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Fall TV Season. In less than one week, the season premieres of most of my fave shows will come on. I'm SO excited (yeah, I have no life...so what). CSI Miami, Heroes, Ugly Betty, CSI New York, Criminal Minds, and Law & Order SVU. Add Glee to that and you've got a happy Rae. There are slight changes that can mess me up, though. Law & Order has been moved to Wednesdays. Why is that a problem, you may ask? IT COMES ON AT THE SAME TIME AS BOTH CRIMINAL MINDS AND GLEE!!! Why, oh why, did they move it to Wednesdays? I was perfectly fine with it being on Tuesdays. See, last year, I had Mon-Thurs set. Mon = Heroes & CSI Miami; Tues = Law & Order SVU (& occasionally, NCIS); Wed = Criminal Minds & CSI New York; and Thurs = Ugly Betty. Now, Mon stays the same, Tues = ?...maybe NCIS & NCIS Los Angeles; Wednesday = Glee, Criminal Minds, Law & Order SVU then CSI New York; Thur = ?; Fri = Ugly Betty. Now, I have to decide what to do about 8 pm on Wednesday nights. *sigh* Tragedy, I tell you...Tragedy!

Adam Rodriguez. So, about 2 months ago, I heard that Tyler Perry had a new movie coming out. Now, I love TP's work, so I knew I wanted to see it, but when I heard that Adam Rodriguez was going to be in it, I knew I had to see it. I've had a 'grown up' crush on AR since watching CSI Miami for the first time years ago. In fact, he was the reason I first got hooked on CSI Miami. I needed my weekly dose of Eric Delko. Now, of course, it's not about Eric, I actually like the show. So yeah, I had to go see I Can Do Bad All By Myself. I'm so glad I did. To me, it was one of TP's best movies. And Taraji Henson is such a talented actress.

Okay, back to AR. I've found out that, after this season, my beloved Delko, will be no more. *sigh* I knew it, when I saw the season finale. It's a good thing I actually like CSI Miami, cos clearly if I didn't, I'd stop watching it (but I do, so no worries). On an awesome note, AR will be on 5 episodes of Ugly Betty with the possibility of staying longer. Ugly Betty is, of course, another one of my must-see shows, so I'm good. He moved from one fave show to another.

• To serve God, glorify Him in all I do, and love Him with all my heart, soul, and mind (Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 6:13; Romans 15:6)
• To let God, my family, my friends, and the kids I work with know I love them through, not only my words, but also my actions (1 John 3:18)
• To use every gift, talent, and ability God has given me to fulfill His purpose for me (1 Peter 4:10)
• To educate, enrich, and inspire youth and help them realize their full potential in God (Mark 9:37; Mark 10:14)
• To live a bold and abundant life through Christ (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 3:12)
• To take good care of my temporary home, Earth, just as God has commanded us (Genesis 1:28)
• To use my words and actions to build people up instead of tear them down (Proverbs 20:11; Romans 12:18)
• To let my 'Jesus' light shine for the world to see (Proverbs 13:9; Matthew 5:16)

And here's Taimak now. See why I wouldn't mind seeing him in the movie?

Speaking of remakes. I am looking forward to seeing Fame. It's just that I LOVED the TV show...the few times I watched it when I was younger. Remember, I wanted to be a dancer when I was a little girl, so I loved any show with dancers (Solid Gold & Fame being the top). And speaking of movies with dancing...I was hoping Bring It On: Fight to the Finish would be at Redbox. I know, they shoulda stopped at the first Bring It On...& this movie may suck, but I wanna see it (remember I like dancing movies...which, they are cheerleaders, but they dance too). Redbox is the only way to guarantee that I won't be so upset with wasting my money. It costs $1 to rent from Redbox.

And, I went to see District 9 this past weekend. Didn't like it much. It took too long to get to the point. By the time it got to the action, I was ready to go. And the fact that the aliens looked like giant cockroaches messed it up for me. I HATE cockroaches!

The First Lady's New Do. OMG, who cares whether or not she cut hair? Obviously, they've run out of newsworthy stories (don't see how that happens, though). Get a life! And she didn't cut it, her hair is pinned. *sigh* She's still elegant and classy as usual.

Duggars 19th Child. WTH? 19 kids? More power to them, I guess. I, on the other hand, only want 2...3 if I must. 19 kids...smh.

Why, oh why must getting in shape/losing weight be so hard? Why can't there be, like an easy button or something that'll speed up the process? Can I please have a wand so I can wave this weight away? How bout the twinkle of my nose, like Samantha on Bewitched? Or a nod of my head like I Dream of Jeannie?

I'll be so glad when I've reached my goal weight. Oh to be able to actually run without feeling like I'm going to die! To be able to wear a swimsuit without self-consciously covering it with a t-shirt or wrap! To be able to hear the doctor say, "High blood pressure? What high blood pressure?"

But, alas, I must trudge on. My time will come. I'm working hard on this thing, so I'll see some results. I WILL SEE SOME RESULTS. Sorry, had to reassure myself, there. By this time, next year, I'll be screaming from the hilltops (or at least from the hilltops of blogland), "I did it! I got rid of those pesky little pounds!" I'll be able to run around with my extremely active nephews without needing to be resuscitated. I'll be able to run, period! OMG, maybe I'll be able to play basketball without hyperventilating.

So, yeah, this weight loss journey is long, tedious, and did I mention, long, but when I've reached that goal - when I've stepped out on that Hawaiian beach (that's where we might go next summer) in my tankini (you won't catch me in a bikini, no matter how much poundage I lose) - the pain...the tedious-ness...the 'oh-God-I-don't-think-I-can-do-it-anymore'...will only make my victory that much sweeter!

El Rostro de Analia. My show, El Rostro de Analia, is leaving me! Just when I've discovered it. I've only been it watching for about 2 months. If I'm not mistaken - and I could be - Friday will be the series finale, so to speak. I know etapas final basically means final stage or final chapter, so I'm assuming that it's the same as a series finale as opposed to a season finale. Which means, after Friday, no more Analia. Now I have to find another novela to watch. Maybe Mas Sabe el Diablo, with cutie pie, Jencarlos Canela. Seriously, watching the Spanish channels has helped me TREMENDOUSLY with my espanol. No matter how cheesy the novelas may be - and some of them are really cheesy - I'm getting much better with my Spanish. I also buy the Latino mags like People En Espanol to read.

NBA Finals. Rashard Lewis is a Houstonian and an Alief Elsik High School (my Alma Mater) graduate, so GO MAGIC! If it can't be the Rockets (who, btw, passed up a chance to have Lewis on the team like, 10 years ago), I'll take a fellow Houstonian getting the ring/trophy.

Rae's List. So, last year, I came up with a list of things I'd like to do. It was originally for before I turn 35, but, clearly I'll be 35 in 2 years. Anyway, the list ended up having about 60 things on it. Now, ask me how many I've actually done? Go on. Ask. One! That's it. I've managed to cross of one thing off my list (wear shorts - I haven't worn shorts since about 1995 because I didn't like m legs and I did it last year). The good thing is, by the end of this year, I will have crossed off about 14 more things, including skydiving, getting my 3rd tattoo, and learn salsa (all this summer). I also get to cross of travel to Puerto Rico when we go in December. My sister and I are going to get our 3rd tattoo to celebrate her 27th birthday in July. I want an angel, but the ones I've seen have been too detailed (and painful looking). I'm still searching for the perfect angel. I LOVE angels. Like, really. I collect anything that has to do with angels. I actually have a creepy, yet cool story that goes with why I collect angels (besides the fact that the Bible tells us that God sends His angels to protect us). It's a blog post in itself that I'll tell another time - soon, though.

Swine Flu. I'm taking this seriously. Really, I am. I absolutely abhor being sick, so, yeah, I'm taking it seriously, but I'm not panicking, though. I'm not letting this thing take over my mind, causing me to worry. Nope. And, anyway, wasn't there another scary outbreak years ago? The bird flu? This kind of reminds me of that movie, Outbreak, only not as drastic.

The thing is, the precautions we're told to take are ones we should already be doing:

• Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing - I mean, come on, people. It's just rude not to cover. Do I want your germy saliva all over me? Uh...no! I don't care if you're sick or not, it's still gross.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water - How many people have you seen walk out the public restrooms without washing their hands? Ew. That's just nasty.
• Stay at home if you get sick - Duh. Wouldn't want to spread your sickness around, right? And parents, if you have a sick child, please, please, please don't send them to school. Think of all the teachers, students, administrators, cafeteria workers, etc.

Annoying Noises. Okay, so last night, I was lucky enough (sarcastically speaking) to be awakened, several times, by a symphony of annoying noises.

• Smoke detector. Clearly we need to replace the battery in one of our detectors. All it does now is beep. Every 30 seconds. Yes, I counted. What else was I gonna do?
• Gurgling commode. So, every month, we're to pour bleach done a pipe located in our attic because it helps with the drainage in the neighborhood. Wanna know how we know it's time to do it? Our commodes gurgle. Seriously. Both mine and my sister's toilets make some weird 'blub blub' noises. Disgusting, I know.
• Arguing cats. When we first moved in, it was dogs that howled. All. Night. Long. Now, it's cats who argue. They sound exactly like wailing babies. Honest. It's creepy. Last night, they woke me up, then managed to keep me up for an hour. Going back and forth, wailing and whining. Just when I wanted to cut my ears off (not really, but you get the point), it got even weirder. They started hissing at each other. Wail. Wail. Hiss. Hiss. Bang. Bang. They sounded possessed. Really. I'm not sure exactly what they were doing - I refused to get up out of bed to see 2 (or more) possessed cats for fear they'd somehow come get me - but it sounded like they were fighting (hence, the bang bang noise). Then, after all that noise...complete silence. Kinda creepy. I kept praying that we wouldn't find a dead cat or two in our backyard (prayers answered).

Fitness. Nothing much to report. I'm losing more inches off my bottom/hips than I am in the waist/stomach area (which is where I'd like to lose). I'm okay with my bottom/hips, besides firming. Oh well, I guess more crunches are in order.

Rappers' Bling. Within the last year or so, I've noticed rappers wearing less blingage. I haven't been blinded by the amount of sparkling jewelry worn on necks, fingers, or teeth (which, IMHO, is very ew worthy). Glad to know I'm not the only one who've noticed. Saw an article on the 'Net and found that rappers are indeed toning down the bling wattage. I am so glad. To me, it's not about the bling, but about the swagger (urbandictionary.com definition: to move with confidence and sophistication...to be cool; to conduct your self in a way that would automatically earn respect). Jay Z's got it. TI's got it. Luda's got it. These men don't need an absurd amount of bling for people to know they got money. Even dressed down, Jay Z is always impeccably dressed (if you don't know by now, Jay Z's my all-time fave Hip Hop artist...the absolute best).

Dancing With The Stars. One of my fave shows. Steve-O's got a lot of fans because he shouldn't been gone before this week. Who do I think will win? That's a hard one. Gilles Marini, Shawn Johnson, Melissa Rycroft, and Lil Kim have been doing well. This week, Lil Kim's dance was awesome. Not sure just yet who I'd want to win...I'm thinking maybe either Shawn Johnson or Lil Kim (but that may change). Guess I'll have to stay tuned.

El Rostro de Analia. I am not a big fan of soap operas...not at all. The only soap I watched repeatedly was The Young and The Restless...and that was ONLY because Shemar Moore was on there. Other than that, I watched soaps every once in a while. So, it's quite funny to me that my new 'must see' show is a soap. Actually, it's a telenovela, a Spanish soap opera, called El Rostro de Analia. Now, granted, I only started watching it because of Pedro Moreno, who plays Cristoban (very yummy), but I am officially addicted to it. Like, I can't miss it. It comes on every weekday at 8, which is why I'm late posting this - couldn't miss my show. The time slot presents a problem on Mondays (Heroes), Wednesdays (Criminal Minds), and Thursdays (CSI), but I just flip back and forth. The best thing is, it's helping me with my Spanish. I learn more every time I watch it. I can actually understand what they're saying! Next stop, being able to respond, which will come in handy should I ever meet Pedro Moreno in person, heehee. This is Pedro Moreno:

See, didn't I tell you...very yummy...