{Sunday Shoes}

Spring is in the air. I can feel it. The weather here is B-E-A-U-TIFUL!! And I'm loving the color yellow these days. The sunshine, the shoes, love it all. From left to right, here is where you may find these Pierre Dumas flats, Joan and David pumps, Apepazza Tormalina flats, and Seychelles pumps.

this... is not American Idol.

this is steph sharing her thoughts about American Idol! So I might have missed the best girls performance tonight. I hear from numerous sources that Crystal Bowersox did really well. So kudos to her, I won't miss your performance next week.

To the boys last night, let's step it up a notch. I think we are all ready to see a little more performance and not so much hiding behind a mic and singing comfortable songs. Tell us how you really feel and bust out something great. Thanks.

Hey judges...you were slightly harsh. I know this is your job, but my goodness, these people were working with kids and bringing customers refills just a few months ago. Let's tell them to do better and cut them a little slack for now. But I do applaud you for keeping a smile on your face when the entire audience boos you.

Here are my favorites from this week...

the fellas:
Big Daddy Mike (thank you not holding back, you're a rockstar)
Alex 'mullet' Lambert (really like your voice, way to be)
Tim Urban (think you played it safe, but kudos for the song, it's a personal fav)

and the ladies:
Katelyn Epperly (girl, you are good and you picked a great song. fabulous job!)
Didi Benami (the song was a smidge cliche, but really liked the way you sang it)
Lacey Brown (big fan of your style and voice)
*Crystal Bowersox...pretty sure from what I heard you belong on this list

Alright people, tomorrow dear friends of mine are having their first child. Yes, if you do not know who I am referring to, those friends would be Pam and Jim Halpert. Baby Halpert will be joining the world tomorrow!!!!!! Get pumped. I am.

it's for real people!!!!

MAY 15, 2010. I will venture over to MASINDI, UGANDA as part of a medical mission team with Palmetto Medical Initiative and Medical Campus Outreach. The purpose of this trip is to go and love on the people of Uganda as well as provide them with medical treatment they would otherwise not have access to. As an OT student my role will be to provide rehab treatment to people in the form of splinting when needed, wound management, and teaching correct body positioning, ergonomics, and exercises (people in Uganda do lots of manual labor working in fields all day and carrying large amounts of weight on their heads, therefore they have lots of lower back pain).

I cannot begin to explain HOW excited I am about this trip. All I can say is that God has put a huge passion in my heart to GO and SERVE the people of Uganda. I anticipate this to be an incredible learning experience, mostly in humility. From the little I know of the people we will be going to serve, I can tell they are extremely grateful for all they have (even though it is hardly anything compared to the way we live) and they know how to love in a way I've never imagined.

Lately we have been going through Acts in church. A few weeks ago, we talked about being compelled to Go. My pastor said something that I have not been able to forget. He said we need to set our heart default to "yes." With this he talked about people in the Bible who answered Yes to God before they were asked a question. This really hit home to me, because in a lot of ways, if I knew what the question was, I might not want to say yes. Therefore I need to say Yes first and be obedient as to where I am sent. God has given me the passion to be an OT and through that I have learned the skills needed to serve others in need. I know He has great plans in Uganda, and I am so thankful to be a part of them. Please join me in praying for the people of Uganda, the doctors, therapists, students, and myself on this team. Your prayers are much needed and very much appreciated!!

Here are a few pictures from last May's trip...

This is the local church turned into the clinic during the week.

Here are some OT students making splints for a little girl to help her walk.

Here are some kiddos playing outside the clinic.

If you would like more information about my trip, please email me at sad33@musc.edu

Sunday Shoes!!

I can feel Spring in the air. What a glorious thing! Winter has stuck around for far too long this year. It's still cold in the Lowcountry, and people here are NOT responding well to the unusual weather. I wish I knew if the groundhog saw his shadow or not so I could provide you with a count down of just how much longer it will be until we can wear summer sandals and flippy floppys! But for now, these shoes are great! LOVE the woven pattern and they're perfect for crazy, unpredictable weather that comes between Winter and Spring. Have a great week friends!! Stay posted...tomorrow could be big news!!!

Who is your Idol?

Even though I hate paying my Comcast bill each month, this time of year makes it all worthwhile. Yes, I am referring to American Idol. The show where everyday people bridge the gap between celebrities and the rest of us. So who will be our new baby celebrity this year...we shall find out.

Last night and tonight the top 24 performed, and I must say...they should have been a little more bold with their performances. I thought as a whole the performances were a little slow. Still good, but could have been better. The judges, Simon especially did not miss a chance to remind the contestants that this is a contest and if they want to win, they need to step it up and stand out among the group. Thank you Simon for putting fear in all theirs eyes to do better, and thank you to the newest Idol judge, Ellen DeGeneres for encouraging everyone and reminding them about star power. Because let's face it, average people do not really know how exactly to be a star.

Since my love for American Idol is more than I can handle, I have decided to share it with you. This year, I've decided to rank each performance throughout the show for voting purposes. I have used a simple 1-10 scale. 1 being me singing in my car by myself and 10 being Carrie Underwood performing any of her top ten hits. The past few nights Idols have been all over the place, but no one joined me or Carrie.

So here are my top 3 ladies and top 3 gentlemen...

for the ladies:
Didi Benami
Michelle Delamore
Katelyn Epperly

for the fellas:
Michael Lynche (whom I will refer to as Big Daddy Mike)
Casey James
Andrew Garcia

As for making it into my personal top 3, these Idols should know that does not mean they will stay there. They will be competing each week for the privilege, and I will inform you who I think should continue on in the game. Who knows, maybe I'll be the one to replace Simon.

Sunday Shoes...fashionable late

Happy Monday! I couldn't post these yesterday due to the rather important post below :) Regardless, this is a pair of shoes that should not go unmentioned. TOMS!!! As if the comfort isn't enough for TOMS, the cause is even better. For every pair of shoes people buy, TOMS gives a pair to people in third world countries who do not have shoes. So...if you do not have a pair of TOMS...click here and get you and someone in a need a pair!

Saturday with Tara and Steph

It all started with a few clinks while Tara and I were on our way to the outlets to enjoy a lovely Saturday in Charleston...

And we say, "what was that?" Tara..."sounds like you just hit a small animal." To which I look in the rear view mirror and see nothing in the road. So I'm sure it was nothing. Right? WRONG.

Upon returning to the car, I nearly had a heart attack and immediately felt as if the only thing worse right now would be if my other three wheels had spinners one them. This is what those "few clinks" were....

Yes. Hubcap. Wheel-cover. Whatever you prefer. I now like to call it My Hub.

We immediately went into crisis mode trying to figure out what to do. I was thankful to have just purchased an adorable pair of large sunglasses to avoid people's stares at the Hub. Tara preceded to point out other Hubs (or lack there of) to assure me it's not that bad. So I asked what one of the drivers of a hubless car looked like and she said...well never mind her exact comment, we'll just say, the lady didn't look like me.

We were on a quest to find the Hub. And this is what friends are truly for.I had just seen half of a hubcap and was quite upset when...Tara spotted the Hub, My Hub, across the road. We immediately did a U-turn (legally) and Tara ran out into the road to save it!

For this I am SO SO thankful, because without Tara, this could be the Galant or my new group of friends...

Although I was hopeful that this would most definitely NOT be me or the Galant, there was still the problem of how to get the Hub back on the car. (Three of the little things to hold it to the wheel are no longer there. Probably because the poor little Hub got run over.)

What exactly are the ingredients for reapplying a broken hubcap you ask? Well if you were to come to Steph's 'We Can and Will Fix Anything' Garage, this is what you would see.That is...paper towels and windex for cleaning, a pair of scissors, some rope, and a roll of PINK duct tape.

Step 1 of reapplying your hubcap:Loop the rope through any part of the tire that makes sense.

Step 2 (unfortunately not pictured due to greasy hands): apply duct tape, preferably a fun color, to the inside part of the hubcap. Apply hubcap to the wheel. Be sure to pull rope through Hub in preparation for step 3.

Step 3: Tie rope around hubcap. Double loop through for more stability if you desire.And there you go. As simple as 1-2-3! Your new Hub.

Thanks for choosing Steph's. We CAN and WILL Fix Anything!