My best friend

A friend calls to see if they can come over
A best friend just shows up whenever.
A friend has been over maybe 5, 6 times
A best friend is there more than you are.
A friend says hey to your family
A best friend runs over and hugs your mom.
A friend thinks your siblings are cute
A best friend wrestles with your little brother and plays dress-up with your sister.
A friend clears her plate after dinner
A best friend gets up and asks your mom what she can do.
A friend asks you for a snack
A best friend is already in the kitchen getting her and your sister a snack.
A friend comes over on Friday and leaves Friday night
A best friend comes over on Friday and dosen't leave until Sunday night.
A friend knows your family and that's it
A best friend knows your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Friends come and go but your best friend and you will never grow apart; always and forever I'll hold you in my heart.

1,000,000 memories. 10,000 inside jokes. 100 secrets. 1 reason. best friends.

let's become little old ladies together. we'll stay up late looking at old pictures. we'll tell "remember when" stories and laugh until our sides ache. let's become eccentric together. the kind of old ladies who take long walks, wear silly hats, and get away with acting outrageous in public places. if anybody should ask how long we've been friends, we'll say forever. let's become little old ladies together because a friendship as special as ours can only grow better through the years.

it's that up all night. all the time. girl talk. never fight. pinky promise. guarantee. best friends forever. kinda thing.

tips for southerners headed up nort

So my friend composed this list for southerners heading up north, and I'm just now posting it. This was started as a joke. She actually doesn't believe this (except for the cruller part). :P

1) if you are flying a confederate flag, you will not be welcome. the war is over, we won, get over it.

2) it was NOT the war between the states, it was the civil war, and if the south rises again we'll just beat her back down.

3) we don't drink icees. we drink slurpees. if you don't understand the difference, you will when you walk into a 7-11 (another thing you probably won't understand.)

4) sweet tea is non-existant. we don't understand how you can drink it. unsweet ice tea with lemon, and maybe a hint of mango, raspberry, or blueberry is pretty much what we offer.

5) we don't say 'ya'll', or 'ain't'. We use the phrases 'you all' and 'is not'. we will laugh at you if you use your southern expressions.

6) doesn't matter whether you think you are or not- to us, all southerners are rednecks.

7) we don't do nascar. we don't have nascar museums or monuments. we don't close down stores on race days. we don't have weddings on the race track. be prepared to experience culture shock.

8) we don't 'bless your little heart' or call you 'puddin' and 'sugar'.

10) we don't play country music. we don't like country music. don't ask us why- it's better just to accept it as it is.

11) we ARE all yankees. hurling that at us as though it's an insult really doesn't hurt our feelings. 'yankee' is the northern lifestyle.

12) don't ask where to find the closest 'sam's' or 'bj's'- we have publics and giant.

13) you aren't from here unless you chop down your own Christmas tree while singing carols and drinking hot chocolate. you really aren't from around here if your tree is a fake.

14) if we're talking too fast, you're talking too slow.

15) we don't talk funny- you do.

16) We don't drive tractors down the road- leave yours at home.

17) If you don't know what a cruller is, you're really missing out.

11) BBQ is grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. Anything else is pulled pork.

19) Don't say yonder. We don't know where that is.

20) There shouldn't be a Mason-Dixon line... we're all the United States.

21) We may not follow NASCAR, but we have something even better- Hockey.

22) Our words have fewer syllables than yours.

23) Sorry, you're not allowed to bring your guns up north.

24) We don't have county fairs. Or livestock competitions. We have the Westminster Dog Show.

25) Icing goes on a cake. Frosting occurs when you have a light snowfall.

26) 'G' is actually a much used letter of our alphabet... we don't go 'runnin', 'singin', or 'dancin'.

27) We don't 'fix' to do anything. Like Nike, we just do it.

Country Girl

My favorite place in the world to be is on the farm. I don't know what it is about the farm, but it brings out a side in me that very few people outside my family have seen. It's incredibly freeing to not have to worry about spending hours in the morning getting ready, since there's no one around to notice whether I'm wearing makeup or whether my hair has been brushed that day. I can just be myself out on the farm.

There are still parts of the farm that I have never been on (which makes sense considering that it's 1000 acres). I do have my favorite spots, though. I love going down to Sandy Creek and building dams, or just putting my feet into it. The stoop behind the old hog pen is a great place to sit and have conversations with the girls. There's the traditional bonfire area near road to the right of the house, the trampoline from the 70's that is still holding together, the tire swing that only David and Stuart can fit into now, the big magnolia in the front yard that used to be as close as we were allowed to the road. The hunting is just as great around there. There are so many places to go, and just about every type of game you want. I enjoy going deer spotting at twilight. They tend to hang around the creeks and streams.

The best season up there is the fall. There is so much going on. It's dove season there, so there are always tons of birds and hunters around the place. The crops are being harvested, which is always a blast. The farm is beautiful during the fall. Honestly, there is nowhere I would rather be than on the farm. If any of you ever get to come visit, I'll have to make sure you experience some of the wonderful things. :)

Musicals

Most people who know me know that I am a HUGE theatre person. I've been acting since I was five, and love every minute of it. Whether I'm on stage acting, backstage stage managing, or simply helping with makeup, I have a blast!! So, I thought I'd list some of my all-time favorite Broadway musicals.

1.Phantom of The Opera (Le Fantôme de l’Opéra) This is by far my favorite. What's not to like? It has an amazing story line, and the music...wow, it's absolutely gorgeous. Even if you can't see the show, go listen to the soundtrack on Myspace or something. It's amazing. Here's the story plot: **note: This is a spoiler, so if you don't want to read it, skip to the row of stars**


Prologue

It is 1911 and the contents of the Paris Opera House are being auctioned off. Present are the auctioneer, porters and bidders. Raoul, now seventy years old and in a wheelchair, buys a poster and a music box. As the auctioneer displays the Opera House chandelier, he explains that it is connected with the legend of The Phantom of the Opera. With a flash of light, the audience is flung back in time, when the Paris Opera was at its height.

Act 1

We are thrust in the middle of a rehearsal for the opera Hannibal. Monsieur Lefèvre, the retiring manager of the Opera, is showing the new managers, Monsieurs Firmin and André, the great stage. As the prima donna, Carlotta, is singing, a backdrop falls to the floor, nearly killing her. The cry is raised, "It's The Phantom of the Opera!" Upset, Carlotta refuses to sing.

Meg Giry, daughter of the ballet mistress, Madame Giry, suggests her friend, Christine Daaé, take Carlotta's place. Christine has been taking lessons from a mysterious new teacher.

At her triumph in the Opera, is Raoul, a nobleman and patron of the Opera. Raoul recognizes Christine as a childhood friend. He comes backstage after the performance to escort her to dinner, but Christine tells him she cannot go, because her teacher, "The Angel of Music," is very strict.

When Raoul leaves Christine's room, the Phantom appears. Christine is lured into the bowels of the Opera House, where the Phantom will continue her lessons.

He leads her to his underground lair, where she sees a frightening vision of herself in a wedding gown. She faints, only to be awakened several hours later by the Phantom's music on the organ. Creeping up behind him, she rips off his mask. Horrified, he takes her back to the surface.

The Phantom has sent notes to both the managers of the Opera, as well as Raoul, Madame Giry and Carlotta, which give instructions that Christine will have the lead in the new opera, Il Muto. The manager's refuse to give in to the Phantom's demands.

Il Muto proceeds as planned, with Carlotta in the lead, and Christine in a secondary role. As promised, disaster strikes - the stage hand, Joseph Buquet, is killed, and Carlotta's voice is stolen.

In the confusion, Raoul and Christine escape to the roof of the Opera House. There, with all of Paris around them, they pledge their love to one another. They cannot see the Phantom overhearing their vows of love. Enraged at Christine's betrayal, the Phantom causes the final disaster of the night - the mighty chandelier comes crashing to the stage floor.

Act 2

The second act opens at a grand Masquerade Ball, held on the steps of the Paris Opera. No one has heard from the Phantom in six months. Christine and Raoul are engaged, but are keeping it a secret; Christine keeps her engagement ring on a chain around her neck.

Suddenly, the Phantom appears, disguised as The Red Death, and delivers to the managers a score from his opera, Don Juan Triumphant.

At first, the managers refuse to perform the strange, disturbing opera. Then, with the help of Raoul, they devise a plan to trap the Phantom, using Christine as bait. Plans for Don Juan Triumphant, and the trap, are made.

Christine visits the grave of her father. There on the grave stands the Phantom, beckoning her to join him. Raoul appears and takes her away.

At last, the opening night of Don Juan Triumphant arrives. The theater is surrounded by guards and police, eager to catch the Phantom. As the opera comes to its end, the Phantom takes the place of Piangi, the lead singer. He confronts Christine on stage during the performance, and escapes with her once more to his labyrinth below the Opera House.

In a last confrontation, the Phantom gives Christine a choice: stay with him forever, or he will kill Raoul. Her decision brings to an end the story of The Phantom of the Opera.

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2:Cats Cats is a wonderful Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and other poems by T. S. Eliot. I'm not going to go into the story line, but you need to see this one. The music is some of my favorite (my favorite of all is "Mr. Mistoffelees") and is definetely written in T.S. Eliot style. :)

3: Grease Grease is a total dance musical set in a 1959 high school. There are a few scenes and moral messages that are definitely not for younger kids, but it's still an excellent show. Random Fact: according to one of my military brat friends, Grease is not allowed to be performed in Japan in high schools because the government thinks it will send out a rebellious message to the teens.

4: Les Miserables Les Mis is a musical composed in 1980 by French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg on a libretto by Alain Boublil. Through-sung, it is perhaps the most famous of all French musicals and one of the most famous and most performed musicals worldwide. It's a story of grace,love, passion and survival in the midst of the French revolution. Les Mis tells the stories of paroled convict Jean Valjean who, failing attempts to find work as an honest man with his yellow parole note, tears up his shackles and conceals his identity in order to live his life again; the police inspector Javert, who becomes obsessed with finding Valjean; Fantine, the single mother of Cosette, who is forced to become a prostitute to support her daughter; Marius, a French student who falls in love with Valjean's adopted daughter Cosette; Eponine, the young daughter of the Thénardiers who falls in love with Marius; the Thénardiers, who own an Inn and exploit their customers; and Enjolras and the other students, who are working toward freeing the oppressed lower class of France.

5:Lion King How could I leave this one out? The broadway version is about 10000000 times better than the disney version. There is way more music, and the story plot is entirely more awesome.

And Finally:
6: Hairspray I have yet to see the new movie. The show, however, is amazing! It's so much fun, and will definitely have you wanting to get up on stage dancing at the platter party and singing along to "You Can't Stop The Beat." It's such an inspirational story, too. Note: This is also not entirely appropriate, so watch what audience you take to this.

By no means is this all my favorite musicals, but these are the top 6. :)