Grammy Awards Blog - Hour 1

Well boys & girls, men & women, humans & non-humans, it's Grammy time. It's fun to watch celebrities take themselves and award shows too seriously. I still don't get why people cry when they win a big award. Be grateful yes, but not cry. You didn't cure a disease, you won an award. But that's neither here nor there. I like the Grammys because I want to see who can actually sing live and who can't.

Let's get this out there. Lady Gaga came in a giant egg, or "womb" as her people called it. They said she was incubating. Some find it brilliant, some find it puzzling & overkill. I'm in one of those group. But now, in the immortal brilliant words of Black Eyed Peas "Let's get it started, let's get it started in here!"

Aretha Franklin tribute to start with Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, Florence Welch (Florence + the Machine), Yolanda Adams, and Christina "I never met a vocal run I didn't like and couldn't stretch longer" Aguilera. CA was ok on her song (but should go up a dress size), as was Martina. But Florence TORE UP some "Think". She's awesome. I'm glad to hear Jennifer Hudson sing something other than that awful Weight Watchers song. Yolanda Adams looks & sounds like Whitney, if Whitney didn't get all strung out and crazy and Bobby Browned. Good to see Aretha at the end. She looks good!

Best pop vocal by a duo or group went to Train for that song I despise because it's dumb. Just read the lyrics, I hope they weren't sober when they wrote it.

Gaga finished incubating to perform her new song "Express Yourself" "Born This Way". The melody is the most generic she's put out. I think she needs to see a doctor about her shoulders. They look a little pointy. She knows how to put on a spectacle though. Glad to have another singer putting out a song about loving who you are. I think it would have sounded better with a rock beat instead of dance.

Aww, Blake is introducing Miranda. She's singing one of the most beautiful & emotional songs around. She did a great job. It was a performance as simple as Lady Gaga's was big. She was followed by Muse, who look like they enjoy being rock stars. I love the set, the performance, the visuals the song. I'll have to look them up! The Friend says he loves them so I gotta check them out.

BRUNO!! He's awesome. His CD "Doo Wops & Hooligans" is fantastic. But why is B.o.B wearing Mr. Peanut's monocle? Y'all know I'm loving the song Grenade right now. I love the Little Anthony & the Imperials type throwback (look it up and trust me) what a rearrangement of this song. That was brilliant and awesome. I love Janelle Monae tried to copy Bruno's hair and suit. I'm loving the song. Such a 60s throwback! Plus Crowd Surfing!! This is why I love the Grammys. Between Janelle & Muse, I have 2 new acts to look up and download.

Country female thankfully went to Miranda. I would have been ticked if Carrie won. That's a great song!

Well, hour 1 is over. So far, not too bad!

With every step I take I know that I'm not alone

Wow, it's been a month since I've written on here, and even then it was the CMA awards blog. Well, a lot has happened since then as you know. I went to NYC, quit my job to move back home, down over 40 pounds, lots of stuff.

Yes, I'm moving back to Alabama. This was not a quick rash decision. This is something I've been thinking about for months. The main reason is, even though I've lived up here for 2 years, my life was still in Alabama. My family & friends are all in the south. My visits home were too few and too brief. I felt like I never got to see everyone or do everything when I was home. I didn't spend Easter at home for the first time ever this year. My dear friends had a baby in July (my sweet Caroline) and when I went to see them at Thanksgiving, I couldn't believe how grown up she was in those 4 months. I lost 40 pounds and didn't get to rub that fact in the face of friends & family. I wasn't able to go to Arkansas with Daddy. Every night after work, I'd come back to the apartment and just turn on the TV. Or go to the gym first then come back and turn on the TV. I didn't have the family, friends, & support group I had back home. I've had many people tell me they could never move that far away from home, for that long, with no friends or family around. Apparently, I am brave! I like the thought of that. I sometimes wondered if I dropped dead on a Friday after work, would anyone notice before I didn't come in to work on Monday hahaha

So after much prayer, thought, advice, and job searches, I decided to take a leap of faith and move on back home. I'd come to discover that if you are looking for a job in Atlanta (or Birmingham) and you have a Pennsylvania address, it's tougher to get noticed. No, I don't have a job right now. But I have a peace about it and I have faith. Even more than that, I have a TON of contacts in TV in Birmingham who know me and love me and are helping me by looking and recommending. So on that, I'm not worried, and nobody else should be either. Just keep me in your prayers, and if you have contact in Birmingham (or even Atlanta, that's close enough but far enough haha) see who's hiring. I've already had contact about 2 different jobs. I wouldn't come back COMPLETELY unprepared.

I've had a great 2 years here. It was a great experience to live in (well, actually just near) the big city. I had a very good job. One that actually changed about 8 months in, but gave me valuable experience and led me to meet more great folks. I found a church up here as well. A southern Baptist church even! They are fantastic and I love them dearly. They are a great church home and I will stay in touch. I did a lot of traveling here too. I went to NYC (twice), Philly, Hershey (twice), and San Diego. I had people jealous of my travels. But I did these alone, well except for Hershey last year & NYC this year. I had snow up here too. Snow is very pretty when it blankets the city and you can sit and look out the window and see life in a peaceful white slumber. But then you have to get out in it, drive in it, shovel it, stay in a hotel and walk across a blizzard hit parking lot to go to work. Then, it's a hideous white demon. I'm not made for snow & ice & shoveling & getting my car stuck.

So now, I'm coming back. Back to my family & friends. Back having movie night with the Busbys. I'll have lunch with MaryJo and catch up on everyone. I'll get to see Caroline and be around to hear her call me "Uncle Eddie". I'll be here for women's basketball season. I'll see my Gilgal family, I'll see my Union Chapel family, I'll see my actual family more than just at Thanksgiving. I can drive over and see Brandon & Adam in Atlanta when I've had more than 3.5-4 hours of sleep and walking around NYC all day...

Which was fun. I love NYC and I will go back again. It's an amazing place to be. So much to do, so much to see. My friend Brandon (who I think I talk to as much as if not more than I talk to my parents) was going to NYC for his birthday with his roommate. I joked that I should come up a day since I'm just a few hours away. So we agreed I would, and I did. NYC in a day is a lot, but I made it. We went to Rockefeller Center, saw the tree, saw the rink, ice skated in Central Park (I didn't fall!), ate pizza, saw snow flurries, took pix in Times Square, charged our iPhone back at their hotel room, took pix inside Grand Central Station (which is AMAZING!), and I had a great time. I hope I didn't come across as too tired. They had more sleep than me. haha. And now, if they'll have me, I can come over to ATL to hang out on more sleep. See, it's good having friends around.

So now, I start the process of packing up and moving back. A little sad to leave folks behind, but very excited at what's to come for me. I know it'll be great. Some are shocked, some can't believe I'm doing it without a job, some are wondering how I could stay gone so long haha. I think Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles sang it best "Who says you can't go home". Some things are just more important.

CMA Awards Blog - Hour 3

Lady A is starting off the 3rd and final hour with one of my favorite songs, Hello World. BRILLIANT!! That's all I can say about that. Male vocalist goes to Blake Shetlon. I had a feeling he'd get it. I always root for Brad, and Dierks Bentley is great. But Blake is really good, really funny, and engaged to Miranda Lambert, that didn't hurt at all. The Band Perry is great, and I love that song If I Die Young, but I didn't expect them to look like that.

Why does Carrie get to sing again? Also is is against the CMA rules for her to be seen in the same dress twice? This song has bored me. I don't hate all Carrie songs. I love her song Wasted.

I guess Dierks Bentley is having to use the leftover fog from Tay-Tay's performance. Love me a good fiddle part in a song. One of my fiddle parts in a song, Amarillo By Morning by George Strait. Love that. One of Daddy's favorites too. Good performance.

They keep threatening to have Gwyneth sing. They just showed the commercial for her movie Country Strong. Seems a bit Lifetime-ish right now and not nearly as cool as Jeff Bridges last year, but it could be good. Heck, they should have had Jeff come on and sing The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart. Awesome song, awesome performance.

Speaking of Oscar winning performances of country singers, here's Sissy Spacek starting a Loretta Lynn tribute. Gotta love the Coal Miner's Daughter! Miranda is doing a good respectful version of that song. Sheryl Crow isn't doing bad either. But then Loretta herself comes out, how awesome. You could see how much it meant to her. Reba is even in tears. She looks like she's been pulled so tight she probably cries out of her ears. WTG Miranda!

Here's Gwyneth finally. At least she's with Vince, and she sings live better than Taylor (yes, duh, I know). The song itself isn't all that amazing, but not bad. She actually looks a little nervous. I've heard her sing before and she's not bad. She's still more than halfway crazy when she's trying to act pretentious and better than everyone. Good grief her legs are long. Looks like one of the flamingos I saw at the San Diego Zoo & Sea World.

Now Entertainer of the Year: Lady A, Miranda, Brad, Keith, or ZBB. Who will it be? BRAD PAISLEY! Congrats to him! Could have done without Tim giving it. Seriously CMA, did y'all get too much self tanner at Sam's Club? At least he didn't sing that stupid Southern Voice song. But back to Brad, he is truly humbled.

All in all, not a bad show. Good, I needed that after a long day!

CMA Awards Blog - Hour 2

Tay-Tay starts off hour 2. How off key will she be? Apparently she wandered on a fairy tale set. No guitar this time, it's a piano! And fog! It actually looks like she's in a cemetery, with fake snow. Very pretty song, but very cheesy and about as country Manhattan. But she's staying on key more. I think it's because she's sitting down. I guess she can't walk and say on pitch at the same time. Plus she doesn't come across as big of a skank as Miley does.

Now, SUGARLAND!! But what the heck is with this musicbox dancer routine? Thankfully it didn't last too long. Jennifer Nettles still looks a lot like Kirsten Dunst mixed with Martha Plimpton from Raising Hope & The Goonies, and the lady from Reno 911. Lady Antebellum wins vocal group, not a shock. I hope they sing Hello World. I luuuurrrrrrve that song!! They have some famous relatives. Hillary's mother is Linda Davis, who sang with Reba on that Does He Love You song. And one of the two guys is the brother of Katherine Heigl's husband. He's a singer too, but everyone knows him as Katherine Heigl's husband or Lady Antebellum guy's brother. Wow, sucks to be him.

Now it's time for Keith Urban. Good song and good use of Ellen Degeneres' former hairstyle. Now Reba is singing "If I Were a Boy" by Beyonce. Well, at least she isn't doing the 5,000th youtube version of Single Ladies. But it would have been fun to hear her do Crazy In Love. Sugarland has already done a great job on Irreplaceable.

KELLY CLARKSON!! I've heard great things about this duet. Wow, they tore that up! Great job, although Jason Aldean was slightly blown out of the water by Kelly, it still was good. Her voice as strong and awesome as I've heard it. Album of the year time. It's between Lady A & Miranda. Who'll win? Miranda Lambert takes it home. I need to download that. She seems a little crazy. I appreciate that! Plus, one of her producers kinda looks like Chaz Bono. Now, Kid Rock is singing. This I dedicate to my dear sweet friend Vicki! She's been on the Kid Rock cruise. He is a very good performer. I actually liked this song too. But dude, that fringe is too much.

Once again, let me just say that Brad Paisley is awesome. He is someone who respect the history of country music, is super talented, and funny as all get out. Now time for Vocal Duo of the Year, and it's Sugarland. This is mainly because there aren't really any other duos out there having much success. They should just combine duo & group. And apparently they couldn't put the video of the year in the main telecast. You need time to have Gwyneth Paltrow sing. Because when I think country, I think of a pretentious actress who lives in England and tells everyone how backwards America is. Well that's country!

Bring on hour 3!

CMA Awards Blog - Hour 1

Well, Carrie Underwood is starting off this year's awards show by oversinging to show how loud she can sing. Unfortunately, the audio person is cranking up the electric guitar even louder than her. I guess the audio guy is a Taylor fan. Brad Paisley & Keith Urban came on to play guitar and banjo respectively. They make her look more & more like a robot. No, I'm not a huge Carrie fan. She has a great voice, but annoys me. But then the opening monologue further proving how awesome Brad Paisley is. Redoing Buck Owen's Tiger By the Tail into a Tiger Woods song was brilliant.

Ty Pennington looks like a tall skinny oompa loompa. Orange isn't his color. Lady Antebellum wins single of the year for "Need You Now", a great song about a booty call, but a classy one. It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now. That's class. haha, I kid I kid, it's a great song and I downloaded their album. For those of you under 30, album is an old term for a big CD.

Rascall Flatts sang a song that wasn't horrible cheesy and overly emotional for a change. But I don't know where the lead singing shot  got that couch to shoot so someone could make that shirt. By the way, his name is Gary Le Vox. That's not his real name, he changed it. Le Vox is Latin for "the voice". Pretentious much?

What happened to Kellie Pickler's face? WOW! She looks like a mannequin, and not in a good way. Song of the year went to "The House That Built Me". That is one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. It's just brilliant. Miranda Lambert sang it beautifully. More funny from Brad then some Blake Shelton. I've watched Blake on Chelsea Lately and he's at least half crazy and dang proud of it. I appreciate that.

Miranda Lambert is just flippin awesome. But it's odd still to see country music sung in fancy clothes. The sound mixing is still awful. Are they really afraid people won't be able to hear the electric guitars? George Strait is and always will be the King of Country Music. Kids, this is how to be cool, by not forcing it. Just let the cool be. Nicole Kidman was so moved by it, her over botoxed face almost showed emotion. Glad Zac Brown Band won New Artist. But I promise you he looks like the homeless guy who used to show up around my office at my first job. But their performance was just down home awesome, especially when Alan Jackson came out to sing with them. Then Kenny Chesney came out to sing his football song. He makes weird faces when he sings, and the song is pretty schmaltzy and predictable, but it perfectly captures football, especially in the south.

Bring on hour 2!

I'll find a reason to believe.

This weekend has been more bad than good. I think I'm done with people for a while. I think Thoreau had it right, even though Walden bored me to tears. Although, with the life I lead, I almost feel like I'm isolated at Walden Pond, or I'm the Unabomber, one of the 2 haha.

Eh, I'll start with the bad and work around to good. Bama lost. South Carolina just outplayed them. It was painful to watch, but it didn't ruin my weekend. It won't ruin my week, month, or year. If a football game affects you that much, you really need more to your life haha.

Other things can tick you off instead. I've lost 35 pounds. That's great and all, but now, my pants look like a drawstring bag on me. I still have more weight to lose, so I don't know how long I'll be in that size. Therefore, I don't want to make a huge investment. I want to be economical. You'd figure I could find some pants, but NOOO! Either they don't fit right or they aren't the right color or style. Yes, I'm picky. I have to wear them everyday so they need to be something I like. I made it through the redneck mall in York (although there is apparently one that's even more redneck), the Towson mall, Kohl's, & Marshalls. I think I know most every style of pant (including short jorts, YIKES! Gotta please the rednecks) and none are right. So I have to be droopy for a while longer. I hate shopping. I hate it more when nothing is right. Maybe I'll wear sweatpants everywhere. I have a pair that fit.

Then, there is my phone. Had trouble getting & keeping a signal. Went to Best Buy first. Went to the one closest to the office. Wanted to make sure my iPhone protection plan was still good. Guy there, well, not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Yes, he could have been the butter knife. He suggested I check with the store where I bought the phone. So I did. That guy thought the other guy was just not smart. He couldn't figure out what was wrong. Told me to check with AT&T and Apple before switching out my phone. He thought it could be a network issue that AT&T could fix easily. Saturday, went to AT&T. He said it wasn't a network issue. Wouldn't even humor me and check. Best Buy guy was right. They work on commission. If you ain't buyin, they ain't tryin. So that made me ill. Went to a different mall today. Different AT&T, same result. So I went to the Apple Store. OK, it's like Wal-Mart at Christmas in there. And you have to make an appointment they are so crowded. I was lucky to get one 1.5 hours later. But the one chick there either hated me or hated her life. She wasn't friendly. Maybe it was because I rolled my eyes when she said 1.5 hours. Well excuse me for thinking that's odd. So I looked at more pants that were too expensive. Got seen about 15-20 minutes after my time. Lady said she'd restore/reset the phone, should take care of it. She did it, I leave, tried to make a call, same problem. Went right back in, she reset it again. I went outside, had to try a call. It worked, but then it went back. GRRR!! Went right back. Had to deal with Little Miss Sunshine again (she really needs charm school). This time, instead of resetting it, my technician Toni (who actually was very nice, unlike other chick) got me a new phone. So it worked and off to more fruitless pants shopping. Get back to the apartment, I'm having trouble with iTunes and have to call Apple. I apparently have them stumped until tomorrow. At least I didn't call for an iPhone problem. I would have had to PAY for a tech call about that. Yeah, ridiculous. Ugh, nothing went right. Braves couldn't even hold a lead in the 9th. Weekend wasn't great.

Also found out that my neighbor from up the street back home (Alabama is home, I currently live in "the apartment", I don't call it home) passed away. Mr. Shuttlesworth was always just the nicest man, always with a smile, always a Godly man. He lived a good long life and I was blessed to know him. RIP to a dear man.

But at least The Social Network was a great movie. Who knew the story of Facebook was so interesting. Jesse Eisenberg was amazing, Andrew Garfield (soon to be the new Spider-Man) was also very good. Justin Timberlake even did a good job. You must see this movie. And I sang at church this morning. Small solo that I first went over just the other night. It all worked out. Yeah, those were the only good things. Dang, my weekend did suck. haha

So I move on to next week. Gotta be better, right? I hope my phone gets fixed. It's my key to my friends & family. Tough being away from home. Hope everyone has a great week. I'm done whining. For now at least.

I Feel Good, I Knew That I Would Now

So, who's sick of me talking my weight loss? Well, tough luck buster, I'm talking about it some more. What's more, you get a few more details tonight. Yes, you'll even get numbers tonight. I know you've been waiting on that. haha. But before I tell you where I am, I must tell you how I got here.

I never was the skinniest of kids. I was even born big. 10 lbs, 9 oz. Sure, I was over 3 weeks late, but that's not the point. In elementary school I got a bit chunky around 3rd or 4th grade. I even wore "husky" size jeans. Yeah, don't get me started on calling jeans husky. Even though I played little baseball & basketball and was on a swim team, you wouldn't know it by looking at me. That probably had to do with the fact that I wasn't very good. haha. Then around the age of 13 or 14, it evened out. I grew taller and had to give up fried foods because of my stomach condition. Eh, it helped. So in high school I was never fat, just not as skinny as everyone else. Same thing in college. Just your average guy, a little heavy. Then I went to Savannah, GA on summer missions. Being so active that summer and in the sun, I came back 10-15 lbs thinner and tan. I wasn't complaining haha. I finally evened back out to my normal weight.

But that didn't last forever. After a few years, I started noticing some pain and stiffness. I finally went to the doctor when it became too much to bear. I was diagnosed with arthritis. When it hurts to move, you don't move. When you don't move, well, you obviously gain weight. It took 4 years to find the right medicine. But finally I did. I felt like the Tin Man after Dorothy used the oil can on him. Physically, I was better. But after 4 years of being lazy, it's tough to be unlazy. Once I moved to Baltimore, I had my arthritis doctor and my primary care doctor telling me I needed to lose weight. I will admit, the worst part about going to the doctor wasn't getting blood drawn, it was getting weighed. That number kept going up. I learned to live with the weight gain. I had mama move over the buttons on my pants until I finally had to go up a size.

I even joined a gym back in March. I was good about going at first. Then I got sick or hurt or busy or had high blood pressure or something and I didn't go as much. Then I kept thinking about doing some sort of weight loss program. I had semi decided on Weight Watchers. I'd heard good things about it. I kept seeing my weight go up and then got a look at myself in some pictures, including that one I put on Facebook. I was heavier than I wanted to be. So when I was in Alabama, I signed up for Weight Watchers.

On Sunday July 18th, I weighed myself at home. My weight was lower than it was earlier in the year, but still too high. I weighed 263.3 lbs. Yup, I'd been in the 260s for a while. But with Weight Watchers and working out 3-4 times a week, I started losing weight. I was losing more than I imagined I could. 5 became 10, 10 became 15, 15 became 20 and so on. I can't tell you how good it has felt to see the numbers on the scale go down. My arthritis doctor was pleased. My only regret is that my family & friends back home can't share it in person and I can't rub it in their faces :-) Kidding.

Well, I weighed myself this morning and I was at 230.0 lbs. Yup, I'm almost in the 220s. Just 2-2.5 months ago, I was firmly in the 260s. I thought I was destined to stay there. I look back on pictures now and I can't believe the change. Thanks to everyone for all their encouragement. It has meant a lot. I can't wait to get back home to show off to everyone in person. It's a great feeling. I'm not done yet. My primary care doc suggested being under 200 for my height. So I'm aiming for that. I'm pretty much halfway there. This is but one goal I'm working on. Bring it on world, I'm ready for ya!