Calm Before the Storm

Okay, so here is just a little post to prepare for the craziness to come later on this evening.

It was a very busy weekend for the Powell household and I have pictures and updates galore. In order to ensure that nothing gets slighted in the least, I am posting everything separately. So, Here is a rundown of what to expect....

1. Saturday we celebrated Lucas's 1st Birthday in Boston
1 (a) Saturday was also my Dad's birthday so there was a little celebration for that after the birthday but her was tired so the post for his birthday will actually be on Thursday :)

2. Sunday was my company softball tournament at Ryan Park in North Kingstown. Hint: So close and yet so far

3. Sunday Night was also a 5 hour drive to Doylestown PA

4. Monday was Penn Law graduation. Alyson and Dan we both getting Degrees. Holy Smokes! (P.S. here you will read about my displeasure on Penn's Non-use of the smooshy hat!)

5. Monday evening was Celebration at Melting Pot

6. Tuesday Hotel disaster #458

7. Drive home

8. Wednesday....vroom vroom :)

So, as you can see there is much to report. I will do my best to keep them in the correct order. And before you even ask Daniel...there is no picture for the post as I am saving all the good stuff for later.! Ha

Completely and Utterly Blog-Worthy.....

A guest post (that I didn't tell him I was posting) from Dan Riley....

Hi wifey poo and SIL,

I wrote a music review. I don't have a blog so I'm sending it to you guys. (I basically write in legalese. Forgive me.)

The new R.E.M. album "Accelerate" is probably the greatest thing I've heard in a long time. I had given them up for washed out fifty year olds with their best years behind them... like when I was 11. This album is just great solid rock music and it's just perfect R.E.M. Every single song on this album is better than every single song since "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight." (I didn't even buy the last one thanks to iTunes giving me a heads up on how shitty it was.) Anyway, this album is their best since "Out of Time." Wait. It's better than "Out of Time." It has its own "Losing My Religion," "Orange Crush," and "End of the World as We Know It" (without the fast talking though). They're like "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" but all much much better written songs with even better guitars. Recorded in their home town of Athens, GA, the drums and bass thunder and thunder and pound out 3 minute song after 3 minute song, with powerful lyrics and Stipe's one-of-a-kind voice. When the bass stops pumping, the guitars whale and squeak with feedback and distortion. The slow parts on this album are few and far between but they are all either really tense or really beautiful. There's no slow introspective bullshit on this album. While that may have its time and place, it's not here. (No "Everybody Hurts" on this album). Also, it seems like because of their age they've developed a real classic sound. Before this album, R.E.M. had enough songs for 1 greatest hits album; now they can do a two-disc set... with every single song on this album as one of the discs. I listen to it over and over. I walk around with the dog listening to this. I don't even care if you like R.E.M. or not. Lesli, either download it or let me know if you want me to burn you one, I'll give it to you this weekend (thanks for coming by the way -- you're the best). I can't figure out what song is my favorite -- I can't go into them because they're just too good and unique. Just listen to it.

Love, Your significant other or brother-in-law

Devil or Angel, Please Make up Your Mind

Although I love Ben Franklin dearly and his words of wisdom have guided my through so much.....there comes a time when ones guiding principles need, for lack of a better phrase, a little face lift. So, I will continue to practice what one of our founding fathers taught me which is: "Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves...".

But in honor of her birthday today (and in an attempt to show the Jekyll & Hyde of my philosophies) I have decided to adopt a few of the guiding principles of Katherine Hepburn. I mean..how long can a person be a Goodie Two-shoes before they start to turn into a stale little cracker :)

So! Good ole' Katherine said..."Without discipline, there's no life at all." So true, So true...and this is how I am. Disciplined.

Ahhhh but then Katherine, a force to be reckoned with and known to be just a smidge mischievous, said... (and I do love that she thinks this way).. : " If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun." Cheers to that. Hooray!

So May 12, 2008...I think I may break a few rules, just to see what happens. Who knows, it could be life changing ;) Hee Hee

Did Someone Say Topless....I Mean Tapas

Ha! I crack myself up.

Ok, nice little ditty for the evening, if I do say so myself. Self...nice little ditty.

Alyson, Dan, and Dan's mom drove up from Philly today for a little Mother's Day celebratory weekend. Sweet. The main festivities will be tomorrow, but we have all been wanting to go to Tapas together for months now. As you will remember from previous posts, unless we all flew to DC for dinner, Worcester it is. Why, Oh Why, Of Why?

So...since no one felt like driving to Worcester (as we all know that the 45 minute drive to eat for ANY Rhode Islander is painstaking and tragic)....Anywho.....Since no one felt like driving to Worcester and after the Cuban Revolution nightmare, I, in my infinite wisdom, decided that we will make our own Tapas and eat at home. Fantastic Idea miss Lesli. With Whole Foods just minutes away, I could easily satisfy the needs of my organic loving, close enough to being vegan to count, sister and brother-in -law. At the same time I could fatten my belly too...I mean, we all remember my tree hugging, Birkenstock, wearing, granolay, vegetarian days.

With Jay along side off we go. Shopping was scattered (I mean, this is me we are talking about...I tend to zig-zag) but productive. And let me tell you... Dinner ..Phenomenal. Oh Yeah. Hands down it was spot on. Darn It. I should have taken a picture of the spread in order to keep up with my own darn blogging rules. Aggggggggggggggggggg. Oops. Tangent. We had cheese platters, fruits, croquettes of all kinds, flat breads, crostini (Jays specialty), homemade guacamole and salsa, portobellas stuffed with lump crab, olives, stuffed dates, I could go on and on and on and on and on and on. Ok...sorry that was a little overboard.

Long and Short of it. FANTASTIC! I am fat and happy and ready for bed.

I'll fake it to maintain the integrity of the shoo

Annoying Medical Commercials 101

A Day in the Life of Lesli At work...

fi·bro·my·al·gia
Pronunciation: fī-brō-mī-ˈal-j(ē)a
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
Date: 1983
Definition: any of a group of rheumatic disorders affecting soft tissues and characterized by pain, tenderness, and stiffness of muscles and associated connective tissue structures Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points — places on your body where slight pressure causes pain. Fibromyalgia is more common in women than in men.




Treatments...
Antidepressants - Your doctor may prescribe antidepressant medications such as amitriptyline, nortriptyline (Pamelor) or doxepin (Sinequan) to help promote sleep. Fluoxetine (Prozac) in combination with amitriptyline has also been found effective. Sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil) may help if you're experiencing depression.

Muscle Relaxants- Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) may help treat muscle pain and spasms.

Anti-Seizure Medication - (aka..the root cause of the annoying commercials) Pregabalin (Lyrica). Pregabalin may reduce pain and improve function in people with fibromyalgia. Pregabalin, is the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat fibromyalgia. Gabapentin is also used. Get ready for more commercials.

In support of others near and dear to my heart who have recently announced their displeasure to this shameless promotion..I agree. It is by far one of the most annoying commercials.

Yet...without it I wouldn't have a job:) Oh how this sick little word works.

Faces of You

Or faces of me? I know it may be hard to believe, but I am sick..yet again. This one was a bad one. So, I give you...the many faces of Lesli. Sick..

Lackluster

I just realized how boring my posts look when there are no pictures attached. Hmmm, I think I need to make it a rule that there is atleast one picture per post. In the event of a pictureless topic I will satisfy my own rules by adding a little visual treat! I know you are just busting at the seams about what they will be. Try and contain yourself folks. This is just a blog.

This is a picture of me playing rock band with my sister and brother in law.

You get the idea.

Veggie Love

Who needs Whole Foods when there is a Lesli around. That's right folks...I am your next big thing in Gardening Greatness. Oh yeah baby. Hold me back. Hold me back. After weeks of boring weekends doing work work work I decided to say "Hey" and took some time for myself. Although most of the weekend was consumed by work, I put in a little sweat equity on Sunday night and started my vegetable garden.

Okay, so I had help. Although I would like to take ALL of the credit for digging and sowing and mixing giant bags og poop...I can not. I did get down and dirty though, no slacking here. Dad and Jay pitched in and did a lot of the work. Needless to say, I am sitting pretty with a nice size 9 X 14 foot garden surrounded by chicken wire and a nice little "dad made" gate. It is awsome and I can't wait until I start to get some fresh veggies.

Right now the soil is just getting ready, but by this weekend I should be a planting machine. I already have red and white onions planted and all of my herbs are in pots and ready to go. FANTASTIC. Now, the questions is: Do I have a green thumb? This is yet to be determined. The next time you see me I could have my own stand at the Farmers Market. (Or quite possible you could see me at Whole Foods with a basket of veggies and a sad and dissapointed look on my face) NO NO NO! The power of positive thinking my friends. I will concur the Veggies..Yes Yes I will. We Shall all be fat and happy by summers end.