On the Road Again

Off again this weekend. This time to Philly..well Doylestown..then Philly. My sister is directing and staring in a musical production - You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. She's Sally! I can't wait. I always love seeing my sister perform and I love to hear her belt it out on stage. This is going to be great. It was opening night last night and they got rave reviews. Sold out for all three days too.
I'll have pictures and maybe even a video clip when I get back. Oh, and I will be sure to post pictures of the creation that I made for my sister in honor of her show. Let's just say that it was a great way to use some of my leftover Marshmallow Easter candy ;)

Adios!

Should I get a Second Job?

Since I have recently lost a guaranteed income??????

Let me fill you all in here. For those of you who are unaware, my family has a ridiculous amount of holiday traditions. No matter how hard my parents have tried to end some of these childish rituals, my sister and I do not budge. I mean, there is something really wrong about the fact that my sister and I still each get a new pair of shoes every Christmas that come perfectly wrapped in the little Strawberry Shortcake boxes shaped like a house. (And yes, our feet are so small the shoes still fit) If it were up to my mom, those boxes would be burned, but then she would have to feel the wrath of Alyson and Lesli. Soooooo, you get the idea, and yes these things carry over to most holidays. Which brings us to Easter. Life as I know it is over. What is this world coming to. For 30 years my parents have appeased my sister and I by painting REAL eggs every year and then having an insanely competitive hunt the next morning. This thing is serious folks. Every year at least one egg is lost forever, my dad started drawing maps in 1988 in order to stay on top of things. There are videos of my sister stealing eggs out of my basket when I wasn't looking (I was two). These things are hard core. we don't mess around, and we NEVER miss a hunt. Friends who have come to my house for Easter have had to partake in the festivities...even when we were in college (you know who you are and I have it on film so don't try and deny it!) Anywhoooooooooooooooooo. The best part of all is that even since I was a baby, half of the plastic eggs get filled with...MONEY! It started out with pennies, then nickles, dimes...quarters. In my twenties the eggs were topped off at five dollar bills. That's right folks...there was serious money to be made on this day (and rejoice rejoice for all the other things about Easter) but really....it was all about the hunt. I counted on this income baby. I had a Wii with my name on it....Hello...visions of Nintendo all over again. I am the ROCK STAR of the hunt. Alas this year....we didn't even so much as look at an egg, let alone paint it. My parents watched Martha Stewart paint eggs. Not the same thing. As for the hunt. Non existent. People. You are killing me here. What does a girl have to do to get some Easter love....ugh. And end of an era. What's next? No pajamas on Christmas Eve!!! Stop the Madness.

Twist'n the Night Away

Actually it was Salsa, but does it really matter? Last night I went out with my friends to the Black Rep for Latin Dance night. I wasn't exactly in the mood for dancing but the Black Rep always has the best live music ..and mojitos. You really can never go wrong by going there so I knew it would be a good time no matter what. I was right! Although I missed the 1 hour dance lesson in the beginning, some of the old moves were coming back to me. I wasn't in a hurry to get on the dance floor though. But...as anyone who has ever gone to a salsa club will know, it really doesn't matter if you want to dance or if you even know how to dance. Someone will grab you off your seat and spin you onto the dance floor before you even know what happened. The best part of it all is that you mysteriously become the best salsa dancer in the world the minute this happens.

There is something so hot about the fact that every guy in that room...
1. Knows how to dance.
2. Wants to dance for hours and hours.
3. Doesn't care if you don't know what your doing or that he has no idea who you are.
4. Is an unbelievable lead!

Better yet, you can come in with a date and dance with 15 people by the end of the night and there is no bitchy and pissed off girlfriends or annoyed and enraged jealous boyfriends. Everyone is completely cool with mixing it up and having a good time. WHY CAN'T EVERYTHING BE LIKE THIS! ( Ah, I say this...but who knows how I would truly react :) Now don't get me wrong...you get a little too flirty on that dance floor and you will see the evil eye thrown out a couple of times, but that usually does the trick :)

And if there is no available dance partner...you grab the closest girl and start dancing. Leanne and I did a lovely merengue. But that dance tuckers you out. I think I lost 5 pounds just during that dance. I have to say that the best part of last night was just sitting and watching everyone dance. I was lucky enough to avoid the random dance request since I was sitting at a table with two guys, but I was perfectly happy with that. The music makes you want to dance but I wasn't quite ready to get back on the dance floor. Leanne was courted and was a rock star on the dance floor. Very impressive. All in All..solid night of dancing. Very reminiscent of a great night with Amy at Bravo Bravo in DC. At least this time our dance partners weren't public safety officers and were within 10 years of my age! Ahhh good times, good times, right Amy.

Oh, and nothing like finishing off the night at Le Creperie. Two Betty's please. Yummy.

I'm Not Irish but Kiss Me Anyway!

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY

May the luck and the love of the Irish be with you all.

Bringing the spirit of the 4 P's to Little Rhody and to all of you!

And Have a Pint of Guinness on Me. Oh wait...that means I have to pay for it. Sooooooo

Have a pint of Guinness on YOU!

Fie on Sickness

Okay, day 500 of being sick and I am miserable. Okay, maybe not day 500 but it feels like it. I am the worst when I get a cold. I think I have the plague though. The doctors have tried to sugar coat it by saying I have a sinus infection and strep throat...but I know the truth. PLAGUE.

Organized Chaos

Too bad my vote doesn't really count...I mean, it's only Rhode Island

Holy smokes...the polls this afternoon were all over the place with craziness. Lines everywhere, people doing 13 things at once and some people not too sure about what they were supposed to be doing.

Next time around I will be voting in Cranston and I am hoping that there is a bit more organization in my new polling place than there was today. I am serious here people... it was frighteningly chaotic.

I had visions of Dangling Chads!!

NPR in the Morning

Perhaps it is from my days in DC at American or working in legislation for the CDC, but I completely enjoy listening to NPR’s Morning Edition on the way into work. Not only is it a great way to tune into real world topics, it acts as a surprisingly good meter to judge whether I will be on time for work. If I am still in the car by the time The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor broadcasts, I know it is 8:55 and I am in TROUBLE.

No seriously, I have always liked listening to talk radio in the morning because I am one of those people who never has the patience to sit and read an entire newspaper in the morning. When watching the news at night, I get so frustrated by the constant negativity that I never stay on the channel very long or I just leave the room. But with talk radio there are two things working in my favor: 1. I am in a moving vehicle so getting up and leaving is not an option 2. There always seems to be a nice balance of World News, Sports, Culture, Politics, Local information…you get the picture. There is enough stuff thrown in between all the crap that I actually enjoy listening to it for more than 5 minutes. Well Done WGBH!

That said, it took everything I had this morning to not stick a high heel shoe into my radio as I was listening to NPR. Apparently, while I slept last night, I was secretly catapulted into some misogynistic society where women are excited and look forward to kowtowing to men. No offense to all of the men in my life, I love you all dearly. Why, because all of the men in my life have been supportive and encouraged me to be a strong, independent women who is more than capable of leadership. Ummmm, last I checked, women are not, and should not believe that it is our duty to be “submissive and obedient. “ Who uses those words to describe a person? I wouldn’t even use those to describe my pets! Why this outburst..let me explain.

I recognize that we are facing a changed political landscape at the moment. A woman head to head with a man in a presidential election~ sure…I can believe that it may cause a person to get a little loopy. Whoooooaaa this is so unheard of! But if you are a woman, and you are going to vote for the male candidate…by George PLEASE tell me that it is because of the ISSUES! Do not go on National Public Radio and tell me that you are voting for a man because it is the only way to bring women back to their rightful position in the nation. And PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE….don’t say that you are speaking for ALL women out there who are “clouded by the idea that a women could actually lead this nation. Because we (women) know that our faith and confidence can really only be with a man running the country.”

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

I am happy that we live in a society that allows people to have these opinions. We all know that I have plenty of opinions and I give them out freely. I will never tell someone that they are wrong for choosing a particular candidate or for being a Democrat or Republican. But all I ask is that you state that these opinions are YOUR opinions. Do not lump me into your beliefs or your ideals without first asking me if I want to be lumped into your archaic beliefs of women in power. YAY to you for having that belief. You are out there standing behind something and not just letting the world speak for you. So why in Heck’s name do you think that I want YOU to speak for me? No No No No No No No No.

And since we are on the topic of opinions, here are mine..with a little snippet from my sister.
I personally have found it insulting how the conservative media is single handedly changing the democratic race through lopsided television and radio coverage. What is the media so fearful of that they feel the need to trounce on Clinton over and over again? For months, no one was saying Boo about Obama, but oh…let’s just bash Hillary. And then, the media went on an Obama blitz. Look at me, look at me. It was like a month of free advertising for the man. No wonder he has so much campaign money left…he didn’t have to use any on TV or radio ads. He had the media coverage for free. And the blitz continues. Hillary can’t get a break. I won’t lie…I was undecided for a long time between these two democratic. But after listening to them in debates and really drilling down, I moved behind Hillary. She expresses substance and Ideas. Real concrete thoughts. Whereas Obama talks of “hope” and “change.” Ummm can you elaborate please? SUBSTANCE, Give me an example and maybe I will listen.

Remember that girl on NPR who talked of faith and confidence this morning? Well I can tell you that I sure as heck can’t have faith and confidence in someone who isn’t telling me what to be confident about. GO Hillary! (Even though I know they have made it impossible for you to succeed. Poor thing..she must have been catapulted to the same place I was last night.)

Hate is a Strong Word

So I will say that I GREATLY DISLIKE the little man at Anderson’s Ski and Dive. He is increasingly vexing to me and I must put a stop to this. Everyone knows the golden rules of sales. The customer is always right and you should do all that you can to make sure you satisfy the customer. Right? Where the heck was he when this memo went out.
More to come on this tomorrow: I have to go see a man about a horse…