Forgiveness and Thanksgiving

I've been thinking about Thanksgiving coming up this week and it made me think of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is something that is either easy for you or hard for you. There's not much of a middle ground on forgiveness. I'm hardheaded when it comes to forgiveness. I won't let someone forgive me until I've forgiven myself so it may take few days before I actually say "I'm sorry", but I when I say it I've earned the right to have that persons forgiveness. I know it sounds silly but I'm extremely hard on myself about everything, but especially letting someone forgive me.

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for so many things.
-I am thankful for my family (that I can't wait to see later this week)
-I am thankful for my awesome friends (that I need to see ASAP!)
-I am thankful for my loving pets
-I am thankful for my job at Easely Amused. I have the most amazing boss and co-workers. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have these amazing people in my life.
-I am thankful for my new intership on the Out of Bounds ESPN Sports radio show on 105.9 the zone. Bo and Cooper are so much fun to work with.
-I am thankful for the air I breathe
-I am thankful for this Earth
-I am thankful for the food I get to eat
-I am thankful for my house that I own
-I am thankful for the new friends I have in my life.
-I am thankful for the people who help make this awesome world of ours a better place. I hope to find a way to do my part.
-I am thankful for so many things that I can't even think of anything else.

So what are you thankful for? Please feel free to leave a comment telling me what you are thankful for.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 at midnight on Thursday with Cindy and Ruthie. We had so much fun. First we had to go in search of some coffee, which really was a search. All the coffee houses in the Jackson are close at 10:00pm which is crazy but I understand. So we ended up going to a gas station for a lot less. It was my second cup of coffee in a 4 hours, but I knew I needed it. I was not going to fall asleep in the middle of the movie! So we finally get the theater and take a group picture as a keepsake. Then we decide to go inside because theres a line forming already and its only 10:30. We go to the end of the line and wow are there some people dressed up. I saw two Bellatrix girls, a bunch of girls and guys Gryffindor uniforms, a bunch of people with wands, and even people in pj pants and slippers. I was wearing my "Muggle" tee and I was comfy. The room was buzzing with excitment. You could feel it like it was a tangible thing in the room. The line started to move so I had to start drinking my coffee. I knew I wouldn't finish it so I gave it to Cindy to finish off. When we got in the theater we found seats pretty easily near the top.

I could hear people taking about parts in the book they were hoping would be in the movie. Some where even debating their favorite characters. Cindy, Ruthie, and I were talking more about Unleashed as well as Harry Potter. We hadn't seen each other since Saturday night so we were catching up on everything. I was so happy to have met these two who share my interests and get me even though we just met. We each took turns going to the bathroom before and Cindy got drinks and popcorn for us to share. I just chewed on some gum the whole time because I didn't want to drink anything. I was not gonna miss any of the movie for a bathroom break. As soon as the first commerical came on people started to cheer. I mean who cheers for commericals but everyone knew that meant the movie would be on shortly FINALLY! There were some good previews and some that I was no interested in at all!

The movie starts and a lot of people cheer and clap and...

I'm not spoiling it for anyone. It was a great movie!! Some lines were straight from the books, which I loved! They didn't put everything in, but its a movie and they can't put everything in. I cried, I laughed, I held my breathe, I felt for the characters, and my heart was beating out of my chest during some of the pivotal scenes. All in all I loved the movie and I want to see it again. I know I missed something because there was just so much to see and experience. I can't for Part 2 to come out, wish it wasn't in 3D but oh well.

If you haven't read the books then start reading them NOW! Then start watching the movies. The books are always better because they go into more detail. But I do have to say I love the movies. Its nice to see the books come alive on screen.

Have a wonderful day!
xoxo

New Friends and Unleashed

Lets see I will start at the beginning. I was on twitter one day and saw that some of the people I was following were donating to St. Tammany's Humane Society. So I clicked on the link to see what was going on. I love animals and so I decided to donate some money to them. I think the fact that they are a no kill humane society really made me want to give even more. I noticed that it was part of a birthday project for Ian Somerhalder. So I read into that too. I missed the deadline for getting a signed autograph and winning tickets and all that fun stuff. But I was ok with that. I just wanted to do my part to help the Humane Society. So I went on my merry little way. Then Ian tweeted something about a fraud site taking some of the donations. I was so scared I had donated to the wrong site. I was so upset, you see I lost my job in June so its not like I'm rolling in money to giveaway. And I was sad that the money I wanted to go to the humane society may have been taken by someone else.

Then low and behold I get an email from Natalie, who I have become great friends with now, telling me I won tickets to the Unleashed Bash on the Bayou. I couldn't believe it! I was so happy to find out that my donation had reached the right people and that I had won tickets. Natalie had a lot to tell me about the Bash and even did something so amazing that I will always be so grateful for. She couldn't get the tickets to me in time because she lives in Canada and I live in Mississippi, so she bought me a ticket. Before I could protest and tell her "No you don't need to do that!!", she had already purchased it and said it would be at Will Call. I still couldn't believe that she did that. I am a complete stranger to her and live miles and miles away. So we started talking about all kinds of stuff. Turns out we are both Cajuns or Aracadians as she says. We have so much more in common than you would guess. We now talk on a daily basis and I am so thankful that I have her as my friend. She is so amazing. She has an interview today so I've been thinking about her even more today. I know she will get the promotion, because she rocks!

So now that I had a ticket to Unleashed, that was only 3 hours from where I live, I had to find somewhere to stay. I used to have family who lived in Mandeville, but they moved to Biloxi so they were out. So I asked a friend but she was going to be out of town and none of my friends could go down with me to stay at her house. And I didn't want to be alone in a strange city that I didn't know so that was out too. So I called my old Youth Director and she was so excited and insisted that I stay with her. So I had a place to stay, yay!

I started to talking to Romancia, Ruthie, Mak, and several others, as well as Natalie about who was going to Unleashed. I was so happy that even though I was going alone I had people I could find and hang out with. Little did I know that most of these people would become such great friends and some even live near me, super plus!! So I am waiting and waiting and waiting to start getting ready for the event Saturday. I knew where I was going kinda, I was a little nervous about going over the Causeway. (I remembered it being super long from childhood when I would visit my relatives for Mardi Gras and most summers.) I got across it before it got dark and it was beautiful watching the sun play across the water. I was on my way to the hotel to meet Ruthie for the first time. She was so funny when she opened the door she said, " You're like a normal person, not a crazy fan!". I said, "Yeah I'm pretty normal, not a crazed fan". I helped her finish getting ready before we left to meet up with Cindy and Mak. When we got to their room, I had no clue what to expect, but as soon as they opened the door I knew that I had met good friends.

I ended up just riding with them to the event instead of taking my own car. We met up with a few more people and then we were off. We lost the other car as soon as we pulled out to of the parking lot, lol. But it was just fine we knew where we were going. When we got there they dropped Ruthie and I off and then parked. We only had to wait for about 5 minutes before they opened the doors. I was holding my breathe as I went to Will Call to get my ticket. I was like oh please have my ticket, if not I'm just gonna go sit in the car. They had it and I was so happy, I never doubted Nataile I knew it would just be my luck that they wouldn't have it. Then we passed the Puppy Island and I wanted to go right away, but I decided to go inside and find our table 1st instead. It was easy to spot Ruthie's name on the table on the 5th row from the front.

Ruthie went to the Champagne Reception and Mak, Cindy, and I started to walk around and find something good to eat. And OMG was the food good! I'm half Cajun so I know good Cajun food when I see it, smell it, taste it. There was an open bar, but since I had to drive 45 minutes back to Westwego and across the Causeway again I was not drinking anything with alcohol in it. Even though they had some good wine and an awesome frozen drink called a Pain Killer. I was asked if I was even old enough to drink when I went and got one for Ruthie. After I got back to the table from getting Ruthie something to eat and drink, (I wanted to help her out because she was nervous and I didn't want her to be) she told me that she was gonna see if Cindy, Mak, and I could go on stage with her to present Ian with the amount. I couldn't believe it, I was so excited to be able to go on stage and help Ruthie not be so nervous.

One of the ladies, Jasmine, that was at our table who's from NC had adopted a puppy so I wanted to go see her. So off we went to Puppy Island, and let me say that if I could have I would have brought a few home with me. They were all so sweet and happy. She had picked out a female Schnauzer mix. She was so cute and had kinda crazy hair and I HAD to hold her ASAP! As soon as she was in my arms she nuzzled up to me chest and let me pet her and love on her for at least 15 minutes. She was the sweetest little puppy, which made me miss my Schnauzers back home really bad at the moment. A professional photographer came in while I was holding "Somer" named after "Somerhalder". He got some pics of me and the puppy that I can't wait to see. I finally gave her back because I needed to go get ready to go on stage. When I looked in the mirror I had red splotches from the puppy nuzzling me. It was dead sexy let me tell you, haha. I was like oh well these things happen, as my niece says.

Once I got back to the table it was time to go on stage, one of the handlers had come to get us to walk us over to the stage. All that was going through my head was please don't trip and fall because that would be my luck. I would be the one to fall and flash everyone, but that didn't happen. I made it on and off stage without tripping. Ruthie lead the way on stage, I'm behind her then Cindy then Mak. Vaughn the director of St. Tammany's is talking about how great everything is and giving a really great speech. Then he hands it over to Ruthie. At that point they wave Ian to come on stage. When he gets to Ruthie he steps in between Ruthie and me. He was so nice and apprecitative thanking everyone and even let out a "Holy Cow" when she told him the total. He then kissed Ruthie on the cheek. Then he turned and totally caught me off guard as he gave me a kiss on the cheek, then Cindy, then Mak. I am still blown away that Ruthie and Natalie and the fans raised $11,100 for St. Tammany's!! I am so glad that I got to be apart of presenting Ian and Vaughn with the amount. So we went off stage and I got a pic with Ian.

Then he had to go back on stage to talk about a diamond tennis bracelet his Mom was modeling worth $20,000 I heard. While he was on stage Ruthie said oh we need to get Natalie on the phone. So I got my phone out and called her. I told her what was going on and that I was gonna get Ian to talk to her when he got off the stage. When I told him I had her on the phone he said, "I absolutely want to talk to her!" So he took my phone and talked to Natalie about coming to Atlanta to visit and wanted to know WHEN she was going to come down and thanking her for everything.

I proceeded to start scratching his back, he looked like he could use it and its something I do absentmindly. He started to shake his leg like a dog does when you scratch them in a good spot. Then everyone got pictures and we talked about the foundation he's launching on his birthday.

I told him I wanted to help in anyway, which I actually mean. (I have always wanted to help make a difference somehow and I'm very passionate about the environment, recycling, and animals. I really hope I get to help out with his foundation in some way. I don't have a full time job so I have time to help.) Romancia came over to get us on Ustream but it was too dark to really see, I tried to use my iPhone but it didn't work too well. Then Ian said bye to all of us. He gave everyone kisses but me, which is fine he held my hand for a little while. I have to say that he is a really awesome person. I know he's a celeb n all but I see him as a person who is trying to make this amazing world of ours a better place for everyone from humans to animals. Yes he was on Lost and now he's on The Vampire Diaries but he's a normal person like you and me. I like to treat people as normal as possible because I know that if I was in their shoes I would want the same.

So we went back to the table and proceeded to take off our shoes! I always take my shoes off, its just something I've always done. I went back to Puppy Island to hold some more puppies for a little while. It was kinda chilly so I was tucking the puppy under my jacket to keep him warm. He had the cutest ears ever! They were so big for his little head. If I could have taken him home I would have named him Dobby, yes that's from Harry Potter.

As the night wore on Cindy and I walked around and ended up at the back where Ian was taking pics and signing autographs. These two girls were standing in front of us for awhile. Then they turned around and asked if I could take a pic for them. I said of course and thought to myself I do this most nights at Easely Amused. While I was taking the pic I kept thinking that these girls looked so familiar. So I asked where they were from. They said, "Oh we aren't from here, we are from Mississippi." I said, "Oh where in Mississippi, I'm from there too." She said, "The Jackson Area." I said, "Me too! You look so familiar, have you ever been to Easely Amused?" They both said, "Yes I thought you looked familiar too!" I still can't believe I went out of state to an event and still found people who knew me through Easely Amused. I mean I'm used to it in the Jackson Area, I get noticed all the time. I've even had someone yell across a bar one night "Hey Elizabeth from Easely Amused!!" Easely Amused is an instructor taught painting class in the Jackson area. I work there as a helper and a teacher. I love helping people paint, its very rewarding!

So back to Unleashed and good friends. The night ended like it started by going back to the hotel. I went and uploaded my pictures to Ruthie's computer so she could have them. Then I had to make the trek back to Westwego. I said my goodbyes and was on my way. Now I have to say that I hate the Causeway at night. My mind kept playing tricks on me in the pitch black dark that encircled the Causeway. I was so happy when I could see the lights on the other side. You just don't even know. I somehow missed my exit on I10 West back to the Clearview Blvd exit. But I righted my wrong easily and was on the Huey P Long bridge before I knew it. Again another bridge that I'm not a fan of, but it could grow on me if I lived down there.

So I met some amazing ladies on my trip to Unleashed. Thank you Natalie for buying my ticket and for just being you. You are awesome and a true friend that I am so happy to have.

Thank you Ruthie for taking me under your wing and being the amazing person you are. I'm so happy you live so close to me and we HAVE to meet up as often as possible. I would love to meet you kids one day! :)

Thank you Cindy for adopting me. You are so maternal and a wonderful friend I am fortunate to have. I'm so glad you live close too. We will hang out more I know!

Thank you Mak for just being you. I am so happy I met you. Wish I had your body, for real!

Thank you Romancia for being bubbly, getting the Ustream videos out there to the fans who couldn't make it, for volunteering at St. Tammany's the day before the event. And just for being you, I'm so glad I met you!

So that's what how I got to go to Unleashed and meet some amazing people. :)

Have a wonderful day!
xoxo