Baby Bratz Blog

Last week was my final week of my previous two college classes, one of which was Comp & Communications 1 (a.k.a. English 1). For my final essay I got to choose what my topic was about. It had to be a Compare / Contrast Essay, but the instructor let us choose from a list of compare/contrast topics or choose our own. Two music groups was on there so I decided to do an essay that involved one of my current favorite bands, 9 Left Dead. At first I wanted to do something with another one of my favorite bands, but that just was not going to work out. So I decided to include another new band … one I like, but that I do not think is very good live. So I decided to go with 9 Left Dead vs. Rok Hollywood.

While the final essay did not get full points, it only got 1 point deducted from it. I got a 24 out of a possible 25 points on the final essay. Which would translate into a 96% … an A! So I ended up with an A on the final essay and an A as my final grade in English 1. Yay!!!

So I suppose you want to read my final essay …. okay, okay, okay … you’ve twisted my arm …. ha ha ha … here it is:

Nine Left Dead vs. Rok Hollywood

In conclusion, Nine Left Dead is superior to Rok Hollywood because they have five members who are all good looking. The only two members from Rok Hollywood that are good looking are the twin brothers, Daren and David Short. When it comes to talking to the fans online, Nine Left Dead is superior to Rok Hollywood. Only one member of Rok Hollywood will talk to the fans online, but at least three members of Nine Left Dead – if not all of the band – will talk to the fans online. While both bands have recorded music that a fan can purchase, Nine Left Dead is better than Rok Hollywood because they have an actual album that can be purchased. Rok Hollywood does not currently have an album out that one can purchase. The only music from Rok Hollywood one can purchase is their three songs, and those are only in mp3 format. While it is possible to purchase an audio version of Nine Left Dead’s album through iTunes, it is also possible to purchase a compact disc version of the album online through Amazon or Best Buy. The biggest way that Nine Left Dead is superior to Rok Hollywood is that Nine Left Dead live performances sound much better than Rok Hollywood. If Rok Hollywood wanted to improve its live sound they should really replace the lead singer with somebody else. Tony’s voice, at least in his live shows, sounds like fingernails dragged across a chalkboard. If these two bands were going to be playing in the same city on the same night, the smart choice would be to go to the Nine Left Dead live performance. Rok Hollywood is best listened to in recorded music only. Nine Left Dead not only rocks out on its album, but also on stage with its live performances.

Well, I really should go do my posts for my two new classes … so, I will catch up with you in the next post I make. I just had to share my A’s in English!

For an explanation of the blog title, please see the last question!
Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
Write that song name no matter how weird it sounds. (NO CHEATING!)
Tag some other people and force them to do the same thing ?

IF SOMEONE SAYS ‘ARE YOU OKAY’ YOU SAY?
You Are The One – Slaughter

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
If My Heart Had Wings – Faith Hill

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Follow You Home – Nickelback

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
You Are My King (Amazing Love) – Phillips, Craig, & Dean

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
I Like To Move It Move It – Shaggy

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Jolene – Dolly Parton

WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO?
Where Do I Go From Here – The Carpenters

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
We Can – LeAnn Rimes

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
The Chanukah Song – Kenny G

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
When Goodbye Was A Word – Trisha Yearwood

WHAT IS 2+2?
Peace On Earth – Nelson

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
What Ya Gonna Do (Demo Version) – Hinder

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time – Mariah Carey

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
You Rescued Me – Jamie O’Neal

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – Kenny G

WHAT WILL YOU DO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Curb – Nickelback

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
My Give A Damn’s Busted – Jo Dee Messina

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Still Worth Fighting For – My Darkest Days

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Single – Natasha Bedingfield

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
A Country Boy Can Survive – Hank Williams Jr.

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Someday – Nickelback

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Thanks For Nothing – Mariah Carey

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Turn On Your Heart Light – Neil Diamond

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Thank God I Found You – Mariah Carey

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
American Hairband – Tuff

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Love Is A Killer – Vixen

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Fight For All The Wrong Reasons – Nickelback

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Gun Powder And Lead – Miranda Lambert

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
From Here To Eternity – Michael Peterson

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Next Go Round – Nickelback

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Porn Star Dancing – My Darkest Days featuring Ludacris

WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO SAY TO THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU?
I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Hagar

WHAT WILL YOU NAME THIS NOTE?
Far From Home – Hinder

Okay, so I know the rules of this say to tag other friends. The problem is I don’t think any of my other blogging friends would do it. And my two cousins who have blogs would need to know about my blog first. Then they would need to read this post, and then they would have to do it. So I won’t tag anybody in this post.

I may redo this quiz tomorrow, and see if I get less Nickelback songs. Happy Birthday Chad! …but come on, give me a break with all the Nickelback songs. I love Nickelback but I do have other music. LOL! So I may retake this quiz when it is not Chad’s birthday. =)

Anyone who wants to snag this quiz and do it is welcome to it. This was fun to do, and I got a lot of laughs out of it. Have Fun!!!

Blog @ ya’ L8r,
Baby Brat

Wow! It’s been almost a month since my last post. I need to seriously pick up and blog more. Anyway, let me get into what’s new with me this month.

I am so excited! I have posted this information on both Facebook and on Twitter, and now I am posting it on my blog. I went back and checked my final grades for my last two classes. First two of eight, and now I’m on my second two of eight – more on that later. Anyway, as I was saying, I went back to check to see if my final grades were posted. They were … I got a 96.5% – an A – in Introduction to University. (An A is the highest grade possible). And I got a 91.57% – an A- – in Personal Finance. Yay! I’m so happy.

Although I have gotten my final grades, my 3 credits per class have not been posted under the “Completed Credits”. I only have a total of 3 credits sitting under the “Transfer, Waived & Assessed Credits”. Grr! Come on! I have completed those classes, I have a final grade, let’s get those class credits properly filed. Ugh!

This week I have started two new classes for the next 9 weeks. Comp & Communications 1 and Health & Wellness. So far I am not liking these two classes, so I will have to tough it out and finish these two. Hopefully by the end of these two classes I will have a similar post. I will hopefully be able to post that I got A’s in both of these classes as well. We will see.

What else is new in my life this month? Hmm…. I have not weighed myself in awhile. Although the last time I did, it told me that I had gained 10 pounds. Ugh! Not the result I want to see. I would rather see the numbers drop, not increase. So maybe if I can remember to do so, before I eat, I will weigh myself today. If I do weigh myself today, I may be back with a weigh in post. It depends on if I feel like blogging later on today.

Well, since I can’t think of anything else new to write about I think I will post this. Then I will go through the comments. (To see which ones are real comments, and which ones are spam or trash). Well, thanks for reading my post!

Blog @ ya l8r,
LaShawn (a.k.a. Baby brat)

Oh wow! I didn’t think it had been that long since my last post, but apparently the 6th of October marked the one month mark since my last post. Well, let me see … what have I been through in the past month?

Pretty much most of the month has been spent in the same routine. School (College), different church functions, and other random running around.

Speaking of my college classes; I am getting an A in Introduction to University and an A- in Personal Finance. Yeah me!!! This is after completing 5 of 9 weeks, but I still am happy about my grades. Especially after taking Mid-terms without knowing that they were open book tests (as are my final exams). I thought for sure that my grade would drop down to a B, but apparently the grade I got on my midterms did not hurt my A’s in both classes.

As for my diet and weight loss, sorry…I haven’t weighed myself in awhile. Maybe I will remember this coming Monday and then I can blog about that. For now, I have nothing to report on my weight loss.

Oh, I recently started Tweeting again. I already had an account, but rarely (if ever) used it. Lately I have been tweeting. I followed a rock band called “Nine Left Dead” and I am not sure why, but they now follow me on Twitter. I am not sure if it was because of something I said or if it was because of my 9 Left Dead background on my profile, or a combination of both … or maybe it is cuz they’re just that nice. Whatever the reason, it surprised me and makes me feel special. Although they asked my best friend (Charity) to make them some scarves and even gave her the color combinations that they wanted the scarves done in. They have yet to follow her … uh, guys … you’ll get your scarves when you follow my best friend (Charity) on Twitter. LOL! (Well, first she has to finish the rest of the scarves. She already has two scarves done, and working on the third one). I have even been called out by my favorite member of NLD. Charity had tweeted that he might have to fight me for his scarf, and he tweeted on “bring it on pinks!”. So I replied to his tweet, “you want some, come get you some. LOL!”. This all went down right after I had finished making a bracelet for him … which I hope he loves as much as his scarf (which I would never dream of keeping from him – hello, he is my favorite member!).

Okay, I cannot think of anything else to blog about … so I will bid ya’ll farewell.

TTFN – Ta Ta For Now,
Baby Brat (a.k.a. LaShawn)

I am currently so happy! I weighed myself earlier today and found I have lost another 10 pounds. Or at least that’s what the scale weighed me as, 10 pounds lighter. Yay! I’m so happy.

Also, I am in a spot in my classes this week that all I need to do is post two substantive posts per day – for four days this week – and I am done for the week. Yep, that’s all … two posts each day for four days and I am done. Technically I only have three more days to go, as I already have the two posts for today posted. So I am technically done for today, although I plan on getting my classes’ syllabus’ out and start reading for week three.

Although I plan to work on reading for my classes, I may cut it short and work on beading or crocheting. If I work on beading, it will be to add to my stock for the upcoming local venue – Art in the Park; September 17th, 2011. If I work on crocheting, it will be to work on a blanket for a friend of mine from church – Hey Jill! I do not know yet which way I will go, I just know that I have free time and I intend to use it wisely. (Although later tonight I will probably end up playing games on my computer. I love playing games)!

Well, I think I will end this post here and figure out what to do first. Until next time …

Hugz & Prayerz,
Baby Brat (a.k.a. LaShawn)

Well, it’s September so I thought I would update everyone on what has been going on lately. I know it has only been from late August to now, but I figured I would try to post at least once a month if not more.

So, what has been going on since my first blog entry? Well, for starters I officially started my college classes this week (Aug. 29th). I have been going to college online at University of Phoenix. In late July/early August I took a three week orientation course, then I had a week off. I have just completed my first week of both my classes. I take two classes for nine weeks, and then I get another set of two classes for another nine weeks, and so on. My first two classes are: Introduction to University and Foundations of Personal Finance. I have completed the requirements for the first of nine weeks, and am currently working on the second week requirements. Yes, I am working ahead. That way I know that I have all the requirements and all the assignments done and turned in on time. So, hopefully, by the end of these two classes I will have earned an “A”. In high school I drug my feet on doing my homework and turning it in, I didn’t see the point – I already got what the teacher was teaching, I wanted to move on to something else -, I earned about a C average for doing that. I did manage to get a few A’s, a few more B’s, but my main grade averaged out to be a C. So hopefully, with as much attention as I am giving to my college work, I will end up with A’s. To graduate with an A average would be an awesome achievement for me!

As far as my weight loss goes, I don’t have anything to report as I have not weighed myself in awhile. I may try and weigh myself next week and see where I am as far as the scale goes.

This will make my third blog entry. I know some out there might say, “Big deal, try having umpteen entries”, but for me this is a big deal. When you consider the times I have let my best friend set up blogs for me and then let them just sit there, this attempt at blogging is two entries more than my other attempts.

I have recently learned that I got the okay to start a free crochet class at Radiant Life Community Church. I already have it planned for Thursday nights from 7pm to 8pm. Now all I have to do is get the papers typed up and ready to print off. Plus I have to make sure that everyone has a crochet hook, the yarn I can supply through my supply at home. I also have to find out who is right handed and who is left handed.

So that pretty much sums up what has been going on with me. Until next entry …

Hugz & Prayerz,
Baby Brat (a.k.a. LaShawn)

Okay, I’ll start with the Love side of Facebook. I enjoy playing the games on FB, and I enjoy keeping up-to-date with family and friends … Viewing all the posted pics, and reading all the funny status posts. Even reading the posts when a friend or family member is cheesed off (to put it nicely). No matter how much I love these things about facebook, could someone please explain why I have so many gripes about facebook and it seems (to me, at least) that nobody else has as many problems with FB games as I seem to have.

Let me explain …

Okay, say I want to play Cafe World. I click the link to take me to Cafe World, all is well so far. I have normal loading time, normal gazillion pop ups (before it’ll even let you start playing for the day). When I start playing is when my game slows down, eventually freezing (so I have to hit the refresh button on my browser window). At this point I have to hope I wasn’t trying to post anything (like a post for my fellow Cafe World friends to send me stuff). By the second or third time this happens, I’m usually so cheesed off I just go play something else. Let’s say I go to Frontier Ville (Now called Pioneer Trail), this game runs so slowly for me that I usually give up once all my energy is used up (although since its name change I haven’t bothered to try playing the game. I may try to play the game again and see if this game acts any better for me.

Although the majority of the games I like to play run slow for me, I do have at least a couple of games that act fairly decent for me: Ravenwood Fair, and The Sims Social. There may be a few others that don’t cheese me off, but when it seems all of your friends are playing this game or that game … you would kind of like to play the same game as them (at least I would).

In order to not be cheesed off so much lately, I’ve taken to playing games on IWin.com. Oh sure, the free side has commercial interruptions but you get to play the whole game. It’s not a 60 minute trial (although they do have those games available, I usually stick to the free games). That way I can actually play through an entire game and not wonder how the rest of the game plays.

Anyway, now that I’ve vented … I’ll post this, and read any comments I have… then I’ll go play some IWin games.

Blog at ya’ later!
LaShawn (a.k.a. Baby Brat)

(Sorry, just thought I’d try out different endings)

I have finally decided to join the blogging era and start blogging, let’s hope it continues. Usually i post an entry and then completely forget about blogging. Hopefully this will actually be my serious attempt at blogging.

So, what have I been up to since you last heard from me? Hmm. Not too much has changed, only a few things … that I can think of. Where do I start? Hmm… Okay, I’ll start with November 2010. That’s when I officially left the church I had been going to and began attending a new church. My new church is called “Radiant Life Community Church” and is a non-denominational church. It has the same teachings as my old church, just a different way of doing things. Instead of sitting in the church and waiting for people to come in and investigate the church, we go out and help the homeless and those down on their luck. Not only are we trying to: feed the homeless, clothe the homeless and help to find homes (and necessary items) for the homeless; but we also love people right where they are. No dress codes (except that you wear clothes), No fashion shows (who can be the best dressed for church service), … just come as you are. So what if the shirt you’re wearing has a stain on it, it doesn’t matter … just come anyway. I’ve found that with this switch, I’ve started to come out of my church shell. In my old church I found that I’d only speak when spoken to, and then it was just a simple “hello” or “how are you?” … nothing more than just a basic response. I’d also help only when asked over at my old church. Here I talk freely with the other people, and volunteer to help out where and when I can. For example, I’ve actually gotten up and gone to a couple of our church’s “clean the church” days. (Before I would just ignore the church cleaning days). I’ve even heard people say about me that I am coming out of my shell more and more. The only difference I can think of is that with this church; even though we have two pastors, I knew them from when they attended the same church as I left. So now I consider both pastors and their wives as friends first and then as my pastors. That’s the only thing I can think of as to why I’m coming out of my shell over here at my …uh, new… church.

Then the next change that I can think of is that I met a guy at RLCC in February 2011. Now before you get all excited for me, don’t … as we’re not together any longer. Things were going along alright for the first month we were together, but then we hit a snag … and it was a whopper of a snag. Okay, let me tell you about it and let’s see what you would do. One Sunday he was with his mom (in Lemars, IA) and I was here (in Sioux City, IA) at church, helping one of the women clean the bathrooms before church. Well, we had put down the trash bags we had tied up and taken out of the garbage cans and began talking with one of the pastor’s wives. The trouble with this guy really started before this Sunday’s event, and that’s what we were talking with her about. When the one gal picked up the one bag, some of its contents spilled out onto the floor. She said she’d pick it up, and began doing so. She got most of it picked up and then picked up what she thought was a bar of soap wrapped up in toilet tissue. So she unwrapped it to see what it was. Nope, not a bar of soap … it was a cellphone that had been broken (and from its appearance, it looked like someone intentionally broke it). The broken cellphone looked VERY familiar, it looked identical to my cellphone. Let me pause here for a moment to say that around the last of February or the beginning of March, I talked with my mom to see if she would agree to letting this guy (my boyfriend) borrow (use) her cellphone until he could get his own. She agreed so we gave him (with the knowledge that he’d use the cellphone for phone calls only) her cellphone (and the charger for the cellphone) to use until he could get his own. Mom’s cellphone was identical to mine in color; all three of our cellphones (Mom’s, mine, and Charity’s – my BFF) were alike, but my bff’s cellphone was purple … her favorite color. Okay, now let me unpause the story and continue. So this broken cellphone looked identical to mine. At first the one gal was going to keep it and take it down to the police station to see if they could (or would) find its owner. But I said that I was pretty sure that that cellphone belonged to my mom. To which the gal told me that my “boyfriend” told her that he had given it back to us. (No he had not … that was a lie). We all agreed that I was going to take it home with me, charge it up (if it could be), and see if it was my mom’s cellphone. Well, I took it home and put it on the charger … nope, it wouldn’t even register that it was charging (which is odd for a phone that is turned off). I took it off the charger, but later put it back on the charger for about an hour or two. I took it back off the charger when all it was doing was getting warm. So I couldn’t figure out the owner of said cellphone that way. The next day mom and I took a trip to our local Verizon Wireless store … where we had gotten the phones in the first place … and I went in and waited to speak to a store representative. When I was able to speak to one, I explained the situation to them and asked if they could find out if this broken phone was in fact my mom’s cellphone. They said that they could (which I knew they could, but was just being nice), they took the phone and popped the back off and popped the battery out and checked the number with their records. Sure enough, it was mom’s phone. Okay, so anyone could have broken the phone. This guy’s relatives could’ve broken it (on purpose or accidentally) and he was covering it up so they wouldn’t get in trouble. In my opinion real men don’t hide the truth, they tell the truth even if it would cost them their relationship with their girlfriend. (Which if he would’ve come to me with the broken phone and told me how the phone got broke and that he was sorry, being the kind of person I am, I would’ve understood and forgiven him for breaking my mom’s phone). Nope, he chose the low road and tried to hide the broken phone. Well, I kept the phone (I still have the phone … not sure why though, as it doesn’t work) and waited for a time to confront him about the phone. When I confronted him about the phone; told him where I found it, he told me a bold faced lie … right to my face. He said that he must’ve left it on the table at church and that someone from church must’ve gotten a hold of it and broke it. (Right…try again. The only places I’ve seen that phone was in his jacket pocket, in his hands, or going from his hands to mine). (Yeah; prior to the broken phone, he’d broken off the little silver M button on the back of the phone off and lost the charger to the cellphone). (Plus if someone else from the church would’ve picked it up … like he claimed … they would’ve kept the phone, until it got turned off. Heck, it would’ve been a free cellphone). Later he did tell the one gal, whom he was renting a room from, that he broke it. He never did confess to either my mom or to me. So, yeah, we are so not together any more. Hmm? Oh, why’d I give him the phone to use in the first place. Well, at the time he was my boyfriend and the phone where he  was would not call my cellphone … still don’t know why, but it wouldn’t … I even tried when I was over there – before I gave him the cellphone. Since he was my boyfriend, I thought he should have a way to contact me when he wanted to talk. So, I’m single and looking … but not very hard, because I have other things on my plate right now.

In June 2011 our church moved into a new location, and we have been there for two months now. Woo Hoo! We’ve had Willet come and play at our church; which if you get the chance to have them come play at your church, I’d say jump at the chance… they are good!!! We also have a drama workshop and production planned -coming up this weekend in fact. And in October 2011 we have a carnival planned; that should be loads of fun!! I can hardly wait! =)

The last week of July I went out to WITCC (Western Iowa Tech Community College) – a local college – and started to enroll in some classes. Well, after talking to an adviser I was sent down to take a placement test. Well; by that time I had to get back home to help get supper, so I scheduled to take the test the next day at 2pm. All went according to plan, I went out to WITCC and took the placement test. That turned up some good and bad results. My English results were great, but my Math results weren’t so great…I needed to bring my math score up to a 42 or something like that, and it was down in the 20s. Plus to retake the test would be $15, which if you know me you know that I don’t have any money … I don’t have a job. (Not for lack of looking either). So, since I wanted to go back to college … some of my friends had talked me into finally going back. No, they didn’t twist my arm or hold a gun to my head … my initial plan was to go to college at WITCC with a friend from church, and hopefully have the exact same classes and schedule. I thought that would have been fun … the only unfun part about that plan was the weather. Okay, yeah, I can drag my rear out in the sweltering heat (i don’t like to, but I can) and go to school…but it’s when the snow flies that scares the heeby jeebies out of me. I don’t like to drive on snow and ice, and around here that’s everywhere when we get our first snow of the season … and one never knows when the first snow of the season will come. So, I had a small pity party … “Maybe I’m too dumb for college” (ask my bff, who lives with me, I honestly said that). But then I thought I may as well try to apply to the online college she attends – University of Phoenix. Well, I went to the website submitted a form and then waited to be contacted. This was Tuesday night, the next day (on Wednesday) they tried to get ahold of me but were unsuccessful. Wednesday night at Bible Study, we start at 6pm with a time of prayer, I got down on my knees and literally cried to Jesus over the situation. After prayer time, we had our Bible study and then we came home. I was still feeling sad over the whole WITCC thing, and was unsure about what was going to come of the UoP thing. Well, I didn’t have long to find out. The next afternoon they called for me and actually got a hold of me. The gal on the other end of the phone asked me a few questions, and then brought an adviser on the line. He talked my ear off, or so it seemed. He talked me through filling out this application and that application, and for the next few business days he would set up a time for him to call me and continue filling out applications. Finally after all that was done, he signed me up for an Orientation Workshop … which I’m in the last week of currently. I start my classes August 29, 2011 … I’m a bit nervous, but also a bit anxious to get started.

I’ve also just recently started a diet with my mom and my bff. Let’s see how long it lasts, or if it will be a success. Maybe I’ll keep all of you posted with my weight loss journey…maybe….LOL! So, that’s where I am currently … finishing up my last week of orientation and then a week off, and then starting my online college classes.  Wow! You mean you read through all of that … geez! this post got pretty lengthy. (Sorry about that, but since it was my first post I thought I’d update you to where I am now). Well, until next post … hopefully there will be a next post. LOL!!!

Hugz & Prayerz,
LaShawn (a.k.a. Baby Brat)