Well, I will be the first one to share a casual story. My husband has been in the military for over 23 years. He is retiring in January 2010. So excited!! Last year when he was going to retire, it wasn’t as exciting because we didn’t know what to expect or if he needed to get another job. Some things happened with the soldier who was to take his slot and he decided to stay in for another year until the unit got another soldier to fill his position. It was a relief for us when he decided to pull his papers and they approved it. The reason was it gave him more time to decide what he wanted to do with his career.
We are so happy that we did this. It gave us more time to settle into the fact that we were retiring from the military. He was able to find another job and it is going to be a smooth transition. He has been on leave since October 23rd and his new job starts on January 4th. It is a great way for him to end his career with the military. Taking it easy, growing a beard. 
I am proud of him.
Now it’s time for cilivian life….
Joyce Dodson, Sarah Payeur, Michel Gordon, Chad Kneller, Alexis Labarette, Thea Agnew, Denise Patterson, Tyrone Basnight, (Sitting) Don Williamson, Jamie Jarman, Andrea Griffith, Lisa Pratt (Winner), Sam Tang
Where do I begin? I love this group. We were together for two weeks and we bonded more than we thought possible. All of us are on facebook and keep in touch with the other.
When we came together that first day, we were feeling each other out to see who the competition was. It wasn’t long before we realized that we were all competition! There wasn’t one bad singer in the group. We all harmonized well with the other and it was just bodies full of talent in every practice. read More >
Yesterday we started off around 10:45 but our van didn’t come until 11:30. So we had some time in the lobby area of the hotel to visit and talk about our performances with each other. We can honestly say that whoever wins, we will not be saying, “How did he/she win this?” Whoever wins we will understand and be thrilled for them.
We went to eat first and I went to the grocery store to get some medicine to get over this sinus drainage cold thing I got going on. I just don’t understand why I come all this way and I get a cold the day before I am to sing! Why? Why? Why? I am still going to stand up and do my very best and your votes will pull me through, if the judges are pulling too. I can still sing but it might sound a little nasally. I will sound more like Willie Nelson..:) NOT!! Just watch to see what a cold does and then comment!
We got to the COLD theatre around 1 pm and started rehearsing with the whole show. Group 1 singing “Party in the USA” and then the first contestant singing, etc… Then group 2 (my group) getting up and singing and doing our solo parts. After 4 hours of doing that, we then went to eat at where?…… VINNY’S and then we went back to the theatre and practice the whole thing on stage. Went over it a couple of times and one of the men who help cast for America’s Got Talent and our Contest was sitting in the judges seats and watching. He gave us all good advice.
After that was done we all did some relaxing exercises with Joey, our Vocal Coach, and then came back to the hotel. It was around 9:30 pm when I put my head on the pillow. I woke up at 3 a.m. and then fell back to sleep, had some nightmares and now I am up at 7 a.m. filling my nose with Afrin and Salin sprays, trying to clear this out.
Anyway, y’all have a great day and be praying for my voice and performance. I want to bring this song across to everyone sitting in listening ear shot. I hope you enjoy the performance and vote for me!
Voting begins tomorrow, Sunday, at 8:30 pm-11:30 pm Central for 2 hours. The broadcast can be seen at 7 pm central on the pentagon website: http://www.pentagonchannel.mil clicking on steaming live or if you see Operation Rising Star, click there. Voting is done on http://www.oprisingstar.com clicking on VOTE then picking me.
Thank you again!
Yesterday was back to the normal schedule. We ate the hotels breakfast and headed back to the theatre. It was another cold, rainy day. I am sure it didn’t help with what I have now. A couple of contestants had a fever and some drainage. It went away after two days. read More >
I woke up to hearing the rain outside and it was cold! What a change in the temperature. We were able to sleep in a little longer because of the day before, which was nice. I did some warm ups in my room and of course was keeping you up to date with how day 2 went.
Yesterday we started off going straight to rehearsals and singing from 9-11:30. We went over our group songs, even did a little contest on which group of 6 contestants sold the show for one of the songs we are doing, “Party in the U.S.A.” read More >
First of all, from this day out I will refer to Operation Rising Star as ORS. Breaking it down a little. Whew! What a day. It was suppose to rain but it held off and the sun shined through. We started our day going through some vocal group warm ups, learning different technics. read More >
It turned out to be a beautiful morning yesterday when we all left the hotel for Ft. Belvoir’s Wallace Theatre at 8:45. This is the home of the Army’s Soldier Show. We weren’t suppose to leave until 8:50, so while we were almost a couple of minutes away, someone counted heads and realized we were missing someone. read More >
A fruitcake can make you stop and think. They can make you wonder, “Why is she looking like that?” or you might look and wonder, “How can she live like that?” YET they are happy within and you see it in the way they walk, talk and treat others. You might wonder what do they have to be happy about when they don’t dress like the world? They stand out and looking at the outside appearance they might be judged as crazy, in bondage, a cult, or a fruitcake. If you are anything like I was, the Lord has drawn you to this site to learn more about living for Jesus by seeing a woman who looked different yet seemed to have the world in her hands. You might wonder what their secret to living free is.
Welcome to the world of this fruitcake!
Yes, I can be a little nutty sometimes but never put on a shelf! I am a single mother and woman on a mission, reaching others through love and in turn growing from each experience.
Early in the spring of 2009, I felt a pull to write a book. (A project that will happen in God’s timing.) I shared with my Momma about how people would look down their noses, talk behind my back, telling others that I just didn’t know what I wanted in life. I would be judged because of the church I attended. I would be judged because of the church I left. It’s amazing how we try to size up a person by their outer appearance. It hurt when it came back to me. I had the stirring, deep within, to follow the Truth. The Truth as the Lord put in my heart. I realized there are a lot of us out there that are labeled fruitcake because of outer appearance and our convictions, So why not embrace it and make it something positive?!
I decided to embark on the journey of a blog and found an amazing team, Moxie Design Studios.
read More >
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