YAY!!!

So today kinda feels like a landmark to me because today, I bought a shirt that is TEN sizes smaller than I wore a couple years ago!!! Here's the pic...what do ya'll guys think?

This may sound pretty dumb to you, for me to be so proud of but a couple of days ago I also realized that I am only a few pounds away from FINALLY losing a total of 100 pounds! Honestly, I've been told I look like a different person. A couple months ago, a person who hasn't seen me since I graduated didn't even recognize who I was! It took me a little while to realize that they couldn't figure out who I was cause I had seriously changed so much! You don't really realize it until you try on that new shirt that is so much smaller than before or you see someone who tells you how good you look. It's a great feeling to go to the store and be like "I think I'll try this shirt on and see how much I like to be able to wear it..." and when you put it on, it fits perfectly. I'm just so excited about how much progress I've made...I'm not trying to sound conceited. But it's a very big deal to someone who has been big all their life.I know I'm still a large person and I realize I have a long way to go before I'm a healthy size, but I am so encouraged and I feel like I can really do it! YAY! (:

I also would just like to throw in this little blog that I am SO excited about the New Year's Eve party tomorrow night at my friend's house! I can't wait to ring in this New Year with a few of my best friends! Here's to 2011, may it be even BETTER than 2010! (:

A-Z about me...and not in a conceited way (:

Stolen from Shelby who stole it from someone else so...oh well! (:


A- Apple or PC: I don't really care about Apple so much. I'll stick with my Dell (:

B- Bed size: Mine's full size but I really want a Queen...

C- Chore you hate: Handwashing dishes SUCKS.

D- Don't eat: Cucumbers, Sushi, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, regular potato salad... (Aunt Connie's German Potato Salad is beast though)

E- Essential start your day item: TOOTHBRUSH.

F- Favorite color: Brown (:

G- Gold or silver: Silver for sure! Gold is ugly to me!

H- Height: 5'8" ish

I- Instruments you play: I just recently started playing Rock Band on Bass at the level Hard...does that count? (:

J- Job title: Babysitter but as soon as I get these last 2 classes done I'll be an official Medical Assistant! (:

K- Kids: I don't own any. lol I want 2. Boys. Preferably twins (:

L- Least favorite thing to do: CLEAN. lol Or anything to do with Laundry.

M- Most played song on iTunes: If I Die Young-The Band Perry 

N- Nicknames: Apreel, April-April, Aprello, Apple

O- Overnight hospital stay, other than birth: Tubes in my ears/Tonsils taken out.

P- Pet peeve: gripers, conceited people, nosy people, whiners, making the same noise over, and over, and over again, repetitive songs...

Q- Quote: You're such a creeper. lol

R- Right or left handed: Righty

S- Siblings:  My brother, Blake, is my only sibling! 2 years older, annoying as mess but the best big brother ever (:

T- Time you wake up: Usually around 10 unless I have to work. Then it's 6:30 am!

U- Unknown fact about me:  Every Wednesday I get on Hulu.com to watch Tuesday night's episode of Glee. (:

V- Vegetable you dislike: Cucumber! Yuck!

W- Ways you run late: I barely ever run late. I like to be on time or even early. 

X- X-rays you've had: Teeth? lol

Y- Yummy food you make: EVERYTHING. lol Homemade pizza, Stir Fry, Egg Rolls, Sweet and Sour Chicken. Oh yeah.

Z- Zodiac sign: Aries 

Christmas Day 2010

So I just wanna use a Shelby Baker phrase and say that Christmas was BEAST!
I had, by far, the best Christmas I have EVER had in my nineteen years of life. I got just about everything I wanted and MORE. Then I got to spend the entire day with my Grandmother, parents and brother, playing in the snow and playing games...and laughing like an idiot til I had a headache. lol I got sooo much great stuff!

I got new brown boots to wear around the house and stuff...a laptop cooler. DKNY perfume. A 12.2. Megapixel  DUALVIEW CAMERA (!!!) Alabama pajamas, mitts, snuggie and headband. haha. And finally a black peacoat with black Joe Boxer gloves! Blake and I got 2 gifts together...one was 2 tickets to see The Isaacs and New Harmony in April and the other was Country Rock Band (I know, it's like an oxymoron..haha) I love everything I got SO much! I'm so thankful that we had such a good Christmas! And it WAS such a good Christmas! (;

After we opened presents at our house we went to my Grandmother's house...a whole like 20 yards away, to give her gifts and to get ours! We ended up spending the whole day over there playing in the snow and playing games with her! I've never had so much fun with just my immediate family in my entire life! Now, on to the pics! (:

My puppy, Bama (:

My Dad, Hugh (:

Me, April (: 

My Grandmother, Ruth (:

My bubba, Blake (:

My mom, Kim (:

Jose the Snowman

Dad attacked me!

It was ON then. Until my toboggan fell off. lol

The infamous Snow Lady (:

Christmas with the Besties (:

Tonight I had Christmas with 2 of my best friends in the entire world, Shelby and Alexis!

We made (and by made, I mean put frozen into an oven...) cheese enchiladas! They were actually quite good...thank you Stouffers! haha

Then I made mini brownies with caramel in the middle...that actually ended up getting a little TOO done...but they were still pretty good if I do say so myself...(and I definitely do.)

Then we opened presents (:

I got Shelby a monogrammed picture frame that was superrr cute that we found at Kirkland's! (She knew about it.) What she DIDN'T know about was this...

Oh yes, it's a Justin BEAVER shirt! hahaha (:

I didn't get a picture of what I got Alexis..I should have. I got her a penguin shirt and 3 of the new Tropical lotions from Bath&Body Works and A Vanilla Bean Noel Hand Sanitizer that hooks on her purse. (She's a germaphobe.) 

And THIS is what they got me (:

Shelby got me:

A gorgeous magnetic memo board and my own box of Honey Buns! hahaha

The story about that is me telling her how upset I get when my parents buy honey buns and I don't get many or ANY because they're all eaten quickly...and they're my favorite! And she REMEMBERED (:

Alexis got me:

A hounds tooth scarf and a beautiful plaque for my room!

I LOVE them because I've actually been wanting/needing a scarf lately! And the story behind the plaque is that I have a bunch of these redneck looking poster boards with quotes on them hanging all in my room. And she wanted me to have a real one (: 

Thank you sooo much girls! You know me SO well and I really appreciate the gifts! I love you guys!!!

After we opened gifts we played Just Dance 2 and did some Duets which were SOOO much fun!!!

Definitely worked up a sweat on those! haha. But it was awesome (:

Then we watched the oh-so-hilarious Jim Carry in Yes, Man! I love that movie! (:

The night was sooo much fun and I just wanna say I have the best friends on Earth (:

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope it's everything you could ever wish for and MORE!!! (: 

Redneck Christmas Games

Well Tuesday night we went to Amber Kirby's Redneck Christmas Party. Sooo great. The games included:

Passing ornaments down a line while all holding wrists (much harder than it looks..)

 Trying to jump over a dollar bill while holding your feet (impossible)

Eat as many oatmeal creme pies in one minute as you can (Kenzie won with 7 and a half...)

 Throwing toilet paper through a toilet seat (which Jesse broke)

 Sunflower Seed Spitting Contest

And in this one, everyone had to roll a dice. If it landed on a 5, you got to run up to the table, put on a scarf, toboggan and mittens and try to unwrap a present. Once someone else got a 5, they ran up, took the stuff away from you and tried too. It kept going until someone unwrapped the last thing. It was a gift card to J.C. Penny that MacKenzie won!

The night was an absolute blast! Big thanks to Amber for getting it all together and working so hard! Definitely a success (:

Coneys, False Alarms and Presents

Today ended up being SO much better than I expected.

Well, I had to wake up at 7:30...not so good.
But I got to go back to bed til like 10...good (:

The whole morning it was sooo hard to get started. Car problems, door key problems and everything. But we finally got going. So I head to Chattanooga with my Aunt Francis to get my Aunt Marie (who just had back surgery...again..) from Erlanger. That was interesting. Actually it wasn't bad at all. Once we finally got her released and left, it was almost 2. Mom was supposed to have a doctor's appointment at 3:30 so we met her in Tiftonia so I could just turn around and go right.back.to.Chattanooga.

We stop at the Sonic in Tiftonia and I got to try my first Chili Cheese Coney...it wasn't as great as I thought it would be. But it was an exciting moment. Now I can say I've ate a gigantic hot dog. My life is complete.

Well after the wonderful Sonic experience, we went to Chattanooga. We're about 5 minutes away from the doctor's office when Mom decides to check her appointment card. What do you know, her appointment really wasn't until NEXT Monday. I giggled like a little school girl when she told me about her little mistake. And then I said "Well, I guess it's to the mall we gooooo!"

Actually it was "To Eyeglass World we gooooo!" because that's what happened. We went so they could fix my frames, that in my defense I told my parents were too small, and ended up getting a whole new, MUCH better pair of glasses...for free. I was so excited! They were just like I wanted! So now I have TWO kickin pairs of glasses (:

As they fixed the lenses to fit into my new pair of glasses we went to Ross, Rue 21, and to Hamilton Place Mall...it was actually a lot of fun but the people were CRAZY. The mall was packed on a Monday night..we had to park all the way to the end of the lot. It was nuts. Had teeny little girls rudely squeezing between huge groups of people and pushing me...I almost smacked em. But I thought, "Hey, it's Christmas...I'll refrain."

We FINALLY leave the mall and head out of Chattanooga...and get stuck in some annoying traffic...only thing good that came out of that was the Subway we ended up getting for dinner! I love some Subway (:

Oh man...the tree looks so much better with something under it (:

And yes, on the far right, the little see through stocking is our puppy, Bama's, present. (: 

I love Spur(geon)-of-the-Moment changes (;

Okay, I realize the title is pretty lame. But I thought it was a funny play on words there (;

Well today was our Knight Christmas at my church...totally not NEAR the turn up as was expected. Like...one tenth of our family actually showed. But oh well. Guess it was their loss. It was crazy though cause church started at 11 est...and Uncle Larry is up preaching hardcore and at 12 a HUGE group of these kids walk in. We're just like whatttt is going onnn? lol Come to find out Cole had brought the entire house from Thirteenth Place and his caretakers to church. It was really sweet. Especially hearing them "amen" and clap from the back of the church agreeing with what Uncle Larry was saying. And also laughing at his silly jokes and stuff. haha. I don't know, it just really touched me and a lot of them seemed like it really touched them. I'm super glad they came. (:

Well after church when we came downstairs to eat, I was talking to Melisha and she was telling me how she really wanted someone to talk to at the Spurgeon Christmas. I was naming people and asking her why she didn't just hang out with them today and she said she didn't know...she just wanted a girl. Next thing  know, she leaves, talks to her parents and comes back all excited saying "Hey! Would you wanna go to the Spurgeon Christmas with me!?" Of course I said yes...who can pass the chance at a party? (; So I head out after dinner to Sis. Santena and Bro. Alfred's house. I was really kinda nervous about it...thinking oh goodness. Are these people gonna think I'm nuts for coming to a random family's Christmas party?! I was so scared that I'd only know a few people.

Turns out, I know a lot more Spurgeons than I thought. haha. And the ones I didn't know, were super friendly and welcoming. We ended up playing Phase 10 with Erik, Britney, Josh and Tasha and then Rummy with Tasha. We had a really good time..and I totally dominated Rummy. (; We played Slaps (and this time Erik dominated...) and Melisha threw a whole glass of coke in Erica's face. It was actually a VERY hilarious moment. lol Seeing Melisha try to slap a double and Erica ending up with coke all over her...great stuff. haha

Then we went down and listened to Shaun, Garreth and Josh play some songs while Erik, Kyle, Danielle and Kristin sang. They're such good singers. And so funny! We had a good time again...and I dominated in Speed that time (; ahaha. At the end of the night I ate the best fried rice I've probably ever eaten (besides Nannyko's!)...courtesy of Mr. Garreth Aragaki! Best stuff...and with weird stuff. lol (Corn and ham) but you'd be surprised how good it really was (: I thought it was really sweet when some of the family came to me and told me to come back anytime...I think they liked me! haha. One of the most random, hilarious, coolest nights ever!

Graduations and Baby Christmases (:

Well this morning started bright and early...7:30 God's time (est) for me. We woke up to get ready and head on to Athen's State University for B-Lo's college graduation! Problem: Blake woke up and couldn't find his contact...that was in his eye. So for a few minutes I didn't think I was gonna get to go! I was sooo upset! But thankfully Curtis decided to go anyways and I got to ride with him! We actually had a fun 2 hour trip. Finally got to the teeny building that the graduation was gonna be in after walking about 5 minutes. lol Praise the Lord the graduation itself only lasted an hour...which I totally didn't expect. lol I was thinking 2 or 3 hours of total boredom. But Jesus is good. haha. Afterwards, we went to O'Charley's and ate..it was so much fun. I laughed so hard yet again (not surprising but I still love it). I gave "Miss Bittany" her present (a flashing Alabama helmet ornament) to hang on her tree right in the front to outshine all the ugly Florida Gator ornaments. (; She seemed like she really liked it...and seeing my pals happy, makes me happy. (:

After that I had to come on home instead of staying out there at their house and going to church...the ride back took SOOO much longer than the ride down there. Once I finally got home, I laid down to take a nap, thinking someone would wake me up for church. But no. When I finally wake up, it's 7:20...and we're obviously not going to church. I was super tired but I haven't got to be at church in over a week...so I'm kinda having withdrawals..(hopefully we'll be going tomorrow so it shouldn't be too bad.)

I'm awoken by Blake, telling me mom and dad are home from Christmas shopping. So we go to unload the car of gifts and groceries...and TACO BELL. lol I was so excited. I loveee Taco Bell. Then mom calls my Aunt Stephanie to see if we can pick up babygirl (her old foster child, Madyson) to let her open the couple presents we got her. She told us she had plenty of toys and we weren't supposed to get her more. So we instead got her what she needed (socks, I know, simple) and a super cute Alabama jump suit (:

She loves to close her eyes on you right before you take a picture...but it looks like she's winking here (: The funniest part was finding out that her dad is a huge Auburn fan. Stephanie's sending her home tomorrow in this outfit (; Love it...ROLL TIDE (: We're starting her out well. haha. Right before she passed out from being totally wore out (they had Christmas with her family today...) Stephanie came to get her and look at all the cute pics of her trying to open presents. Oh, she turns one December 22nd (:

I can't even begin to express how much I love this little girl. She's my little Mady Lou Who (because she reminds me of a Who from Whoville...in a cute way (:) She's almost became like my own daughter. We were heart broken when she had to go home but SO glad that her parents are so flexible in letting us keep her on weekends. I thank the Lord for that truely. Because not having her around would be SO much harder if we didn't have these little weekends to look forward to!

I'm so thankful that Mady has TWO families she can go to...her foster family and her real family. And I'm so glad that the Lord seen fit to place her in ours.

Countdown to Christmas-ALMOST 6 DAYS! (:

Yayyy Christmas (:

Ahhh the closer we get, the more in the Christmas mood I become! I'm getting so excited! Because we are procrastinators in my family, we are FINALLY beginning to see presents under the tree and it is SOOO awesome! lol Although that's not what it's all about, you gotta admit, it's one of the best parts (; I'm more excited to see my friend's reactions to what I got them! I won't say what it is on here since there's a good chance that at least ONE of them is reading this right now..lol Maybe I can get some pics of them with it to post later!

Tonight I went to the mall with Miss Shelby Baker, Mrs. Jennifer and Mr. Austin (: It was SO much fun! I haven't laughed that hard in..oh...a couple days. (; (For anyone who doesn't really know me, I laugh all.the.time...it's one of  my favorite past times! haha)

Tommorrow...or technically, today...I'll be heading to my pal Britney Lohenitz's graduation from Athens State University!!! Congratulations to her! (: Tomorrow should be awesome..but only if I get some sleep now. So I guess I will head on to bed! Goodnight all! Hope ya'll have sugar plums dancing your heads..or..ya know...something like that (;

A Year in Review

Okay so since I wasn't so good at keeping this blogging thing up this year, I'm gonna have to check on Facebook and things to see exactly what

happened...maybe next year this will be much easier (:

January

Well I started out the New Year at Miranda an

d Mackenzie's house for their New Year's Eve party. Such a blast! On Jan. 2nd Tristan had her 16th birthday party and we all went to the Shrine together...one scary and SUPER COLD night! The only other thing I r

eally remember is going to Tiftonia's singing and hanging out! Good times at the Chinese resteraunt (:

February

Well I know I watched Paranormal Activity for the first time and was scared out of my wits. Went and had a blast at Mi Jacal/Wal-Mart and made one of the best pics ever! I always remember that I met Derrick Simpson right before Valentine's Day because it snowed like CRAZY and we got to leave school early and I gave this random guy I just met a Valentine card and candy! haha And Valentine's was officially changed to Single Person Awareness Day (:

March


My big brother Blake turned 21! Brett and I got the "mission" accomplished! haha I went to the Smokie's with a HUGE portion of my family in a 17 bedroom, 19 bathroom house! No joke! And met a little cousin, Ivan, that I didn't even know I had! 

April

Had the BEST birthday weekend! April 9th I had my birthday party at P.F. Changs thrown by Miranda with about 35 of my friends! The 10th (my birthday) I went to Villa Rica, Georgia and had a night to remember for sure! Came home the 11th to see my Aunt Mary baptized! Crazy pics with Devan, Alexis, Taylor and Blake. Easter with the family. 

May

Finished my second semester in college and FINALLY decided that I wanted to become a Medical Assistant! Hung out at Bridgestreet with Bailey, Blake, Ben and Isaac. Went to Britney and JK's Luau and had a blast! Stayed the weekend in Huntsville for the first time for Riverton's revival! Got my puppy Bama! Had Dee, Bee and Randi's prom/birthday party in Chatt! 

June

Revivals start in full force! Ours was 2nd week in June! It was an awesome week! Summer started heating up and finally began! Lots of swimming occurred (: haha Started my summer semester and taking classes to be a medical assistant (:

  

July

Went to Oak Grove for the first time with Shaun Aragaki and Blake! Had a fantastic time and it really started started how close me and Shaun have gotten this year! (See, told you I'd mention you (;) Higdon's revival which I was at every night but one and had a blast but at the same time was kinda broken hearted. Oh well. Went to Hytop for the first time since I was like 8. Went to a Pentecostal church for the first time to see The Wrights! VERY interesting night (;

August

So I know I finished my last final for my Summer semester and a WHOLE YEAR this month. Other than that, I'm pretty sure I dropped off the face of the Earth...cause I can't find any pictures or ANYTHING from August. lol Sooo...here's a pic of the icee man coming down my road for the first time ever (:

September

September pretty much rocked. Labor Day weekend was amazing! Had an awesome time Sunday night (after the fantabulous day) at our annual Labor Day cookout! Monday we headed up to Nashville and went to the Nashville Zoo and the CHEESECAKE FACTORY for the first time ever! It was sooo good! Also, in the month of September, I got to go to the Smokies with Miss. Whitney Blevins for her 16th birthday and had an absolute blast going to Dollywood and also being stuck in 2 hour traffic with "5 people and a midget" and a truck of redneck guys talking to us. It was so great. Definitely need another trip like that! (;

October

Although every month was fantastic this year, October was DEFINITELY the best. Between all the trips to Huntsville or the Huntsville folks coming here, the rolling yards and the haunted houses...there was no time to be bored. Just how I like it (; There were amazing parties and awesome times to be had by everyone! There's not much more I can say about it...the whole month was amazing! Oh, and can't forget my bff Alexis's 17th (5th) birthday with her Willy Wonka cake!

November

Ohh November. You began the purposeful creeper pictures. Thanksgiving. Black Friday shopping and war paint. Iron Bowl. (Let's not talk about it..) And all around fun times. 

December

Although it's not over yet, with all it's Christmas parties, presents and happiness.. I know that December will be the perfect ending to a perfect year. 

Try and top THAT 2011 (;

Almost over?

Can it be? Can 2010 REALLY almost be over? How crazy...I started this blog to try and capture every moment of this year..and man...have I failed. Epically. haha. Oh well.

Saying this year has been amazing is such an understatement. Just since my last blog (in May, I know...haha) so many things have happened. Including some of my best friends receiving the holyghost. Derrick, Stuart, Macy...craziness. But I'm so happy for them.

I have gotten so close to some people and lost others along the way. Although my best friend is still Alexis, I have a bfffaemamau (best friends forever forget about everyone's mother asking me about uvulas. hahahaha) now. Miss Shelby Baker (see above...right up her nostrils... (:) has made these past few month SO hilarious. We've had such a blast chilling like villains...she's helped me through some seriously tough moments lately and I appreciate that. It's always good to have a friend you can talk to and trust with whatever. Even if it's because you know too much about each other to talk (; jkjk

Christmas is almost here...only days away now. That's so crazy to me. The older I get, the less important the presents and things seem to me...it's like it's just a habit really. Honestly, I wouldn't even care if I didn't get presents as long as I got to be with my family and friends. Now don't get me wrong, presents are great. But it seems like people focus on that and how much they can outdo each other rather than the real reason for all of this. It's not about presents and things...as cliche as it may sound it IS about Jesus. It IS about being with family and friends. THAT's what matters. Okayyy off that tirade. lol

So I'm thinking about New Year's Resolutions...I usually don't do this but I'm thinking I really want to this year. Along with trying to lose some of this ridiculous weight (which, by the way, I'm very proud that I have lost almost 100 pounds in the past 3 or so years...) I think I may want to work on being a better person. Having more self confidence. Trying to treat everyone with respect...be happy with who I am, no matter what that is. I don't know...maybe I need to think this through more. haha

On to other things, I'm totally bummed that Alabama isn't going to the National Championship. It pretty much stinks. BUT I am glad that the STATE of Alabama has BACK-TO-BACK Heisman winners! Even if it is Cam Newton. lol I'm not an Auburn fan at ALL. Almost dislike them as much as Tennessee. But I think I will be rooting for them in the National Championship. ONLY because if they win, we'll have back-to-back National Champions too!!! Well no matter what happens, we play Michigan State in the Capitol One bowl and ROLL FLIPPIN TIDE!!! haha

Okay, I think I've bored ya'll enough for today...maybe soon I'll blog again and it'll be more interesting...Oh, another resolution, to blog more often in 2011!!! (:

-April