Dixie Livin'

Top Chef Masters Dinner

2010-09-16T14:16:00.003-04:00

What of my job descriptions is client entertainment - What a cross to bear! My client that comes in from California is a HUGE Top Chef fan. We went to Barbuto in the Meatpacking District. This is Jonathon Waxman's place and he was a "Top Chef Master."

We decided to do the tasting menu. It was 65 bucks a person - which is pretty reasonable in NYC. Actually, I don't know why you wouldn't do it. We had an appetizer course, pasta, protein and then desert.

It was am-az-ing. Loved it.

I listed the different food out below. The pictures are not that great..the only light in the dang restaurant was from one tiny tea light on the table. I don' tlike bright lights when I eat, but I'm also tapping around like Helen Keller on the table trying to find my fork.

If you get a chance - and have some spare cash - stop by. You'll have a small heart attack when you see the wine prices. 16 bucks for house.. but it is Manhattan. Home of the 10 dollar Coors light.

1. Appetizer: heirloom tomato salad (my fav), an antipasti platter (un-inspiring) bruschetta (I believe it was caramelized onions.. it was really dark. I know for sure there were no mushrooms!)

2. Pasta: heavenly gnocchi with roasted potatoes (this was my fav dish of the evening), sausage ragu with ricotta and thick lasagna noodles.

3. Protein: Grilled hanger steak, roasted chicken with salsa verde, braised ribs. (by this time - I was really full and wishing I was wearing sweat pants.. I hardly ate any on this course)

4. desert: tiramisu (ehh.. so so) and this UNBELIEVABLE chocolate ganache pudding thing.

Meth has to be easier to quit than Carbs!

2010-09-13T11:02:00.003-04:00

Hellooo blog world. Yes - I know.. I've said it before.. and this time I mean it. No more empty promises... I will be blogging on a continual basis. I don't know if anyone will be reading it because I have been gone for so long.

So my low carb diet lasted for an even shorter amount of time than my vegan diet. (I didn't know that was even possible.) Basically, I can do the "no carb" thing.. if it's in between meals. Everything is carb-a-licious! So, I'm going to try to not eat as MANY carbs.. baby steps.. or maybe not eat "WHITE" carbs. Yes, that's it.. that's what I'll do. I like to do diets that require absolutely no change in my lifestyle what - so - EVA!

Glad to be back! I'll be "seeing" you soon!

PS - Check out the addition to my blog roll.. my little cousin is in Italy for the semester. It's called "Livin' the Dream"

What's Up?

2010-06-09T20:01:00.002-04:00

So - I know that it's almost been 2 months since I announced that I was back and I haven't written anything. I'm going to keep using the excuse of work.. but now work has FINALLY slowed down. Work has always been such an extreme - I'm either too busy to go to the bathroom for 10 hours or I have absolutely nothing to do. I would say from last December up until this past Saturday - I have been completely and totally slammed. Now, typically I thrive and flourish under pressure. Deadlines hanging over my head are when I work best. This was alot though... even for me. Little things like needing an oil change would have me sobbing. Having to pick up dry cleaning before they closed at 7 p.m. would be a monumental, stressful event. Every day errands were just too much because I couldn't squeeze them in b/c I was working all the time. I've also had alot of personal changes. My boyfriend and I broke up, I moved out of my home where I lived for 6 years. I didn't even have time to find a new place to live! (And I might add - I didn't miss one day of work for a huge break up and moving! That's how crazy work has been.)

BUT THAT'S ALL OVER!!!

I'm typing this from the deck of the beach house that my folks rented for our annual family vacation. Every year we go on vacation with my parents, sisters, nieces and nephews. Sometimes boyfriends come... sometimes they don't. This year Leah brought her boyfriend. Cousin Allie usually comes. Sometimes we have a friends show up.. this year my brother in law Troy was able to come! Yah!

We are having a great time! Today was the first time I left the house to go into town.. I've been holed up here. Just relaxing, reading, hanging with my family, spending time on the beach. This is great for the soul.

So I promise I will be on here more often.. and it won't be this serious.

I'm BAAACK

2010-04-13T17:49:00.001-04:00

So - I haven't been blogging.. things have been crazy lately. Alot of changes in my life.. none that I'd like to discuss in the forum of the world wide web. I just wanted to let folks know that I'm alive.. I'll be back to my regularly scheduled blogs shortly...

Today

2010-01-25T21:20:00.011-05:00

So today was a good day! Off to a good start!!! I took pictures of everything I ate today.. and man, what a pain in the ass. I don't think I'll be doing this too often. I also eat the same thing EVERY DAY. Once I find something I like.. I stick to it. The only thing I change is dinner.. dinner is usually different every night but lunch and dinner is the same!!!

Breakfast - I have a smoothie every a.m. I make it with a cup and half of frozen fruit, 1/2 cup of yogurt (whatever is on sale that week), and 1 cup of cranberry juice or OJ and some splenda!

Snack - My snack was hi-fiber oatmeal with this "Better than Peanut Butter". I'm OBSESSED with this Better than Pnut Butter! It's soooooooo good. I put a little bit in my oatmeal and it was AMAZING! One tablespoon is 50 calories. I bring some to work to eat with my apple slices. I also have a pb and J every day for lunch. I could eat (and I usually do) peanut butter and jelly every day!

Lunch - I pack a spinach salad with 1 table spoon of goat cheese, 100 calories of crushed almonds and 2 tablespoons of dressing. I quit buying low fat dressing and just started buying dressing that taste good. If the dressing is gross, I won't eat the salad. I love goat cheese.. I could eat spoonfuls of it!

Lunch part deux - I usually always pack a pb and J sand which. I use 1 tbsp of the better n'peanut butter and 1 tbsp of jelly. I know it's anal to measure out stuff, but it's how I roll so I can stay on track.

Snack - Apple slices and 1 tbsp of better n'peanut butter. Yum!!!

Another snack - Dark chocolate. One square is about 50 calories. The large bar will last me about one week.. and dark chocolate is practically a vitamin.

Dinner - Pork cutlets over arugula salad with marinated chopped tomatoes and roasted summer squash. I should have grilled the pork instead of breading and pan frying it but cutlets are sooooooo good. Can't be good all the time right?

Desert- Soooo, I made this desert and I'm not sure what I think about it. I used 1/2 cup of Almond Breeze, 1/2 frozen banana, 2 tbsp sugar free/fat free choc syrup and 1 tbsp of better n' peanut butter. I was looking for choc/banana desert but this tasted really healthy. I'm going to try it tomorrow with some splenda to make it sweeter!

Correction!! (A Big One)

2010-01-25T12:44:00.002-05:00

My Mom pointed an error in my post below. I meant to say that I have NOT done the crystal meth diet.. oopsy. Never did like proof reading all that much.

I'm BAAAACCCK!!!

2010-01-24T21:07:00.003-05:00

Alrighty guys! I'm baacck! 2010 has been rough. I had the flu the first week of January.. then I've been busy and out of town for 2 weeks. I came home from Boston last Sunday, went straight to the doctor and I had freakin' pneumonia!

So I have alot of catching up to do! So, of course it being the new year, I've got plenty of resolutions! I've also got, surprise!, a new diet. Most of you that know me.. know that I'm such a complete sucker for anything. I've tried every diet under the sun. Pretty much the only diet I have tried is the crystal meth diet. (Have you seen 30 Rock? "How important is tooth retention?")

So my new diet isn't a fad or a gimmick.. I'm not taking any diet pills or eating something like grapefruit or sauerkraut for 3 days straight. I'm simply going to weigh myself every morning and write down what I eat and count calories. This is very close to weight watchers but I'm not doing the points. I actually quit my ww membership because I'm trying to save some $$. I figured I would do a "home made" version and I was pretty bad about going to the meetings.

Below are pictures of my "tools"... my sweet new scale I got at target for only 28 bucks and a cute notepad to record my weight and what I eat. **Disclaimer - I will karate chop someone in their WIND PIPE if they happen to glance at my notebook and read my weight. If you do get a glimpse of my weight, I will then have to kill you.**

I'm also going to try blogging what I eat. We will see how that goes. No promises.

New Year!!!

2010-01-04T20:23:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

So, I've been a complete slacker on the blog. Christmas was busy busy busy. I got wicked super sick last week. I didn't even go out on New Years Eve (GASP!) I went to work for a few hours on Wednesday at that was it. I was out ALL last week.. stayed around the house and watched ALOT of Food Network.

My last post was SO LAME. I've just had a brain fart when it comes to stuff to write... I don't want to go to nitty gritty into my day to day life cause who wants to read that? Anyway - I'm figuring it out. I've got a busy next few weeks... I'm in NYC this week for a show, then I go up to Boston for another show. It doesn't slow down until February.. and man oh man, it's cold. Woooooo weeeee.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

I suck at Air Drums

2009-12-17T11:32:00.003-05:00

So not only do I suck at REAL drums, I suck at air drums too. I downloaded some new tunes to jam too when I come into the work early in the a.m. to take care of menial boring administrative tasks while it's nice and quiet. This is for the work that requires no brain power what so ever.. expense reports, work orders, employee evaluations.. (haha, just kidding) Anyway - the tunes are counter productive. Instead of allowing me to zone out or forcing me to work harder because the tune is upbeat.. I find myself playing air drums for 10, 15 or 20 minutes at time. Note - I don't play air guitar because I don't know how to play the guitar. The drums seemed like it would be much easier. Uhh helloooo, I'm not a poser!

Anyway - a co worker came in and saw my impromptu air drum concerto and thought I was having some sort of spastic convulsion. Actually I think his exact words were "crazy white girl" At least he didn't think I was trying some attack of some sort and try to call 911. (I've had my share of 911 calls lately. When the 911 operator recognizes your voice, it's time to wonder if it's not just an odd set of circumstances that you always find your self in.. or if it is just INDEED, you.)

Anyway - you won't see me in Europe performing at the Air Drum concert. I'll have to come up with another career back up plan.

Slacker!

2009-12-07T18:09:00.007-05:00

So I have been a slacker and haven't posted lately. To my defense - I was in Georgia for a week and then I came home and had to go to Boston for a week. I'm going to catch up this week. Below are some pictures of my freakin' ADORABLE nieces and nephews. Seriously.. they are so cute! I'm going to miss these little punks!

Dinner with the Gals

2009-11-24T16:28:00.006-05:00

We had a mini Marietta High Class of 95 girls reunion last night! There was only 5 of us that could make it but we had alot of fun! It was great seeing everyone and catching up with them face to face. Then AlliMac loaded us up in her sweet mini van and dropped us at Johnny MacCrackens. Then we kept the party going by heading to the Back Porch. And ran into another friend from high school!

It was a great night and thanks to Alli for setting it up!!! Love ya'll! Hopefully I didn't scare Chelsea, Kerri and Garrett too badly at the bars afterwards. I was hitting the red wine pretty hard. I kept telling everyone that it was "the same as a vitamin" Sure didn't feel like a vitamin the next day!!! My cousin Shawn said it will be another 14 years before anyone wants to hang out again.. haha.

Home Sweet Home, Ya'll

2009-11-19T10:35:00.004-05:00

We are leaving bright and early tomorrow to go to Georgia and I'm soooo excited!!! I can't wait to get home and see all my family and friends.

This little punk below turns 2 today. (J-Bob is lucky enough to share a birthday with my step dad Joe. Happy B'day Joe!) J-Bob's birthday party is on Saturday afternoon.

I can't wait to see my sister, brother in law and nieces and nephew!!! Gage came over to my parents house last weekend and got upset because he thought we were going to be there. Hopefully Gage remembers my name. He has a habit of all calling me "The Other Aunt Beth" Silly kid. I can only hope my sweet niece Carley is still giving out her kisses. I'm telling you that kid had me wrapped around her finger at the beach.

We are celebrating Christmas early since we will all be in town. We are going to have our Christmas on Sunday. I'm just so excited! There will be lots of posts to follow. We are doing a Marietta High '95 Girls dinner on Monday.. can't wait to see all my friends. Also, we're getting together with friends this Saturday Night at Hemingways on the Square. Stop by if you are around!

I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that my friend Mandy will have her little girl either WHILE I'm at home or sometime in the next day so I can meet this little bundle of joy!!!

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving and hopefully I'll see some of you!!!

New Camera.. Finally!

2009-11-15T20:30:00.003-05:00

I FINALLY got a camera this week. My friends and sisters gave me gift certificates to get this camera at my birthday in Jan!! Anyway - hopefully I'll post more pictures for you. Above is a picture of Colin - I was testing out the "sport" feature and making him jump all around. hahaha - sucker. Bet he didn't think this would end up on the world wide web!

Trip to the North Pole? Naw, just to Mama's.

2009-11-15T20:19:00.003-05:00

This weekend I went to Mom's house. I left my house with 2 bags of laundry to do and I came back with ALL THIS STUFF! My Mom is extremely generous to the point that you can't even tell her you like something because she's starts clearing it off for you to stick in your bag! I tell her to chill out! Just because I compliment something - doesn't mean I want it.. (unless you don't want it.. and if it's just a burden for you to keep it, then I'll take it!)

My Mom also complains about not having grandchildren. We try to remind her that she doesn't a) like kids and b) hates messes even more. She's moved onto golf with a borderline obsession. I know you are thinking that I'm exaggerating (who moi?) but she's knitting golf club covers! Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Anyway - here's a list of my random but OH SO AWESOME stuff I came home with this weekend....

-one red comforter that goes perfectly with my decor and 2 European sham covers that I'm going to use as giant toss pillows in my living room.

-a cool jean jacket-ish, cowboy ish jacket. I need to buy some cow boy boots and it would look so cool with jeans and black shirt!

-Coffee and flavored teas for my coffee machine (supplied by Mom as well)

-one black Coach purse. (I'm just borrowing this though. Mom has had it her closet and she's worried that its lonely from not being used)

-Waffle iron

-Waffle mix

-Giant round brush that gives your hair lots of body and makes it so shiny and straight

-one knitted dish scrubber (that's for Beth.. Mom found some time to knit on her breaks from the golf club stuff)

-hair ties

-books

Not included in the picture is a bag of stuff for my Grandma that I'm supposed to give her b/c I'm driving to Georgia! I just left that in my car so I wouldn't forget it...

Thanks for all the stuff Mama! Love ya!

WW Wednesday

2009-11-11T18:37:00.003-05:00

So - I didn't weigh in last week. Work is pretty busy and we've got alot going on. I was in training last week and I'm also in training this week. I was able to weigh in this week on my way to Manhattan for a client meeting.. and BOOOO... I gained a 1/2 lb. However, due to training, I didn't pack my lunch every day or work out during lunch. I also didn't track AT ALL this weekend. I wasn't HORRIBLE but I have to track every single day!

I've got a challenging few weeks ahead. We're going home for Thanksgiving.. YAH! We've got reservations at Woodfire Grill (Top Chef contestant restaurant) I don't have a crystal ball but I foresee a chicken biscuit or two in my future. (SWEET SWEET Chicken Biscuit.. How I have missed you!!!) Rich is dying to go to the Varsity and I'm sorry but there is nothing, I mean NOTHING, healthy about that menu.

This just means I need to get my butt up and work out every day. I wonder if my Dad still has a membership at Health Place! (I LOVED working out at Health Place!!!! That was the best gym.)

As soon as I back from Georgia, I am heading straight up to Boston. The hotel we are staying in has a gym that was updated in 1989. And we are staying in "Southie" which SOME might consider the "wrong side" of the tracks in Boston. Hey - it's the right side for me.. I can only pray I would get mugged by a Ben Afflick/Matt Damon/Good Will Hunting type of thug! Anyway - our hotel is on the side of the Mass Pike. And are any of yall on the road for work? I'm sure you know how hard it is NOT to go out every night. Team Dinners, client dinners, drinks with friends, teamster house paaaar-tay (that happens only occasionally.. not every single trip) Anyway - it's challenging.

So - next week will be better.. AS GOD IS MY WITNESS!

Apple or Pear

2009-11-02T20:27:00.003-05:00

The so called experts claim there are 2 body types for women: Pear and Apple. I would like to respectfully submit the 3rd body type category, and the one I fall under, the freakin' ORANGE. That's right.. I'm shaped like an orange. I carry my weight from literally my chin, down to the top of my legs. Hmmm, I might have to rethink this ... I guess I'm only an orange from the front. I don't have any "junk in my trunk"... I'm just one big uni-boob and belly. I've got nice legs.. well, I wouldn't say NICE but they are nice in the fact that they don't have fat on them. However, they are a bit on the freakishly muscular side. I don't lift weights or anything... they get plenty of exercise cartin' around the big freakin' orange all day. No, I have nice legs but if someone looked at my legs and tried to guess ... I might be mistaken for a Russian heavy weight squat lifter. Except less hairy.

Anywho - it's tough being an orange, man. I'm totally into ruffles right now. I wear lots of ruffled shirts with jacket to create "AN ILLUSION" I don't know if it's working. But it's my schtick.

With the help of my excellent, hottie tottie Cardio Kickboxing Instructor RRRRIIICOOOO, this will all change. Like all middle age adults that work at a Gold's Gym FULL TIME, he is a border line loser. (I'm sure I'm making a gross generalization out there.. but seriously) Although, Rrrriiico is also a champion kick boxer. Which basically makes him a slightly more successful Mickey Rourke (Who saw the Wrestler? Good GOD - was that not depressing?) I'm digging the cardio kick boxing class. You burn so many calories and the time flies. Of course, you are praying for death for most of that time, but I'm telling you it flies.

Alright all you pears, apples, oranges.. and my LEAST FAVORITE.. TWIGS (HISSS.. boooooo) stay away from the left over Halloween candy. Or at least try!!!!

WW Wednesday

2009-10-29T09:54:00.004-04:00

I weighed in on Monday and I lost 1.6 lbs. Woo hoo! I thought it would have been more because I've been working out alot and really trying to cut back on carbs. Oh well, I feel better and that is what is important.

Cousin Allie's boyfriend is doing weight watchers with her (and let me just add that Cousin Allie is wicked skinny... I still don't understand why she is doing it but whatever) This is why I hate men. He's been doing it for 2 weeks and he's already lost 7 lbs!!!! I wish I had the metabolism of a 12 year old boy. It's almost like a superpower... the ability to lose weight that quickly. And honestly, to me, I think men are cuter when they are heavier. Maybe because I don't want to be the fattest one... and they gotta be pretty hefty to keep up with me. I'll never be a svelte ballerina type, that's for damn sure.

Have a good week everyone !!!

WW Wednesday - Thursday Edition

2009-10-22T11:26:00.003-04:00

So I never got around to posting yesterday.. I should actually post on Monday since that is my weigh in day but "Weight Watchers Monday" just doesn't have a fun ring to it.

Anyway - I weighed in and I didn't LOSE ANYTHING! I'm trying to think positive, I didn't gain, but I didn't lose. I don't know about ya'll but I practically turn into the Incredible Hulk when I don't lose and I've had a good week. I was so excited to weigh in so I could see how much I lost .. the victim (umm, I mean lady) told me that I didn't lose anything. What did you say to me? Didn't lose? Are you serious? Are you really mother-truckin' serious? Is your SCALE broken? Do you think my bra weighs 5 lbs? I'll take it off! I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL TAKE IT OFF!!! THIS IS BULL SHIT!!! Then I called my long haired yankee boyfriend and he had to listen to me rant for about 5 minutes (which I'm absolutely certain he wasn't paying any sort of attention) while I screamed about how his fat girlfriend had to get her fat self weighed at the stupid weight watchers and how I hope he liked FAT GIRLS cause he's girlfriend is a FAT GIRL. So anyway, I obviously calmed down but I swear I was gonna run out of the weight watchers like cool-aide man runs through a wall... or Janet Reno on Saturday Night Live.

I met all my goals last week except for the 2 classes before weighing in. That was out of my hands and due to a work though so I don't feel too bad. HOWEVER, I did track every single day last week!! My friend Carol made a great point - if you don't track on the weekends, that's 8 or 10 days. I don't know about ya'll but weekends are tough. I have hard time getting motivated to work out, I want to drink beer, watch football and eat nachos on the weekend.. and wear only pants that have an elastic waistband. (I LIVE in yoga pants on the weekend.) I need to change that mentality.

Weekly Goals:
-Drink all my required water every day. (About 4 days a week I get all my water in... then I'm come REAL close the other 3 days. I need to consistently drink my water.)
-Continue tracking every single day.
-Work out at least once this weekend.

Sooo, if you see some crazy red head running around the parking lot of a weight watchers trying to tackle oncoming cars, you know I've had a bad week. Break out the dart gun so I won't innocent bystanders...

Football!

2009-10-20T15:55:00.004-04:00

Colin is playing football this year.. YESSSSSSS!!! I haven't been able to get to a game yet with my schedule but his Mom was kind enough to take a few photos in his uniform and send them to me. Being from the South, we live, eat and breath football.. especially high school and college ball. Being Southern means that Fall isn't about leaves changing but about SEC FOOTBALL!! GOOOO DAWGS!!!

Anyway - I got distracted.. where was I? Ahh yes, Colin. This boy is such a sweet kid. When I was 12 years old - I was an absolute HORROR to be around. God, I was such a bitch. (Sorry Mom, Beth, Leah and everyone else in my family.) Colin is so good and non hormonal. He does such unusual things as come up to you and just HUG you and says that he loves you.. what's up with that? Crazy right? (I'm so cynical, I'm always like "what do you want?".. gotta give the kid some material to work with his therapist when he's older) He is really helpful around the house. The other day I told him I would pay him to help me clean the house, and do you know what he said? He said I didn't have to pay him, he's just glad to help. Whhhhhaaaaaaaa???

No worries, we aren't perfect and neither is he. I'm not trying to paint you a picture of us picking wild flowers on the side of the hill in matching sweaters. He does have a bit of a potty mouth. (We catch him saying damn all the time - which DUH, I tell him be like a normal 12 year and not CUSS in front of his parents, but rather behind their back. Sheesh) I told him if he has a filthy mouth, he's going to do filthy chores.. like scrub the toilet. I think I may institute a swear jar at our house for the weekends that he is over because Rich and mine language isn't better. By the time the weekend is over, we would have enough $$ for a fine dining experience! HA.

Good luck with football Colin. I love ya (even though I tell you that I just "like" you because I'm not ready to make the commitment yet.) You're a great kid and a joy to be around. And we'll never speak of this again...

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2009-10-15T10:03:00.003-04:00

So, I've been a TOTAL slacker about my WW posts... I've been doing the tracking online but I haven't been going to weigh in. ***I MUST GO WEIGH IN EVERY WEEK*** That's the only way this works for me. I have to be held accountable. For about 2 months now I haven't weighed in BUT I thought I was okay b/c I've been tracking (except on weekends.. more on that below) and I FINALLY went this past Monday and I only lost 1.8 LBS!!!!! I guess it's good that I lost rather than gained, but had I been going in every week, I would be celebrating a 10 or 15 lb weight loss. I'm so pissed at myself.

So, I thought about setting weekly goals and I thought of rewarding myself with a manicure if I met these goals every week.. but then I thought, who am I kidding, I get a manicure every week anyway. (It's a medical condition.. other women may be afflicted as well) if a pro doesn't do my nails, they look shitty. I also can't paint my right hand with using my left hand.. well I CAN, but it looks like my 18 month old niece did it.

Anyway - I figured I'm old enough to set goals for myself EVEN though I'm not going to get a reward. I think this might be what they call "being a grown up"

Weekly Goals:
-Track on the weekends. I really good about tracking during the week, I don't track AT ALL on the weekends. And obviously I tend to overboard. If we are off on the weekend, we cook good meals, we lounge around the house, relax, eat desert.. etc.

-Work out on the weekends. I don't work out on the weekends. During the week I work out just about every day and about 2 or 3 times a week, I work out twice a day. I need to get to the gym, take a walk, ride my bike or SOMETHING AT LEAST ONCE on the weekend.

-Attend my cardio kick boxing class twice before weigh in on Monday. This week is tough because I am at show site. When you leave the house at 6 a.m. and don't get back home until 7 or 8 p.m., it's hard to squeeze in a work out. I'm sure some people are hard core and dedicated by not me.

So wish me luck!!! Hopefully I'll have good news to report next week!

Born in the USA - Hell YAH I was!!!

2009-10-11T20:57:00.007-04:00

Steve and Lucia with the LEGENDARY E-STREET BAND
Nitschke and Hovan (our tailgating host)

Lucia and I with Giant Stadium, and the porta potty, behind us

Sooo, as many of you know and are prob sick of hearing, I went to see the Boss this past Friday night. Rich couldn't make the show so it was just me, Nitschke, Lucia and Steve. This was the last concert in Giants Stadium and Bruce was playing his Born in the USA album. (If you remembered - when I saw him last Wednesday, he played his Born to Run album) I don't normally listen to Born in the USA and I forgot what a freakin' AWESOME ALBUM it is!!! It was such a great concert.. and lemme tell ya .. when he hollers "ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR" and the drums and keyboard start playing BORN IN THE USA, you go freakin' bananas!!! I wasn't the only one! Steve said he was probably going to faint when he heard the song and Nitschke shed some tears.

Born in the USA was the first album Springsteen played in the 80's for his FIRST concert at Giant Stadium (which Nitschke attended) so it was a bit emotional for Nitschke... bless his heart.

We had a great time. These yankees ARE SERIOUS about their tail gating. We went to meet up with a friend and he had penne a la vodka, sausage and peppers, and freakin BAR set up, and COSMOS.. and honestly I don't know what else, cause I made the a bee line to the cosmos. Luuv me some martinis. Thank God we only met up with him later cause I would have been face down in the weeds of Meadowlands. Scootch over Hoffa, I need a place to rest!!!

Cross to Bear

2009-10-07T21:05:00.002-04:00

So - Rich has decided NOT to cut his hair... even with everyone telling him it looks much better shorter and one comment that he resembles a serial killer. (Thanks Mom) He said that instead of getting his hair cut, he was just going to start using conditioner. *Sigh* Yeah, conditioner. Whatever, I give up. I'm throwing in the towel.

Rich claims he's keeping his hair long for our trip to Georgia. It's his homage to Greg Allman. Laaaaadies, I know I know, don't be jealous.

Restraining Order

2009-10-06T15:19:00.002-04:00

So - I promise this blog isn't turning into some sort vehicle to stalk Bruce Springsteen. The concert last week was so KICK ASS that I got tickets to see him again this Friday night as well. This is going to be a milestone - the last concert at Giant Stadium. Bruce is playing his "Born in the USA" album.

I'm so excited.. so excited. I can't even tell ya'll. Picture a contestant on "Price is Right" winning the Se bring Convertible or Winnebago with the flat screen t.v., multiply by 10, and that's how excited I am!

Now - I can't decide.. should I get an American Flag bandanna and wear it on my head as a sweat band? Should I cut off the sleeves of a white tshirt and wear some jeans.. in honor of the Boss? I might get picked to dance on stage if I match the American Flag in the background. Hmmmm....

The Promise Land

2009-10-01T10:55:00.007-04:00

I-ah have-ah been-ah to the-ah river-ah and it has washed me clean-ah. (For those of you that haven't been to a fire and brimstone sermon, it's just like a regular sermon but add the "ah" after every word and talk about hell alot. That's pretty much it!)

Last night was the best concert EVER!!! It was absolutely AMAZING! Words cannot describe how incredible it was.. it was practically a religious experience. As soon as he hit the chord for the beginning on Thunder Road, I got a glimpse of just how manic I could be as a fan. I'm talking screaming at the top of my lungs, jogging in place, hysteria!

And Backstreets... oh my god Backstreets. Did you go download the song yet like I told you? Well, hopefully you got the live version, there is one part in the live version where he sings "I hated you when you went AAAHHHHHWAAYYY.. OHHHHH OHHH... ohh yaaaah" (the last part is where he "croons" at the top of his lungs) That is prob my FAVORITE part in any Bruce Song. That part came on.. and it was like it was just me and Bruce in the stadium. I even did the hand motions when I sang that part (you gotta sing along.. you just gotta) You know the hand motion - the one where your hands start by your side, and as your signing along at the top of your lungs, eyes closed of course, your arms go higher, and higher.. slow motion .. very William Dafoe in Platoon...

The Boss played for FOUR FREAKIN' hours!! I barely have the stamina to sing along for four hours, it's incredible that he can! The concert was so amazing, I don't know if I can go see him live again. I don't know if my expectations could live up to last night. Oh, who am I kidding. We're trying to get tickets for the last night. Last concert in Giant Stadium.. that's gonna be a hell of a show!

Tramps Like US!

2009-09-30T10:46:00.003-04:00

Baby we were born to RUUUUUUNNNNN!!!

I got the best news EVA yesterday. We are going to the Bruce Springsteen concert tonight in the Meadowlands and he is playing the "Born to Run" album in it's entirety!! To you know how FREAKIN AWESOME this is going to be? It's his BEST album (in my opinion.. and this is my blog, so that's really all that counts) in his home state! I'm so excited. My 2 favorite Bruce songs are on this album - Thunder Road and Backstreets. If you have never heard these songs before, down load them RIGHT THIS INSTANT on your Ipod. You can thank me later.

This will be my 4th Boss Concert. Seeing him in his "natural Jersey" environment is something else! I love it when he throws out random Jersey landmarks or locations in his songs and the crowd goes wild. It's like he's personally identifying with each and everyone one of us.. even though it's completely generic. For example, last year when we saw him at the Meadowlands he sang "Jersey Girl" There is one line that goes "Down at the shore, everything is alright" The crowd goes freakin' bananas ... THE JERSEY SHORE!!! WE KNOW THAT PLACE!!! BRUCE - OVER HERE, OVER HERE, i'VE BEEN TO SHORE!! YAAAAHHH!!! Same thing when he does AmericaLand and mentions New York City.. Holy shit... I almost passed out with excitement. We think it's ironic or a coincidence. NEW YORK CITY!! i LOVE NEW YORK! I WAS JUST THERE TODAY! I CAN SEE IT FROM HERE! BRUCE I LOVE YOU!!!

Anyway - this might be the best concert that I'm going to in my life! I'm so excited!!! WOOO! Don't be surprised if you see me on Bruce's next video dancing with him on stage.. he does have a soft spot for red heads!!

Vote for your favorite look!

2009-09-28T11:00:00.006-04:00

Long Hair or what I like to call "I won the Air Guitar World Championship"

Short Hair, Nice Hair, Pretty Hair

Rich and I have had some "discussions" regarding his hair. I think he should get his hair cut, he thinks that I'm just jealous because his hair is so luxurious. I'm not even trying to be funny when I say that.. those are literally the words coming out of his mouth. Which A) I'm not jealous and B) if this WERE a competition, I would win because I have great hair.

Friday I "did" his hair for him. He hasn't had a hair cut since the time I buzzed it for him last winter, which was a complete disaster. I put mousse, and smoothing serum in his hair and then dried it. He then informed me that his hair would look good if put a little extra effort into doing it. (I know.. that's sooo wrong on so many levels. I think my eyeballs are going to be in a permanent eye roll. And my new term of endearment is "you're an idiot")

Sooo - since Rich thinks I'm trying to sabotage his beauty, why don't ya'll tell me which hair you like better? Leave a comment!

New Couch (FINALLY)

2009-09-23T13:56:00.005-04:00

Old Couch - BEFORE
New Couch - AFTER

So I'm going to bore ya'll with pictures of my new couch. It took me FIVE YEARS to pick out a couch, so deal with it. Our couch FINALLY arrived on Monday! Those of you who I am friends with on Facebook know that I had some serious reservations about the couch fitting through the door. Well, it did.. thank god. If it didn't, I would probably still be laying in my front yard sobbing.

Anyway - I picked a leather couch. I figured it would last longer and be a bit more stain resistant because SOME PEOPLE in my house spill things. (okay.. mainly it's me and usually my wine..)

I need to get new cushions. I also had a rug but it looked weird with the new table. I moved the rug in another room and I think I've found one I like at JCPenney. (JCPenney has the BEST home stuff!) I love love LOOOOVE the Rooster cushions. I keep looking for cushions and I keep coming back to these. This TOTALLY goes with my somewhat "Cracker Barrel" theme I have going on. (You can't see my "Georgia Wall of Fame" in this picture, but just know that I have one in my living room. Don't be jealous)

P.S. I know my pictures aren't that great. I need to start using a "real" camera instead of my cell phone.

Mary Poppins!!

2009-09-20T19:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday a friend from work called because he had some extra tickets for the matinee of Mary Poppins on Broadway today. Colin was my lucky little guest! (Well, mainly because Beth didn't want to go.. lol! Thank God "Aunt Beth Death", as Colin calls her, was too tired from her trip to Vegas)

This a.m. we got up and went to the city early. I packed us a lunch (to save some $$$) and we ate in Bryant Park. They were dissembling the remnants of Fashion week and since I work in the "Special Events and Tradeshow" field (i'm a glorified carnie) I geek out watching stuff like that!

We moseyed around Times Square and people watched and went into various stores. Colin wanted to into Toys R Us and I have never been in the one at Times square.. very cool! They have a giant Barbie house, a huge T-Rex, all this neat-o stuff. Then I told Colin since I went to his toy store, he was going to have to go to mine.. SEPHORA!!!! There are TWO Sephora stores in Times Square. I dragged Colin into both.. I had to make sure I wasn't missing anything!

The play was AMAZING! First of all, I love the movie Mary Poppins. (Hmmm, who doesn't?) This was also my first Broadway play in NYC. YEs, I know.. I've lived up here long enough to have gone to one but never have. It is incredible all the things they can do to the stage! It was spectacular! I'm so glad we got the opportunity to go! Thanks Tom for the tickets!

What Would Reba Do?

2009-09-18T11:36:00.004-04:00

Some people use the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) as a guide for their life. That's pretty lofty and I wish I could say that I do that, but I do the next best thing.. WWRD. WHAT WOULD REBA DO.

I love love love Reba. (For those of you that live under a rock, I'm talking Reba McIntyre. Country Music Legend, Renowned Actress and Comedian and my very own personal hero.) What is not to love about Reba? She has red hair, her music kicks ass, she has one of the funniest shows on TV.. she's great!

I'm not sure which is my favorite Reba song. I would say it's a toss up between "One Promise too Late" or "Fancy". Reba is so awesome, she can sing a song about a prostitute turning her life around! Who else could do that?

I gotta say too that I'm a little sad that Reba's not wearing her hair so big anymore. I'm definitely subscribe to the "the higher the hair, the closer you are to God" theory. Nothing says Country Music Legend like big hair and lots of sparkles.

If you aren't a fan of Reba, I would encourage you to watch just one of her shows and download some of her music. In an age when the TV is filled with a bunch of crap, she has a wholesome, funny family show that isn't cheesy. You can really see her code of values.

Maybe Reba will read my blog and hire me.. hopefully she won't turn me in for being a creepy fan. LOVE YOU REBA!!!!

Happy Birthday Leah!

2009-09-15T08:46:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Leelee b'day. (Sorry this picture isn't too clear... it was all I had with me) I won't give an age because then people could figure out my age. We still haven't gone out for her b'day yet. She is on a long term assignment and is flying back and forth to Chicago every week. With her schedule, Beth's schedule and my schedule (or lack of) we will probably have to celebrate when we all congregate in Georgia for Thanksgiving. I even got Leah's b'day present on time this year!!! I think that's the first time that has ever happened!

Happy B'day Leah! Love ya!

What's Wrong with this Picture??

2009-09-09T13:05:00.004-04:00

What is wrong with this picture? The answer is NOT that Matthew Mc. is wearing a shirt. Nope - what is wrong is where in the heck is their stuff? Is that tiny little bucket all they brought to the beach? Do they have some fabulous "schelper" who carries their stuff for them? You should see all the shit (I mean essential items) that Rich and I bring to the beach. We have 2 beach bags (one big one for the towels and beach blanket and the other for our wallets, car keys, drink coozies, sun tan lotion, books, ipods, cell phones, hair brush, deodorant, etc.) 1 cooler, 2 beach chairs and 1 umbrella. We are loaded down with stuff walking from our car to the beach. And this isn't just us!!! That's everyone you see going to the beach! Homeless people own less than what it takes for us to go to the beach.. I know we've all seen the poor dad of the family of 4.. especially if that family has 2 small children. It's exhausting just to watch those poor fellas!

Must be nice Matthew, must be nice!

More Dixie Playground Photos

2009-09-08T12:03:00.003-04:00

My Aunt Lea is going to kill me for uploading these photos (I would say Grandma Betty too but we've never ever done anything bad enough for Gma to get mad. Heaven help us if we do! Gma could catch us with a bloody knife over a dead body and she'd just make us some breakfast because we were obviously "out of sorts" and pat our hand!)

Anyway - these pictures just make me laugh. I guess we are little bit more laid back in the South. I remember cutting the grass when I was 10 years old.. now no one dream of letting a child near a lawn mower at such a tender age. A few years ago, I suggested that Colin and his little friend ride in the back of Rich's truck on the way home. You should have heard the gasps of horror! You would have thought I suggested that we take Colin and run him over 10 times. Apparently it is illegal to ride in the back of a truck up here.. they don't even let you carry your dog in the back! I spent half my life riding in the back of my dad's truck.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T12:23:00.002-04:00

Whhhaaazzzup guys? (Did I even spell that right? There is nothing more horrifying than a middle age person trying to be young and cool... but basically, that is YALL'S cross to bear, not mine.. hahaha)

We went to the beach this weekend. We got a late start on Friday because ummmm, it took me a while to clean up from Book Club. Like all freakin' day... OKAY, OKAY.. I won't lie. Book Club kicked my ass. I had a hangover that would make a roadie from Motley Crue proud. Good God.. I'm not even sure what book we are reading next, when our next meeting is.. and even if I am still allowed back to the club (and I started it!) As usual, Rich made EXCELLENT appetizers. We had tempura friend chicken fingers with different dipping sauces, grilled veggies with a sherry vinaigrette, grilled pizza with a home made roasted tomato sauce, and grilled steak bruschietta with broccoli rabe (that's sorta like yankee collard greens.. I hadn't had them until I moved up here.) Rich had to run out for a fire call and then Beth and I jumped into the kitchen.

Saturday we went to the beach all day and yesterday, because it was overcast, stayed holed up in the trailer and watched "Band of Brothers" Marathon. There is something about the trailer lifestyle that really makes you want to lounge in your pj's all day. We aren't fully integrated to the style yet.. there are still some tell tale signs. 1) Rich wears a shirt 2) we don't smoke 3) we weren't drinking canned beer for b'fast. But a person always needs goals. Maybe next year.

Today, I'm going to try something different. I'm going to make a Menu Plan. I have friends on other blogs that do it every week. I don't have the energy or the know-how to post it but it seems like a good idea. Rich and I normally shop for what we need for dinner that day... I'm going to try it b/c I have all these recipes that I have cut out, pasted in a notebook, but still have not cooked. I know- that's pretty lame. Don't get me wrong.. we eat WELL here. Rich whips up the most amazing food and I do okay (as long as there is no stupid crock pot involved) I'm more of a "concept" person though. I like the idea of cooking but then halfway into it, I'm like screw this.. I'd rather be reading on the couch with a glass of wine. We also don't have a dishwasher, so I don't even attempt anything that will dirty alot of dishes.

Anyway - I'll give this meal plan a try this week. We shall see.

Why Hath Thou Forsaken Me?

2009-09-02T21:36:00.002-04:00

Crockpots are stupid and I think mine is broken. The crockpot claims to make your life easy.. just throw the ingredients in the pot and you'll have a great meal. All I have to say is bull s&^t!!! Everything I have stuck in a crock pot has come out tasting like something you would scrap off the bottom of your tennis shoe after spending the afternoon walking in New York City...yah, that gross.

The only thing I CAN make in the crock pot is bbq.. I only think that is because the crock pot recognizes the dixie in my blood and is scared to go up against it. But chicken?... sawdust. Pot Roast? Pot Ass is more like it.

Anyway - I'm super close to drop kicking my stupid crock pot. Go away and quit taunting my lack of cooking abilities.. You think you are SOOO funny.. taunting me like that. Yeah sure, everyone should be able to throw something in a pot and let it cook unsupervised for 8 hours. You suck crockpot!!

Fine Line

2009-09-01T19:20:00.002-04:00

My sister went to a wedding this weekend. I looove weddings.. love 'em. Not the ceremony part (BOR -- ING!) but the party part! Nothing is more fun than getting dressed up and going to eat appetizers all night, drink beer and dance.

Before I go to a wedding.. I do have to prep. There is a FINE LINE I must traverse.. like a tight rope ...while I am at a wedding. Let me start by saying that I am a self conscious dancer. Shocking.. I know. Someone that is as loud, obnoxious, attention grabbing as myself hates the attention that I so obviously crave. HOWEVER... I love to dance. It's a dilemma alright. (Last night I downloaded some new music and went on a walk. I walked for 30 minutes but was gone for 45.. I spent 15 minutes in my mud room dancing like a maniac.)

Yah baby - I got moves alright. Moves that will end me up on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Back to the wedding.. when I go to a wedding, I need to have JUST enough to drink so that I can dance BUT not so much that I'm the talk of the wedding/family/town for years to come. There is no science to achieving this goal.. and truth be told.. I haven't yet. The wedding invitations, while so plentiful years ago, have come to a screeching halt. Ohh, I've got friends getting married, but word has gotten out. No one wants some fat girl on the dance floor (with the crowd cheering "Go White Girl, Go White Girl" )trying to clog like she was trying out for Hee-Haw.

So - the wedding season is winding down but here are some "don'ts" for you to learn from.. take my tails of humiliation.. let it be a reminder to you. If I can help just ONE person from being a jack ass, my job will have been successful.

1. Never take a person with the nick name "Meat Sauce" to a wedding with relatively new co-workers.
2. If you have a date being an idiot (such as meat sauce) feel free to leave him immediately. Do not, REPEAT, do not think he just needs some water or coffee.
3. Do not try to console the bride with the words "don't worry, this won't happen at your next wedding" when your idiot date crashes into the bride and grooms table.
4. Do not give the bride's little brother wine coolers (thinking that no one could possibly get drunk on wine coolers) just so he'll quit asking you to dance. Realize that the 15 year old boy was probably a much better choice than the lame-o you brought as your date.
5. Don't brag that you can do "the worm" .. especially if you are one of the bridesmaids.
6. Don't pack a cooler in the trunk of your car because you are worried the reception will run out of booze. That doesn't happen at receptions.. and then don't invite everyone back to your car for a party when the bride leaves. (and don't' hang out with people that will actually show up)
7. When your (male) date tells your (male) co worker that he has a pretty mouth - leave immediately. (Also important that your male co worker tells you what happened RIGHT AWAY as opposed to waiting until MONDAY! Also, don't cry. Note that the crying wasn't because your date was hitting on a guy, but that uhh helloo, you looked sooo much better than the co worker. What the hell?)
8. Don't try to prove that someone is wearing a toupee by trying to dance it off of him.
9. Don't, don't, don't request Freebird and don't wear you dates tie as a head band to push back your hair cause you are dancing so hard.
10. Don't invite me to your wedding.

Nerd Herd

2009-08-31T13:26:00.008-04:00

The Nerd Herd's entertainment for the weekend.

We went down to the beach this weekend. (I know.. I write the same post every week...) It rained purdy dang hard on Friday and Saturday a.m. Then the clouds blew away and we were left with a BEAUTIFUL afternoon. We went to the beach on Saturday around 4 pm and stayed until 7:30 or 8. I think I have said before that that is my favorite time on the beach. Sunday we got up and headed in and spent all day as well.

Colin starts school next week. He still has one book left to read for the summer. I am the book reading NAZI at our house. Read, read, read! I got a book on CD that I thought Rich and Colin would both enjoy for our ride down to the beach to a) make the time go by quicker and b) be slightly educational for Colin. The book I chose was by Lee Child. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this author. He has a series out with a main character called Jack Reacher. Reacher used to be a cop in the military until he was discharged. Now he roams the United States being a total bad ass. Colin would love the bad ass part, military part, etc. Yeah, I know it's not Charlie and the Chocolate factory but whatever.

Rich was complaining the whole time about the book on CD.. he didn't want to listen to it.. he called us nerds, etc. etc. Whining whining whining. I put the first CD on and we hit the road. Low and behold, Rich was hooked. He was driving us to our destinations slowly so he could hear more of the story. Saturday night we got back from dinner and Rich wanted to bring the CD inside. We ended up putting the book on CD on our radio speaker in the trailer and staying up until 2 a.m. listening to all the disks. Who is the nerd now?

We are now a geeky, nerdy family that does stuff like this! I used to stay up until 2 a.m partying.. now I'm listening to books on CD. Oh well. It was fun and I've got a good CD picked out for us next weekend!

Beth's Homecoming Date!

2009-08-26T20:39:00.003-04:00

Last night, after work, we went to our favorite after work hangout - Tony G's - and then to our favorite restaurant - Franco's. By "we", I mean Beth, Leah, Bill Burns and myself.

I love Bill Burns. He is prob one of the funniest guys I have ever met. Bill wanted to leave work around 3 p.m. today to go to Tony G's but I was too busy to leave. I told him to go bug Beth into going.. Bill, looking very dapper today in his suit, said some folks may mistake him and Beth being on a date, since Beth was wearing a dress (hence, the picture above.. after a few glasses of wine.)

When I first moved to this area and got the job at GES, I didn't know anyone. Bill was one of the first people at my company to make me feel welcome. He was also my "wingman" or "partner in crime." I would always go to Bill's office and ask if he wanted to go out after work and he would always accompany me. I don't if he just enjoyed my company (HA) or, more likely, the company of his Coors lite but he was literally my first friend up here. He's such a fun guy and literally the life of the party. Love ya Bill!

A Ride on the Delaware

2009-08-26T20:32:00.005-04:00

Sunday afternoon we went on a ride on Joe's new boat...the Dixie Livin'. Joe took us out on the Delaware River and we saw Philly, the Walt Whitman bridge and the SS New Jersey. We had a fun ride!

Before and After

2009-08-24T22:07:00.007-04:00

So, I had today off and I did some changes around the house. Rich and I have the world's oldest couch. I've been literally looking for a couch for about a year. I finally picked something out this weekend and it opened the flood gates for more house hold changes. Its been hard for me to pick things out because we have a "unique" living space... and it gets hard. I work alot and travel alot and then in the summer we go to the beach every weekend, you just run out of time or steam. I also keep holding out hoping I'll find different and unique items. I start looking for stuff...then have a show, work alot of hours, then get back on track, just want to relax.. it's a vicious cycle and now 5 years later, I bought the new couch that I swore I would get rid of within 6 months of moving in with Rich.

This weekend I went to Mom's and she gave me her coffee table. It's an family antique. She also gave me 2 kitchen chairs that went with the table. (The coffee table was originally a kitchen table and my step dad cut it down.) I bought a kitchen table from Ikea. Everything else I re did was just using other things in the house.

Kitchen Before: A big table. I reupholstered those chairs several years ago. The chairs were falling apart and our kitchen is TINY (if you can't tell from the photo)

Kitchen After: Used a rolling cart that was in another room. I'm not sure what I think of the black table but it gives us more room. Don't be jealous of the yellow tile. You can't see it from this picture but the cabinets are white. They used to be yellow but I painted them. Just about everything in my kitchen is red. Red dishes, red towels, red rugs. Red is also a main color I use throughout the rest of the house (red, chocolate brown, and SOME green.. not forest green but grass green) There are still a few things that I need to do in the kitchen but that's another project for the fall. Another angle of the kitchen "after": You can see the chairs Mom gave me. Also, that's a basil plant on the table.. it's literally days away from death.
TV Stand Before: Yeah, I know.. 1992 wants it tv back. We're not going to buy a new t.v. until this one dies. This one is perfectly fine.. it's just big and heavy.

TV Stand After: I used a rolling tea cart that was in my dining room. Mom also gave me my dining room furniture. There is buffet that goes with it.. it has a TON of drawers.. Mom has been trying to give it to me for 2 years but I haven't had room for it. Now, since I'm using the tea cart as a tv stand, I do have room! I put the old tv stand in Colin's room (it goes with book cases, that I also put in Colin's room. I was never a big fan of that unfinished wood look.)

Couch Before: I ordered a couch. It won't be coming until October but that's okay. I've waited this long, what's a few more weeks.

Couch After: You can see the round coffee table below. I moved the rug into our spare room. I need to get a larger one. It looked really weird with the round table. I moved the side table beside our desk b/c it was too cluttered by the couch. Also, if you can see the red jug on the coffee table, I'm using that as the "remote" holder for right now... I'm not sure if I like it but I don't have anywhere to put it until I get the buffet.. haha.

So Colin and I were pretty busy today. Colin also went through all his old toys, he is taking his old toy box to his Mom's for his little brothers. Love it!!! Love love love getting rid of old crap. I've got some project ideas for the fall.... I've picked out a new desk, however, it's from Ikea. After spending the past 3 hours putting together that tiny kitchen table, I'm not sure if I can put together a desk. I might pay one of our NYC tradeshow carpenters (can't afford their rates.. but I can pay in beer) to come do it for me.

Dixie Playground

2009-08-23T20:33:00.004-04:00

Are you ready for some Football?

2009-08-21T11:40:00.003-04:00

Football season is getting ready to start!! Woo hoo!!

I'm so old.. my coozies never used to hold water.. only beer. I'll be hitting the buffets early for senior discounts before I know it!

Weight Watchers Wednesday - Friday Edition

2009-08-21T11:32:00.003-04:00

Okay, so this hasn't been a good few weeks. I gained 2 lbs. I'm still sticking. I've been at show site in the city all week. (Part of my job is client entertainment. We go to some great dinners.. but it's hard for your diet.) I'm not exercising regularly, although I am on my feet all day and walking around. This week was really hard because it was EXTREMELY hot in NYC, the air conditioning is not on when we are moving in and out. By the time I get home, all I want to do is take a cold shower and lay in front of the air conditioner in my bra and underwear. Meals are hard to plan because I may or may not be going out with the client. I usually pack my lunch for the first few days and then quit because of long hours.

Anyway, I'm back on track. I love love love the online Weight Watchers tracker. You can also get it on your phone. I have to do the tracker every single day to keep myself on target.

This is slow going but it will be worth it. Hell, I'll be happy to get to my weight that I was before that I gained the weight. (I was my skinniest about 4 years ago.) I'm never going to be one of those stick thin people.. I'm just not built like that. I have big boobs, muscular legs.. I'm never going to be "svelte" I swear if I didn't have big boobs, I'd look a hell of alot skinnier.. and could jog without wearing 2 sports bra, and swing a baseball bat... etc. No one is ever happy with their figure are they?

J-Bob and Will at Gma's!

2009-08-16T21:36:00.002-04:00

JBob and Will spent the day at Gma's. I know this b/c everytime the kids spend time with anyone in the family, Aunt Lea sends me her picasso album with about 45 pictures! LOL! I love it though! She can also shoot videos on the phone. It's so cute to see them on video too. I miss these little rotten cuties.

Book Nerd

2009-08-10T14:52:00.003-04:00

In case many of you haven't figured it out... I'm a BIG book nerd. I LOVE TO READ. It's my favorite thing to do. I normally read about 3-5 books a week. I read while I eat b'fast, I read while I'm on the stair master at the gym, when I get home in the evening, I "decompress" by pouring a glass of wine or a glass of tea and reading. After dinner and our walk, Rich watches t.v. and I read.. then I go to bed and read. I always have a book in my purse in case I'm unavoidably detained somewhere so I have something to do. I listen to books on CD's in my car... I mean, you get it....book nerd.

Pat Conroy's new novel is coming out tomorrow and he hasn't had a new book in 14 years. I have my Barnes and Noble coupon and I'm going there are the way home from work tomorrow. He is my favorite writer. I'm so excited.. you see, cause I'm a book nerd....

If I didn't have a show moving in tomorrow in NYC, I would probably take a vacation day on Wednesday so I could read this book. (Book NERD!!!)

My poor boyfriend.. he thought he was getting a good time lovin' red head and instead he got this geeky nerd with her nose pressed in a book. I tried to get him into my book on CD when we drove to the trailer this weekend but he wasn't having it. (I'm currently listening to the last Harry Potter book. I read it a while ago but I wanted to "brush up" because I just saw the new Harry Potter movie. Books on CD are great b/c you don't mind getting stuck in traffic and they make your commute go by in a flash! I rent them from my library.)

I got my library card up here about a year ago. I KNOW I KNOW... I was spending a crazy amount of money on books. (Hell - it wasn't like it was crack rock though) My library is awesome b/c you can request books and they send you an email when they arrive. You don't have to spend any extra time in the library.. which is very un-book nerdish of me I know. I could spend a day in Barnes and Noble but the library.. no thanks. It smells funny... like the crazy cat lady house, plus it seems to have more than it's fair share of weirdos.

I'll let you know how the book turns out!! If you haven't read any of Pat Conroy's stuff - I suggest Beach Music. It's my all time favorite novel! (Don't worry, I know it's practically sacrilegious for Southern Gal's favorite novel NOT to be Gone with the Wind..but don't worry, Margaret Mitchell is up there in my top five and Conroy is a southern boy!)

Poor Rich!!

2009-08-07T11:50:00.003-04:00

Rich Before!

Rich After!

We have been going to our trailer every weekend for the past month. We are complete and total beach dwellers. We wake up early, run to WaWa to get out beach supplies for the day. (Love WAWA! I've talked about them before! They also have made to order sandwiches, which is great for my diet. I can pick and chose what I want. I get the same thing every time - a creation that is only 7 points. I eat half for b'fast and save the other half for lunch. AND IT'S ONLY $3.99!!!! You can't beat that with a stick! It's cheaper for the 2 of us to just stop at Wawa than it is to make this at the trailer and pack it.) Anyway - I got off on a tangent about Wawa... I love that place.

We go to the beach very early (normally arriving around 9 a.m.) and stay pretty late. We are normally there until 7 p.m. My favorite time on the beach is from about 5 p.m. until the sun sets. I bring plenty of things to amuse myself.. mostly just books. On a full day at the beach, I read either 2 or 3 books.

Poor Rich starts hiding under his towel starting around noon and doesn't emerge until 5 p.m. He says it doesn't bother him but lord knows he has to be hot. Last week we were cleaning out the trailer and we found an umbrella in one of the storage bins. Holy crap! Neither one of us remembers buying it. This is our 6th summer with the trailer so we could have forgotten but poor Rich has been hiding under his towel when all this time he could have been sitting under the cool shade of the beach umbrella. Sorry babe!

Next Month's Book Club Pick

2009-08-04T11:27:00.002-04:00

This month it is Leah's turn to pick a book. She picked "How to Be Lost" by Amanda Eyre Ward. Rich is all over this next meeting! The next day after our book club last week, Rich was already working on his menu for September. He's going to NEED me to taste test all his ideas.. it's a dirty job but someone has to do it. I'm even buying him a notebook so he can keep track of all his ideas and recipes! (Speaking of.. last night for dinner he make stuffed chicken breasts. He stuffed them with some sort of olive mixture and then created a roasted tomato and onion sauce that went over them. YUM!!)

We need a name for our Book/Wine Club. We've been doing this for 2 years and we haven't come up with a name yet. Any suggestions?

Weight Watchers Friday

2009-07-31T14:21:00.003-04:00

I haven't quit Weight Watchers!! I lost another pound this week. I've been so busy I haven't been going to the meetings but still tracking online and then weighing myself at the gym. I've been working out during my lunch break and I LOVE IT! I've been really sticking to the work outs.. it's so HARD to go before work and by the end of the day, it's so EASY to talk yourself out of going. Lunch is perfect. You get a break from work, you get some energy to last you for the rest of the day, and it's easier to stick with the program.

Anyway - I lost a pound this week, making my grand total 18 lbs! Woo hoo! Thank god I weighed in before last night. We have leftover Pecan Pie from book club that I'm going to have to throw away because it keeps calling my name.. I had a freakin' slice for breakfast!

Book and Wine Club

2009-07-31T14:13:00.003-04:00

We had book/wine club last night. This month's book was "Queen of the Road" by Doreen Orion. What a fun book! It is about a couple who take a year off work and travel the United States in their RV. Let me say that this is Rich's and mine DREAM! I told him he has to read this book.

We hosted book club at my house. Normally we have it at Beth and Leah's but they just moved to a new place and still haven't gotten a couch. (Their schedule is so crazy this summer... they simply haven't had time to get a couch.) Rich made our "appetizers" for us and he put us all to shame! Most of the time we have some fruit, wheat thins and hummus, maybe someone makes something special, most of the time we don't. Rich did an awesome job. We are now officially spoiled. We can never go back to book club the way it was before. Below is what he made. Do you folks see why I have such a hard time dieting???

-Seafood Quiche
-Tempura battered deep friend veggies. (By far the best way to eat your veggies!)
-Brie wrapped in puff pastry with raspberry jam melted on top
-Sliders - with Cheddar cheese and a red onion jam (home made)
-Mini Cubans. (He roasted a whole pork shoulder all day to get the pork for the sandwiches)
-Fruit platter
-Home made Pecan Pie (MY FAVORITE PIE IN THE WORLD!!)
-Home made mini cannolis

Dixie Livin'

2009-07-27T22:10:00.003-04:00

Joe got a new boat a few weeks back. He christened it "Dixie Livin'" He is certainly Dixie Livin' with my Mom. Haha!

Coupons

2009-07-22T11:09:00.002-04:00

So we've been looking at ways to try and save money. Rich has been doing all our laundry, I've been washing my clothes that are dry clean only on the gentle cycle, I've also resorted to ironing my own stuff (I am now truly a victim of the economy. I haven't ironed my own stuff since I started working at IBM in '98. Seriously, I hate to iron. I don't even own an ironing board. I ironed at my Mom's this past weekend. I've got to go to Target tonight and buy a board.) I don't mean to sound like a Diva, I just suck an ironing. Also, I used to travel alot more than I do right now. When I first started at GES, I had to go out and buy a month supply of underwear and socks b/c I was traveling too much to do laundry.

Anyway - we are trying to save money where we can. I've been looking at all these blog sites about saving $$ while grocery shopping. I've been trying to do a meal plan each week. We're trying to use cheaper cuts of meat, buy meat and freeze it, use the store brand. Anyway - yesterday I went to the grocery store with several coupons that I downloaded from the Internet and MY GROCERY STORE DOESN'T TAKE INTERNET COUPONS!!!! And it's just not this particular grocery store, I also called the other store that I don't like to go too b/c they never have any buggies and they don't have a buggy corral in the parking lot.. and they don't accept Internet coupons either!! What the hell!!! Is this normal or this some stupid yankee grocery store thing? God - I miss Pub lix and Kroger!!!

Beach Weekend

2009-07-19T21:06:00.005-04:00

In case you can't see the sign - it says water temp is 58 degrees!!!
Colin and Rich "playing" in the 58 degree water. They tried to encourage me to go in by "claiming" it was refreshing...no thanks!

Rich bundled up on the beach. The water was "refreshing" but apparently sitting in the sun was too cold. HA!

Colin unfortunately found himself a target for the freakin' GIGANTIC Sea Gulls on the beach. They pooped on his arm and also stole his BLT out of his hand.

I took Thursday and Friday off and headed down to our camper. Rich and Colin went down Tuesday so they had 2 full days before I got there. We went to the beach on both days. I left around lunch time on Friday and went to Mom's house for the remainder of the weekend. Beth came down and we went to the pool, did our laundry, saw Harry Potter and watched several movies that Mom and Joe have on their sweet movie system. (I'm not smart enough to figure it out, but they have something like 600 movies on their home server which is subdivided into categories, you just pick the category and then pick the movie. It's pretty cool.)

I left Rich and Colin (yes... they were not too sad. They complain when I come down b/c I make them do things like bathe, brush their teeth and put on pants.) Steve and Lucia came down on Friday. They are still at the camper and will travel back tomorrow. Apparently every thing in our camper decided to break down at once. None of the problems are VERY severe, knock on wood, the only thing concerning us is the slow leak out of the ummmm, black water tank. (It's exactly what you think it is....) The reason Rich found this out is because the air conditioning went out and they opened the windows. Colin thought perhaps someone dumped a dead body on the side of our camper (the smell is similar) but it was the black water leak. I'm glad I wasn't there because I have weak stomach and an even weaker gag reflex. (If I'm hungover, I can only brush the front part of my teeth and I cant' wear at turtleneck.. it's that bad!)

Anyway - it was a great weekend! Hopefully everything is cheap to fix, if not, well we can get creative somehow. I've always been a fan of dried beans and peanut butter and jelly.

Happy Birthday Austin!!!!

2009-07-12T14:25:00.009-04:00

Allie and Austin getting ready to celebrate Austin's B'day.

J-Bob joining in the B'day festivities.

Happy Birthday Austin! I hope you had a great day! Hopefully you don't regret the day Allie introduced you to her crazy family! (haha.. you are stuck now!!!!! There is no turning back!) Thanks for taking care of my cousin!!

P.S - Allie- love your shoes!!! Can I borrow them when I come home for Thanksgiving?

Happy Fourth!

2009-07-04T21:37:00.004-04:00

Happy Fourth! Rich is working at the firehouse today because of all the fireworks. Company no. 1 had a big bbq and went up there for the afternoon. I just finished packing, I'm relaxing with a book and a glass of wine, getting ready for HELL WEEK! Once this week is over, I am smooth sailing until December. I'm so ready for this show to be over. It's been a stressful few months but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Happy 4th everyone! Band of Brothers was on the History Channel this week. (This might be one of my favorite shows. Everytime it is on, I'm glued to the TV.) Everytime I watch the show, besides losing 5 pounds because of all the crying, I'm completely and utterly amazed at the sacrifices individuals have made for our freedom. We live in a great country! Happy 4th of the July! (CUE the FREE BIRD!! I've only heard it 55 times today.. apparently this is the 4th anthem up north. I've heard this song more times today than "Proud to be an American" Nothing says FREEDOM like a kick ass guitar solo by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Sous Chef

2009-07-04T21:32:00.003-04:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while. There is something with my Iphone that does not transfer the last picture that I took. I don't know why.. I don't get it.. but yet, I don't care enough to call the help line.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, Colin and I made Rich an excellent dinner for his b'day. Colin is holding the appetizer which he did completely on his own. Tomatoes, mozzarella, watermelon and balsamic vinegar cooked until it was a syrup-y. We also stuffed a flank steak with basil and prosciutto, and had green beans tossed in garlic and olive oil. Colin stayed in the kitchen and did most of the cooking. (Hopefully the day will arrive where he will BEG me to cook by himself.. buwahahahahaha.. my evil plan is working!)

Watermelon Mimosa

2009-07-03T20:09:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure if it's really a mimosa if there is no orange juice.. This morning I had a half of watermelon sitting in the fridge. I'm going out of town so I didn't know what to do with it so it wouldn't go bad. I cut it up into chunks, threw it in a Ziploc freezer bag and then threw it in the freezer. Rich is in the kitchen as I type this slaving over the hot stove making our dinner. I got the idea to make us some watermelon seltzers as a nice refreshing drink. I stuck the watermelon in the blender to liquefy it for our healthy seltzers for dinner..and then I was like DUH!!! I'll stick it in some champagne and it's like health drink! It's delicious! Eating all my fruits and veggies in 1 day is much easier if I consume them this way.

What's sexier than a man cookin? (Uhh, possibly cleaning... ohh yeah baby, scrub that floor! You know how I like it!) We're having pork chops. He's grilling the chops, placing a spring/spinach salad mix on top. He grilled up some peaches and then created a sauce with their juice, cinnamon, a touch of butter and brandy. I just had a bite.. yum! He's topping it off with some crumbled goat cheese. Nice right? We eat soooo much better when he cooks. Last night I made something that Sandra Lee had made on her "Eating on a Budget" or whatever show. It was a bit odd. The idea is to eat the meal and use some of it in another recipe for lunch or leftovers the next day. We ended up not having seconds, not re-using, and eating a bowl of cereal later. Oh well. You win some, and then you lose some.

Happy 4th Everyone! Have fun! I'm traveling for work to Boston and then Providence for work. Have a good week!

I can't help it!!!

2009-06-30T21:51:00.002-04:00

I can't help it! I know I'm partial to family pictures.. but gosh darn, aren't these cute??? Granted.... it's the evening, and I've had a few glasses of wine, but J-Bob is so cute! I just can't stand it!!

I've been tagged!!

2009-06-29T11:19:00.002-04:00

My friend Mandy Mac tagged me on her blog. This is a bit like a chain letter but it's the perfect procrastination tool. I normally read celebrity gossip websites when I need a break from work, but I'm absolutely SICK of hearing about Michael Jackson. I really don't care. I can't wait for all this hoopla to die down so I can go back to seeing what bikini Kate Gosslin is wearing in her driveway and if Jen Aniston and Bradley Cooper are dating.. you know, the important stuff!!!

8x8

Things I'm looking foward to:
1. My show that moves in next week to be OVER!
2. Thanksgiving: I'm going home to Georgia for a WHOLE WEEK!
3. Going to the beach on the weekends when I'm not working.
4. Finding that PERFECT kitchen table.. it is alluding me, but I will find.. don't you worry!
5. 4th of July (I don't have plans but I'm sure something will come along.)
6. Next week being OVER! (Did I say that already.. well it needs to count twice!)
7. Seeing all my nephews and nieces when I go home!

Things I did yesterday:
1. Read 2 books
2. Took a nap
3. Couldn't sleep so got up and worked at 2 a.m.
4. Drove back from my Mom's house in Philly. (Well, technically Rich drove)
5. Put up clean laundry
6. Didn't burn anything (but that's mostly b/c I didn't cook)
7. Went to the library, but then realized it was closed, and then got mad b/c we pay all these taxes, have to pay to park, and they can't keep the dang library open for 5 hours on Sunday? What the hell?

Things I wish I could do:
1. Make more money
2. Not get so stressed about work
3. Figure out how to make a bottle of wine last all week.
4. Lose weight.. or rather, not like food. That would be best. My love affair with bread and pasta never grows stale.
5. Buy a new couch.. seriously, mine is hideous. I actually need a new couch, entertainment center and desk area.
6. Be on that show "What Not to Wear" That would be sooooo awesome! I love Stacy and Clinton and they could help be buy fabulous clothes!
7. Have more patience... and not want to inexplicably want to run over ill-mannered thoughtless pedestrians in my town that don't use the crosswalk, may attention to the lights, or the other cars in the road. Jerks.

Shows I Watch: (This is an easy one)
1. Top Chef
2. Rescue Me
3. Real Housewives of __________ (all of them!)
4. What Not to Wear
5. Anything on Food Network
6. 30 Rock
7. The Office

Favorite Foods: (Another easy one)
1. ITALIAN!!! I love pasta! There is sooo much great italian up here!
2. MEXICAN! There is NO mexican up here.. so sad.
3. Anything my Grandma makes. Nothing is ever better. The key is to tell Shawn dinner is 30 minutes later than it is, so the rest of us can eat. Stupid punk.
4. Anything Rich makes. He's a great cook. He can whip up these fancy meals super quick and easy, and they are soo delicious!
5. Our office does these "potluck" days and "bake offs" ... they are getting to be bad for my ass!
6. Anything at Book Club. Is the food great or are we just wasted? Not sure....
7. Taco Bell (I know.. but I love it!)

Places I've traveled:
1. Lower Alabama (most recent trip)
2. Texas
3. California
4. Chicago
5. Wyoming
6. South Dakota
7. JERSEY SHORE BABY!!
(This is an easy one.. I travel alot for work and also several years ago, Beth and I went on a cross country road trip. We camped out and traveled the US in my sweet Saturn!)

Places I'd like to travel:
1. Ireland
2. Paris
3. Greece
4. Italy
5. Thailand
6. North Carolina Barrier Islands
7. Maine

People I tag:
1. Mom on a Mission (My friend from High school Val)
2. Polka Dots and Pinstripes (My sorority sis Amy)
3. Keeping up with the Kosters (My sorority sis Susan)
4. Lauren's London Adventures (My Cousin Lauren)
5. Green Kiddos (My friend from High school Steph)
6. Ekmik Var Mi (My friend from High school Elizabeth)
7. Maggie Mae and Mason (My sorority sis Bree)

I just can't stand it!!!

2009-06-25T13:28:00.001-04:00

This picture is so darn cute that I can't hardly stand it!!!!!

So Stupid!!!

2009-06-22T16:33:00.002-04:00

Soo, as I was just typing the post below, I kept smelling something fantastic but then I started smelling a little burning. I thought maybe the neighbor next door was grilling something and it got out of hand. I got up from the computer and went to the kitchen to look out the window because it over looks into the neighbors back yard and that's when I realized the smell and SMOKE was from MY KITCHEN!! I forgot I put chicken breasts in the oven. Son of a bitch.

To all the Father's that I know!!!!

2009-06-22T15:53:00.010-04:00

Dad and all his Grandkids (B.C: Before Carley)
G'dad Dave and myself

G'dad Bob taking Colin for a ride on his Goldwing

Rich and Colin getting ready for the Mets Game on Father's Day

My Brother-in-Law Troy with Gage!

Shawn and Will!

My Step-Dad Joe at Yosemite this week

Happy Father's Day to all my family members that are fathers! (Hopefully we can add Austin to the list next year! hahahaha. Just kidding! I'm not trying to start a family rumor.) Allie is going to kill me for saying that. At least she will understand the pressure Beth and I are under. Uhh, Allie - your Mom HAS grandkids. You don't have to hear about how your Mom is taking up Golf because she has no grandkids to keep her busy. Also, your Mom doesn't drag out the first dress she made for you when you were a baby, when your boyfriend comes to visit FOR THE SECOND TIME and listen to how she's saving it.. JUST IN CASE! You, Lauren and Sarah need to THANK Shawn for accidentally getting his fiancee pregnant, sneaking off to get married 3 weeks later, pretending that it was just b/c they didn't want a big wedding. To this day I'm still shocked that Mom, Aunt Lea and Grandma were shocked that she was pregnant. DUH! Who does that that isn't PREGNANT!? If there is anything our family loves, it's a themed wedding with the opportunity to run into ex's.. husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. But in our special way, that just makes us an even closer family. (I was trying to explain to my niece Gracie how Cousin allie is related to her... she's her step-grandfather's, ex-wife's sister's daughter... I didn't tell her that. I just said that she just WAS and to quit asking so many damn questions.)

Ohhh- kay, I went off on tangent. This post is to celebrate all you Dad's out there! We have a great wonderful family! I love you all! Thank you for being so great!

Happy Birthday Rich!!!

2009-06-19T12:07:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was Rich's birthday. We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. We are going to a place that we have both been DYING to try.. Cafe Matisse in Rutherford. They have a tasting menu and have gotten great reviews.

This is going to sound corny and cheesy but Rich and I have really found a partner with each other. I think through everything else, we are great friends. We have the same (sick-o) sense of humor, and we just really enjoy each other's company. We can sit and talk FOR HOURS! Last night was a perfect example, we stayed up until 2 a.m. talking. Uhh hello, it's not like I don't see him every day. We laugh, we kid each other, we just have a really really good time with each other. Even if we doing something boring like grocery shopping or laundry, it doesn't seem like a "chore" because we are having a good time. And don't worry, we're not cheesy.. if you see us in public, you don't want to gag. We don't skip around town in matching sweater sets or ride tandem bicycles or feed each other in public (or private for that matter.)

We're also big foodies. (The proof is in the size of my ass.) We love Top Chef, Food Network, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. We are always trying new recipes, new restaurants. We're food nerds. (And Trade show Nerds)

Happy Birthday Rich! Love you with all my heart.. even your grubby children. (Uhh helloooo- I hate kids. I swore last week I wanted my ovaries to turn to dust.) Even Colin who has to inform me about childbirth because somehow this 12 year old kid has more knowledge than me. ("Uhh, Mar, it's apart of life. You just need to accept it".. little shit)

I'm so glad we are together. Love ya babe!

Facelift

2009-06-18T09:13:00.002-04:00

My blog needs a face lift. I wish I could think of a cool header... most of you know that I'm NEGATIVELY creative. Meaning, if you are a creative person, and you are near me, I just might SUCK the creativeness from you into some hideous void. Everyone has super cute blogs with cute backgrounds and cute headers. I would love to have a cute header... something southern yet something that reflects that I'm living up north. Hmmm. Any ideas - feel free to let me know.

Annual Family Vacation Pictures

2009-06-16T12:55:00.017-04:00

Annual Family Vacation

2009-06-16T12:33:00.006-04:00

My parents always rent a house at the beach every summer for a week. This year it was Daddy, Deb, Leah, Beth, myself, Elisha AND Elisha's 3 cuties - Carley, Gage and Gracie. Cousin Allie and Leah's friend Jules came down mid week as well. We spent our days laying on the beach, reading, relaxing, taking long walks, and just enjoying each other's company. This year we went to Fort Morgan, Alabama. (That is about 35 minutes away from Gulf Shores.) It was perfect. I have never vacationed in the fine state of Alabama before. Everyone makes fun of the South up here... and I'm from the deep South... Even we make fun of Alabama. (Why does the wind blow to the west? Cause Bama SUCKS!)

Okay - I can't figure out how to make the pictures come AFTER the posting.. Can anyone give me some pointers? The post below are the pictures. Here are some trip highlights.

-Visiting Flora-bama! Words cannot describe this redneck place.

-Sharing the "girls" room with Beth, Allie and Gracie.

-Spending the week with my adorable nephews and nieces. There were times when I told Rich I hoped my ovaries turned to dust because kids are HARD.. but it was worth the quality time!

-Massive head wound Leah getting into a fight with a curtain rod (and losing.)

-Wearing SPF 50 and still getting tan. (We were like 2' from the sun! I swear!)

-Skinny girl margaritas: I don't think I can drink another one ever EVER again.

-Listening to Dad holler at us for going "too far" out in the ocean. Keep in mind we are all in our late 20's/early 30's and most of us were life guards. Anything over your thigh is "too far" Not to mention it's just embarrassing to have your Dad waving you in from the ocean. (Daddy is a retired Fire Chief and is a bit over protective.. unless it has anything to do with drinking beer... then GAME ON!)

-Perfecting the art of holding one kid in the water, while holding a beer can in the other. (Drop the kid! Not the beer!)

Afternoon at Aunt Lea's

2009-06-15T20:33:00.009-04:00

Aunt Lea and J-Bob
Aunt Lea and the boys

Aunt Le-Lee and J-Bob

Hanging out in Aunt Lea's carport

Silly Will and Aunt Allie

Will on his bike

J-Bob and Aunt Mimi

This Sunday we got up and went to brunch at Horseradish Grill with Allie and Austin. This place is FABULOUS! Our other cousin Lauren was dating the owner's son.. I think she was hit on the head because she broke up with him. (Uhh Lauren.. hellooooo he's a bartender, he is sitting on a gold mine over there. Are you crazy? A head injury can only explain your actions!)

After brunch we went over to Aunt Lea's house to hang out with her and the boys. Shawn had a baseball game and dropped the kids off. Today is Aunt Lea's birthday so we wanted to spend time with her as well. As you can see from the pictures above, the boys were clearly the stars of the show. Grandma Betty came by and we just all hung out and played with the boys. (And watched Aunt Lea spoil them rotten!!! An afternoon with Aunt Lea and the boys have chocolate, coca cola, you name it!)

Happy Birthday Aunt Lea!! We love you! I know the boys are going to have as much fun growing up with you as we did!!

Some Vacation Pictures

2009-06-12T10:37:00.005-04:00

Allie, Me, Beth, Jules and Leah at Flora-Bama. (Redneck bar!!)

Gage & Gracie buried in the sand.

Carley, Gage and Gracie being silly!!

Here some pictures from our vacation. I will post more later today or tomorrow. I actually had these saved and was trying to do it while at the beach but the lap top would not cooperate. We are back home - we flew to NYC this a.m. It was great relaxing on the beach and seeing our family. Can't wait to go back home again!!!

Vacation!!!!

2009-06-06T07:44:00.004-04:00

We flew into Marietta on Thursday. Thursday night our parents had a big/BBQ party for us. Above are pictures of Shawn and J-Bob the next day. They were partied out. I'll post more pictures later. We are leaving for Gulf Shores until next Saturday. Have a great week!!!

BRUCE!!!!

2009-06-02T16:02:00.003-04:00

We got tickets to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in September. This is the last concert in Giant Stadium! I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!! I thought about writing out all my favorite Bruce songs from favorite to least favorite but that's kinda stupid. (OR IS IT?)

Yesterday while driving home from work in the SWEET WAGON, I popped in my Bruce Live CD. I chose to listen to "Backstreets" Backstreets (Live Version) starts off with a piano solo for a few stanzas. I kept cranking the stereo until I had it full blast (by accident.. I thought I was going deaf) Sooo, when the DRUMS started crashing and the guitars by the second or third stanza, it scared the holy hell outta me and I jumped causing the sweet wagon to swerve 2 lanes into traffic. I forgot the sweet wagon had a sub-woofer. Why this car has a sub-woofer, I don't know. It came with it.. I certainly didn't ask for it. Now that it does, I'm big pimpin' around town with my kick ass stereo! Rollin' up at stoplight, playing my awesome-ly soft rock songs at full blast! WHAT UP BITCHES!!! That's right.. I'm playing SUPER TRAMP.

I'm headed home on Thursday. WOO HOO!!! Saturday we're going on our annual family vacation. Normally we go to St. George but this year we are trying out Gulf Shores. If any of my Marietta peeps are in town and want to PAR-TAY give me a call... as long as we are partying before 10 p.m. cause I'm old. That's how I roll.

Peace out!

PS - Seriously, we're having a BBQ at Daddy's house on Thursday night. Those of you may still remember how to get there. I won't give directions or the address on the world wide web. Shoot me a message on facebook or email me. I'd love to see everyone! It's hard to run around and see everyone when you are town for a few days so we decided to just have a party.

Frugal Friday

2009-05-29T22:55:00.002-04:00

I love alliteration. Weight watchers Wednesday... now frugal Friday... even though I haven't been keeping up with Friday Favorites. Maybe this will be a good rotating post.

Sooooo - I'm sure your household is like our household. The economy sucks, everything is downsizing, if you aren't losing your job, chances are you have taken a pay cut of some sort, or a "furlough." Times are tough!!! Everyone is making sacrifices.

Now - I'm no diva, don't get me wrong. There are certain things that I see as a necessity that others may see as a splurge. Perfect example - pedicures. Do I NEED a pedicure? Well, to me that would be YES! I absolutely need a pedicure. Do I NEED to get the brows waxed? Uhhh - have you seen pictures of me in high school? The answer to that question is yes.

So, I've been doing alot of research on ways to save money. Yes, I could quit the pedicures but times aren't that desperate yet. I'm not getting as many as I used too (and really, no one should have been getting as many pedicures as I was!)

I've been trying to find ways to cut back here and there. As I get cool ideas, I'll pass them along. This isn't going to be some artsy fartsy "sew your own coupon booklet" type of crap but stuff that normal, busy, people will use.

Sooooooo - with that winded introduction - my tip this week is VINEGAR! I bought this huge thing of vinegar and I've been using it to mop the floors and clean stuff at the house. A bunch of websites have blogs for homemade cleaning solutions but I'm not one to measure. I just poured wicked hot water, dumped some vinegar, and squeeze some lemon juice in a bucket and went to town. (We got rid of the maid.. this has been the first time I've mopped since 2007) Worked like a charm and vinegar is only 1 buck for a gallon. You'll save a couple of bucks on cleaning solution and this is much greener.

My second tip is boxed wine. Uhh hhellllooo, I'm not going to quit drinking. If jobless hobo's can afford to drink, why should I have to stop? I looooove me some boxed wine! Fisheye makes a kick ass Pinot Grigio and it's only 17 bucks and the box holds 4 bottles. That's practically cheaper than soda!

Smoothie

2009-05-17T13:42:00.002-04:00

Okay - as everyone knows, I'm been on Weight Watchers for the past 5 weeks. My biggest challenge is eating enough fruit and veggies. I work ALOT and it's hard to train myself to eat a banana in the afternoon instead of some crackers. It's also hard to keep fresh fruit and veggies in the house with our schedule. Plus - I have a SLIGHT addiction to carbs. Seriously, it's a major problem. Carbs are my crack rock.

So today, with my kitchen pretty freakin' bare b/c I need to go grocery shopping, I made this AWESOME smoothie. It is only 1 or 2 points. (It is 2 points of if you don't use the Splenda with extra fiber.) I'm also addicted to splenda. I use it in everything. Each packet of splenda has 1 gram of fiber. Which is great! My sweet tea is now a colon cleanser! (I use 6-8 packets in a glass... I know, I'm going to grow a 3rd eye ball.)

Smoothie (Makes 1 serving)
-1/2 cup of 0% Greek Fage Yogurt. (I buy those containers that is an individual serving.. or you can buy the big "buckets")
-3/4 cup of frozen fruit. I use whatever fruit is on sale at the grocery store. I went with 3/4 cup b/c that was the portion side on the back. This was a mixed berry, but you can use whatever.
-Diet Cranberry juice. I love this stuff b/c it is only 5 calories a serving! I mix it with flavored seltzer water to make a "water cocktail"
-Seltzer Water. I used orange b/c that's what I had in the fridge. You don't have to use this.. I was just out of the cranberry juice and it was too thick. The seltzer water adds some "fizzies" to the smoothie and no calories.
-3 fiber added splenda packets. This needs a sweetener. You could use honey too but I didn't want to add the points.

Just blend and serve. It's light and filling and it counts as a serving of fruit.

Too Cool for School

2009-05-16T15:52:00.002-04:00

Last night we took Colin and his friend Cole to the Madonna Carnival in town. They went on a bunch of rides and came to me for $$ to get something to eat for dinner. Then, instead of spending the money on food, the two retards bought sunglasses. So, they looked cool but starved to death. And since I'm such a push over... I ended up buying them food anyway. I know, I know, they won't learn. They looked hilarious in their shades though. Tonight we're taking the punks to a movie. They haven't seen Star Trek and Rich and I went last weekend. (FYI - It's AWESOME!!!) So, against our better judgement, they are going to the movie alone while we see Angels and Demons. Yes - we'll be in the same place.. but you never know! Im not worried about THEIR safety.. more of the safety of those around them!

Now - for all my Southern friends - the Madonna Carnival is a like the Georgia State Fair but way smaller and it's in the parking lot of the local Catholic Church!!! I've never heard of a church putting on a fair (and there was nothing to do with Jesus or religion at this thing either!) It's crazy! My step-dad Joe swears that nuns make the best funnel cakes. I think he's right. Colin and Cole went for the rides, Rich and I went for the food. Let me tell, Carnival food is not good for the Weight Watchers diet. (Which I missed the meeting this week b/c of work.. but I'll be weighing in next week.)

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Friday Favorites!

2009-05-15T18:25:00.002-04:00

A few weekends ago, VH1 showed Dirty Dancing. I haven't seen Dirty Dancing in YEARS and I got completely sucked in. I forgot how much I loved this movie!! I remember this came out when I was in 5th grade and after I saw it I BEGGED my Mom to let me cut off my jeans so I could wear them like Baby did in the movie! I could make fun of the movie and talk about how cheesy it is.. but honestly, I get so memorized while watching it I don't think it's cheesy. It's just after .. and you start thinking about it. Like.. Patrick Swayze's character is supposed to be this tough guy - what kind of tough guy dances? I was telling Rich that I have never heard of a family "camp" like this place they went to either. For all of us in the South, apparently this was the thing to do up here in yankee-ville in the 50's and 60's. They call Northern New York the "Jewish Alps" around here. (Hey.. didn't make up the name.. just passing along some geography to all my friends south of the Mason Dixon.)

Anyway - I ended up downloading the entire CD on my Ipod. When I hear "Love man" at the gym, I have to fight the urge to Dirty Dance on the treadmill. Also, I want some of Baby's SWEET silver shoes. I could totally rock a pair of dirty dancing sandals like that in Jersey. I'm probably the last girl to get them in this state!

This is also my Cousin Allie's favorite movie. If she ever met a man that could do "the lift" to her... she would probably marry him on the spot. She's also a skinny girl. The only way some fella could lift me up over his head was if he got bit by a radioactive spider and got amazingly strong. I won't hold my breath. I just know if I get into a situation and I have to be pulled to safety, I'm a goner. Don't nobody got that kinda upper strength.

Valarie

2009-05-13T15:27:00.003-04:00

This blog post is actually (GASP) serious. I know a bunch of us from high school keep up with each other through our blogs. Our friend from high school Valarie had a death in her family. Her father in law passed away in a tragic accident. In high school Valerie was LITERALLY and figuratively a cheerleader. She has always been so upbeat and positive and cheering everyone on. She still is the same way. She is always leaving notes of encouragement on our blogs. Even though she is a thousands of miles away and I haven't verbally spoken to her in years, I still feel like we've picked up where we have stopped off.

So guys, keep Valerie and her sweet family in your prayers. We love you Val and let us know if you need anything!

Bike and Build

2009-05-08T20:42:00.002-04:00

Katie is going to spend her summer biking across America in order to raise funds and awareness for affordable housing efforts. She leaves out of Virginia Beach in a few weeks and travels 3000+ miles to her final destination in Oregon. This trip is going to take approx. 72 days and she'll be traveling with a pack of other college kids. When they are not biking, they are going to be assisting communities in building housing. This is a way cool program and an unbelievable way to donate a summer to help others in need. Each cyclist is responsible for raising $4,000.00. She has spent her winter and spring preparing for the trip and raising money. She's pretty close but not quite there. I know times are tough but if you have some $$ to spare, please donate to this program. Every little bit counts, so don't think you have to donate hundreds of dollars. You can read more about the program, Katie and also donate at the link below.

http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/3047

Katie is almost done with her first year of college at Rutgers and so far loves it. I am completely amazed about this trip. What an awesome way to raise $$, see the country, and help others. Goo Katie! Remember to drink lots of water! Only faint if there is a cute guy to catch you and for god sakes invest in some daisy dukes b/c you are going to have some kick ass legs when this is over!

WW Friday

2009-05-08T13:35:00.002-04:00

Today I went to Weight Watchers and I gained .2 lbs. Booo. At least it was only .2! (That's POINT .2.. not TWO lbs. I should have taken off my earrings and my underwear! Maybe I would have lost!) I was in Boston this week and it was Cinco de Mayo. (Did you know 1 margarita was 5 points? I should have looked that up before I had two!) I did use ALL of my extra points and all my activity points. Last night Rich and I went to the diner for dinner. We walked there from our house and I was thinking that I would have a soup and salad because I had no points to spare. My will power flew out the window once I crossed the threshold. I ended up getting a waffle. It was delicious. I even put real butter on it. I did only eat half but it wasn't a wise choice.

Anyway, I'm still struggling with eating all the fruits and veggies. I need to kick it high gear b/c I will be in a swimsuit in Gulf Shores in 5 weeks. If the weather ever warms up here, I'll be in one sooner.

Have a great weekend everyone! Rich and I are headed down to the Jersey shore to open the trailer for the summer. Woo hoo!

Happy Birthday Beth!

2009-05-03T14:57:00.007-04:00

Okay - this post is WAY late! Beth's official birthday was on Monday! I wanted to get some pictures of the birthday girl from the surprise White Trash B'day Bash. I won't mention her age.. don't worry! Most of you know that both of my sister's moved up to NJ and we all work for the same company. I'm so lucky to have both of them up here. Not too many people can say that their sister's are their best friends. We all work together, Beth and Leah LIVE together, we party together, we do just about everything together. I won't get too mushy here to avoid the waterworks (certain people have the emotional constitution of a 6 year old girl who's kitten got run over by accident.. I think most of know who I am speaking of... don't worry Nitschke, your secret is safe with me!)

Happy Birthday Beth! Here is to another year of good times, love and friendship! Love ya sis!

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2009-04-30T13:19:00.002-04:00

Howdy! Soo, I've been going to WW on Thursday but WW Wednesday has such a nice ring to it.. I can't think of anything nearly so catchy for Thursday. Any suggestions anyone? Feel free to let me know!

Anyway - this week I lost 1.5 lbs! Woo hoo!!! I started a new thing this week, working out during my lunch hour. My gym is right by my office, I could literally walk there if this wasn't such an industrial area. It's AWESOME! When I go after work, I don't work out that hard because I'm ready to go home.. I'm just going through the motions to get out of there. I wasn't doing to well with the morning work outs either. It's such a pain in the ass to schlep your crap back and forth. I'm the Goldilocks of working out.. lunchtime is JUST RIGHT! I throw my hair in a pony tail. I carry a towel, deodorant and baby powder. I do get sweaty but I just wipe it off, throw on some more deodorant and perfume, refresh my make up and then I'm on my way. It bothers some people to come back sweaty but not me! First of all, it's just work... second of all... I could be enjoying a book and a nice glass of wine at 5:30 relaxing instead of hoofing it on the stair master.

I'm still trying to eat more fruit and veggies... I just don't like them unless they are in a pastry or covered with butter. Anyone have any suggestions?

White Trash B'day Bash

2009-04-26T16:45:00.011-04:00

Leah and Jenny getting trashy for the party. (Pls note Jenny's feather earrings!)

Leah and her boyfriend Donato. You can't see it in the picture but he had a rat tail for the party!

LADIES! I know... hands off! He's mine!!

We've been planning a surprise party for Beth's 30th b'day for about a month. We went with a White Trash theme and called it "White Trash B'day Bash" We had so much fun planning for it! We pushed the furniture out of the way, strung a clothes line in the living room. Printed a bunch of nascar photos and WWF and put them over the existing photos in the house. We served white trash food.... off brand chips and drinks (diet rite, dr. thunder) We had a 3' sub that we served off the ironing board. We brought the outdoor furniture inside.

Beth was completely surprised, she had no idea. Our Mom came up and took her out for the day. We had a trashy outfit laid out for her to change into. I'm so mad that I didn't take more pictures... I have no pictures of Beth! I'll have another post with more pictures when folks send them to me, they are just too funny. Everyone was extremely creative with their costumes! Everyone has a White Trash alter ego that is waiting to be unleashed!

Side note: For those of you that haven't seen me in a while, I'm not really pregnant! Apparently my white trash costume was so convincing that several people at the party believed I was "with child".. which is pretty scary considering all the Coors Lite I consumed.

WW Wednesday - Friday Edition

2009-04-24T12:59:00.002-04:00

So, I couldn't make the WW meeting on Wednesday night. I was going to go during lunch but there was no lunch meeting. Yesterday, Jenny and I had to travel to White Plains to meet with our favorite client. We discussed our show and then went to an awesome lunch at Mario Batali's place in Port Chester, NY. This client not only is alot of fun, but he's also a foodie. He takes us to some great places.

Soooo - long story short, Beth and I went to the WW meeting today at lunch- I lost 1.4! woo hoo! Seems like it's slow and steady but I just feel so much better for doing SOMETHING! (God - anything!) I've been working out, drinking lots of water, etc. I guess my biggest challenge is eating all the fruits and veggies. I didn't realize how many snacks I had a day. Granted they are "healthy snacks" but it's not fruit or veggies. I don't know about ya'll but I'm a huge fan of the 100 calorie packs. I know it's cheaper to just buy that stuff and separate myself but especially when I'm working in the city, it's nice to just have something to throw in your purse.

Anyway - this weeks' goal for me is more fruit/veggies for snacks and only one "processed" snack a day.

Baseball and BBQ

2009-04-19T10:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we went to Colin's baseball game. After the game, we took Colin to Bailey's Smokehouse. They have the BEST BBQ! We had nachos with brisket... it was sinfully delicious! (And also 15 ww points.. but worth it!) I loooooooooooooove nachos! There isn't a nacho I've met that I have not loved.

Friday night - a couple of us went to see a movie. We wanted to see "Observe and Report" but I had the wrong time. We ended up seeing "Knowing"... if I can stop at least one person from seeing this terrible movie, then I'll consider this blog a success. Oh my god - it was AWFUL! As Nitschke said... "that's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back!" Amen!

Friday Favorites!

2009-04-17T09:14:00.005-04:00

For this Friday Favorite, I present to you.. MAGNUM PI!!!! (or Tom Selleck.. both work for me!) And just in case you are wondering, that's Mr. PI's manly chest hair, not a t-shirt! Woooooo baby! Nobody can pull of the 'stache like Tom Selleck. Even after all these years, he's still super sexy. And tall.. and hairy! Love it! Sometimes I get to see movie stars walking around in NYC. I think I would swoon or start screaming (with tears streaming down my face) if I were to see Magnum PI strutting around town in his short shorts. Maybe one day my dreams will come true.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2009-04-16T09:17:00.002-04:00

So I've been pretty lame and haven't posted much of anything this past week. Beth and I went to our Mom's for the Easter Weekend. We came home early and didn't even have Easter dinner. Instead we found a Subway that was open.... that's how hard core we are about this plan! Screw you Easter Bunny and your damn delicious Reese Peanut Butter Easter eggs that are calling my name from the discount section of all the grocery and drug stores! Why must we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus with candy? WHYYYYYYY!

Anyway, last night was our weight watchers meeting. Our deliciously Jersey leader was out sick, boo hoo. Anyway, I lost 1.6 lbs. Off to a slow start but that's okay. It's not as a good as some other person in our group that lost FIVE POUNDS without even following the stinking diet!!! But, this is life changing commitment and I cannot compare myself to others.

Beth and I have turned into total weight watcher nerds. I have the application on my iPhone so I'm able to enter my points right away, where ever I am. I do all the tracking online, I love their etracker, or whatever they call it. Beth has been a huge help in keeping me on track. The other a.m. I was feeling a bit under the weather from the martinis I consumed the night before (3 points each) and all I wanted to do was go to the bagel buffet and get a whole wheat bagel with low fat cream cheese or go to McDonald's and get a chicken biscuit BUT she wouldn't let me. Instead I had toast and jello. Probably the worst food EVER for a hang over. That's been the only night that I've had drinks. If you bank your points for the week for booze, you end up getting way buzzed early b/c if you are like me, you've been eating 0 point stuff all day. Hmmm, I'll have to tweak that a bit.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2009-04-09T12:21:00.002-04:00

Okay, so last night Jenny, Beth and I all joined Weight Watchers. I'm not going to humiliate myself by putting my actual weight on this blog for the whole Internet world to read. I would rather listening to "open mike" jazz night at some lame-o coffee house... that doesn't serve booze. (That's pretty much my definition of PURE HELL!!) Anyway, like everything we do up here.. the weight watchers meeting was SO JERSEY! I know I'm going to offend all my Jersey friends but really, everything up here is like a Saturday Night Live Skit. Seriously! It's so funny. We only make fun because we love!

Well our new Weight Watchers leader has red hair (nuttin' wrong with that) lots of make up and likes to accessorize in leopard print... perhaps I like her because she reminds me of myself in 30 years. She also called on us.. which I didn't like at all. My favorite was she asked us how we exercise Self Control. Uhhh, duh... if I exercised any self control, I wouldn't be here! I actually wouldn't be alot of things if I had any self control. (Like a lush) Do you ever have days where you show up to work not hungover and you think that maybe you could have been a CEO of a company if you hadn't stayed up late every night drinking cheap Pinot Grigio and playing old Bee-Gee's on the INTERNET juke box of your favorite local bar. Ahhh, but who wants all the stress of being someone important?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the meetings. Next meeting I need to have a snack before going because I thought I was going to pass out from hunger. They were talking about recipes and I thought I was going to go all "animal" on the place and start ripping down boxes of weight watcher bars from the wall. It's not low fat if you eat the entire box!

Mexican Birthday Bash!

2009-04-07T09:46:00.006-04:00

Saturday night we went to our co-worker Steve's Mexican B'day Bash at his home in West Nyack. We had a great time, great friends, great food and great drinks! The party was a mix of family, friends and GES co-workers. Beth and Brian couldn't make it because they had Dylan this weekend and Lucky Leah spent the weekend in Georgia with the family.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Jenny!

2009-03-27T15:28:00.003-04:00

Wednesday was Jenny's 29th birthday. (We're the same age) We went out to dinner this past Saturday night in Hoboken at a Mexican Restaurant called Baja. We told the waiter on the sly that it was her b'day and could they sing and bring cake. He was like "we have penis cake, this okay? yes? okay!" We were all like.. ummmm, okay. Since we all have the maturity level of 11 year old boys, we all had a good laugh. They stuck sparklers in the umm, "balls" section of the cake. As disgusting as it sounds, it was pretty freakin' delicious. (Chocolate, bananas and deep fried dough.. what's not to love!? Who cares what shape it comes in!)

Happy Birthday Jenny! You are all of our best friends and like another sister. I couldn't imagine you not living up here! We have so much fun! Love ya!

Happy Birthday Colin!

2009-03-18T12:39:00.008-04:00

Today Colin turns 12! Colin has the lead in his play at school so he won't be coming down this weekend due to his rigorous rehearsal schedule. We will celebrate with him in the next few weeks. Love ya punk! Happy Birthday!

Happy St. Paddy's Day

2009-03-17T14:37:00.003-04:00

Since I'm a semi-responsible adult, I'm not spending the day drinking and watching the parade in NYC. Trust me.. I'm not happy about it either. I have a show moving in on Friday or else I would be at our local pub with a green beer mustache. Woo hoo!

I've been going to the gym in the morning, well, let's say TRYING to go to the gym every morning. (Some days are better than others.) This a.m. I brought my green shirt, black skirt, black cardigan and tights. The outfit sounds cute in theory. It's absolutely hideous! I look like some body's grandma going to a funeral on St. Paddy's Day (SPD) And since I got ready at the gym (which is practically next door to my office) I'm stuck with my poor outfit choice.

I guess my granny outfit matches my granny lifestyle. I used to base vacations around SPD. We would go to Savannah to party.. uugghh, now i'm hoping I'll be out of the office by 4:30 p.m so I can score a free corn beef sand which at the local pub on the way home. (Hey.. I'm on a budget, who isn't?)

Weapon of Mass Destruction

2009-03-12T16:43:00.003-04:00

Hi! My name is Mary and I love big purses.

The bigger the purse, the better. There might be something wrong with me because I absolutely, positively cannot pack light. It's an ailment. This affliction spills over into my everyday life because I even over pack in my purse. You name it.. and I have it in my purse. I could be stranded on an island for a year and that would be fine by me if I had my purse. I would run into a burning building after my purse.

Large can of aerosol hairspray - check. (I also carry a back up in my sweet wagon. A good southern girl is never too fair from a can of hair spray.)

Snacks - check. You never know when you are going to be in the middle of nowhere and starving to death.

Make up - check. I carry enough make up in my purse to do touch ups, or I complete and total new face. Uhh hellooo.. I'm from the south. If you don't wear make up in the South, everyone just assumes your mama died when you were a baby or else there is something really wrong with you.

Book - check. I have a book to read if I'm bored. I also carry several trashy mags as well. I'm the person that buys US magazine, LifeStyle, and OK every week. I read them and then give them away to lucky chosen person.

Gun - no check. Unfortunately it's illegal to carry a fire arm in the state of NJ.. even though I'm like the ONLY person that doesn't. (You see a a tan man wearing a warm up suit in a Caddy, chances are PRETTY high that he's packing heat!)

Booze - check. What's awesome about my purse is that you can carry around a BIG bottle of wine. There are alot of BYOB's up here and also, when visiting friends it's good to come prepared. Perhaps you are in a situation where you thought you NEEDED wine but it wasn't appropriate, well everyone is none the wiser b/c it's safely hidden in my purse.

Splenda - check. I love splenda. I put it everything. I'm probably going to grow a third eyeball. I put 3 packets in my hot tea, I'll put 7 packets in a glass of cold tea, 3 packets in my oatmeal. I heard there is a new aerosol splenda option!!! I've got to get some!

You break the rules, I break your neck!

2009-03-11T10:39:00.002-04:00

I hate rule breakers!! They make me crazier than Axl Rose after a cornrow convention. (Dude, I know you are a rock star but seriously? Corn Rows?) You know who you are.. you nasty rule breakers. You're the jerk that doesn't clean the work out machine after you work out even though it's POSTED EVERYWHERE that you must. You're the ass hole that doesn't use a blinker when changing lanes. You're the loser that when the next cash register opens at the grocery store and EVEN THOUGH you are the last in line, you run over. I can't stand you!!! Polite society requires that we ALL follow basic polite rules so we can all co-exist in a friendly environment. Why do you make me want to put down my grocery basket and go beat the ever living shit out of you with my 50 lb purse? I'm just trying to get home after a long day dude... I don't want to kick any ass either.

Rulebreakers .. you SUCK! Just remember, you're not the only person out there. Try to have a little respect. I guarantee if you take a few moments to do something nice for a stranger, you'll feel better about yourself and it'll be reciprocated.

New Car and Bear Mountain!

2009-03-08T23:07:00.006-04:00

So, on Saturday I traded in my SWWWEEET Saturn in.. . I went in for the Suburu Forrester and ended up with an Outback. Yes, it's a Wagon.. no, I don't have kids.. nor am I even married. But dude, this car is AWESOME! It had so many bells and whistles and I got a GREAT deal. I test drove the Outback and Forrester on Friday, debated on which one I wanted and then went and picked up the Outback Saturday a.m. We decided to take a Saturday afternoon trip and hit the road and drove up to Bear Mountain in the new Sweet Wagon. This was my first trip to Bear Mtn and I cannot wait to go back. There are lots of bike trails, hiking trails, creeks, waterfalls, etc. It was beautiful. We took the winding way home and had dinner in a cute town called Piermont.

New Puppy!

2009-03-08T22:20:00.003-04:00

Okay - I didn't get a new puppy.. Cousin Sarah got a new puppy. She brought the puppy over to Gma's for the boys to play with him. Hopefully, the puppy will survive all the "love" that Will is giving him. J-Bob is his usual cute self! He's into everything now and a complete maniac! What a cutie!

Pimpin' Ain't Easy

2009-03-06T11:19:00.002-05:00

So to protect the innocent and save me some embarrassment, this post will contain no pictures. This morning I had a stupid flat tire. Last week, Leah accidentally hit my car when I was in Florida. A few months ago, I accidentally hit a tractor trailer and ripped my side view mirror out. My car is officially a Piece of Shit. (POS) It's served me well the past 9 years. It is a Saturn Sedan. The car is so cheap, it doesn't even have a style name. I got it right before I left college and I've had it since. It's been a great car. Beth and I went on a road trip across the United States in it when Beth got out of college. We went from Coast to Coast, down to Mexico, up to Idaho, the Dakota's, just about everywhere. I've never had to do any major work on it.. just an oil change.

However, it's time to pass the torch. I'm 29 years old and need to drive something a bit more professional. The driver side lock doesn't work b/c one time I locked my keys and Rich had to pick the lock. I've got no automatic locks or windows. This morning I rolled (late) into the parking lot with a donut on the back wheel, a headlamp dangling out (like an eye ball) and the car is now making some weird "clang clang clang" noise. Pimpin' ain't easy. Jenny and I are about to take a ride to the dealership to check out some new cars. She's going to drive me b/c if they see me pull up in the POS, it'll be a frenzy. I won't get out alive.

I'll miss cruisin' in the SUUUWWWWEET Saturn.

CHiPS !

2009-03-05T08:14:00.003-05:00

I loooove CHiPS (All caps except for the i!).. Why isn't this show on reruns on TV Land or something?? I remember watching the reruns to this show when I was little. Pretty much all episodes were the same. Officer Ponch and Baker would pull some one over, the "perp" tended to be much more guilty of something other than speeding, they would detect whatever crime, and then there was some chase down Venice Beach with a dude on roller skates, no shirt, and socks up to his knees. The episode would end with Ponch and Baker going on a double date with some chicks they met while trying to keep the streets of LA safe. Ahhhh, what a recipe to success.

Nosy Neighbor

2009-02-26T09:40:00.004-05:00

Monday I stayed home from work. It was around 10 a.m. and I was on the couch with my laptop doing work when I heard some commotion outside. There are these HUGE front windows in the den that allow you to see into the street (as you can see from the pictures above.) The across street neighbors car was on fire! This car was this mans pride and joy. It was an old Cadillac and it was given to him by JOHN TRAVOLTA!

Now - picture if you will.... I'm standing in this HUGE window... in my robe, plaid pj pottoms, hair unwashed and crazy, and my glasses. Not a pretty picture at all my friends. I realized that I've turned into the typical nosy neighbor! All I need is some rollers in my hair, a cigarette and a note book to keep track of all the comings and goings of everyone. I mean.. hellloooooooo.. I took pictures of this fire too! (I was calling Beth, Leah, Brian, Nitschke and Jenny telling them what was going on. Since they couldn't view the fire, I figured it was my duty to catalog for them via photography.)

It's a slippery slope.. first stop - nosy neighbor. Next stop - crazy cat lady. Look out Secaucus! I'm WATCHING YOU!

Book Club Pick

2009-02-25T11:10:00.002-05:00

So we have a Wine/Book Club. I think I'm going to create a thingy on my blog that keeps track of what we've read so far. Wine/Book Club is alot of fun. Last month I didn't read the book.. I'm a complete book nerd but it just didn't interest me at all. This month it is my turn to the pick the book. I picked a super easy, super fun, super quick read. It's a part of the Aunt Dimity Series by Nancy Atherton. I just started reading these books and I LOVE THEM! They are so cozy.

Book club will be in the middle of March. We've got a crazy schedule.. yet again.. at work. All the members of Book Club are co workers so we just have to arrange around each other's crazy show schedules. Feel free to follow along. We normally start out with a discussion of the book, but as more wine is consumed, it quickly turns into catty gossip fest. Ahhhh, good times.

He's Just Not that Into You..

2009-02-18T09:44:00.002-05:00

We had Monday off this week for President's Day. Woo hoo! Jenny and I tried to get massages but our place was completely booked. Instead, we went to Napoli's for Grilled Calamari (Soo good, I had never had it before I moved here. I think the secret is the hot peppers... and all the butter and oil that is slathered all over it!) Then we went to see "He's Just Not that Into You" It was REALLY cute. First of all, I love Jennifer Anniston! I think Angelina Jolie is a home wrecking skank with an eating disorder! Who is that freakin' bony after giving birth to twins? WHO!?? I'll tell you who.. someone who sold their soul to the devil. Anywho, Jennifer Anniston is so cute.. I love her hair, her clothes, her make up. The movie was cute. It's a definite chick flick so I wouldn't bring any men to this movie.

My favorite part of the movie is the previews! I looooooove the previews! Poor Jenny was sitting beside me and after every preview I was like "we have to go see that!" So 2 thumbs up for this movie!

Blah!

2009-02-17T10:34:00.002-05:00

I've been a crappy blogger lately. Sorry. I swear I'm going to get better. I have a pretty easy schedule right now too. It's actually amazing. I don't have another show until the end of March. Woo hoo! I don't think I take a trip either.. I'm not really sure. Anyway, I've just been so BLLLLAHHH lately. Is it this time of year or what? Last week Beth and I went to Cocoa Beach Florida and visited our Grandparents. That helped alot to recharge the batteries. We were able to go to the beach, hang out with our nephew, see our cousin and Aunt and lay out by a pool! In our swimsuits!!! I know that sounds silly but we've been wearing layers and layers to work everyday. My pasty white skin shouldn't been exposed to the daylight but if anything, it helped me get my ass in gear. I've been sooooo bllllllaaaah, I haven't been taking care of myself at all. I've just been in a rut. Well, hopefully that will change. Swimsuit season is descending on us quickly and I've got to get going... I don't think they sell waterproof mu-mu's for the beach!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-02-17T10:30:00.001-05:00

Today is Mom's 41st b'day. (Nice... do you like how I do that.. the younger Mom is.. the younger I am. I'm barely out of high school!) She is in Vegas with our Step Dad Joe living it up! They are some resort where Joe can gamble and Mom can get spa treatments. Sounds divine to me!

Happy Birthday Mom! Love ya!

FreeeeeeBIRD! WOOOO!!!

2009-01-31T13:58:00.002-05:00

Yo! What up? I'm baaaaack. It's been a crazy few weeks at work...blah blah blah. Excuses, excuses right? I've been at the Gates of Hell, aka Pier 94. We're dark this weekend and I've got to back on Monday. Boo hoo.

Sooo, yesterday the keyboardist from Lynard Skynard passed away. Rich asked me if we were flying the flags at half mast in the South. Haha.. very funny stupid yankee. This a.m. I got up and drove to my Mama's house (she lives outside of Philly in Bucks County) She and my Step Dad Joe live about an hour and half from us. Well, driving down FREEBIRD (WOOO!!) came on the radio. Now, everyone knows.. I think it may have been proven by science.. that when Freebird comes on the radio, you have to hollar "WOOOOOOO" at the top of your lungs and crank the radio. Listen, I don't make the rules, I just follow them, okay? Then you tolorate the first 2 stanzas of the song and joyfully wait for the part where you "fllllyyyyyyy fllyyyyy freeeee biiiird yeaaaahhh" and then the song goes off into Classic Rocks BEST EVA guitar solo. If you see a SWwwUUEETTT 2000 Saturn with GA plates, a missing side view mirror (hey, pimpin' ain't easy) with some red head playing air guitar.. give the horn a friendly toot. That's me jammin' to Freebird.

I don't think I could ever trust someone that didn't like Freebird. I'm actually pretty certain that if you don't like Freebird you are un-American and hate Jesus.

Birthday Dinner

2009-01-19T13:00:00.002-05:00

Saturday night we all went out for my birthday. We had a great dinner at a place called Pino's in Secaucus. This place is UNBELIEVABLE! It's a BYOB (which is always nice with this crowd) and the food is so delicious and so affordable. We had appetizers, dinner and an ice cream cake for desert. We had alot of fun! Thanks guys for all your generous gifts and taking me to dinner ! Love ya!