroughly and don't burn on top.
Once done cooking, pull pan out of the oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top of the biscuits. Let sit for 5-8 minutes so everything thickens up. Otherwise it will be a gloppy mess.
Oh so rich and yummy
----------------------
Ham and Vegetable Chowder
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup sliced green onion
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 1/2 cups cubed ham
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour, basil, salt, black pepper, and broth. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in potatoes, carrots, and green onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until potato is crisp-tender. Stir in cream, ham, and corn. Heat thoroughly.
----------------------
SUGAR COOKIES
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Additional sugar to press cookies flat before baking
Using electric mixer, beat butter, oil, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in egg and vanilla.
Sift flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt over and mix in. Cover mixture and chill until firm, about 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter (or spray) cookie sheet.
Roll 1 tablespoon dough into ball. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing balls evenly on sheets.
Dip flat-bottomed glass into water to moisten, then dip into sugar and press dough to 1/4-inch-thick round. Repeat with remaining dough balls, dipping bottom of glass into sugar before pressing each. (NOTE: If you use a glass with a pretty bottom, you'll get a pretty cookie!)
Bake cookies until light brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.
Makes About 36
----------------------
Chicken/Cheese/Rice Bake
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can water
1 cup uncooked regular white rice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
A few boneless chicken breasts or cut up to cubes
1 bag shredded cheese
Heat the oven to 375°F. Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper and vegetables in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with the chicken. Cover the baking dish. Bake for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with the cheese. Let the casserole stand for 10-15 minutes to set. Stir the rice before serving.
----------------------
Pork Cop Bake
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 pork chops
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
Season salt and pepper to taste
1 package frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
1 bag shredded cheese
1 can French-fried onions, divided
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Coat chops with season salt. Add pork chops and saute until browned. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towel. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix together soup, milk, sour cream and season salt and pepper to taste. Stir in potatoes, cheese and onions. Make sure to save some cheese and onions for later. Mix together and spread mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange pork chops over potato mixture.Bake for 30 minutes or until chops are thoroughly cooked. Sprinkle cheese and onions on top when almost done.
----------------------
Drunken Gummy Bears
Prep Time = 5-7 days
Ingredients:
Gummy Bears - any color or flavor you wish
Liquor - any brand, type or proof that is complimentary with fruity flavors
Fruit Juice - any flavor you wish
Instructions:
Figure out how many Gummy Bears you wanna make. Place in a large bowl with a sealed lid. (Container from GFS is perfect for a party size and you can leave in the container!)
Get you a bottle of your favorite liquor that goes well with fruit flavors. I recommend 100 proof vodka but you can use any proof, brand or type. Pour over Gummy Bears until they are completely covered. Seal lid tight and place in the back of your fridge to chill for no less than 3 days or when the liquor is completely soaked into the bears. Stir or shake container about twice a day so the bears don't stick together. This is an important step, so don't forget!
WARNING: The bears will expand! So make sure your container has plenty of grow room at the top. And make sure NO CHILDREN have access to these!
After all the liquor has been soaked into the bears, or 3.5 days have gone by, pour your fruit juice over your bears to completely cover them. Continue to soak in the sealed container for 3-5 more days in the fridge. You can sample them to see if the center of the bears are completely soft. If they are chewy or hard in the center, they still need to soak.
When they are ready, drain any remaining juices from the bears. You can discard or serve as a shot. Place the bears in metal or glass bowl. In a larger bowl place ice cubes and place the smaller bowl inside to keep the bears chilled. Make sure you have little plastic cups on the side so your guests can easily scoop several to eat. About 6 bears should equal one shots worth.
These won't last very long before they start to grow bacteria, so keep them chilled or refrigerated for up to 3 additional days, after that, they aren't good and could make you sick. Cheers!
Bosom Ball 2010-hanging w/ Crystal Bowersox & Frankie May
From Facebook Notes: Monday, October 25, 2010 at 2:07am
I might as well just post this here and Tweet the link, right?
Here is my POV of the entire evening, very similar to Mark's Story but gonna try to fill in some blanks.
http://mamasoxvillageidiots.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=reviews&thread=262&page=1
I'm a very laid back person, but sometimes I get all hyped up. It does take an awful lot for me to do that tho.
So me and Jami have been trying to get someone to go with us to carpool and split the cost of gas. We had the whole back seat and I thought it would be a great idea to invite Terri May, Frankie May's mom. So I sent her a message and we connected on Facebook and talked one night. She told me to call her, so I did and told her about the concert, when, where, website, etc. We talked for a good long time and I told her that would pay for her ticket if she wanted to go. She said she would try to get one from Frankie, but sure, it would be great to go! So originally it was gonna be me, Jami and Terri. Right up until the night before.... Terri's mom had to have some surgery and just wasn't doing well. She is in her 80's, so of course I told her that her mom was priority and not to worry if she can't make it. I prayed lots for her mom, met her at the Toledo Idol concert. Bless her heart, she was such a sweet woman.
So it was back to me and Jami, and we made our plans, and off we went. I began to tweet #BosomBallOrBust all the way down there!! We made a pee-stop in Wapakoneta, OH. I forgot there was some dancer guy from there on some dancing show, but I knew the place well. We listened to the Crystal CD that Jeff (VI#1) made for me of some of her music. One song on there, I didn't know the name of it and had a discussion with Jami that I couldn't figure out what it was about. Well, she said the name of the song was Cry No More. And I told her that if I had the opportunity, I would ask Crystal what the heck that song is about. Remember this later on.....
Anyway..... riding down I-75 after many years, you see some changes and some landmarks that never changed. I was on a mission to find the burnt down Jesus statue and filled Jami on the phenomenon. Didn't ever find it. I called Mark and he gave us a rundown of what to expect and said he was hanging out by the back. I told him I would call him when we got there to meet up with him.
We go thru all the major cities and finally get to CinCin and run into some traffic. Typical for that one stretch of 75. It put us back a little bit, I should have known better and anticipated it and scheduled to leave earlier. But anyway, we got down there and found the area without any problems. Love the GPS on my Blackberry!!
Traffic and parking was a breeze for us. We locked up our bags in the trunk and headed to the venue!! There was a little crowd forming and I happen to notice Tim, owner of Papa's Tavern and his girlfriend Lisa. I pointed them out to Jami and then stupidly yelled out his name. He turned around and I said Hi, and told him I was one of the Village Idiots. He smiled and waved. So we hung out until the doors opened. I forgot to call Mark, we were just so excited to be there. So we had no idea where he was.... when we walked in, the place looked very club-like and cool. We seen Frankie and Crystal on stage already and a little crowd was forming around the front of the stage. As me and Jami walked up, Frankie caught my eye and before I could say or do anything, he pointed at me and waved. Guess he remembers me! LOL I waved back and they started with a Q&A session. I was telling Jami to raise her hand and ask a question, but she was freezing up. At first it was like no one had questions, so I decided to break the ice and threw up my arm high and Crystal picked me to ask a question. So I blurted out, "What is the song Cry No More about?" I think I said something like that, I really don't remember, my mind went blank as I was saying it. LOL Her answer was something like, it is about an ex. It almost seemed like she was shocked someone knew it but realized we were VI's and of course we know her material.
As soon as she finished, here turns around this guy in a red shirt and low and behold, it was Mark standing right in front of us! I dunno how I knew, but I did and then I seen his shirt and yep, I was right! So we grouped together with him and some more music played. I won't go into which songs were sung when, I don't recall, but they were so awesome. Then we met Carole, whom I didn't know, but any fan of Crystal's is a friend of mine! At one point Jami got to ask her a question too and I was so happy for her because she was really freezing up. During one of her songs, I decided to call Terri so she could hear her play since she couldn't be at the concert. Got the voice mail, so I mumbled who I was and held the phone up for the entire song. I don't even remember which song it was...LOL. It was over and I mumbled something about calling her back or her calling me back or something.
Before we knew it, the soundcheck party ended and we all had to crowd off to the side so Crystal could come down to meet us and get photos. By us I mean the audience. Right on!!! I wasn't prepared for that! Bonus!!!
So the powers-that-be told us that we had to group together, no individual pics and only one signature per person. So Jami, Mark and I grouped together, I dunno where Carole went, I think with her friend, who I apologize that I don't remember her name. So I was trying to plan ahead and was scoping out for a group that we could swap cameras with and I could take extra pics with their camera if they took extra pics with my camera. Seen these two guys and talked them into it and discovered one was from the area, and his friend came all the way from Toronto. Cool! I later seen a tweet of theirs on Twitter and followed them and told them I was the one that swapped cameras with them. Gotta love the power of Twitter!
So we made our way up there and I kept my promise to take the pics and so did they. :) We gathered around Crystal, got our pics and she signed my stuff first. She grabbed my placard thingie they gave me and started to sign it and I blurted out, oh I wanted my shirt... and she was like, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it and just signed my shirt anyway. I was a happy camper. I asked her if she knew who we were and she was like yeah, and said who's Majestik? I said, that's me! I don't remember anything after that, I think we were ushered away.... We kinda hung around because Mark said she said she would see us in a few minutes or something. So I plugged in my phone to charge it a bit and we hung out until we were told the soundcheck party was over and we had to leave.
We had some time to kill and decide to grab something quick next door. Carole and her friend joined us and we just sat around this table and chatted. Carole asked us questions and I didn't realize she wasn't a VI but she told us that she reads all of our tweets. I still dunno who she is on Twitter, anyone know? Her and her friend were lovely and I enjoyed hanging out with them and Mark and talked about Crystal and Frankie. Time was running out and I had to use the facilities, so Carole, her friend and Mark left and Jami and I made a quick potty break again. When we came out, crowds were gathered again and Carole saved us a place in line right by the door. THANK YOU!!!!! I don't think we would have gotten up front if we took our place in line way in the back. I am forever indebted for that!! I guess Mark ran to make a pit stop to his car and I noticed that Tim and Lisa were a few people behind us. :) Mark made it back in time and we just hung out til they opened the doors.
Doors opened and we made a mad dash to the front. It was easy, not many people were there yet. So I decided to go grab a water and come back. Jami held my place for me. On the way there, I passed Tim and Lisa and said, "Hey, we're up front, we'll save you a place if you want." Tim was like, "Ok we'll come find you later." Got my water and came back.
I'll skip about the first three performers as the story is the same as Mark's. And I too was mesmerized by VV Brown's guitarist. Oh baby!!! I was probably drooling over him. And I am a new fan of VV Brown, that lady can rawk!!
On to Crystal.... we waited in anticipation. I kept watch for Tim and Lisa and seen them come up and they stood behind us the entire set. I was glad they could make it to see Crystal and Frankie and I think they were glad Tim and Lisa came as well. When she came on, I was so happy to see her and Frankie play live. It was just amazing!! I was snapping pics and taking video as much as I could. I found out a lil earlier that for some reason, my memory card in my camera said full as I took video, so I had no choice but to use my Blackberry cell phone to record the video. I was so disappointed with the quality, but it was better than nothing! I can't wait to see others videos! By the way, I was tweeting from each performer and was the first to tweet that Crystal confirmed Holy Toledo will be on the album after she made that statement. COOL!! Everything from this point on I will skip as well because Mark already wrote about it.
But I will say this.... remember I said how laid back I am? Well, I almost got into a fight with some drunk girls shoving me before Sara berwhateverhernameis came on. Yeah, cuss words were flying around and fists were almost too. They backed off and the one who was next to me started sucking up to us so I wouldn't kick her ass. Whatev....
Flash forward to us being outside.... I missed saying bye to Carole and her friend, they were way up in the balcony. So if anyone knows who she is on twitter, please tell me so I can thank her. :) Mark suggested we walk around to the back and I was all for it! So there we were walking and there was Crystal. So matter-of-factly, she just greeted us and we sort of crowded around her like we were all old friends chatting. Later on Frankie came out and joined us in the chat. At one point, I decided to call Terri again and told her I had someone for her to talk to. Then I put the phone up to Frankie's ear and he had no clue and then he was like, hi Mom. It was so cute! Then I went to hand Crystal the phone but she was talking with Jami and taking more photos. So I told talked to Terri for a minute and then told her I would call her back later. I then finally got my photo of Crystal and I together and everyone was taking pics and getting more autographs. I had Frankie sign my shirt as well, Crystal gave me her two Sharpies and said one didn't work so well. So when I handed them back, I told her which one was crappy and she looked around and tossed it over by the door and we both giggled.
Some things Crystal talked about, I won't mention, only to Mark and Jami, because they just seemed personal and all and I don't want to be that person to leak stuff about her. But I will mention that she has to be very careful about what she releases because she is under contract. If it seems like she is holding back, that is why. So cut her a break on some things, fans. She's doing what she can at the moment. :)
Other things she talked about was how cool that we all became friends, and she heard about Paul and Jen and I told her I was the one that let everyone stay at my house for the Toledo Show and rattled off everyone that stayed. She talked about how much she likes that and thinks it is cool we do get together. Which lead to several other conversations.
Yeah, that was so cool of her to invite us to the bar with her and Frankie. I was soooo tempted, but we never would have made it home in time for me to get my son to school. And I was pretty whooped and was dreading the drive back as it was. So I gave her a hug and she and Frankie thanked us for coming to the show and Crystal said that it meant a lot to her.
We walked away.... well, more like floated away and decided to grab some grub before our trip home. Waffel House!! Then we said our goodbyes to Mark and Jami and I were off for home. I thought it was funny Mark thought he was following us. I was more worried he would get lost tho, but he seemed to find his way home. Then I get a call from Terri and she wanted a run down of the evening. She's a talker, but so am I so we just gabbed and gabbed from just north of Cincinnati all the way past Dayton. She was telling me about her mom too, keep praying for her Idiots, she is ok, but could certainly use the extra healing prayers!!! After I got off the phone with Terri, I decided to send my video of Crystal and Frankie playing her song Numb. So I let that upload and tweeted it. Took forever! I told Jami to keep talking to me the whole way back because I was so tired. I am sure the words coming out of my mouth later on in the trip didn't make sense, I was half asleep saying them. I honestly don't know how we made it home, I don't remember anything from the Lima area to dropping her off at her house. I barely made it home and was so tired, I felt just like I did after the Toledo show. It was like De Ja Vue! I was fast asleep before my body hit the bed!
Then I go and wake up late and my son missed the bus. So I had to drive him to school, came back and just did some stuff around the house and blah blah blah.
That's it...if I remember any other good tidbits, I will post them here. Sorry for the book. Hope you weren't too bored reading it!!
Namaste,
Michelle VI #48!
I might as well just post this here and Tweet the link, right?
Here is my POV of the entire evening, very similar to Mark's Story but gonna try to fill in some blanks.
http://mamasoxvillageidiots.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=reviews&thread=262&page=1
I'm a very laid back person, but sometimes I get all hyped up. It does take an awful lot for me to do that tho.
So me and Jami have been trying to get someone to go with us to carpool and split the cost of gas. We had the whole back seat and I thought it would be a great idea to invite Terri May, Frankie May's mom. So I sent her a message and we connected on Facebook and talked one night. She told me to call her, so I did and told her about the concert, when, where, website, etc. We talked for a good long time and I told her that would pay for her ticket if she wanted to go. She said she would try to get one from Frankie, but sure, it would be great to go! So originally it was gonna be me, Jami and Terri. Right up until the night before.... Terri's mom had to have some surgery and just wasn't doing well. She is in her 80's, so of course I told her that her mom was priority and not to worry if she can't make it. I prayed lots for her mom, met her at the Toledo Idol concert. Bless her heart, she was such a sweet woman.
So it was back to me and Jami, and we made our plans, and off we went. I began to tweet #BosomBallOrBust all the way down there!! We made a pee-stop in Wapakoneta, OH. I forgot there was some dancer guy from there on some dancing show, but I knew the place well. We listened to the Crystal CD that Jeff (VI#1) made for me of some of her music. One song on there, I didn't know the name of it and had a discussion with Jami that I couldn't figure out what it was about. Well, she said the name of the song was Cry No More. And I told her that if I had the opportunity, I would ask Crystal what the heck that song is about. Remember this later on.....
Anyway..... riding down I-75 after many years, you see some changes and some landmarks that never changed. I was on a mission to find the burnt down Jesus statue and filled Jami on the phenomenon. Didn't ever find it. I called Mark and he gave us a rundown of what to expect and said he was hanging out by the back. I told him I would call him when we got there to meet up with him.
We go thru all the major cities and finally get to CinCin and run into some traffic. Typical for that one stretch of 75. It put us back a little bit, I should have known better and anticipated it and scheduled to leave earlier. But anyway, we got down there and found the area without any problems. Love the GPS on my Blackberry!!
Traffic and parking was a breeze for us. We locked up our bags in the trunk and headed to the venue!! There was a little crowd forming and I happen to notice Tim, owner of Papa's Tavern and his girlfriend Lisa. I pointed them out to Jami and then stupidly yelled out his name. He turned around and I said Hi, and told him I was one of the Village Idiots. He smiled and waved. So we hung out until the doors opened. I forgot to call Mark, we were just so excited to be there. So we had no idea where he was.... when we walked in, the place looked very club-like and cool. We seen Frankie and Crystal on stage already and a little crowd was forming around the front of the stage. As me and Jami walked up, Frankie caught my eye and before I could say or do anything, he pointed at me and waved. Guess he remembers me! LOL I waved back and they started with a Q&A session. I was telling Jami to raise her hand and ask a question, but she was freezing up. At first it was like no one had questions, so I decided to break the ice and threw up my arm high and Crystal picked me to ask a question. So I blurted out, "What is the song Cry No More about?" I think I said something like that, I really don't remember, my mind went blank as I was saying it. LOL Her answer was something like, it is about an ex. It almost seemed like she was shocked someone knew it but realized we were VI's and of course we know her material.
As soon as she finished, here turns around this guy in a red shirt and low and behold, it was Mark standing right in front of us! I dunno how I knew, but I did and then I seen his shirt and yep, I was right! So we grouped together with him and some more music played. I won't go into which songs were sung when, I don't recall, but they were so awesome. Then we met Carole, whom I didn't know, but any fan of Crystal's is a friend of mine! At one point Jami got to ask her a question too and I was so happy for her because she was really freezing up. During one of her songs, I decided to call Terri so she could hear her play since she couldn't be at the concert. Got the voice mail, so I mumbled who I was and held the phone up for the entire song. I don't even remember which song it was...LOL. It was over and I mumbled something about calling her back or her calling me back or something.
Before we knew it, the soundcheck party ended and we all had to crowd off to the side so Crystal could come down to meet us and get photos. By us I mean the audience. Right on!!! I wasn't prepared for that! Bonus!!!
So the powers-that-be told us that we had to group together, no individual pics and only one signature per person. So Jami, Mark and I grouped together, I dunno where Carole went, I think with her friend, who I apologize that I don't remember her name. So I was trying to plan ahead and was scoping out for a group that we could swap cameras with and I could take extra pics with their camera if they took extra pics with my camera. Seen these two guys and talked them into it and discovered one was from the area, and his friend came all the way from Toronto. Cool! I later seen a tweet of theirs on Twitter and followed them and told them I was the one that swapped cameras with them. Gotta love the power of Twitter!
So we made our way up there and I kept my promise to take the pics and so did they. :) We gathered around Crystal, got our pics and she signed my stuff first. She grabbed my placard thingie they gave me and started to sign it and I blurted out, oh I wanted my shirt... and she was like, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it and just signed my shirt anyway. I was a happy camper. I asked her if she knew who we were and she was like yeah, and said who's Majestik? I said, that's me! I don't remember anything after that, I think we were ushered away.... We kinda hung around because Mark said she said she would see us in a few minutes or something. So I plugged in my phone to charge it a bit and we hung out until we were told the soundcheck party was over and we had to leave.
We had some time to kill and decide to grab something quick next door. Carole and her friend joined us and we just sat around this table and chatted. Carole asked us questions and I didn't realize she wasn't a VI but she told us that she reads all of our tweets. I still dunno who she is on Twitter, anyone know? Her and her friend were lovely and I enjoyed hanging out with them and Mark and talked about Crystal and Frankie. Time was running out and I had to use the facilities, so Carole, her friend and Mark left and Jami and I made a quick potty break again. When we came out, crowds were gathered again and Carole saved us a place in line right by the door. THANK YOU!!!!! I don't think we would have gotten up front if we took our place in line way in the back. I am forever indebted for that!! I guess Mark ran to make a pit stop to his car and I noticed that Tim and Lisa were a few people behind us. :) Mark made it back in time and we just hung out til they opened the doors.
Doors opened and we made a mad dash to the front. It was easy, not many people were there yet. So I decided to go grab a water and come back. Jami held my place for me. On the way there, I passed Tim and Lisa and said, "Hey, we're up front, we'll save you a place if you want." Tim was like, "Ok we'll come find you later." Got my water and came back.
I'll skip about the first three performers as the story is the same as Mark's. And I too was mesmerized by VV Brown's guitarist. Oh baby!!! I was probably drooling over him. And I am a new fan of VV Brown, that lady can rawk!!
On to Crystal.... we waited in anticipation. I kept watch for Tim and Lisa and seen them come up and they stood behind us the entire set. I was glad they could make it to see Crystal and Frankie and I think they were glad Tim and Lisa came as well. When she came on, I was so happy to see her and Frankie play live. It was just amazing!! I was snapping pics and taking video as much as I could. I found out a lil earlier that for some reason, my memory card in my camera said full as I took video, so I had no choice but to use my Blackberry cell phone to record the video. I was so disappointed with the quality, but it was better than nothing! I can't wait to see others videos! By the way, I was tweeting from each performer and was the first to tweet that Crystal confirmed Holy Toledo will be on the album after she made that statement. COOL!! Everything from this point on I will skip as well because Mark already wrote about it.
But I will say this.... remember I said how laid back I am? Well, I almost got into a fight with some drunk girls shoving me before Sara berwhateverhernameis came on. Yeah, cuss words were flying around and fists were almost too. They backed off and the one who was next to me started sucking up to us so I wouldn't kick her ass. Whatev....
Flash forward to us being outside.... I missed saying bye to Carole and her friend, they were way up in the balcony. So if anyone knows who she is on twitter, please tell me so I can thank her. :) Mark suggested we walk around to the back and I was all for it! So there we were walking and there was Crystal. So matter-of-factly, she just greeted us and we sort of crowded around her like we were all old friends chatting. Later on Frankie came out and joined us in the chat. At one point, I decided to call Terri again and told her I had someone for her to talk to. Then I put the phone up to Frankie's ear and he had no clue and then he was like, hi Mom. It was so cute! Then I went to hand Crystal the phone but she was talking with Jami and taking more photos. So I told talked to Terri for a minute and then told her I would call her back later. I then finally got my photo of Crystal and I together and everyone was taking pics and getting more autographs. I had Frankie sign my shirt as well, Crystal gave me her two Sharpies and said one didn't work so well. So when I handed them back, I told her which one was crappy and she looked around and tossed it over by the door and we both giggled.
Some things Crystal talked about, I won't mention, only to Mark and Jami, because they just seemed personal and all and I don't want to be that person to leak stuff about her. But I will mention that she has to be very careful about what she releases because she is under contract. If it seems like she is holding back, that is why. So cut her a break on some things, fans. She's doing what she can at the moment. :)
Other things she talked about was how cool that we all became friends, and she heard about Paul and Jen and I told her I was the one that let everyone stay at my house for the Toledo Show and rattled off everyone that stayed. She talked about how much she likes that and thinks it is cool we do get together. Which lead to several other conversations.
Yeah, that was so cool of her to invite us to the bar with her and Frankie. I was soooo tempted, but we never would have made it home in time for me to get my son to school. And I was pretty whooped and was dreading the drive back as it was. So I gave her a hug and she and Frankie thanked us for coming to the show and Crystal said that it meant a lot to her.
We walked away.... well, more like floated away and decided to grab some grub before our trip home. Waffel House!! Then we said our goodbyes to Mark and Jami and I were off for home. I thought it was funny Mark thought he was following us. I was more worried he would get lost tho, but he seemed to find his way home. Then I get a call from Terri and she wanted a run down of the evening. She's a talker, but so am I so we just gabbed and gabbed from just north of Cincinnati all the way past Dayton. She was telling me about her mom too, keep praying for her Idiots, she is ok, but could certainly use the extra healing prayers!!! After I got off the phone with Terri, I decided to send my video of Crystal and Frankie playing her song Numb. So I let that upload and tweeted it. Took forever! I told Jami to keep talking to me the whole way back because I was so tired. I am sure the words coming out of my mouth later on in the trip didn't make sense, I was half asleep saying them. I honestly don't know how we made it home, I don't remember anything from the Lima area to dropping her off at her house. I barely made it home and was so tired, I felt just like I did after the Toledo show. It was like De Ja Vue! I was fast asleep before my body hit the bed!
Then I go and wake up late and my son missed the bus. So I had to drive him to school, came back and just did some stuff around the house and blah blah blah.
That's it...if I remember any other good tidbits, I will post them here. Sorry for the book. Hope you weren't too bored reading it!!
Namaste,
Michelle VI #48!
Massive List of links from the big Crystal Bowersox weekend!
From Facebook Notes: Friday, September 3, 2010 at 4:44pm
My Photo album on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041216&id=1549119563&l=ea22b93d6e
Updated Index for Monumental Weekend (My Sunflower Project partner's mini blogs describe the whole weekend) A MUST READ!! It has lots of details! http://tl.gd/3ev4pg
Crystal singing Holy Toledo, very good video and close up! Taken by my friend Karen.
http://bit.ly/9u0nac
My video of the buses pulling up and Crystal driving behind them.
http://bit.ly/ckQp4n
Jumbotron video of Crystal singing Piece of My Heart
http://youtu.be/blvll7a6LNg
Good close up video of Crystal singing Come To My Window
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwuiWANBmcg
Good close up video of What's Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfVBJFK5Z84&feature=youtu.be
The Blade's photo gallery
http://bit.ly/9XqB5F
The Toledo Free Press's article that mentions the Sunflower Project. We raised $1800 for Juvenile Diabetes!
http://bit.ly/cZNx1x
101.5 The River's video interview with Crystal, she talks about the Sunflower Project and the Village Idiots fan club. Also, excellent video of the beach ball that I snuck in and blew up so Crystal could see it in the crowd.
http://bit.ly/aFvWh3
My video of Holy Toledo. Only got half of it because my camera batteries died. :(
http://bit.ly/90LAQl
Fox Toledo interviews, you can see us waiting for Crystal
http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/wupw-Crystal-sings-to-hometown-crowd
Another video shot by my friend where you can see the beach ball
http://www.twitvid.com/DOLTZ
Channel 24's video
http://bit.ly/a7KSdt
13ABC's story
http://bit.ly/bjBXKe
Crystal's tweet to MamaSoxNation, which was us! We had our part at the Village Idiot, it was phenomenal!
http://twitter.com/crystalbowersox/status/22328780852
Crystal was interviewed on 92.5 Kiss FM the week before the concert. She talks about the Idiots and the Sunflower Project!
http://bit.ly/9ZfmK2
Here's my friend Paul's photo gallery
http://s735.photobucket.com/home/hannip1/allalbums
How I raised $856 for JDRF
From Facebook Notes: Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 7:15pm
Been meaning to document this in case anyone is interested in this story.
So, like many Toledoans, I am a big Crystal Bowersox fan. I am also big into social networking sites, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. Yes, I am addicted, I admit it, but I have good reasons to be.
Anyway, during the whole American Idol finale week, when Crystal came to Toledo for the homecoming show, I missed it all because I had to work. No worries, I knew it would be well documented and I could watch it all online.
Saturday, I spent most of the day catching up on all that, watching videos, reading the news media sites, listening to her original music, yada yada yada.
Saturday night, I happen to see on @FoxToledo news in their evening broadcast that Crystal's bassist, Frankie May, was trying to raise enough money to fly out to California for Crystal's finale show. I thought, wow, surely she would have flown him out there, but then I thought that she isn't "yet" a big time star making money, so yeah, he needs some help to get there.
So Sunday, I was looking thru my Twitter feeds and seen an article posted on the @ToledoFreePress site, mentioning the same thing as the broadcast.
http://www.toledofreepress.com/2010/05/23/concert-to-raise-funds-for-bowersox-bassist/
The original article isn't the same as what's on their now, they updated it, but basically it talked about how Frankie was doing an impromptu concert at the Village Idiot to raise funds. Scroll down and read the comments, and you will understand how this all unfolded. Tom Clark's comment sparked it all. Here there were people who wanted to donate via PayPal and it appeared that there was no way to do so. I was sad...
I know all too well what it is like to be so darn close to something important, wanting and needing to do it and just one little aspect held me back and that was lack of funding. Hell, it is the big story of my life!! I have struggled my whole life and have been there, like Crystal said, not knowing where the money will come from to feed my kid, or pay off that shut-off notice, or having gas money for the car to get to work. I'm STILL there, though not as bad as used to be. I always had faith that I would have just enough to get me by, and God always seen fit that I had "just enough". For that I have been grateful. But I am also a big believer in KARMA and helping others. I have been blessed so many times when I have truly needed it, I just want to pass it on and I always look for any opportunity I can to do so.
Anyway, I had the notion to offer up my PayPal account. It was a business account, already established, and I have a debit card thru them, so any funds that are donated, I can pull out at any ATM instantly. Win-win don't ya think?! Here was a great opportunity to help!!
Then I remembered that I sort of had a friendly conversation with this guy named Danny who runs the fan-based Twitter account, @MamaSoxNation. We talked before when storms were rolling thru Crystal's hometown of Elliston. This was many weeks before the big tornadoes down in Millbury. So my mind starting thinking, we could promote this fundraiser to all of Twitterland and the followers (fans) of Crystal, and most likely raise all the money he needed.
So Sunday, I sent tweets to Danny and he was on board, we talked about how we would do this and he began to start tweeting about it. I updated the comments board on the TFP site.
I woke up Monday, not thinking much about it, I figured we would get maybe a couple hundred, but surely that would help. I seen the first donation come in about 7:30am on Monday. I went to work and just sort of monitored it through out the day. I was getting donations from $5, up to $75. I thought, cool! We're doing this!! So I would update my twitter account, @Majestik_vi48, and post the tally's.
On my lunch break, I called the Village Idiot and told them what we were doing and that I would drop the money off later after I got off work. They sounded really excited, thanked me, but said that they thought Frankie raised enough money and had already left. But if I dropped it off, they would make sure he got it.
I was kinda bummed, I almost returned all the money to everyone, but then I checked out the TFP site and they had updated their story to say that he did get enough money and left for CA, and that any extra donations, Frankie requests that it be given to the local Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or JDRF (which is the group that Crystal promotes since she is Type 1 diabetic). I was super excited, and updated everyone about what was going on.
People were STILL donating, they just wanted to give whatever they could to make sure Frankie got to California to support Crystal, and then to support the cause she is so close to. Then came the big shocker!!!
I could not believe what I was seeing in my PayPal account. Some fan in Singapore, yes, the Asian country, had sent $550!!! I had to call PayPal to confirm that this was a legitimate transaction, which they confirmed. I was completely beside myself and started Tweeting about it, and posting it on Facebook and the TFP site. WOW!!!
The whole time, I kept telling everyone, I will print off the statements and all emails as proof to show that 100% of the money will get to JDFS. And I did!
So on Monday, I had reporters from various Toledo news medias call me for interviews. Fox wanted to meet me at the JDRF to be on camera. I had to tell them no, it wasn't about fame for me, I didn't want to be on camera, this was just something me and a few fans were doing for Frankie to get him to Crystal. But since it was the Toledo Free Press's site where all this started, I talked to their reporter. I kept them updated on everything. Here is their article:
http://www.toledofreepress.com/2010/05/26/856-donated-to-jdrf-in-may%E2%80%99s-name/
By now it is Tuesday, I was feeling pretty proud that so many people donated, was super happy that it was going to a cause personal to Crystal's heart, and kinda wanted it all to be over with. In 26 hours, we raised $856!!! Yahoooo!!!!!
I got a hold of the lady at JDRF and she kindly agreed to meet me after I got off work. I was driving over there and got in the parking lot and get this phone call from Frankie himself. I was stunned, I had to pull over and just talk to him. He was so nice, thanked me for what I did and asked questions about how it all happened. I told him about Danny on Twitter and how he was instrumental in partnering with me to do this. I told him I would print everything off for him because there were some personal messages to him that people sent to me. Well, he gave me his email to send it to. This was Tuesday, about 6pm, a few hours before the finale show. I could hear people in the background and he said he was out there with Crystal. We talked for about 20 minutes and he invited me to come hear him and his band play when he came back, saying he would like to meet me and thank me in person. I just couldn't believe it all, how friggin cool!
So I dropped off the donation to JDRF. That lady was super nice as well, we talked for a little bit. I was super happy that I seen an opportunity to help, did it and was successful at it.
I even got a story written about it all on another Crystal fan site: http://crystalfans.com/content/index.php/2010/05/25/frankie-goes-hollywood-a-story-of-community?blog=5
Well, we all know the rest of the story, Crystal didn't win American Idol. I was terribly upset, but thought that maybe this was better for her. She would be a free agent and could do anything after her year of touring. She wouldn't be stuck in some contract and have to pay royalties to AI for stuff she recorded for them. I just cannot wait for her first CD to come out!! I don't EVER buy CD's, but I will definitely buy hers!!!
So everything has died down and I was just waiting to meet Frankie at the Blarney when he was playing with the Chris Shutters Band. I got to meet him, got a pic, http://twitpic.com/1u1jra, and recorded some video. They RAWK'd, lemme tell ya!!! I even bought 2 CD's, one for me and one for Danny, he couldn't come with me because he lives in Illinois. But we talk on a regular basis and keep each other informed on "Crystal news".
I don't personally know any of these people, they certainly didn't know me. All these complete strangers just came together ONLINE to try to help because they believed in Crystal. It's a fabulously beautiful thing. I think it was just a small testament to our area and how we support our locals. We had some from the area who donated, but most were in other states all together, even other nations (Singapore)!!
People may think that I am silly being online and connected all the time like I am, but I discount their opinions of me. Why? Well, my heart is warm and fulfilled because in this case, without the power of the internet, some little kid may have suffered and not have benefited from our donations to JDRF. At least I know that money will help many others.
Those who blow me off.... I ask, "What have YOU done to help someone else lately??"
So that is about it. Sorry for the rambling, I just wanted to document this story in case anyone was lost in the whole craziness of me telling it over the past couple weeks. This is major stuff for me. I live to do this kind of stuff, and have also been blessed to help others in the past, though this is certainly the biggest.
I absolutely love Crystal's song, Farmer's Daughter. The first time I heard it, I cried because it sort of reminded me about my relationship with my own parents. In listening to her other original music, knowing she is from Elliston and Toledo and seeing how real and grounded of a person she is, I can honestly say I am a fan and enjoy her messages. I get it, and I hope others do as well.
Rawk on Crystal....
Chelle
So, like many Toledoans, I am a big Crystal Bowersox fan. I am also big into social networking sites, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. Yes, I am addicted, I admit it, but I have good reasons to be.
Anyway, during the whole American Idol finale week, when Crystal came to Toledo for the homecoming show, I missed it all because I had to work. No worries, I knew it would be well documented and I could watch it all online.
Saturday, I spent most of the day catching up on all that, watching videos, reading the news media sites, listening to her original music, yada yada yada.
Saturday night, I happen to see on @FoxToledo news in their evening broadcast that Crystal's bassist, Frankie May, was trying to raise enough money to fly out to California for Crystal's finale show. I thought, wow, surely she would have flown him out there, but then I thought that she isn't "yet" a big time star making money, so yeah, he needs some help to get there.
So Sunday, I was looking thru my Twitter feeds and seen an article posted on the @ToledoFreePress site, mentioning the same thing as the broadcast.
http://www.toledofreepress.com/2010/05/23/concert-to-raise-funds-for-bowersox-bassist/
The original article isn't the same as what's on their now, they updated it, but basically it talked about how Frankie was doing an impromptu concert at the Village Idiot to raise funds. Scroll down and read the comments, and you will understand how this all unfolded. Tom Clark's comment sparked it all. Here there were people who wanted to donate via PayPal and it appeared that there was no way to do so. I was sad...
I know all too well what it is like to be so darn close to something important, wanting and needing to do it and just one little aspect held me back and that was lack of funding. Hell, it is the big story of my life!! I have struggled my whole life and have been there, like Crystal said, not knowing where the money will come from to feed my kid, or pay off that shut-off notice, or having gas money for the car to get to work. I'm STILL there, though not as bad as used to be. I always had faith that I would have just enough to get me by, and God always seen fit that I had "just enough". For that I have been grateful. But I am also a big believer in KARMA and helping others. I have been blessed so many times when I have truly needed it, I just want to pass it on and I always look for any opportunity I can to do so.
Anyway, I had the notion to offer up my PayPal account. It was a business account, already established, and I have a debit card thru them, so any funds that are donated, I can pull out at any ATM instantly. Win-win don't ya think?! Here was a great opportunity to help!!
Then I remembered that I sort of had a friendly conversation with this guy named Danny who runs the fan-based Twitter account, @MamaSoxNation. We talked before when storms were rolling thru Crystal's hometown of Elliston. This was many weeks before the big tornadoes down in Millbury. So my mind starting thinking, we could promote this fundraiser to all of Twitterland and the followers (fans) of Crystal, and most likely raise all the money he needed.
So Sunday, I sent tweets to Danny and he was on board, we talked about how we would do this and he began to start tweeting about it. I updated the comments board on the TFP site.
I woke up Monday, not thinking much about it, I figured we would get maybe a couple hundred, but surely that would help. I seen the first donation come in about 7:30am on Monday. I went to work and just sort of monitored it through out the day. I was getting donations from $5, up to $75. I thought, cool! We're doing this!! So I would update my twitter account, @Majestik_vi48, and post the tally's.
On my lunch break, I called the Village Idiot and told them what we were doing and that I would drop the money off later after I got off work. They sounded really excited, thanked me, but said that they thought Frankie raised enough money and had already left. But if I dropped it off, they would make sure he got it.
I was kinda bummed, I almost returned all the money to everyone, but then I checked out the TFP site and they had updated their story to say that he did get enough money and left for CA, and that any extra donations, Frankie requests that it be given to the local Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or JDRF (which is the group that Crystal promotes since she is Type 1 diabetic). I was super excited, and updated everyone about what was going on.
People were STILL donating, they just wanted to give whatever they could to make sure Frankie got to California to support Crystal, and then to support the cause she is so close to. Then came the big shocker!!!
I could not believe what I was seeing in my PayPal account. Some fan in Singapore, yes, the Asian country, had sent $550!!! I had to call PayPal to confirm that this was a legitimate transaction, which they confirmed. I was completely beside myself and started Tweeting about it, and posting it on Facebook and the TFP site. WOW!!!
The whole time, I kept telling everyone, I will print off the statements and all emails as proof to show that 100% of the money will get to JDFS. And I did!
So on Monday, I had reporters from various Toledo news medias call me for interviews. Fox wanted to meet me at the JDRF to be on camera. I had to tell them no, it wasn't about fame for me, I didn't want to be on camera, this was just something me and a few fans were doing for Frankie to get him to Crystal. But since it was the Toledo Free Press's site where all this started, I talked to their reporter. I kept them updated on everything. Here is their article:
http://www.toledofreepress.com/2010/05/26/856-donated-to-jdrf-in-may%E2%80%99s-name/
By now it is Tuesday, I was feeling pretty proud that so many people donated, was super happy that it was going to a cause personal to Crystal's heart, and kinda wanted it all to be over with. In 26 hours, we raised $856!!! Yahoooo!!!!!
I got a hold of the lady at JDRF and she kindly agreed to meet me after I got off work. I was driving over there and got in the parking lot and get this phone call from Frankie himself. I was stunned, I had to pull over and just talk to him. He was so nice, thanked me for what I did and asked questions about how it all happened. I told him about Danny on Twitter and how he was instrumental in partnering with me to do this. I told him I would print everything off for him because there were some personal messages to him that people sent to me. Well, he gave me his email to send it to. This was Tuesday, about 6pm, a few hours before the finale show. I could hear people in the background and he said he was out there with Crystal. We talked for about 20 minutes and he invited me to come hear him and his band play when he came back, saying he would like to meet me and thank me in person. I just couldn't believe it all, how friggin cool!
So I dropped off the donation to JDRF. That lady was super nice as well, we talked for a little bit. I was super happy that I seen an opportunity to help, did it and was successful at it.
I even got a story written about it all on another Crystal fan site: http://crystalfans.com/content/index.php/2010/05/25/frankie-goes-hollywood-a-story-of-community?blog=5
Well, we all know the rest of the story, Crystal didn't win American Idol. I was terribly upset, but thought that maybe this was better for her. She would be a free agent and could do anything after her year of touring. She wouldn't be stuck in some contract and have to pay royalties to AI for stuff she recorded for them. I just cannot wait for her first CD to come out!! I don't EVER buy CD's, but I will definitely buy hers!!!
So everything has died down and I was just waiting to meet Frankie at the Blarney when he was playing with the Chris Shutters Band. I got to meet him, got a pic, http://twitpic.com/1u1jra, and recorded some video. They RAWK'd, lemme tell ya!!! I even bought 2 CD's, one for me and one for Danny, he couldn't come with me because he lives in Illinois. But we talk on a regular basis and keep each other informed on "Crystal news".
I don't personally know any of these people, they certainly didn't know me. All these complete strangers just came together ONLINE to try to help because they believed in Crystal. It's a fabulously beautiful thing. I think it was just a small testament to our area and how we support our locals. We had some from the area who donated, but most were in other states all together, even other nations (Singapore)!!
People may think that I am silly being online and connected all the time like I am, but I discount their opinions of me. Why? Well, my heart is warm and fulfilled because in this case, without the power of the internet, some little kid may have suffered and not have benefited from our donations to JDRF. At least I know that money will help many others.
Those who blow me off.... I ask, "What have YOU done to help someone else lately??"
So that is about it. Sorry for the rambling, I just wanted to document this story in case anyone was lost in the whole craziness of me telling it over the past couple weeks. This is major stuff for me. I live to do this kind of stuff, and have also been blessed to help others in the past, though this is certainly the biggest.
I absolutely love Crystal's song, Farmer's Daughter. The first time I heard it, I cried because it sort of reminded me about my relationship with my own parents. In listening to her other original music, knowing she is from Elliston and Toledo and seeing how real and grounded of a person she is, I can honestly say I am a fan and enjoy her messages. I get it, and I hope others do as well.
Rawk on Crystal....
Chelle
Tuesday night finale show.
Crystal finishing her song.
PayPal statement, tho I made this before we had a few more donations squeak by Tuesday morning.
Me & Frankie May at the Blarney, downtown Toledo.
2010 - 12 Month Resolution
From Facebook Notes:
January 3, 2010 at 1:22pm
January 1, 2010: Today, I make a resolution to pick 12 local churches of different denominations and go to one per month.
I feel like I should elaborate a little bit more. Tyler has been asking many questions the last year about God and the Bible stories. Since I didn't have a strong religious foundation growing up....none at all for that matter... I cannot answer these questions he is asking. So... what would a mother do at this point? Go on a mission to help her son find his answers. :)
Here is a link to my original status post about this topic. Feel free to comment here going forward, thanks so much everyone. :)
--------------------------------
From Facebook January 3, 2010 at 2:02pm:
---------------------------------
UPDATE from 2011
Yeah, we lasted 1 month on this resolution. Basically, Tyler did not want to go to church period. He really gave me a hard time about going. I kept bringing it up throughout the year, but he flat out refuses and says he just don't like being around all those people. I'll keep trying.....
January 3, 2010 at 1:22pm
Mama luvs her lil firecracker
I feel like I should elaborate a little bit more. Tyler has been asking many questions the last year about God and the Bible stories. Since I didn't have a strong religious foundation growing up....none at all for that matter... I cannot answer these questions he is asking. So... what would a mother do at this point? Go on a mission to help her son find his answers. :)
Here is a link to my original status post about this topic. Feel free to comment here going forward, thanks so much everyone. :)
--------------------------------
From Facebook January 3, 2010 at 2:02pm:
This entire resolution isn't really about Tyler wanting to go....if it were up to him, he would sleep in and then play his Wii all day. No, he blatantly does NOT want to go to church. Even when I tell him he will get the answers to his questions about the Bible. This resolution is primarily because I want to make him go and see all the different styles of church out there. I want him to be open to experiencing different beliefs and ways to celebrate them. My hope is that the end result he identifies and becomes more comfortable with at least one of them and will want to continue to go. If this isn't achieved, well... at least we spent some good quality time together doing something that will enrich our lives.
So today was the first opportunity to work on this resolution. I had looked up online several Churches in Temperance and Lambertville (Bedford area). I then happen to remember seeing the church page in this week's Bedford Now edition (pg 9). So today, I chose the first on the list, Bedford Christian Community, Assembly of God. Had no idea what to expect. Much to Tyler's discontent, he went with me.
He is a trooper though, he got up, ate breakfast, got dressed and waited for me to get ready. Since he tends to be distracted easily and figgits a lot from his ADHD, I told him he could take a tiny bit of silly putty with him to keep his hands busy. It really does help him!
So we get there and find a seat, and I noticed that I kept looking around to see if I knew anyone. I did, some kids from when I grew up, some family I was friends with, though they have their own children now. A few other folks came up and welcomed us, shook our hand and smiled. Some brief small talk exchanged.
To my enjoyment, the service started with a christian band and a few very uplifting songs. Now, this, I can enjoy!! Tyler was quiet and clingy, sitting practically on my lap most of the time. A usual practice when he is in an uncomfortable situation. Still, I could tell, he was "listening".
He asked me one particular question..... Why do they call God the Lord and the King? All I could tell him is that they both meant the same thing, that it was like calling the President the boss. (My mind wandered back to that moment on TV when I heard President Obama call Bruce Springsteen the Boss, but that was irrelevant here).
Yet, this is one of those innocent questions that I just cannot answer because of my own ignorance of the Bible. So I guess I will learn as we go along...together.
Next month, we will most likely visit a Baptist church on that list. There are several choices, perhaps Bridgepoint Church since it is the closest to us. We had an interesting experience last year when we were invited to a tent revival in Fremont. I may compare that story with how it goes next month and fill you guys in. Needless to say, that experience overwhelmed Tyler a bit.
But that story is for another day.....
Namaste!
Michelle
So today was the first opportunity to work on this resolution. I had looked up online several Churches in Temperance and Lambertville (Bedford area). I then happen to remember seeing the church page in this week's Bedford Now edition (pg 9). So today, I chose the first on the list, Bedford Christian Community, Assembly of God. Had no idea what to expect. Much to Tyler's discontent, he went with me.
He is a trooper though, he got up, ate breakfast, got dressed and waited for me to get ready. Since he tends to be distracted easily and figgits a lot from his ADHD, I told him he could take a tiny bit of silly putty with him to keep his hands busy. It really does help him!
So we get there and find a seat, and I noticed that I kept looking around to see if I knew anyone. I did, some kids from when I grew up, some family I was friends with, though they have their own children now. A few other folks came up and welcomed us, shook our hand and smiled. Some brief small talk exchanged.
To my enjoyment, the service started with a christian band and a few very uplifting songs. Now, this, I can enjoy!! Tyler was quiet and clingy, sitting practically on my lap most of the time. A usual practice when he is in an uncomfortable situation. Still, I could tell, he was "listening".
He asked me one particular question..... Why do they call God the Lord and the King? All I could tell him is that they both meant the same thing, that it was like calling the President the boss. (My mind wandered back to that moment on TV when I heard President Obama call Bruce Springsteen the Boss, but that was irrelevant here).
Yet, this is one of those innocent questions that I just cannot answer because of my own ignorance of the Bible. So I guess I will learn as we go along...together.
Next month, we will most likely visit a Baptist church on that list. There are several choices, perhaps Bridgepoint Church since it is the closest to us. We had an interesting experience last year when we were invited to a tent revival in Fremont. I may compare that story with how it goes next month and fill you guys in. Needless to say, that experience overwhelmed Tyler a bit.
But that story is for another day.....
Namaste!
Michelle
---------------------------------
UPDATE from 2011
Yeah, we lasted 1 month on this resolution. Basically, Tyler did not want to go to church period. He really gave me a hard time about going. I kept bringing it up throughout the year, but he flat out refuses and says he just don't like being around all those people. I'll keep trying.....
My Academy Award Speech
From Facebook Notes:
September 29, 2009 at 8:33pm
September 29, 2009 at 8:33pm
Wow, what a month!!!
Let me start off by first thanking everyone who helped me in the last couple of months. I truly do not believe I could have made it if it weren't for the wonderful people in my life.
First and foremost, let me thank (in no particular order at all):
Paula Wethington
Bill Anliker
Mar Jean Karr
Mark Conley
Celia LaBenne
Patty Coulliette
Eddie Reinhardt
Angie Rawson
Lana Garman
Ashleigh Brininger
Josh & Jake
Kevin Brunell
Mike Hughes
All the kids I went to school with and reconnected with
Everyone in Cub Scout Pack 302
My Team at the Monroe Evening News
Fox Toledo News
You all know what you have done for me and I love each and every one of you for it!!!! If you don't know why you are on this list.... shame on me for not expressing enough why!
I want to thank Zig Ziglar and Dr. Wayne Dyer for giving me my daily dose of inspiration through my iPod Touch/iTunes.
I want to thank Twitter, MySpace and Facebook for giving me an outlet to keep in touch with my friends and family and complete strangers who are a source of information, amusement and encouragement.
I want to thank all my social networking friends who read my ramblings every day and give me the daily encouragement that I need.
But most important of all, I want to thank my son Tyler, for giving me a reason to go through all I have to get to where I am today and to strive to be better tomorrow.
If I have forgotten ANYONE, don't be afraid to speak up. I will give you the recognition YOU deserve!!!
Love, peace and blessings to you all,
Michelle "Mickey" Reed
P.S. I will probably add to this list. Why not make your own too!
Let me start off by first thanking everyone who helped me in the last couple of months. I truly do not believe I could have made it if it weren't for the wonderful people in my life.
First and foremost, let me thank (in no particular order at all):
Paula Wethington
Bill Anliker
Mar Jean Karr
Mark Conley
Celia LaBenne
Patty Coulliette
Eddie Reinhardt
Angie Rawson
Lana Garman
Ashleigh Brininger
Josh & Jake
Kevin Brunell
Mike Hughes
All the kids I went to school with and reconnected with
Everyone in Cub Scout Pack 302
My Team at the Monroe Evening News
Fox Toledo News
You all know what you have done for me and I love each and every one of you for it!!!! If you don't know why you are on this list.... shame on me for not expressing enough why!
I want to thank Zig Ziglar and Dr. Wayne Dyer for giving me my daily dose of inspiration through my iPod Touch/iTunes.
I want to thank Twitter, MySpace and Facebook for giving me an outlet to keep in touch with my friends and family and complete strangers who are a source of information, amusement and encouragement.
I want to thank all my social networking friends who read my ramblings every day and give me the daily encouragement that I need.
But most important of all, I want to thank my son Tyler, for giving me a reason to go through all I have to get to where I am today and to strive to be better tomorrow.
If I have forgotten ANYONE, don't be afraid to speak up. I will give you the recognition YOU deserve!!!
Love, peace and blessings to you all,
Michelle "Mickey" Reed
P.S. I will probably add to this list. Why not make your own too!
Let's take a little step back in time
Just as a heads up, I am going to repost some of my Notes from my Facebook account over to here just because they are relevant and I don't want to lose them.
I always find it fascinating to go back thru some of my writings and try to think about what was going thru my head at the time and realize how far I have come from that time. :)
I always find it fascinating to go back thru some of my writings and try to think about what was going thru my head at the time and realize how far I have come from that time. :)
It's 2011, let's start a new blog!
I have attempted to keep diaries growing up as a child. I have written stories, poems, journals and letters to people. It's something that I never kept up, just came in spurts during some of the most difficult times in my life. Many people told me I should go into journalism, but the thought of the whole AP Style discipline wasn't appealing to me. I am a free-writer, I write as if I am talking to you and don't care about grammar, spelling or proper writing etiquette, though I have gotten much better at it over the years.
So when computers became the new way to communicate with people, I would type out more stories, poems, journals and letters to people. They call it blogging now. Years ago, I started a blog on many different websites, all are long gone and for good reason. I didn't realize that you had to be careful about what you say on the internet. I can only hope the Internet Archive Wayback Machine has not kept them to be used against me later. :(
Well..... here I am again. Life is in turmoil, but I am a little older and wiser and can be more responsible in my writings. And honestly, I know I am not popular enough for anyone to care about what I write, but still, I vow to be as honest about my feelings as possible without saying something that could be used against me later. After all, we are at the dawn of a New Information Age where access is excessive and privacy is minimalized.
Boy do I have a lot to say!! Just hope I can keep it up and not get bored with it. One thing I have learned about my writing is the good stuff comes out when times are bad. When I don't write, it means my life has been going pretty good. So this time, I want the good stuff to come out no matter if times are good or bad, tough or easy, joyous or disastrous, tiny or enormous. I really think I can do it this time, but no promises. We will see......
So when computers became the new way to communicate with people, I would type out more stories, poems, journals and letters to people. They call it blogging now. Years ago, I started a blog on many different websites, all are long gone and for good reason. I didn't realize that you had to be careful about what you say on the internet. I can only hope the Internet Archive Wayback Machine has not kept them to be used against me later. :(
Well..... here I am again. Life is in turmoil, but I am a little older and wiser and can be more responsible in my writings. And honestly, I know I am not popular enough for anyone to care about what I write, but still, I vow to be as honest about my feelings as possible without saying something that could be used against me later. After all, we are at the dawn of a New Information Age where access is excessive and privacy is minimalized.
Boy do I have a lot to say!! Just hope I can keep it up and not get bored with it. One thing I have learned about my writing is the good stuff comes out when times are bad. When I don't write, it means my life has been going pretty good. So this time, I want the good stuff to come out no matter if times are good or bad, tough or easy, joyous or disastrous, tiny or enormous. I really think I can do it this time, but no promises. We will see......
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