Clear View?

So, I just recently started wearing contact lenses. I have been complaining about my failing eyesight for a while now, so on Dec 26th, 2014, I went to the eye doc and got myself a pair of contact lenses. I can't even tell you how my life has changed for the better! I used to be so dependent on my glasses and now? I don't hardly use them at all. It's so much easier at work! I can see everything clearly and I'm not constantly fumbling and looking for my glasses. It is a blessing to be able to do my work without the distraction of searching for a clearer view.

Flash back to Dec 27, 2014: Day One of contact lens wear. It took me a good hour to insert the lenses properly into my eye and after more than a few tears, loud cussing and steely determination, it was mission accomplished!

Day 2: 45 minutes of cussing, frustrated cries for help, but I wasn't giving up!  Finally success!

Day 3: 10 minutes! I may just be getting good at this!

Day 4: 10 minutes and I'm much more confident that this can become part of my everyday life.

Flash Forward to today: Five months of everyday wear, and I've got the insertion of the lenses down to a few minutes. My contact lenses are very dear to me and I can't imagine life without them BUT I discovered today that contact lenses are a very fickle thing.

I insert my contacts after I get out of the shower, before I apply my makeup. I did that today- which was no different than any other day. I got dressed and started to apply my makeup. No problems except for a slight tingle in my left eye-I then began to blow dry my hair and as I was doing so, my phone rang. I looked at the screen and realized immediately that I could not see clearly.

Where was my contact?

I know I put it in and I might even have been able to feel it, but where was it and why wasn't it doing it's job? This is what I had feared. I had heard about contacts that "get lost" in the eye but I never had experienced it till today. I then began the painful process of swiping my iris and cornea searching for the lost contact.

Redness and stinging in the eye ensued.
Black mascara and eyeliner began to expertly pool under my left eye, creating a mess of the artistry I had minutes before created. I couldn't stop though, I knew the contact was in there but I couldn't find it no matter how hard I tried. I decided I may have dropped it somewhere, so I took a pair of extra reader glasses and began searching frantically around the bathroom for it. Nothing. I then washed my hands and began the painful sweeping the cornea/iris process all over again. After several minutes and several tears I decided to give up. It was then that I felt it!! The lost contact was balled up in the corner of my eye and I was able to pull it gently from my eye!!

I swear I shed a tear of relief that I had just successfully retrieved my $$ contact. I then cleaned it off with the disinfecting solution and you know what I did?

You bet I inserted it back into my eye where it peacefully resides right now.
The good truly outweighs the bad with my contacts. I like going through life with a nice clear view.

Mommy Dearest.

Would it be considered "over parenting"? Lately I have been guilty of taking on the problems of my grown, somewhat adult children? This is a new sensation to me because in the years leading up to now, it was my JOB to take on the problems of my kids. Now that Frick and Frack are 20 and 19 respectively and out of the house, I find myself obsessing over the silly little day to day stuff that they complain about which really has nothing to do with me.

For God's sake wouldn't you think I have better things to worry about??

Yet here I am worrying and thinking about their small stuff. Things like social issues, romance issues, the influence of peer pressure, academic pressure and I worry that they are unequipped to deal with these things. Despite my worry, they seem to be handling the world without me just fine, and its not like I am constantly calling them or texting with my advice. I silently think about their stuff and find myself wondering how they may have handled a situation, ever careful not to let on that I have been worrying about it. Sometimes I think I worry about their crap more than they do.

I finally realized that despite what I think, my children are equipped to handle these minor navigations through their lives. Dare I say it, it's probably good for them to handle these things alone, even though I don't want to admit it. I have taught them well. Then it dawned on me-maybe they are happy? Maybe something that I may not agree with was actually born out of a choice. A choice that they made for themselves to keep their lives in harmony. After all, it is their life to lead.

It's never easy, this parenting thing, is it? But I realize that no matter what I'm not going to change who I am. I just have to learn to let them be who they are. If they want my advice, they'll ask for it and I will be ready and waiting to give it. Yes, hard as it is I'm going to have to learn to keep my mouth shut when it comes to my kids and their small stuff.

Whether I like it or not.

This Accessory Is Not Supported

I recently purchased a new iPhone 5S with an upgrade I had from my wireless provider. I got the 32G too, because I'm damn tired of it telling me that my storage is full. In any case, I love my new phone SO MUCH...that I am ridiculously protective of my week-old device. My smart phone, like most people's, is my life line. It is constantly near me, on my person or in my bag and the separation anxiety I feel when I don't have it borders on dramatic. The pictures and videos I take on it chronicle my life day to day. I've even been known to be talking on my phone whilst furiously looking around for my telephone, only to realized that I am, indeed, talking on my telephone. It's the best mini-PC/tablet on the planet. Period.

So imagine my dismay when I woke up this am to find my new phone plugged into a rogue charger.

Horror and shock, are the two words that come to mind. I immediately went to that "Who Did This?" place in my head until I realized that someone was actually doing me a favor. They couldn't have know that the charger "cross breeding" would offend me. How could they? I keep my original charging device safely enclosed in my purse so that I know where it is at all times. So that the charger thieves that reside in my house can now fight over the other, more common chargers that are left around the kitchen counter. So that I could keep the purest form of my iPhone 5S in near factory condition without the corruption of a black market, miscreant charger.

When I saw the above message on my virginal device this morning I had to accept the truth.

My iPhone 5S is now like the rest of them. Corrupted and flawed, it's eminency has been diminished. It's a shame really, but I decided that my iPhone 5S and I will press on. We will make a new life for ourselves and persevere. I understand that these knock-off chargers are infiltrating society today at breakneck speed. My own home had been tainted. I also understand that only in a dire battery situation, would I even consider the consequences of going over the the dark side of phone charging. Instead I will  try to minimize our exposure to such threats the best I can.

I can't support a accessory that won't support me. I don't even have to like it.

"Beddy Beddy Sweet..."

Thirty years ago, my brother got married in Puerto Rico and my entire family took the trip to the locale. One of my most vivid memories of while I was there was of a man walking up and down the beach on shore line dragging a little cart. He was saying over and over again, "Beddy sweet pineapple, coconut. Beddy, beddy sweet." He would stop his cart, pull out a huge knife and slice up a pineapple or coconut right there on the beach for you to enjoy. I always loved coconut, even as a child. My mom used to buy us a hairy brown coconut at the supermarket and we would grab the hammer, go out in the garage and smash it. To me, the delicious, white center was the stuff of Gods. Today, any coconut lover has it easy choosing from an array of available products like candy to water to Creme de la Coconut to satisfy a craving. So you can imagine my enthusiasm when I learned that the newest beauty craze has to do with coconuts! Coconut oil is making a huge splash in beauty products and it's actually being touted as a healthy food additive in small amounts. 

While at the store on Sunday, I came across a jar of coconut oil that wasn't exactly what I expected. It was a white solid, lard looking type of substance that didn't move. Still, I bought the $8.00 jar with high hopes for my newest beauty secret. I was not disappointed! When I opened the jar, I found the solid mass to be like a butter that emulsified immediately into an oil upon my touch. To my delight, as I applied the oil to my arms and legs, it soaked into my skin leaving hardly any oily residue and gave the skin on my body a supple sofness. It passed my first litmus test for a body oil easily, and the light, natural scent of coconut gave me a love for this product. The scent, nothing like the man made, "tropical" coconut scents you find in beach/sun products is actually a very light coconut scent and not  long lasting. The hydration it delivers is another story. 

I have heard about the benefits of "oil pulling", a technique where the user swishes coconut oil in their mouth for 20 minutes. It can get rid of bacteria and fungus in the mouth and whiten the teeth, but I have yet to try it. I am still in awe over the multiple ways my little "miracle in a jar" can help me in my everyday beauty regimine. 

Its a great eye makeup remover.

An anti-aging face and body moisturizer.

Great for hair! Use on the ends to condition and smooth split ends. It also reduces frizz.

Used on the scalp as a treatment to prevent dandruff.

It can be used during pregnancy and may help to prevent stretch marks.

Ingested, it has been suggested it boosts metabolism and can aid in weight loss.

It is a natural deodorant!

Cures chapped lips.

Used daily it can reduce the appearance of cellulite.

I can't tell you how cuckoo for coconut oil I have become! Give it a try yourself and you will see. While I won't be chanting up and down the shore of the beach any time soon, I will say that this whole coconut oil experience has been "beddy, beddy sweet" indeed.

It's A Mad, Mad, World

I was just thinking about this Jerry Springer world we live in. Maybe Jerry had it right when at the end of each episode he gave his Final Thought on the madness of human nature. Jerry certainly made plenty of money on other people's madness, so I guess his Final Thought was his chance to try to explain away bad behavior.

Case in point: Solange, Beyonce and Jay-Z in the elevator. If you haven't seen it the video, leaked to TMZ, you can find it here. Personally I feel that this was a horrifying breach of privacy on every front. In the name of proper journalism, I share the link, but I don't really endorse it. Like Kelly Ripa said this morning, "Good Lord, that is our house every Thanksgiving." Yes. Almost all of us can admit to one or several moments of craziness like the elevator incident and it lucky for us that we don't have to have it play out in the national media.

Families fight. It's a fact and now we know that celebrity families fight. Celebrities are just like us, except they can be assured that their privacy is not guaranteed and that would seem to be a double edged sword. What about the insane fall out from the Donald Sterling debacle? While it's true that the man is more certain than not a racist, the taped conversation (coincidentally leaked to TMZ also) while unbelievable- is almost unfair because he was supposedly taped without his knowledge. On the contrary, the comments he made to Anderson Cooper of CNN in response to the public outcry tell us quite a bit about Mr. Sterling the person, and that day he had full knowledge that he was being taped. The Cooper incident confirms his small mindedness and unapologetic manner, but his ignorance does not make it OK to lure someone into a potentially damaging situation for personal gain.

Yet the fallout leaves us fascinated. We wonder why Solange went all "Jean-Claude Van Damme" on Jay-Z and it's precisely that which sells magazines, gets us web site hits and keeps us coming back for more. Fair or not, the tapes are out there and they are real and nothing can change that. Why should we even have privacy laws when they can do nothing to protect someone from the likes of a TMZ.com? The fact that TMZ will pay handsomely for video, audio or any other incredible display of bad behavior puts all of us in jeopardy. Even everyday people who have no celebrity can fall victim to the world seeing them, warts and all, on an "America's Funniest Home Videos", YouTube or Vine. The possibility of going viral today is all too real.

It's truly a mad mad world....and try as I might I can't explain it away. I guess it's just my Final Though on that subject.

Toilet Paper Tales

So I'm watching those crazy Kardashians, and the episode is all about how Khloe and Kris go out, get drunk, and proceed to toilet paper Kim's house. Right? I know what you are thinking, but his post is not about those crazy bitches. The episode make me laugh so hard because I've got some Toilet Paper Tales of my own to tell.

Back in high school, I was kinda wild. Are you shocked? Me wild?? But it's true, we were a pack of wild kids. We used to stay out late, drink and get this...steal our parent's cars and cruise around after hours without our drivers licences!! How the HELL we got away with it I will never know, but I would KILL Frick or Frack if they even attempted some of the crap we pulled.

Having said that...

We were "the coolies" as my dad dubbed us, and one night "the coolies" decided that we were going to toilet paper the football team's houses. We were probably sophomores, none of us old enough to drive, yet we hatched a plan to stay out all night and create mischief. The first thing was to secure the all nighter..we each lied about a sleepover at so and so's house, then we were free! My BFF's parents owned a gym for gymnastics and they had lots of vans that were unattended at night. We took a cab down to the gym, My BFF had the keys to a van and we took off to pick up the others! There were about 7 or 8 of us and like a team of Navy Seals, we set out on our stealth mission dressed all in black.

We needed lots of toilet paper, and being young and wild, we soon realized that the four pack that we had each stolen from our houses just wasn't going to do the job we needed to do. Steal being the operative word here...
It was then that we decided that every late night fast food joint would outfit us with all the toilet paper we would need. It took about 4 or 5 trips to different Burger King and McDonalds within a 5 -10 mile radius, but each bathroom had an ample supply of overflow toilet tissue which we heartily helped ourselves to. Rotten kids, we were, but we thought it was the greatest thing. When we were supplied to the brim with extra toilet paper, our mission began.

Oh what fun it was to throw the rolls over the trees, creating the effect seen above at each house. Trying to stifle the giggles and voices of 8 sophomore girls in the wee hours of the morning was a feat in itself, but we somehow managed to pull it off. I can still remember the rush of excitement when one or more of the houses were decorated in our special way. And it continued all through the night. One after the other, each home properly vandalized, the team we had assembled joyously worked, creating laughs and memories. It seemed like such good clean fun until....

The next day.

At the football game, it spread like wildfire that we were the ones responsible for the mess at each residence. And would you believe that no one thought it was as funny as we did?

The things a bunch of crazy kid will do for the hell of it.

I'm sure today if we had completed such a mission, all 8 of us would have at least received a visit at our homes from the local authorities with either the threat of criminal action or forced to clean up what we thought to be a hilarious mess. Thank God for the good old days. Beside a few snarky remarks from the guys on the football team about how they themselves had to clean it up, we escaped the consequences of our actions.

Again, it's a good thing I didn't know Frick and Frack back then. And I'm sure I never relayed to them the exact details of the story.

I don't think the world would find it as funny..

Witty Wednesday

This is me in a million years......well, maybe not a million.

From The Mouth's Of Babes

It all started innocent enough.

One night last May, Frick and her friends were sitting around my kitchen island chatting. Frack's old buddy from her Girl Authority days had come to see her in the school play that night and we were reminiscing about old times together. We were laughing and chatting and she uttered the words that have continued to haunt me since that night. She said,

"I love coming here. It still has the same warm feeling. Nothing has changed since we were kids. Even the bowl with the fake fruit is the same."

I realize, that in actuality, this was a huge compliment because she was saying that coming to my house gave her a good, comfortable feeling and her message was not lost on me. Still, I couldn't help but look around and think that she was right. In the 12 years that I have lived in my house, my kitchen remains unchanged. A year later, those words innocently offered up as a compliment continue to nip away at me.

My kitchen is not too far off from the one pictured above. As a matter of fact, it's pretty damn close, beside the obvious layout differences. Nonetheless, same cabinets, hardware, countertops and hardwood floor. When I step back and look at it, I realize that it is still very modern, still very unique but I'm not listing my home for sale. I'm living in it for everyday life. She was right, nothing has changed in a decade.

So what am I to do?

My first go to change would be to paint the walls. Obvious choice, but will it give me the change I so desire? I'm not so sure. Next would be to buy new furniture. A new kitchen table and new island stools would be sure to give it a jolt back to life, but I somehow feel like it would be an imposter, just masking the modern, sleek way it used to be. I'm thinking if I'm going to make change, it's got to be complete and that means new stone counters or new cabinets. Is that crazy?

What is the expiration date on kitchen couture?

Either way, it's going to be a challenge and an expense. The easy thing to do would be to start with the walls and then go from there.

But something tells me this isn't going to be a $$imple $$olution.

The Story Of My Life

Whoo hoo, I'm whirling and wizzing right now like I'm on a circus ride.

Yes, I could use a cup of Johan.....

Why You Should Never Eat Chinese Food While Watching A Nail Biting, Down To The Wire, Patriots Vs. Jets Game Later In The Evening

So this is really weird.

I wake up last night at 4 am from a sound sleep, and the word, "esoteric" is in my brain. I'm thinking about the word esoteric, yet I can't define it. Now it's 4 am and I'm thinking, "Is that even a word?" Then I realize that, yes, it's a word but I have no clue what it means. All I can think about is that when I get up, I have to find out what the definition of "esoteric" means.

First thing this morning I define the word esoteric, "Intended for or understood by only a particular group."
Ok, so why this word? Why me? This is getting weirder by the minute.

I dig a bit deeper and come up with esoteric a lot when related to dreams, but I can't really put my finger on why I am dreaming about this particular word. Then I come up with this from The Dream Dictionary:

"If the dreamer in a dream hear a word more than once, then meaning of it can be critical. Word is generally indicated as letter or name. It usually contains a message from the unconscious, which can be clearly heard or read."

Ok, so what's the message here?

Another site says "To see random words like that is a sign of clutter or confusion in your mind - basically random "noise." 

Now this makes more sense.

Random noise.

Understood by only me. Intended for us.

So esoteric....

Hmmmmm.

I think it best to lay off the Chinese late at night.

Opening Up Pandora's Box

Oh, I know I'm gonna get a ton of flack from Bama and Heff today, but I don't care. I'll ask them to reserve judgement and please know that everybody is different and has different tastes in music.

Sat night, I'm out with some high school friends having fun. We are at one of our friend's bar for a mini reunion type get together. After hours we are lucky enough to have the joint to ourselves, and someone puts their iPhone in the music system and puts on Pandora.

The requests start pouring in. Since the girls were in control of the music, "Donna Summer Radio" was added to Pandora and the party immediately started. We heard disco hits that brought us back to our carefree days of our high school youth. It was like a karaoke parade of music we hadn't heard in years. Things might have gotten a little "Coyote Ugly", and ketchup bottles were center stage as our stars were shining bright. Haven't had that much fun in a long time.

And just so you know guys, there was also ZZ Top, The Monkees, Bon Jovi and Judas Priest playing on up in there too!! I even added a few to my personal playlist. Never know when you might need a Donna Summer song to get you through a tough workout.

The music was great, but the time spent with old friends? It was priceless.

Green To Red Christmas Experiment

So I have three poinsettia plants left over from last Christmas. Their hearty red leaves have, at this point, all turned green and they are thriving. I have them in a sunny window and they have grown to become quite beautiful.

But they are green, and they are poinsettias. Shouldn't they be red?

Now that fall has arrived on our doorsteps and the mums are in pots outside, I have been looking at the poinsettias and wondering if their leaves will turn back to a beautiful, deep red in time for St. Nick in December. So I googled this question to see what to do.

Lots of stuff came up, and what I found was that I just may have caught these beauties in time to make it work. The overall solution was this:

In order to get, or force a poinsettia plant to turn red you must eliminate it's light. The flower formation, key to turning the leaves from green to red, is triggered by periods of darkness. During the day the plant needs bright light to absorb energy for color production, but at night they must not receive any bright light for a minimum of 12 hours.

So what do I do? And is it even worth all the trouble? I could just buy new red ones and be done with it, right? Or I could keep them green and just keep them where they are, thriving and see what happens. The curious soul inside me thinks I should experiment with at least two of the three..

I then found this:
"You have to shorten the day light it receives. In high school I worked at a green house and we raised 50,000 plus poinsettias a year. Starting around September place it in the closet around 3 pm and take it out around 7am. This will force the leaves to turn red. Its a lot of work, trust me I know after all the years i worked in the green house I have never bought a poinsettia since."

What would you do bloggers?

I Like Your Style

Who is this guy? This guy is Psy.

He's the funky, fresh Korean K-pop star that is right now sweeping America by storm. Just last night he performed at the VMA Awards, and he recently signed on with Justin Beiber's manager to make history and become the first Korean pop star to break into the American music industry.

His trademark "Gangnam Style" video has over 120 million views, and that number continues to grow every day. Best of all, he's got some Bean town roots as he attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music.

Check it out bloggers, as a kick start to the weekend and let your own "Gangnam Style" shine.

Peace.

It's Way BEYOND The BED And BATH

So I take Frick shopping yesterday for college, cuz you know, first year and all, and we are not quite sure exactly what she's going to need. I know it's hard to believe, but it wasn't that long ago that I was in college. So we make our list and we go off to college dorm headquarters: Bed, Bath and Beyond.

We already got all her bedding at Pottery Barn Dorm, (a GREAT deal btw) and now we needed to find all the extra little things she will be needing. Upon entering Bed Bath and Beyond, we were immediately greeted with huge signs announcing their college program. You can sign up. like a registry, and scan all of the items you want, then pick them up and pay for them at a Bed, Bath and Beyond near your college. They even had a print out for your specific college (NYU) and a list of what to bring and what not to bring.

This was great! But completely overwhelming to say the least. They provide check lists for college dorm room and the options? Holy cow, you can pimp a college dorm room out to your heart's content if not your wallet.

We spent over three and a half hours pouring over the items, and they get you with all of the special little things. Take for example the bed bug thing. Since Frick is going to New York city, I have to consider the fact that bed bugs could turn out to be an issue. Bed, Bath and Beyond has the solution, of course, with special mattress protectors, pillow protectors and bed bug spray. Yes, please. We added them to our cart. Then she needs organizers for the closet, her shoes, the bathroom, her desk top, and don't forget kitchen and cleaning supplies and now we are just getting started. A safe? For valuables, yes of course. Then she needs wall coverings, towels, and a bean bag chair. Why not?

When we were done we spent way over $1000.00. Crazy? I have been going over it in my head. Does she need it? I decided it is all necessary, but here's the thing: Some we took home with us but most we left on the registry to be picked up in NYC. Now I'm thinking that if we pick it up there and pay for it there, we will be paying a much higher sales tax rate. Is it worth it for the convenience? Or will we be loading the car down with more stuff, thereby using more fuel? You see my conundrum?


There is but one saving grace.

Bed, Bath and Beyond will accept as many coupons as we have items. This is a very good thing and may save my sales tax dilemma.

So help a blogger out and please send any and all coupons for BB&B my way, because I forgot to mention that at the exact same time we have begun all this madness......the tuition bill arrived.

Lord have mercy.

I'm Gonna Need Some Serious A** Kissing, A Friday Rant

Dear You Don't Get It,

Kiss my ass. Really, because you just don't get it. You think you are the only one out there who has what I need? Well, you aren't. There are LOTS of other places out there to find what I need. So again, kiss my FAT ass! 



I'm done with you and your games.

I can't understand your logic. You will loose on this one, like you lost on the last one. Remember, YOU LOST. Didn't you learn from that? I gave you legit credibility and you turned your nose up at it so kiss my ass. 

Look, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. I know you are playing hardball, and I expected as much. But this? You are going to loose again because now you are being unreasonable. Good luck babe, you aren't the only game in town. See, that's me up there with my ass waving goodbye as I walk away. See it? Kiss it! Kiss my fat ass.

I hope you realize that this is a down economy in an election year and your little game isn't going to gain any friends. In fact, I know you are loosing friends. That much is certain or you wouldn't have needed me in the first place. You know I'm right. Get your head out of your ass and onto my ass and start kissing it, cuz that's what we need to get the deal done.

Smarten up because the clock is ticking. Grab my ass now before someone else starts kissing it.

Don't say I didn't give you a shot. My ass is waiting.

xoxox-
Me

This Is How I Feel Today..

Three Strikes And You're OUT!

They say the third time's a charm but sitting here today at my computer screen, wincing in pain at the slightest of movements on my left side, remind me that there is nothing charming about Tuesday night's tumble down the front stairs. Yeah, I fell down the stairs, yet again. And it wasn't a small fall. No, this one was a loud ker-thunk, ker-thunk, ker-thunk, kinda tumble that made everyone in my household appear all at once. The fact that it left me gasping for my breath notwithstanding, it took me a good 10 minutes to finally catch my breath and gain my composure enough to laugh at myself.

WTF? Am I a klutz? I wouldn't say that is generally the case. No, I trip here and there, just as much as the next guy. Forever fashion obsessed, I wear the most ridiculously high heeled shoes on a regular basis, yet I never have mishaps or falls. But I can pin point three monumental falls, down entire flights of stairs, in my life time and I was wearing either no shoes or flat shoes each time. Let's see if we can make a case for clumsiness:

THE EXHIBITS:

1. Fall 1 was at my first bachelorette party back in 1992. I was at one of Boston's most notorious night clubs; Zanzibar, with a large group of my girl friends. I know EXACTLY what I was wearing. It was late August and I was wearing a white linen, color block pant suit (quite chic, I might add. It was part of my trousseau) with simple white flats. I may or may not have been completely wasted because of the shots that people were buying for "the bride". At the entrance of the club there was a grand staircase, probably about 3 or 4 regular flights high that we had started to descend for our exit. I don't really remember what the hell happened or how it happened, but I took the entire decent on my ass, from top to bottom. The fact that I had twice the legal limit of alcohol in my bloodstream was more than likely my saving grace. The girls collected me in a pile at the bottom of the stairs and we continued to laugh, whole heatedly, for the remainder of the night. The laughter that ensued may have just been my fondest memory of the evening. I believe I still had bruises on my back on the day of my wedding. (In retrospect it was a sign of things to come, for sure)

2. Fall 2 I shared right here with you on The Daily Dandy. Fall 2 was no laughing matter, in fact Fall 2 included an ambulance ride to the hospital and a serious concussion. Read Part One here and Part Two here . Fall 2 was on a short stack of 4 stairs and I was wearing a pair of Ugg slippers at the time. It was early morning and some deadly black ice had covered my front stairs. That fall was a wake up call for me, to be aware of my footing and my surroundings at all times. It could have happened to anyone in that situation.

3. Fall 3. Tuesday night. I was upstairs with Frick, after dinner, just shooting the breeze. I left her room and went to go downstairs. I was wearing a pair of FAB True Religion bell bottomed jeans, that I wear with a kick ass pair of wedge heels. I had taken the heels off when I got home, so I think I might have tripped over the bell bottoms that were now too long, without my shoes. I did not hit my head at all. This time my ribs or my lungs took the brunt of the fall, and I toppled down directly on my side. I scared the beJesus out my family because I was gasping for air when they came running. After I composed myself, we had a good laugh, but yesterday was a big day at my store and I couldn't afford to be hurt. So I Spanxed myself up, like a brace almost, and plunged ahead all hopped up on Advil. Today I think I'll call the doctor cuz right now I don't feel any better, and maybe I might feel a little worse. I might have pushed it a bit yesterday...but it was worth it.

So you tell me bloggers...klutz or not?

Who Knew Cameron Was A Kansas City Fan?

I'm a little behind schedule bloggers, because I got home last night at 1:00 am after Monday Night Football at Gillette Stadium. Sitting behind me was the guy from ABC's Modern Family, Eric Stonestreet. I don't watch Modern Family but I read enough rag magazines to know who he is and to know he is hilarious on the show.

He's absolutely adorable, and I kept turning around and staring at him (I know, soo rude) because I wasn't quite sure if it was him or not. He was slightly unshaven and I might not have even known who he was if weren't for people taking pictures of him.

Anyway, that's not really what I wanted to tell you. This morning I was working out a bit later than usual and I caught the Rachel Rae show. Today she had her "Thanks-give-away" show spectacular and she was giving away lots of great stuff. Oh yeah, she was giving away designer cookie baskets, Sears gift certificates, Dyson vacuums, watches, Kindle's, bikes, designer cookware and lots more. It got me to thinking about how all the talk show hosts today all vying to create the next "Oprah's Favorite Things" show frenzy with crazy giveaways. Ellen has her "12 days of Give Away" and Dr. Phil and Nate Burkus have been know to stow some goodies underneath the audience seats.

It's like a sweepstakes to become the next heir to the talk show taping Gods, and here's the thing...I WANT IN!!

How do I get tickets to Rachel Rae's "Thanks-give-away" show next year? I am a huge Rachel Rae fan and a true-blue magazine subscriber to Rachel Rae Everyday Magazine. (I don't throw them away and I file them by month). Count me in for the next one!

And Ellen? I guess if I had to I could fly out to LA to see my niece, nephew and his lovely wife next year and see a live taping of Ellen's "12 days of Giveaway". You certainly wouldn't have to twist my arm.

Who wants to come next year? Cmon, it will be fun and we'd have a whole year to plan it. New York or LA? Who's coming? Let's DO it together bloggers!

The Bucket List

It's funny, I always thought I was too young to have a bucket list. Then this weekend, I had an epiphany of sorts when I realized that I couldn't do something I had always wanted to do. I immediately thought it was something I couldn't cross off my bucket list, and it was then that I decided I have one; a bucket list, that is.

I was in NYC over the weekend and I had always wanted to take a spin around the dance floor of the famed Rainbow Room at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. This would have been the perfect weekend. My Guy and I, in New York City, celebrating our one year anniversary and what better way to cap off the celebration? But we couldn't.

The Rainbow Room closed in 2009 and my dreams of a romantic dance on the storied dance floor where Sinatra, Ellington and other greats performed were killed. Now what am I to do? I just decided that this was a "bucket list" item, and now it may never happen. I've got to hold out hope that someone, some day will restore the Rainbow Room to its former glory and that I am still of sound mind and body to take a spin on the dance floor. Only then,I can cross that one off the list.

Then I got to thinking, if I have this "Bucket List" with one item that won't be going anywhere anytime soon, what else would be on there? Lots of things came to mind, but nothing I could really put down on paper. I thought about a lot of things that I already did, and realized that they might have been items for the list, had I not already done them.

Then it came to me.
And don't laugh, it's my list, remember?

Sometimes I like to listen to big band music on my iPod. I don't have much on my play lists, but when I do hear it, I find myself closing my eyes and keeping with the music; conducting the instruments, I guess you could call it. I think I'd like to conduct an orchestra in front of an audience.

Should I make this a bucket list item? And if I do, how do I go about making the dream a reality? This is all new to me, and I'm all-of-a sudden fascinated with the idea.

Do you have a Bucket List bloggers? And if so, what have you crossed off the list.

Freakin' Friday

Slow, steady and take deep breaths.

Mid morning already and I'm one fender bender away from a mental breakdown. Not really bloggers, but I'm feeling much like my friend in the picture above right about now.

And it wasn't even me who had the fender bender.

It was minor and thank God, but it was my car. Christ, I need a vacation.

Happy weekend bloggers and DRIVE SAFELY.