What are you doing today?

It's Saturday and once again - a birthday party! We actually have two today, but truthfully one is in our town - the other down the Cape and I am just not up to doing both. So the local pool party it is! The birthday party from last night was a lot of fun too - all the kids heading down to the local Carnival in town was great, and it gave me a chance to spend time with the other Mothers as well. It's kind of nice to make different friends in the town you live in, especially since I'm not a "townie".

If You Were Survey Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com A Vegitable eggplant An Animal a wild mustang A Fruit strawberry A Color plum A Household Object shower Article of Clothing warm fuzzy pajamas A Drink fresh water A Famous Person I\'d like to be someone who made a difference in the world.... A Film Character Vivian from Pretty Woman. Not the hooker part...but the fairy tale aspect. A Cartoon Character Daisy Duck A Car Mercedes A City Paris A Country France A Mythical Creature Goddess A Chocolate Bar Godiva A Book Wuthering Heights A Sport Gymnastics A Word Effervescent One of Your Family I like being who I am in my family One Of Your Friends I like being who I am in my circle of friends... Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com

You Are a Natural Entrepreneur

You're creative, driven, and full of great ideas. You could be the next Richard Branson, Warren Buffet, or Oprah. Keep with your dreams, even if people don't understand or respect them. Someday you'll have too much money to care what they think!

Are You a Natural Entrepreneur?

Awards....friends...and gushing!

So, since I haven't been able to blog regularly I'm a little behind on some things I had meant to say this week. (Clearly I'm off today as I'm once again posting bright and early!) One of them being a big "thank you" to Martie for labeling me with this great little tag to add to my blog. She was "bestowed" (I always think magic fairy wands and pixie dust!) with this badge from someone who felt her blog was something special - and she included me in with 4 other girls to pass it along to - as thinking that our blogs were something special as well.

(Sound of skies opening and choirs of angels singing inserted HERE)


So now it is my turn to pass this lovely little honor on to 5 female bloggers whom I think rock. This is always a difficult thing because to single out a few - when I really enjoy those whom are on my blogroll--feels a little awkward. But pass it on I will - with the caveat of being I have no favorites. Oh - and keep in mind that some of these blogs may be "private" so please don't be offended if you can't read them.

(Waving my magic fairy wand and sprinkling pixie dust.....)


1. LadyBugs 12, a/k/a Pink and Green Girl: One of the very first blogs I started reading. Love love love her fun stories about her little daughter, as well as what happens in her life in general. We have a lot in common, despite the fact that I wouldn't necessarily have considered myself "preppy". She has some of the most delicious recipes... ever. She definitely rocks.

2. Pink Shoe Diaries: First off - don't know how I didn't find her sooner. She's a flipping riot. Like, read her blog and laugh out loud riot. AND, a great cook. She and Ms. Ladybugs12 could teach me a few things about recipes I think! Wish I found her sooner - glad that I did anyway. She's definitely rocking.

3. Melrose Place a/k/a/ Glitter: She actually has become a friend of mine in "real life". One of the funniest things I loved about her description of her self when first reading her blog was something to the effect of " when glitter gets on you, it's tough to get glitter off..." or something like that. She's funny, and witty...too giving of herself at times, and really just adorable. She truly has the life of a rockstar and is most definitely deserving of this tag.

4. C'est Moi a/k/a/ Bugs Travels: Mellissa is probably one of the kindest souls ever. I tend to think if angels truly walk amongst us - she is one of them.

5. Love, Sex, Hope & Dreams: Tish was THE first blog I ever found. Reading her blog inspired me to start one of my own; even though we write about entirely different topics and have completely different writing styles, (read between the lines here - she's a REAL writer!)it was her that got me started on this journey. She writes about poignant topics in her life - and is so very open and honest in how she writes. Or at least it feels honest, as I haven't ever met Ms. Tish. But there is something very real and true in her writing that brings you back again and again and again.

Random, Random, Random...

Okay so, just a few thoughts of the day.

1. Working like crazy to try to bypass the filters set up at work. It seems if I can find out what the IP addresses are of each site, I can view them that way....anonymizers are blocked as well, so that thickens the plot. However, I've always been quite the determined girl, so I will find a way to be able to view blogs at work once again. I promise you that.

2. Speaking of work - I'm off tomorrow. Woohoo! Playdate planned with my sister and our kids. Then a birthday party late in the afternoon which actually is going to be alot of fun. Not a bad way to end the week.

3. I've already started planning my Christmas dinner. I know, I'm a maniac. But you know, it just sort of came to me today in a conversation I had with some of my friends at work. I always have a ham as one of my two main courses. But this year, I think I'm definitely going to have a turducken as the other. Yum!

4. I can't believe the 4th is here already. Block party on my street - so looking forward to it. Not because I'm friendly with my neighbors (outside of my girlfriend Nancy) but it will be nice to stay home and not have to venture far. Plus the town where I live goes all out this time of year; we've got carnivals, fireworks and all sorts of fun starting tonight through the 4th. It's nice to live in Mulberry USA.

5. Can I just tell you how much I love, love, love sushi? I don't think I can get enough of it.

6. And finally, this little piece of advice: Don't ever get a protein prolatta shake from KnowFat Lo Fat, AND a protein bar to eat with it. Ugh, I feel like I ate a ton of lead. What was I thinking? Good thing I'm running and lifting tonight, but still. Next time, I'll have to chant to myself "brown rice and portabella mushrooms...brown rice and portabella mushrooms...."

On a completely unrelated side note--
To the Boys of summer:
Let's get our $h*t together Red Sox. The road trip is over (finally!). Let's get summer baseball and some wins together!!! Who loves ya baby?

Hello pussycat...

So this not being able to blog while at work is quite the challenge.
I think I'm having withdrawls....

My cat, whom I adore - has been quite annoying as of late. He cries at 4:30 in the morning because clearly he feels that everyone needs to be awake at that time. I have a cat door that leads from my kitchen to my gym area - and that is where his food and cat box is. So up to this point, I'd been using the cat door blocker to prevent him from coming upstairs at night. However, smart little feline that he is....has figured out how to get by that little blockade. He (quite loudly, might I add) uses his little claws to push up the blocker, and then he rams his head through the little gap to prevent it from coming back down again - and then squeezes through the cat door. He's a thinker, that one.

(As if I'd ever have a not smart cat. Hmmph. Seriously now.....)

I open my door at night sometimes, thinking maybe he just wants to snuggle and that will keep him quiet? Nope. He wants everyone up, up, up! Seriously...? The other option at this point, is to place him in the garage at night with his box and food and water. I've done that on an occasion as well because his meowing at 4:30 on a Saturday morning is less than fun. But then the poor little guy is practically traumatized and screaming at me when I let him in at 7. I feel so bad, but honestly - who wants cranky little kids because they're up far too early? Not this girl!

Seriously!

Blogging Taboo....

So the "powers that be" on base have now blocked all blogs from being able to be viewed online.

I suppose it was only a matter of time – they seem to block everything else – why not blogs too?

I mean, between websites that have FLASH pages, Javascript menus – and heaven forbid – emails from POP3 servers; why should we be able to have other external access to the world?
Even Wikipedia is now blocked.

WTF?!?
Who blocks Wikipedia?!?!

But you know..... work is only Hell with fluorescent lighting.
(Grabbed that funny little line from an email chain Glitter sent – and I’m adopting it as my own personal anthem).

Short. Simple. Silly. Saturday. Survey.

This weekend, I'd normally be at least spending one day in Marshvegas with my girlfriends for "Girls Weekend". Unfortunately, the math works like this:

Mom + Summer = birthday parties. Endless amounts of birthday parties.
I have 5 parties between today and next Saturday. You do the math....

So I hope all my girlfriends, "the Aunties" are having a blast being pampered at the Spa Weekend theme that has been planned by their lovely hostess, KB. I'll be having fun as well, just a different kind of fun.

They're only young once...it's a short amount of time to sacrifice.
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1. Two words that describes you best?: Positive, Strong
2. Two words that describes your personality?: Happy, Upbeat
3. Two words that describes your taste in clothes?: Simple, Interchangeable
4. Two words that describes your home?: Comfortable, Inviting

Lesson Learned...

Don't ever cheat on your hairdresser if you're not dissatisfied with them.

I didn't go to work today, I had woken up with a headache - and truthfully deserved a day off.
And, I desperately needed a trim - and my stylist can't squeeze me in before July.
What's a girl to do?
I only needed a trim. How bad could it be??

Don't ask. That bad.

The upside is, I did get to take two 1.5 hour classes of yoga! Three hours of yoga...!
Say it with me: "Ommm".

I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight!
Happy Friday!

Goodbye, So long, Farewell....

There is a lot of goodbye going on in work lately.

Our Colonel relinquished his command this morning; we had another going away for one of our finance folks this afternoon. We had a farewell for one of our admin staff yesterday. There’s probably about 7 people leaving the organization this month alone.

One would think we were a sinking ship given all the activity in this neck of the woods.

I think with contract re-competes, and organization revamping – it’s a sign of changes coming. Changes in personnel, changes in positions – changes in opportunities, possibly existing where they may not have been previously.

Change is good. It can be difficult to embrace, especially when it doesn’t seem to feel like it’s a good thing – but it almost always is. You just don’t always realize what the end state is meant to be, until you reach it. And at that point, you’re able to reflect back and realize “aha...now I get it”.

I wonder what kinds of changes are in store for me.

Reunited...and it feels so good!

So, I finally got my bootleg Season 3 Grey’s Anatomy. It took everything I had not to tear open the package with my teeth, I was so excited. (Well, maybe not quite THAT excited. But you get the point.)

I started watching it last night, and sigh.....
It felt so good to see my friends again!
(Insert “she’s such a dork!” comment HERE)

I somehow managed to keep myself to only the first episode, which was very difficult to do because I can’t wait to see how the season plays out. I had to tell myself that even if I stayed up until 5 a.m., I was only going to get to episode 8 anyway – so I opted to go to bed. But let me tell you...

The scene at the end, when McDreamy tells Meredith he’s in love with her and made the wrong choice.....(loud sound of sucking in air inserted HERE)
Sigh....why don’t boys really say those things to girls in “real life”?? For all you guys out there – THOSE are the things that we girls want to hear. We want you to be all vulnerable and “out there”.
Get some passion, damn it.

I can’t wait to watch tonight.
(Insert “My GOD she’s such a dork” while you shake your head in pity comment HERE).

I now bring you back to your regularly scheduled day.

Paying anything to roll the dice, just one more time....

As I was driving in this morning, the number one requested song of the hour on Sirius Channel 1 was.....
“Don’t stop believing” by Journey.

It’s hard for me to believe that in the year 2007, that song is the number one requested song on a satellite radio station.

That song was the anthem of my 6th grade year --- my favorite year in all of school. I made some of the best friends that year – and probably grew the most on many levels that year as well. I remember my 6th grade class the clearest and best of all the grades, and that song – no matter when I hear it, takes me back to Miss Manning’s classroom. We sat in groups, and that was the first time we were ever allowed to do that as opposed to sitting in traditional classroom rows. Myself, Sherry, Marybeth, Teresa and Lori – always formed a group and we’d all sing “Don’t Stop Believing” in class together when we were working on projects and other things.

Those were the days when you were either a Kiss 108 listener, or a WCOZ listener; you either liked disco, or rock. We used to draw Star Wars battles on our paper bag book covers; or spell out groups like THE WHO and LED ZEP because you could do it in a cross of three letters. You would write “OZZY” or KISS in your best logo imitation – and even though a lot of us didn’t truly discover those bands for another year or so – we learned from those who had older brothers and sisters. We ran relay races after school in the school yard to determine who the “fastest” runner was. We bought Jello Pudding pops after school for a quarter.

Large groups of us would play street hockey in the park at the top of my street on Saturdays and Sundays....the older teenagers always played before us, and then we would play after they left. My street was the core of the neighborhood that all the kids around would “hang out” on, and we’d set up BMX mini ramps to practice on in the center of the street. At night in the summer – that was the year that the huge Hide and Seek games started in my neighborhood.

Hearing that song will forever remind me of when I “fell in love” with Joey M – and how that crush lasted straight through to my senior year. Funny thing is, once he finally decided he felt the same for me.....I didn’t feel that way about him anymore. Ironic, isn’t it?

It was odd to hear that song at the end of the Sopranos....but it is great to hear it on regular airplay and rotation again.

It was truly a defining song in the soundtrack of my life.

Dream a little dream of me....

I don’t know why, but for the past few months my dreams have been unbelievably vivid. You know the kind, that you wake up and you’d swear it was real. You can remember what the air smelled like, or what you might have been eating in the dream. You know the conversations that were held. Those dreams are the ones that tend to linger with you throughout the day. It’s funny because most of the time, dreams are like wisps of smoke....you can just barely remember them and if you try too hard – they’re gone, never to be remembered again. But sometimes, a dream is so “real” that you actually can keep it with you for a portion of the day. Sometimes, you may never forget it at all. It’s never the whole of the dream, but fragments just stay with you.

I wonder why this happens. Especially when I’ve had a run of dreams like this. Similar themes run through them, more often than not it involves the same people – which makes them seem less random than dreams typically are. There will be obscure things in the dream, but the general theme of it can usually be interpreted.

“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” Anonymous

Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you.” Marsha Norman

And Walt Disney once said “A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep...”.

Wouldn't you agree?

The Saturday Survey: Reading materials....

How many magazine subscriptions do you have?
The say that you can tell a lot about a person by the magazines they read. Not that I have an abundunce of time to read, but yet I still subscribe and/or buy.
Here are mine:

Yoga Journal
Us Weekly
Boston Magazine
Wine Enthusiast
Running
Sports Illustrated
Ballards Designs (yes, catalogs count to me as magazines! While I recieve endless amounts of catalogs unsolicited, I'm only counting the ones I asked for!)
Pottery Barn
Home Interiors
Victoria's Secret

I don't know what these say about me necessarily, but there they are.


What about you, what magazines do you read?

Ahhh.....

So, my role within the exercises at work are......over.
And it's been me, without yoga - for a week now.
Need. to. find. center.

Well, I attempted to go to a lunchtime class today, but the base was "closed" and I wasn't able to make it to the class on time. However....while I've been unable to actually take a class, I will be at the studio tonight. My yoga instructor is having a wine party this evening - and I am happy to say that I am not hosting it. It's with a company called "The Traveling Vineyard". Think "Pampered Chef" but with wine. So I'm curious to see their whole approach to the education aspect, because I hesitate to think they hire people who are wine savvy. I've done a little "secret squirrel" research on them in the past, and they generally seem to be people who are looking to do the "work from home" thing as with the "Pampered Chef" crowd. But, I'm looking forward to finding out in person.

A little wine, and a decent night's sleep.
Yup, just what the doctor ordered for this girl.

Affirmation

On Saturday's post, I answered a question regarding being graceful.
Here is what I wrote:

Do you consider yourself graceful?
No, not in the classic sense of the word. I'm very ungraceful, and have many the bruises to show it. I'm a bonafide klutz. However, I do think that I am graceful in my diplomacy and handling of delicate situations. Most especially in times of chaos or stress - I am, if nothing else - grace under fire.

That was reaffirmed by my esteemed co workers this afternoon. I am thankful for that. Sometimes we think we are a certain way, or would like to believe that we are percieved as such.

It's feels good sometimes, to have that validation.

M.I.A.

So yesterday was the beginning of the exercises for my organization here on base. I’m a little tired this morning.
I worked a 14 hour day yesterday – and probably will do the at a minimum the same for the next two days.
So if you don’t hear from me, don’t take it personally – this is the reason why.

I stop at Dunkin’s this morning to get a little boost – and it was 6:00 a.m. which for the Dunkin’s near my house is pretty early. Not only was there a huge drive through line, but the line out the door was too long to wait for as well. So this morning is a day that starts without my joe. Hopefully someone will be nice enough to do a Dunkin’s run for me today! Because if THAT’s any indication of how the day is going to go....... that isn’t a good thing.

What IS a good thing, is that I have kids, because otherwise -- I would be a workaholic. I remember “back in the day” when I used to work here on base FT, and then leave to work at Logan Airport for my second job. I used to be a reservationist for Delta airlines, part time in the evenings and weekends. I didn’t need the second job; I did it purely for fun and for the benefits. Free travel doesn’t hurt any! And then it became purely social. I had a great time when I was there. But I used to work 70 hours a week regularly. Out the door at 6 a.m., and back in the door by 12:45 a.m. Little sleep, lots of caffeine - which I think is why caffeine doesn't really affect me anymore. I never drank coffee before working two jobs; I just never had the taste for it. Then someone suggested it would prevent me from being so tired between the jobs - and here I am today, coffee connoiseur extraordinaire. I did that for just under three years, and believe me when I tell you it took me almost two years to readjust and feel comfortable not running around or “working” all the time.

So having a family has been a good thing for me on many levels.....and not being entirely consumed with a career, is just one of them.

A tale of bad hair...and other amusing thoughts.

Yesterday, was a horrible hair day. Horrible. It was a pony tail day – and even that looked awful. Somedays, when you skip washing your hair and throw it up in a ponytail, it’s glamourous and all supermodel looking. And other days...not so much. Frizzy. Straggly. Yuck. Monday was one of those days. We’re having a base exercise, which basically is that we’re being inspected to make sure we have our acts together incase of a wartime scenario. And we’re graded on it. Normally, this wouldn’t affect me much outside of being inconvenienced with evacuations, or inaccessibility to or from the base. But this time, I’m actually on an exercise support team. So I was asked to be here a little earlier than normal so that we could get working on this. Hence the not washing of my hair – total time saver. Well, we didn’t start our exercises as planned – and I walked around all day looking like a tired, ragged mop. Nice!

Of course, the topic of the day was: The Sopranos. You know.... I’m so torn. At first I was like ‘WTF!”. Now I’m okay with it. What did I really want to see anyway? The family get wiped out? Tony getting shot in front of them? Did I need to see the blood and guts? Eh, not really. Actually.... I think I like thinking that either the blackness and silence at the end was symbolic of not knowing what the future holds, or.....Meadow walking in was the last thing he saw and the silence was symbolic of that: Death. I sort of like the idea of thinking we were "in his head". That, is rather artsy. I don’t know. I keep going back and forth.....

I, for one – am quite glad that the Red Sox road trip is over. So let’s get back to using a DH, a “normal” hitting rotation and a little home field love. Lets get the Evil Empire back into the double digits and keep them there. And I know this isn’t going to be a popular statement, but..... I’m not in love with Dice K just yet. I mean, I don’t feel the confidence that I usually have when a solid pitcher is on the mound. And I know that sounds crazy because he’s got great stuff... but I’m just not feeling it yet. Maybe later this season I will...

Paris Hilton. I’m so all set with seeing her name everywhere. Truly. Martha Stewart “manned” up and did her time. And she wasn’t in a private part of the jail either. Give me a break. Paris should be ashamed of herself. I’m ashamed for her. She actually phoned from jail to be on “The View”. First of all – why would they indulge this? And then – look at this lovely little quote: "I feel as if I'm a different person. I used to act dumb. That act is no longer cute. Now, I would like to make a difference. God has given me this new chance." Seriously. You’ve got to be kidding me. The girl spends a total of 36 hours in jail and she found God? Yeah, she found brains and God like Lindsay Lohan has quit drinking, or Britney found her sanity AND her virginity.

Well, you know what they say... Money can't buy you class.

Reason # 1353 as to why I can't bake....

I try. Truly I do - but baking just isn't one of my strong points. I can cook just about anything, so long as it's a meal or savory dish. I can taste a dish at a restaurant and go home and mimic it from memory. Cooking is an art; you can be creative and fix something if you need to. Baking is a science - and if you don't do it all just right -- you'll have a flat cake, or hard brownies, or some other inedible catastrophe. So cooking a 6 course meal, I've got under control. But if it's a cake for dessert? Forget it. I mean, I can make a cake from a box -but from scratch? Ha.

Case in point. Saturday, it was lousy out. I took the kids to one of our favorite places - The Butterfly Place. It was pouring out, so an ice cream was out of the question for afterwards. It just wasn't a Kimballs kind of day. So I said, "lets go home, put on our cozy clothes - and bake a cake!". Well, while I was prepping for the cake, I realized I had no frosting. You can't have cake without frosting....so I thought, hmmm. I'll make my own frosting. Except.....

I had no confectioners sugar. So I thought, if I pureed my granulated sugar fine enough - voila! Confectioners sugar. No such luck. Maybe if I had a real food processor....? So, our frosting was a little, crunchy I guess you could say. Of course plain frosting wouldn't be enough...I threw in baking cocoa and coconut. Tasted okay, but the consistency was really bugging me. So....I added peanut butter to try to smooth it out. Tasted fantastic...still crunchy. Sigh. So, I thought I'd double boil it on the stove to melt it out and smooth it up. You guessed it.....still crunchy-ish.
Fortunately, the kids don't care how perfect the frosting is - they just wanted to eat it.

The cake? Well, it came out okay. And despite the fact that I greased AND floured the bottom as I was supposed to - it still stuck a little. So I had to cut it out of the pan. No pretty cake plate decorated with ribbons for this girl.

I've got nothing on Martha Stewart!
I'm a bit more Rachel Ray, but without all the yelling.

Saturday's Silly Survey...

So here are a bunch of random questions I found on a few sites I was surfing on last night. I thought it would be a fun little survey to throw out there. Feel like using it? Feel free!
Let me know if you do so I can go see your answers.
***************************************

1. Quick! You have to decide whether you will give up all internet/cell phone/text communication for 24 hours OR give up showering for the same amount of time. Which do you choose?

Totally give up the external communication. I'd forsake it in a heart beat. I can always leave the house and drive somewhere! But to forgo a shower? That's one of my favorite indulgences! Steamy hot water, yummy smelling shower gel....I can't stand feeling dirty. So being clean and relaxed would be my choice every time. Play hard, get dirty..and then clean up. Grunge just doesn't work well for this girl.

2. Friday the 13th….friend, foe or just a bunch of hooey?
It's all superstition. I freely walk under ladders and open my umbrella indoors. I've owned three black cats and I cross their paths and vice versa many a time. I laugh in the face of superstition. Bring it on...Bring. it. On.

3. Does sex really sell?
Well, considering it's the number one online industry -um, yeah, I'd say so. Besides, we all know it sells in the figurative term as well; trust me.

4. What are three traits that the next man/woman to steal your heart must possess?
Self confidence, intelligence, kindness

5. Finally an easy one…what is your current “foodgasm” item?
hahaha, There are so many things that are foodgasmic to me.(I just like saying the word "foodgasmic!") An amazing piece of cheesecake. Magic 7 layer bars (esp with lots of coconut!). A Reese's Peanut Butter cup if I haven't had one in a long time. The first hot dog off the grill of the summer. A melt-in-your-mouth piece of steak that's been seasoned just right. The list goes on, and on and on...

6 If you could talk to your 16-year-old self, what would you say?
Take your aunt's offer of going living with her and going to college in Florida. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Take the honors classes - you can ace them, why not do it for funsies? (Overachieving was a trait I developed as an adult...)

7. If you were given one day to live, what would you do?
Wow. That's a tough one. ANd a bit morbid, might I add. I don't know. Tell the people that I care about - that I love them. Even those I haven't spoken to in years because I would want them to know how they affected my life. Hug my kids until the very last moment came.

8. Do you believe “we are not alone” in the universe?
We are so not alone. I totally subscribe to the whole "alien" theory. I think it's rather naive to think that we are the only ones in the galaxy, And truthfully - I think it's rather hopeful to wish for someone other than just us.

9. Do you consider yourself graceful?
No, not in the classic sense of the word. I'm very ungraceful, and have many the bruises to show it. I'm a bonafide klutz. However, I do think that I am graceful in my diplomacy and handling of delicate situations. Most especially in times of chaos or stress - I am, if nothing else - grace under fire.

10. Tell me a secret.
If I tell you, I'll have to kill you. Secrets aren't meant to be shared. Someone who asks to know your secrets, wants to use them against you. You choose to share secrets with those you feel safe with, and those people - will never ask.

Born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eye...

Big television weekend.
HUGE.

The Soprano’s Series Finale is Sunday night. I can’t wait to find out what happens. I have my own theories, and what’s so great about the ending of this show, is that it can’t be a predicable ending. There are too many layers, too many characters, too many things left “open ended” that just about anything is possible. When it’s over, the loose ends might be frustrating – but for now, it make the possibilities endless and so to me – the finale and the anticipation of the “what if’s” is that much more exciting!

So here are a few of my possible scenarios for what will happen in this episode. The definitive ending, well that I’m not quite sure on what I think will happen outside of the fact that I don’t think Tony will be killed.

1. Meadow will be killed. I think one of two things will happen: 1. Meadow is dating Pat Parisi’s son. Patsy is a rat to the Feds. I think that Tony’s gang (what’s left of them) will try to whack Patsy, but Meadow and her boyfriend will be caught in the crossfire – and that is going to send Tony into a tailspin, self destructive and vengeful – and he will go right after everyone, including those from his own crew. OR 2. I read a spoiler somewhere that I think I agree with, and that is Meadow will be driving Tony’s car and Phil’s crew will not know that it’s not Tony – and will shoot the car out, killing her. Of course that would cause Tony go after Phil and his crew with a vengeance.

2. No Gang War. I don’t think there will be a “St. Valentine’s Day’ type massacre. I think it’s going to be very stealthlike, and I think Tony will do a lot of the killing himself.

The rest of it – I really don’t have a clue. So many possibilities. So many characters to involve. And I’m thinking that it’s entirely possible of some sort of montage of all the main characters that had been killed off, appearing to Tony in a dream or a vision. But I don’t know that I believe that anyone who’s “dead” comes back.

What would be really lousy, would be if it ends in Dallas fashion – where this is all a dream....or a reflection of what happened earlier in his life and we find Tony waking up in jail or a hospital somewhere. But I tend to doubt that’s the case.


Either way, this weekend we say goodbye to yet another show that has become such an integral part of our culture, our lives, and in some way - our friendships. The Sopranos opened a whole new world of "coffee talk" in the office, and amongst each other in general.

Sort of puts you in the mood for a capicola and pepper sub, doesn't it?
Salute....!

I never cease to be amazed by the talents of others...

We all have our strengths, and we’re all gifted in different areas. But I have to say, I’m always openly envious of those who are creatively gifted in the area of performance. I always say that I would give almost anything (within reason) to be able to sing like Mariah Carey for just 10 minutes in my life. I’m only half joking when I say it. To be able to sing so effortlessly and have such an instrument as she has – that is just something that is almost magical to me.

While reality television isn’t one of my favorites, I was watching “So you think you can dance” last night. As far as reality television goes, this show is really pretty decent. Some of these people are amazing. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Their bodies move like they’re made of fluid; they’ve got a special kind of aura about them when they perform. And so many of them are “untrained”. Just raw talent. Off stage, they’re just normal (or unbelievably bizarre!), but on stage – it’s like a switch goes off – and they are performers who have come to life.

I’m always impressed most with artists or entertainers that make me feel something. As a kid, I didn’t appreciate opera music – and truthfully, how many kids do? But now that I’m more mature (read between the lines: older!), I not only understand the beauty of opera and operatic performances; I also now understand why people would cry at the theatres. An instrument, of any kind – including the voice – can move you to tears. You will feel the performance and experience it with all of your senses – not just hear the music.

I’ve yet to go to the Opera. I’ve yet to go to the Ballet. I’ve yet to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
These are things that I need to add to my “list of things to do”.

Brush, Brush, Brush your teeth...keep them clean each day!

Would you believe, I am 30-something years old – and am just NOW having my very first cavity?
Well, it’s true.

Since I’ve never had one before, and don’t know truly what it feels like – I’m thinking that I have a little cavity on the side of one of my molars.
Shocking.

Although, given my gum chewing habit.....and the fact that I do tend to swish my coffee on the right side of my mouth (yes, I swish my coffee sometimes. Just one of my many “quirks”.), my recent indulgence in chocolate (which I hardly ever ate before); I suppose it shouldn’t really come as that much of a surprise. I guess I just figured, you know....I was out of the realm of possibility of getting cavities any more. I mean, I’m a “grown up”. And I brush my teeth constantly.

Clearly, the cavity causing bacteria that is living in my mouth disagrees with that theory. So, I need to make a dentist appointment.
Here in lies the dilemma.

While I love, love, love going to the dentist to have a cleaning, that is because I never ever have cavities. So my “fear” of the dentist has always been gone. But now I’ve come to discover it’s just been “in hiding”. Truly, it’s not my fear of the dentist so much as it is my fear of having novacaine. (I know, am I a fruit loop or what?) I hate needles. Hate them. When I was pregnant with my children, I still had to have the nurse hold my hand whenever I had blood drawn. I don’t cry or anything silly like that....but I would prefer to have someone to distract me and give me something to squeeze. Funny thing is, it hardly ever really hurts. It’s just the psychological anticipation of the needle that I have a hard time with. This is partly the reason as to why I’ve been procrastinating on getting a tattoo. It’s the whole needle thing.

Sigh........
Anyone willing to come hold my hand the day I have to get my very first filling?

It's tough being a girl, let me tell you.....

Last night, I got about 2 hours of sleep and clearly that affected my cognizant thinking skills, aka dressing fashionably. I was a walking fashion faux pas this morning.

It is partly the weather man’s fault. I have to say, I wouldn’t have looked nearly as bad, had the weather cooperated with me.

Last I heard before bed, was that it was supposed to be like yesterday: rainy, windy, thunderstorms. So, I mentally laid out my wardrobe. Black, white and teal pattern skirt, teal tank top with a cute little black cardigan, and........black knee high boots. Now, on a day like yesterday – adorable. On a day like today, which is unbelievably humid and most definitely a beach day, not so good. As a matter of fact, down right ridiculous. So, in a panic I ran to TJ Maxx where I found very cute Nine West peekabo pumps. But then I realized – I needed a different top. The cardigan was not working with this summer look at all. And the teal tank underneath suddenly looked very...cheesy. So I’m panicking to find a top and of course – found nothing that looked good with the skirt. Which, made me realize suddenly how very much I hated that skirt. Never knew it before....but I can never find skirts or pants in my size at TJs, Marshalls or the like – so stuck with it I am. I grabbed a very cute Max Studio twist tie front/sleeveless top (which is too big for me, thought I grabbed a smaller size and clearly – I didn’t!), changed in the dressing room at the store and high tailed it back to work.

In retrospect, it would’ve been easier and less stressful to just run to the Burlington Mall, hit Ann Taylor and get a whole new “me”. But you know.....I just couldn’t wait to get out of my outfit, so compromise was the quicker solution. And, less expensive truth be told.

Did I mention that it’s 80 degrees and 63% humidity in my office (we have a gage in here!), and my hair is absolutely wilting and waving in my face? Had I known there was going to be a chance of rain in my cubicle, I’d have worn a ponytail today.

Thank goodness for good sunless tanner and my Lip Fusion! At least there’s some saving grace to the day.

Monday, Monday...so good to me!

Despite the cold, dreary weather....and the heartbreaking loss to the Yankees last night, I am so flipping happy right now.
But first.... A little Sox talk.

I look at this way, (and I know, I’m naïve to it all...I certainly don’t profess to be the end all of understanding baseball!) – but, if you’re in a close game and got a good groove going on with your pitcher (Okajima) – why would you shake things up? Don’t get me wrong, I love Papelbon – but I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t leave a pitcher in who isn’t struggling, has a low pitch count – and is a “closer” anyway – to finish the game? I mean, sure – have Jonathan available if Okajima struggles or something in to come and finish it off. But it just always seems to risky to me to have someone come out and take over in the last inning in such a close game, when there might not have really been the need to do it. Either way, it doesn’t matter. A win is a win – and though I hate to admit the Yankees took 2 out of 3 (because we so outplayed them!), they did. I don’t think this was a “pivotal” win for them though; I don’t see much in the way of spark to their organization at the moment. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen later on, but I have to say....I feel badly for them at the moment. They just seem so...broken. Joe Torre does not look well. It will be interesting to see what happens down the road with them.....and of course, the dreaded All Star Break. Because you know....it’s almost a whole new season from that point on it seems.

Now. I am out of my mind ecstatic right now, because.....................
I managed to find a copy of Season 3 Greys’ Anatomy INCLUDING the 2, two-hour specials that I had to miss all season long! I can not wait to get that little package in the mail! I almost can’t even think straight I’m so excited. It’ll be like my own little, “reunion”. I’ve missed my “friends” and wondering what the heck is going on with them all!

(Yes, I know – I am a loser.)

Don't we all want to be the focus of a love song?

There are more songs about love, than about any other topic. New love, old love....unrequited love, broken love. Who hasn't listened to a song and thought "now that's the way I wish someone felt about ME!". So that sort of got me thinking as to what would be 10 songs that I would've loved to have written about me. (Or dedicated to me!)

(The caveat to this is, of course there are millions of songs to choose from - and this list could change at any given moment depending upon the mood, time - or of course, songs that just aren't coming to mind at the moment. )

1. Ain't no Sunshine When She's Gone - Bill Withers
2. If I didn't have you - Amanda Marshall
3. All that Is - Garnet Rogers
4. She's got a Way - Billy Joel
5. A Chance - Kenny Chesney
6. Can't nobody love you like I do - Wynonna Judd
7. Emotionally Yours - Bob Dylan
8. A Kiss to Build a Dream On - Louis Armstrong
9. She's Always a Woman to Me - Billy Joel
10. Keeper of the Stars - Tracy Byrd

What songs would you choose at the moment?

I will never eat there, again.....

So last night, I took the kids to the Rainforest Café for dinner – with my girlfriend Jessica and her son. While I wasn’t very hungry at the time – I only ordered a Key West Smoothie: Bananas, Strawberries and Nonfat yogurt. When I got the smoothie, it tasted a little.....warm. But I figured, eh – it doesn’t have to be ice cold. Wrong I was. My son split it with me, so he’s the only other one who ate what I ate – and wouldn’t you know? Both of us, sick as a dog all night long. I don’t think I slept more than 2 hours total – and neither did he. He was lucky enough to have thrown up this morning and gotten all that crap out of him. Me? Not so lucky. I feel awful, but haven’t been able to expel all that toxic crap that’s inside of me just yet. Imagine, me without my Dunkin’s? Ugh, I can’t even fathom the thought of coffee right now. As a matter of fact, I work in an open air concept which is killing me right at the moment because I can smell everyone’s food!

And here we are at the end of yet another week. I did manage to buy a few cute things at Ann Taylor Loft yesterday which is always a lot of fun; as well as a quick run to Sephora before entering the Rainforest Café (ugh, I cringe just writing the name..) for a refill on Lip Fusion. I’m going to attempt to take yoga this afternoon, maybe it will help me feel better.

But truthfully, I’m just looking forward for today to be over so I can go to sleep.
Hmmm. Now that I'm writing this -- I should’ve called in sick and gone to the beach today to sleep on the sand!
Why didn’t I think of that sooner??