So You Think You Can Rock?

So I am an AWESOME rock star. Pretty sure in my next life I'm coming back as Rhianna post Disturbia....I mean, the "sleeve tattoo's" I rocked at this month's get together WERE purchased at Walmart for $4. But Still. I play a mean drum set, and even meaner guitar. September's get together was at Dell's house. She threw a "Rockstar Party" and we played Rock Band and had to come dressed the part. Hence the sleeve's. Although don't put it past me to just randomly sport them to places that have no need. Ok, I'm lying. Maybe. Anyways, Dell went ALL out for her party and it was so much fun! She even did HER OWN mohawk. It was seriously impressive. We rocked it out all night, ate pizza, drank Rockstars (naturally), took pictures, and chatted. My favorite thing of the night was that Haley went and bought a Hannah Montana shirt and microphone that lit up all different colors. Seriously, what's more rockstar than that? Absolutely nothing. Again, people keep coming up with themes and it makes it so fun. And we're super dorky, you won't find one of us denying it....This is Dell all sorts of rocked out. Doesn't she look hard core? And I cant get over the fact that she did her own hair...you should have seen it in person.

T and Sheena. We forgave Sheena for not coming in character, you know, since she just gave birth and all....
This is Haley giving it her all at the drums. She was ALMOST as good as me. Almost.

Kira and Haley. Please notice the black in Kira's hair and Haley's face tat. You're not a rocker unless you've got your face inked....So she's totally got it covered.

Please appreciate our rocker "I'm really hard core" faces.


(not sure why mines in black and white...)

(and Sheena....it's cute. You needed a rocker face)



Haley mid-performance. She doesn't mess around. She totally represented Hannah here, wouldn't you say? Or is this more Miley? I'm not sure....

So, my story of Dell. She's one of the most amazing people I've ever had the privilege of knowing in my life, and I'm not sure how to properly write her "shout out" and NOT write a novel. So I warn whoever is reading this that the rest of this post will in fact be very long, and probably seem somewhat dramatic. But I don't care. It's pretty much just for her anyway, and to tell people how cool I think she is :) Dellany and I have known each other since 2nd grade. We have been best friends since , and she is the first person I met and KNEW I had known before this life. She has lived enough life for 10 people, and then some. I don't know anyone that has conquered as much as she has. I have looked up to her and what she is capable of, for as long as I can remember. In fact, this is a journal entry I wrote about her when I was in junior high and it pretty much sums up how I feel about her (and definitely captures the emotional pre-teen in me...)

"My best friend in the entire world is and always will be Dellany Joy Carroll. She is the most amazing person I have ever been fortunate enough to know. She is more than words can express. There is no one on this entire earth that I love more than her. I can't explain her, she just isn't definable. There isn't a way I could begin to tell you how she does it, how she affects people so deeply. You are strangely changed once you know her. I have never met any one stronger, more honest and trustworthy, or as enjoyable as she is. When we are together, we can say absolutely nothing for as long as we choose, and have had an entire conversation. We will have known exactly what each other thought, and felt. All my best memories include her, they begin with her. Her contribution to my happiness and sanity in my life is enormous. she has never failed me, never let me down. She couldn't disappoint me if she tried. She is one of those people that when you are around her, you know she is different - that she is important in a greater sense. She affects people in a way that you could only dream YOU could. She has this magnetic force that draws people to her. You could be in a room and you would know when she comes in without even seeing her, the room suddenly shifts, and everyone knows of her presence. I know she has angels surrounding her wherever she goes. God knew of her importance, and the protection she would need, so He sent angels to guard her. Maybe that is why people feel changed, because her connection to Heaven is almost tangible..."

Yep. That's honestly how I still feel. There are so many memories that we have together, good and bad. So many places we've been, and things we've done, that it would be impossible to try to write them down. We went through silly things like braces, first boyfriends, Backstreet Boys mania, and Jenko jeans together. We tried out and made Cheer together. Our senior year, we got our schedules switched to have EVERY single class together but one: I had Drill and she had Art. We got detention together, and got thrown out of detention together (ha). We sluffed school and went on adventures everywhere. We ate goldfish and Mt. Dew. G-Squad! We loved school lunch, and shared a locker that was full of clothes from bottom to top. We spent our summers bare foot no matter where we went, even in gas stations (I know, trust me, I KNOW) We made up songs in my dad's suburban when the radio was broken, took naps together, and I had her come on every family vacation we took. She is the most hilarious person I know. She was there for me through my parents divorce, and I tried to be there for her the best I knew how through some of the hardest years she would face. I was there to see her beautiful baby girl Stella born. I watched her do the most selfless thing I have ever seen as she placed her child in the arms of another to raise her, and give her the best life she could possibly imagine. She has been so fortunate to be a part of Stella's life as she has grown up. I have watched Dellany dying, her organs shutting down one by one as she lay in a hospital bed, suffering from a bacterial infection. My dad drove me to the hospital with me thinking I was saying my final goodbye. I watched her family break down in the waiting room as they were told to prepare for the same. It wouldn't be the first time I had thought she was leaving me forever. She was rushed to emergency surgery, had a colostomy bag for months, and now has a 13 inch scar down her abdomen to prove it, which she wears proudly. Not a day has gone by that she has ever wasted time being self conscious about it. By nothing short of a miracle from God, Dellany lived. She has work to do here. Her will to fight on amazes me everyday. She is the most spiritual person I know. The most foul-mouthed spiritual person, but hey :) She has such a deep understanding of things. She has never been afraid to be who she is, and has never once been sorry for it. She's crazy, and fun, sensitive, and caring. She is one of those people that when you really know her, you feel blessed. I am incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with such a person as her. She has been tried more than any other person I know. She has been through literal hell and back, more than once. I admire her in every way. She is going to be the BEST mom ever. She is working every day to fight for that blessing. I am SO proud of her. Thanks for teaching me so many things, I am a better person because I know you. I love you Delly.