The One WIth The Post Promise

Oh man.

There is so much going on. So much to talk about.

I am coming here to lay it all out for everyone. I promise.

But I just don't have any time right now. Hopefully soon.

Just wanted to let you all know I didn't forget about you. I will come here and explain everything.

Trust me. You are going to want to wait for this one.

The One With The Challenge Review

I know I said I would review my Blog Challenge on Tuesday.

I'm sorry.

I just needed a small break from the blogging every day. I had no idea it would be so tiring!

But I am so glad I did the Challenge. Not only did it make me blog every day, which honestly I had missed. But it made me look inside myself for answers to things I had never thought of before. And best of all it gave me insights to a ton of my friends who followed my crazy example and did the Blog Challenge too! I loved getting new ideas and tips from them as well as learning more about those I care about and have bonded with over this silly thing called a blog. Thanks for playing too ladies!

So now, where does this leave me. No more Blog Challenge to force me to write every day. But I do hope to write at least three times a week. I have a lot going on right now and a lot to say, so content will not be an issue. Finding time will be. But I made time for the Challenge, so now I will make time for regular blogging. I don't want to lose this again. This blog is a good support system. It also keeps me honest and is a fabulous place to test ideas, concerns and goings ons. So what if I don't have the readers I used to? Those that stuck with me are who matter and most importantly, me. I need this blog for myself. It's my own brand of therapy keeping me safe and sane.

So stay tuned. I have some big things coming up in my life. Huge decisions to make. Some life changes (I fell off the wagon regarding the getting in shape thanks to craziness and the holidays. I need to get back to it) as well as some introspective revelations about myself and things that have happened to me. And of course the usual entertainment juiciness that keeps me going. Like my cutie Darren Criss just popping up everywhere, much to my delight.

Hold on. The blog bitch is back!

The One With The Challenge: A Dream For The Future

Wow. It's the last day. This month flew by! How is tomorrow February already? And I am proud that I managed to write my post every day with only two little missteps while my parents were visiting. That is pretty impressive. Tomorrow I'll do a little wrap up of this experience but for now, on to the last post.

A dream for the future.

This really could be anything. I dream about being financially stable. Money is so tight right now it would be nice to not have to worry about that.

I dream about leaving Las Vegas and settling down near family and friends, somewhere in Ohio or Pennsylvania. But that is something that is not going to happen anytime soon.

I dream about finally having a house I love and not having to move for a very long time. Like until we retire. To England, of course.

I dream about a child and making our family whole. And having that child surrounded by those we love. This dream is tied into the dreams above.

I dream of a job that won't make me crazy and fulfills me in a more meaningful way. I'm not even sure if that is possible to find but I'd like to try.

But most of all, my dream for the future is to have the same wonderful relationship that I have with my husband continue on. We are a true pair, soul mates that know each other inside and out. I can't imagine going through life without Charming, so there is no future for me without him. It's him and me against the world.

And I think we are going to come out on top.

The One With The Challenge: Hopes, Dreams And Plans For The Next 365 Days

This post is kind of a throw away question for me because there really is only one hope, dream and plan I want in the next 365 days.

A baby.

Ironic this question would come today when earlier I received a call from my mother, all excited to talk to me. She had just visited a psychic she went to on a whim with some work friends and the psychic wanted to talk mainly about me. My mom only told this lady her name and the names of her children and off the psychic went. She knew my mom had a daughter who wanted to get pregnant and was not having any success. The problem is, according to the psychic, I have to be manly in my job in order to be successful, but I bring this manliness home and that is keeping me from getting pregnant. Once I open up to my feminine side I will be able to conceive. I just have to let my husband be the man at home. In order to help me do this I should wear a certain kind of moonstone, but only while I am away from work. I must take the moonstone off when working so I can do my job properly.

The psychic said a lot of others things, including when our baby would be conceived by, what the sex would be, looks and attitude, but I am keeping that to myself for now. However, the whole "too manly" thing was the main point. And I can't believe how on target she was, specifics about my job and what I deal with. So specific I am inclined to believe what she said and follow her advice. What do I have to lose? I am in tune with mystical arts and figure all she said could be true. She got me down pat after only hearing my name, my mother didn't tell her anything. And if it all pans out, well, I'll owe her big time for the life of our first child.

Time for me to start looking for my moonstone. I gots to make me a baby!

The One With The Challenge: What's In My Purse

I have one of those purses that holds everything. Charming jokes that I am going to be one of those moms that has an answer to everything hidden in the depths of my bag. Over the years, my bags have gotten bigger and bigger, rising to the occasion to hold all of my stuff. Luckily for me, big purses are in. I had supreme difficulty when those tiny bags were all the rage.

Charming may tease me about my large purse, but he is quick to ask me to hold things for him, knowing that I have room. Or need something that I just happen to have in my bag. So to compensate for the teasing I make him hold my purse when I need to take a break. He looks so sporty with my purple leather satchel on his shoulder I probably make him hold more than I should.

I feel naked without my bag. When I only take my ID and some cash in my pocket I always feel like I am forgetting something and usually end up frantically looking for the purse I have left safely stowed away in my trunk. I also have several different bags, but all have the same similar qualities. Pockets outside and inside are a must. When we moved I donated about a dozen bags and still have a good number left. I won't say how many because I do not need more ridicule from my husband who insists that I don't need so many different handbags. Trying to explain the necessity of different bags to go with different outfits is like trying to get him to understand why I need four different black pairs of shoes. They are all just different enough in their own way to justify having them all.

Explaining everything in my bag would take forever, so I'll just compile a list. I am sure some of the items will seem odd to you, but I assure you that I have used each and every thing at least once.

The contents are as follows:
~Cell Phone (when it is not in pocket)
~Car Keys (bulky enough on their own with my pink canister of pepper spray attached)
~Wallet (filled with ID, insurance cards, store discount cards, bank card, credit card, pictures, random receipts, the memorial card from my FIL's service, a few lucky charms and other odds and ends that fill the packed sleeves.)
~My iPod, in it's monkey case, with marshmallow headphones
~Blistex (the light blue one, my favorite)
~Sparkling Lip Gloss (for shine)
~Burt Bee's Lip Shimmer (for, well shimmer)
~small Johnson's baby lotion (swiped form my grandfather's hospital room)
~small Advil bottle filled with Advil and Tylenol
~2 hair ties (I am always losing them)
~3 pens (I'm always losing them too)
~Travel pack of Kleenex
~Wrigley's Spearmint gum
~Trident Strawberry Mist gum
~Orbit Cool Mint gum (wow, I have a lot of gum)
~Black leather case with out-of-date business cards in it (my company refuses to give us new ones with our new company name and email address on them. Makes leaving my card oh so easy now...after I write in all the changes)
~Mini calculator
~Hand jizz (or as people usually call it, Hand Sanitizer. We just gave it a snazzier name)
~Two-year mini calendar/date book
~Small notebook with pen that I use to jot down things I need to remember or buy etc...
~Clip on sunglasses for my glasses (Yup, I'm classy)

Then I have two pouches in my purse which are also crammed with stuff:

Pouch 1 has: my inhaler, an emery board, a plastic container filled with Tums, a plastic container filled with 800mg Ibuprofen (I am my co-workers best friend when it comes to drugs), Tide-to-Go pen (saved my life and the lives of others many a times) and extra pads for that time for the month.

Pouch 2 has: a compact mirror, tweezers, nail clippers, a fold up tooth brush, concealer (that I have to replace actually), and warm vanilla sugar body spray from Bath & Body Works. This is my oh-God-I-got-invited-out-I-have-to-fix-myself-pouch. Occasionally there is also a lipstick and powder int here as well.

If this post had been last week we could have added a camera, two pairs of glasses in their cases, sunglasses, a brochure from a wax place, dozens of receipts, a book and a granola bar. That's my vacation stash, varied for what we do each day.

So it's a lot of stuff. But hey, I'm your girl when someone says "Does anyone have a..." Usually I can help!

Plus, I would be great in the audience of Let's Make a Deal.

The One With The Challenge: My Worst Habit

I'm telling you right off the bat I am not going to share my worst habit.

It is so bad I don't like to admit I do it. I'm embarrassed and ashamed and I try not to let anyone know. I work really hard not to do it but I think I need that hypnosis therapy or something to help me stop.

It's really, really bad. Way too bad to share.

However, I do have several other bad habits that I don't mind sharing. In fact, I'm full of bad habits. Perfect, I am not. Not in any way. And habits are just so...comforting at times. They are habit-forming. HA! Get it?

Okay...moving on.

So two other big bad habits I have is biting my nails and picking/plucking my face. I have always bitten my nails. When I was younger, my mother would put that bitter nail polish on to stop me from biting. It didn't work. I actually grew to like the taste of it! I have bitten my nails for so long that now if I do manage to grow them out at all they are all warped and misshapen. I will never have nice nails. Sometimes I can go for awhile and have them appear presentable. I even have gotten manicures and made them look human at times. But some stressful situation, like watching one of my favorite TV shows or thinking about laundry I have to do, will bring me back to biting and soon all I have are ragged nails and torn cuticles. The one and only time I kept all of my nails in pristine condition was for our wedding. I had managed to not bite my nails for over four months. They were long and pretty and ready for my french manicure on the Big Day. Then I played basketball with my Dad and Charming four days before the wedding and snapped off my left thumbnail. Of course it had to be the LEFT hand, the one that would sport my new wedding ring. So even that didn't work out.

I also pick/pluck my face a lot. And other people's faces, namely my husband's. Which drives him insane. I had a lot of acne growing up and still battle it today so I am constantly squeezing and pinching even though I know I shouldn't. There is something about popping a zit or pushing out a blackhead that soothes me. I don't mind pus and even marvel at it at times. I love to work out splinters too, getting satisfaction out of extracting the foreign object from my skin. One time I discovered a small lump behind my knee. I had an huge ingrown hair from shaving. I pushed and prodded and popped until I managed to pull out a pencil eraser sized bundle of hair from my skin, leaving a hole in the back of my leg for a few weeks. I was so proud of myself I showed my family. It helped that we were all locked in a hotel room in Gettysburg while on vacation and trapped while it poured outside. They had watched me work on this issue for about an hour in abject horror. Yeah, that makes me sound a bit compulsive, but I enjoy the idea of fixing the imperfection, so to speak.

Good times.

I also love to pluck hairs. Ugly dark hairs from my chin. Stray eyebrow hairs. Hair off Charming's ears. I often wonder if I would have so many hairs to pluck if I didn't start plucking them in the first place. It seems every time I pluck, three more come up in it's place. I have tweezers in my purse, my desk, my nightstand, my bathroom drawer, my car. Always on hand if I feel anything that shouldn't be there. It drives me crazy when I feel a hair and I can't pluck it. I also forget that I shouldn't do it to other people and it's hard to resist. Charming has run screaming from me and my tweezers one too many times. I think this obsession with plucking/picking stems from my Dad letting me peel his sunburned skin off and allowing me to pluck his gray hairs when on long road trips. I loved getting big full pieces of skin off in one piece and I would rejoice over the tidy pile of little gray hairs I would collect over the miles.

Wow, I just realized how weird that sounds. We were really a normal family.

At least in public.

The One With The Challenge: My Week, In Great Detail

Again, not going over my week. It's too boring and tedious and frankly, I don't want to do it.

So I'm deviating again today. Yes, I am a rebel.

I am going to talk about my favorite cartoon character. (I know others are doing Something That Once Was Fun And Is Not Anymore, or something like that. But Fraulein N covered almost exactly what I was going to say about roller coasters not being so much fun anymore and pogonip's suggestion stuck in my head so I'm running with that one. See, even more of a rebel.)

As all of you know I love any and everything to do with Britain. I love British actors and actresses, movies set there, the history, the monarchy. I even want to retire there. But the thing I love the most is the accent. A good British accent can make me swoon.

And I can pinpoint when this love for the Brits came to be. All thanks to a wily, sexy-voiced fox.

Disney's Robin Hood is my all-time favorite cartoon character.


I fell in love with this rascally bandit at a very young age. Couldn't have been more than eight or nine and I was smitten after just one viewing. It was the voice that did me in. Rich and smooth and oh so sexy. Of course, I didn't know it was sexy then, I was only eight. But it made me feel good. I would watch that movie with my eyes closed just to hear that voice flow over me like honey. I still do that in fact.


And as foxes go, Robin was, well...a fox. I could totally see why Maid Marion fell for him. So dashing and cute and devoted to her. That sly little smile and warm brown eyes. When he tells Marion he loves her and then they discuss their married life together while in battle against King John. Sigh. And then they frolic in the woods and he puts a flower ring on her finger and gazes into her eyes lovingly. Double sigh! He was the perfect dreamboat boyfriend. Too bad he's a cartoon, not real, and well...not my species either.


I used to fantasize about finding a guy with a Robin Hood voice. Joseph Fiennes comes pretty darn close. I have never looked up a picture of who actually voiced my animated hunk for fear it would ruin my fantasy. I would be devastated to discover that gorgeous voice belonged to a fat, balding man with a horrible overbite.

Sigh. Now I am all worked up and have to go pop in my Most Wanted Edition of Robin Hood.

Oo De Lally.

The One With The Challenge: My Day, In Great Detail

As previously stated yesterday, I am not going over my day in detail. There's not much to write about there. I get up, take a walk, sit in front of the TV, get dressed, go to work, sit in front of more TVs and then come home...to sit in front of the TV. Not very exciting.

So I am taking a suggestion made yesterday to talk about my first kiss. It sounded like a good topic.

Actually, I am going to talk about my first kiss and my last first kiss.

My first kiss was sweet, as first kisses should be. I was nine and my best friend lived up the street from me. Patrick and I had been thick as thieves. I was always riding my bike up to his house or he rode his down to mine. We hung out and played the way nine year-old kids can when they are still young enough to have fun and not worry about the boy/girl thing. When I heard that his family was moving away to North Carolina I was devastated. I could not imagine not having him nearby.

Patrick came by the day before he was supposed to leave. We sat on my front stoop and just enjoyed the last few moments we had together before he had to go. Pretty soon, as the sun began to set, the moment came where he had to leave. I walked him down my driveway as he pushed his bike along. We stopped at the end before he climbed on to pedal away. He turned and leaned down to kiss me. It was short, sweet and soft. The perfect goodbye. And then he rode off without looking back as I cried.

I talked to Patrick for years after that, even seeing him once three years later on our way down to Florida. We kept in touch off and on and he even came to Cleveland my senior year of college to take me to my winter formal. Unfortunately, he had different ideas that trip so it did not end as well as that first eventful parting. But I will always hold a special place for him in my heart because he made that momentous event a good memory for me to cherish.

My last first kiss was, obviously, from the lips of my husband. Charming and I met June 1st, 2000 when he was moving my roommate, his brother, into our apartment. When he left to go back to Pennsylvania I asked my roommate for Charming's phone number and we began a month long communication spree of phone calls and emails. We talked several times a day, some times for hours on end.

Charming and I did not see each other again until June 30th when he came back to Cleveland to visit me. I was at a concert when he arrived and nervous about seeing me again, Charming proceeded to get toasted with his brother. When I returned home I found them in very high spirits. Both Charming and I were acting a bit shy, exchanging pleasantries and random information about our days. Soon it was time to turn in. We lay on my bed, just laying there, looking at each other. I noticed the chain he wore had its clasp in the front. I told him the habit I have of holding the clasp, making a wish and then kissing it before turning it around to the back. I told him to make a wish and kiss the clasp then I turned it around to the back before leaning in to kiss him on the lips. He smiled when I pulled back and said that I had made his wish come true.

I do believe I fell in love with him head over heels right in that moment.

Tomorrow, no week in detail. I'm coming up with something new.

The One With The Challenge: Where I Live

I think I am going to plead a bye day and opt out of this one. For two reasons.

Number one: I am in a very bad place today with a certain thing that came and is making me feel miserable and disgusting.

Number two: I am so sick of this godforsaken city I couldn't say anything positive about it right now other than the fact I am happy I don't have to deal with snow on top of all the crap I put up with. That's about all it has going for it right now.

Things are crazy insane with both Charming and I thinking about huge job moves and my heart is just not in it tonight. I have been so good with all the other posts can you please forgive me this one? Safe to say, I never wanted to move to Vegas, it has been one headache after another since we moved here and I am counting down the days until we can leave this hell hole. Unfortunately, we are stuck here for now, which makes me even more depressed about our situation.

So that's where I live.

See I told you, not in the mood.

Okay, Charming just pointed out we never would have had the two most awesome kitties if we hadn't moved to Vegas, so I guess it has that one check in the plus column.

And the weather is nice. This week.

P.S. Did we come up with alternatives to the "Your Day/Week in Detail" posts? Because I got that tomorrow and I can already tell that is going to be a pain in the ass. Suggestions for what we should do instead? Anyone?

The One With The Challenge: A YouTube Video

Long before he took the stage to celebrate a win with his new TV family at the Golden Globes.

Eons before he graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly this week.

Light years ahead of when he became a break-out star on one of my favorite shows ever and had the most downloaded song in a remake that I think is better than Katy Perry's original. Plus he stole a few hearts in the process.

And even before he and his unruly hair sang covers of Disney songs for his YouTube channel.

I've been in love with Darren Criss since I first saw him play Harry in A Very Potter Musical.

I first heard about this show a few years ago. Being a huge Harry Potter fan I checked out this parody of my favorite book series. I was amazed at the talent behind the production. A group of Michigan college students wrote, directed and performed the show and it soon became a viral sensation. The acting was hilarious, the songs infectious and the potential amazing. I found myself watching it over and over, captivated by the leading man in the story. When I discovered that Darren Criss not only starred as the titular Harry Potter but also wrote a lot of the music for the show himself, I knew that this was no ordinary average musical kid. This guy has true talent out the wazoo. And then to follow-up this mega online hit with yet another production, A Very Potter Sequel, as well as other projects with the production company made with his college buddies Starkid Productions, it's no wonder Glee came calling.

I am eagerly awaiting Darren's return to Glee in February and even more so Starkid's new production Starship. These are an amazing group of talented individuals led by an out of this world gifted young man. Plus it helps that he is smoking hot too. But for me it all comes back to A Very Potter Musical and the first time I saw my beloved Harry Potter in a new light. I downloaded all the music from the show within minutes of watching it and find myself singing the tunes regularly. You watch even just the first YouTube clip (the entire play is broken into parts at the link above) and see how long it is before you are humming along to "Back To Hogwarts." The songs are infectious!!

The One With The Challenge: A Website

I read a lot of websites.

Not including the personal friend sites I visit almost every day and the entertainment sites to keep up on my favorite TV shows, movies and actors, I probably read about 50 websites. I don't read all of them every day but I can tell you, Google Reader is a lifesaver when it comes to weeding out the things I just don't have time for in that huge list.

I read the regular ones. Dooce.com, PostSecret, Daily Coyote and Cute Overload. There are some regular professional bloggers I read, like finslippy and Notes From The Trenches, comedy blogs like Hyperbole and a Half (her drawings make me pee myself) and Fail Blog. But there is a site I found out about recently that I have to share. I am sure some of you know all about it but it was new to me a few weeks ago and now I can't get enough of it.

The Oatmeal.

I love the cartoons on this blog because I find myself saying to myself "that's SO true!!" You know it is a good piece of comedy when you identify with what is being made fun of. Plus, the author does a lot of comics and posts about cats and well, I love anything to do with cats, especially tutorials on how to pet them, so I was sold right there. It takes a certain brand of humor to make me laugh out loud repeatedly and this site has it. Whether he is explaining the crap we put up with getting on and off an airplane or what Play-Doh really tastes like, the posts are done in such a simple humorous way you can't help but want more. I devoured the whole site in about three hours and when I was done I was a bit let down knowing I would have to wait for more things to be posted. So I tell everyone I know about this site so I can experience the hilarity of a missive to public toilets with them all over again.

Enjoy!

The One With The Challenge: A Recipe

Woo hoo, an easy one!

There is one thing I can cook. It is my most favorite recipe ever. The one I always have my Mom make for me when I come home. It's also one of Charming's favorite meals and was the demise of my left knee last March when I was making this for his birthday and did my famous turn and shred my meniscus move.

Spaghetti Pie!!!

(I was at work when I wrote this so I search on the Internet for the recipe. However, I am pretty sure this is the same recipe my Mom gave me years and years ago. Mom, check this over at comment if something is different in what we make.)

Ingredients

• 1 (6 ounce) package spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup cottage cheese*
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Cook and drain spaghetti. Stir in margarine, Parmesan cheese and eggs, while spaghetti is hot. Form spaghetti mixture into a crust in a buttered 10 inch pie plate.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a skillet cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic. Drain off the fat and stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and oregano. Heat through.
4. Spread cottage cheese* over the spaghetti crust then pour in the beef and tomato mixture.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top of the pie then bake for 5 minutes longer, until cheese melts.

*You can substitute Ricotta cheese for cottage cheese if you prefer.

This meal is so good and even better the second day after it has had a chance to sit in the fridge and solidify. Warm up a piece in the microwave and it is just heaven. We always beg my Mom to make two so we can have another later when the first one is gone in a few hours as it always is.

The One With The Challenge: A Hobby Of Mine

This one was a bit of a stumper.

I have always wondered about what exactly having a hobby means. So I went to Wikipedia, the all-knowing website, to find an answer.

A hobby is an activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation, typically done during one's leisure time.

An activity or interest. One done for pleasure or relaxation. Well, I guess reading or blogging would count under that definition. But those are boring answers and things I have talked about before.

So what else would I consider a hobby?

Would collections count? Because I happen to collect two things. One I started years ago and the other only recently.

When I was in high school I received my first shot glass. A friend had gone away on vacation and picked one up for me as a souvenir. I knew what they were for but I never used them for that purpose. I just thought shot glasses were cool and the fact that you could find a shot glass with any type of design/advertisement on it was amazing. Pretty soon I was finding shot glasses almost everywhere I went and my collection was born. I like picking up one when I go to a new place or event. It's a commemoration of a memory I have. However, the downside to having a collection like this is that everyone else thinks it's okay to get you random shot glasses from everywhere. And I only like having pieces that mean something to me, or of places I have actually been to. Also, it's breakable and heavy and hard to display, as evidence of the Great Shot Glass Crash of '10. I lost a lot of good memories that day.

My second collection is of Cat's Meow. Cat's Meow is a product made in my father's hometown of Wooster, Ohio. My grandmother and mother have several pieces and I always said when I got old enough I wanted to start my own collection. Cat's Meow are little wooden buildings, designed to look like historic or local landmarks. Towns can have miniatures made of their buildings. The signature for a Cat's Meow piece is the little black cat silhouette, Casper, on each design. I love the fact that you can have small replicas of important places as keepsakes. I have my hometown library, post office, local inn and other Boston landmarks as well. Everywhere I go I see if there is a retailer that sells Cat's Meow. I have pieces from San Francisco and Paris and Las Vegas. I also visited the Cat's Meow Village in Wooster and picked up several pieces there. And made my very own personalized Cat's Meow. I love them and have since run out of shelf space to display them. However, I still look for the next piece I can manage to find. Because they are not commonly found they are like a scavenger hunt. I feel a secret joy every time I find one.

I even like to receive them as gifts. So if you are a friend of mine, there is a link to my Cat's Meow Wish List on my Facebook page.

You know, just as a suggestion.

The One With The Challenge: A Talent Of Mine

This one is boring because I think the only talent I have is being able to carry a tune.

Well, there is that trick I can do with a cherry stem and my tongue. But I'm not in college anymore so that talent in a 30+ year-old woman is just plain sad.

I love to sing. I have been singing pretty much my whole life. I used to be a whole lot better than I am now. I kinda let my voice go, so to speak, since I no longer train it and mold it with choirs and musicals and bands. Now I just sing in the car, in the shower and at karaoke. I am a bit rusty but can still belt out a few good notes here and there to make up for the other brave souls who have the cojones to stand up there but no voice to back it up. Still I give them credit for being brave to do it in the first place. I know a lot of people who won't do even that...namely my husband.

I find it odd I married someone with no musicality. I mean, Charming can play a mean Rock Band guitar, but that is where his musical ability ends. I always thought I would end up with someone who inspired me musically. But maybe there is a reason I didn't. I probably would get jealous if they were better than me. Because I'm a fickle bitch sometimes. So I guess it's good that opposites attract.

My talent...singing. Just not as good as I used to be. Although it still makes my parents happy to see me sing. We went karaoking the other night and I did songs they love just for them. "Gloria" by Laura Branigan for my Dad, some Carrie Underwood and Heart for my Mom. They said I was by the far the best singer of the night, but they may be a bit biased.

Although the crowd did cheer and sing along the most when I performed. I still get that little high when I sing, which is why I'll keep doing it, probably long past I should.

The One With The Challenge: My Wedding

Our wedding.

One of the most amazing days of my life.


I planned it all myself so it was a lot of work, a lot of stress, some tears and screams leading up to it.

But it was totally worth it for the end result was perfect.


Sure there were a couple things that went wrong on the Big Day. The Best Man's tux was wrong and didn't have tails, one of Brian's brothers didn't have any black socks, the flowers on our cake were blue instead of purple. My brother supplied the alcohol that got all the groomsmen tipsy before the service. Some of the pictures I wanted didn't get taken. The priest rushed through our ceremony because he had another wedding to get to due to an emergency with the priest set to officiate that service. In fact, we missed our first kiss! And he never announced us to the congregation...maybe we aren't even married...


But those were small issues compared to the joy and love we felt on that day. I married my soul mate, that was all that mattered. We had so many of our loved ones surrounding us and it was a fabulous time. The reception was so much fun, people still say it was the best wedding they ever went to. So all my hard work paid off. My contact at the reception hall who helped me coordinate everything even said I should become a wedding planner because things went off without a hitch.


But I could never make someone else's wedding as special as my own Big Day.

The One With The Challenge: An Art Piece

I love art.

I love the way people can express themselves in so many different ways through art. Painting, charcoal, photography, sculpture. It is all an insight into an artist's soul. For me, art is very personal because we are seeing an intimate part of someone. A part they had to get out onto the canvas or through clay. A part that just had to shared with the world, even if they are the only people who see it. It was a part that was too brilliant to stay inside them. Art is expression in it's highest form.

I like and appreciate all types of art, but painting are my choice medium. Maybe because my mother used to paint long ago and I always fascinated in the dedication and imagination it takes to bring a blank canvas to life. I have my favorite selections, like Chat Noir and anything by Andy Warhol. However, impressionists are really the ones that stir my emotional juices the most. Renoir's Girl Gathering Flowers is so peaceful and idyllic, you can picture her on a hillside on a gloriously blue skied day just selecting the most beautiful blossoms. Degas entire dance series is so sweet and innocent. The art of dance captured brilliantly in each stroke.

But no artist compares for me other than Claude Monet. I have been a Monet fanatic ever since I first saw the wall length picture of water lilies when I was 12 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. That painting began my love affair with art museums and art. When I found out I could go to art museums free as a student, I made quick use of that privilege all through middle school, high school and college. One of my absolute favorite things to do when I was stressed was to go and just wander the rooms and lose myself in the masterpieces hanging on the walls. But I always stayed the longest in the Impressionist wings. I love the Boston art museum, have been to the MET several times and have a soft spot of the Cleveland Museum of Art because I spent countless hours in there. The lack of an art museum is one of the things I despise most about Las Vegas. No culture like back east.

Most of Monet's work are among my favorites, especially his poppy series. But I think the impression that first water lily painting made on me had a lasting impact because that entire series is held dear in my heart. I even own several different water lily prints.


When I was sixteen, I was lucky enough to go to France on school trip and visit the place that inspired Monet's most famous painting series. It was a moment I will never forget. Walking across that foot bridge and gazing into the same flower strewn water as my most favorite artist was a surreal experience.


I also love the history surrounding how he painted these breath-taking works of art. Nearing the end of his life, Monet had moved to a tiny village in southern France. He had spectacular gardens and an amazing pond with a foot bridge and beautiful lilies floating in the water. He began painting the lilies, but soon began to go blind. The majority of his water lily series was done from memory once he went completely blind. I think it shows what an impact beautiful things can have on your soul.

I know my soul has been impacted by him.

The One With The Challenge: A Song That Makes Me Cry

This one was easy.

Hands down there is only one song that makes me sob. So much so I can't even listen to it any more. In fact, I am getting teary just thinking about it now. Thank goodness it comes around only once a year.

Christmas Shoes




"Want her to look beautiful, if Mama meets Jesus tonight." And then when the kids sing *sob*! Gets me right there *heart*

The One With The Challenge: My Dream House

These posts over the next week are going to be a bit of a challenge for me. My parents are in town, and forgive me, I can think of a lot better things to do while they are here than be on the computer. But I am going to try and keep my word and do a post everyday, I just may not go into as much detail as usual. Also I won't be by to read all of your lovely posts but I'll catch up once they leave.

I love houses. I love to look at them and tour them and fix them up. I am addicted to HGTV and shows like House Hunters where people try to find a new home. There is just something so comforting about a good house. A house that you can really made a home. And nowhere else do houses feel like homes than in movies and on TV. Those set designers make the houses their characters live in look so inviting they help add to the ambiance that you really know these people even though they aren't real.

I love a good house in a TV show or movie. I have dreamed of living in the Party of Five house, caring for my orphaned siblings while still looking cool. Full House was the quintessential San Francisco row house that I made a point of seeing when we went on a trip their last June. Meredith's house on Grey's Anatomy holds all of her friends under one roof and has a fabulous layout. These houses were another character on these shows, vital to the storyline even though I never knew it. They made the characters who they are. Because nothing connects you with someone more than their sense of home.

But movie houses are my all time favorite dream homes. There are so many I love, for different reasons. If I were to want to live in Connecticut and own an orchard, I would definitely pick the house from Baby Boom. My California dream home comes from the majestic white house from Father of the Bride. If I would want to live in a more Southern locale I would have to pick Noah's restored plantation from The Notebook (Ryan Gosling included, of course) A vacation home in the Italian countryside? The ruin made wonderful in Under the Tuscan Sun. And following my dream to retire in Golly Ole England I would love to live in Graham's idyllic British mill abode from The Holiday, although Iris' little cottage is just as divine.

But those houses pale in comparison to my ultimate dream home. Or homes I should say. Because I would take these two and make them the perfect dream home for me. I really love old architecture. One of the reasons I am itching to get back to the East Coast is because I have always seen myself living in a hundred plus year home common to Massachusetts, Connecticut etc. I love the idea of having history on the outside with more modern touches on the inside. A mix of old and new. I adore wood burning fireplaces and bold mantles, wooden spired staircases and large homey kitchens with an island to gather around. So to make my dream home I would take the majority of the New York suburb home from The Family Stone and add a few touches of the farmhouse from Marley & Me.





Mold these two together, thrown them somewhere in Ohio or Pennsylvania so I can be near my family and I will live in bliss.

The One With The Challenge: A Non-Fictional Book

A non-fictional book that I would recommend to anyone?

Why The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming of course.

I had been reading the Daily Coyote blog for quite some time when the author's book came out and immediately snatched up a copy for myself. The blog showed quick glimpses, mostly in the style of breathtaking pictures snapped by the author, into the life of this woman who adopted a coyote and lived in a cabin with the pup and her cat in the wilds of Wyoming. I read with glee about her cat Eli taking the dominate role over this coyote that would one day be big enough to eat him and how Charlie treats Eli like his big brother. How she gets a new dog Chloe to make her little family complete and her other animals that round out her ranch in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. Always well-written and very engaging I looked forward to her posts every day. It was fascinating to read about how she managed to raise a coyote pup, orphaned a only a few days old, as a member of her family. It is a must read on my blog list.


But the blog only showed so much. I was hoping for more of the story when I picked up the book and I was not disappointed. As a city-girl thrust into the rough wild of what can be a very unforgiving state, the author manages to find love, adopt a coyote, learn various ranch things and create an amazing account of her new and at times very difficult life. The book delves into the details of what the author experienced in the first year of Charlie's life. The adjustments made and how having this wild animal as a "pet" changed her life completely. Both Charlie and Shreve grow together as they figure out how their relationship of trust and love will work. It is beautifully written and really shows the bond one can have with an animal.

The author writes from the heart and that is what I most love about this book. You can feel the emotion on every page and how this opportunity, to save a creature rather than let nature's course take it away, changed her life forever. The bond she forges with her coyote is amazing and such a joy to read about as it unfolds. There are tough times and fun times and times she wasn't sure what she got herself into. But it is not just a book about a coyote and the woman who takes him in. Overall it is such a testament to the human spirit and how wonderful life can be if you open your heart and let it in, open yourself up to the journey. We are taken along with her while she takes that journey and can see how it shapes her as a person, a lover, a mother to furry children. The author really lives LIFE and that is something not many people do. Which is why someday I hope I can be half as brave as her.

The One With The Challenge: A Fictional Book

This is another almost impossible challenge. I love reading, as I said many times before. I read everything. I love so many different genres and authors and series. One book out of the hundreds I have read?

How could I choose?

Ironically it was my brother who helped me decide. While he was staying with us for the past month and a half he surprisingly asked me for some books to read. He had come across a coffee table book I had called Why Do Men Have Nipples? and found it entertaining. So he asked if I had anything else he might enjoy. My brother is not a reader, so this was unexpected. I jumped at the chance to give him some suggestions, right off my own bookshelves, that I adore. I didn't want to overwhelm him so I gave him only three to start off. Waiter Rant, because it was along the similar line of quirky, funny and informative that he enjoyed in the other book he read, and also because he waits occasionally. My pick for tomorrow's non-fiction challenge so I won't say it yet was the second book I gave him. And one fiction book.

Like my brother, Charming is not a reader. But when I read this book The Husband by Dean Koontz I immediately told him he had to read it. He balked at first so I said, read the first chapter, which wasn't very long but grabs you right away. It's a great suspense novel with cliffhangers at the end of every chapter so you have to keep reading, even when you know you should be doing something else. I begged Charming to try it and he agreed, reluctantly, sure he would scoff that he would be that interested in a book to actually read. Pretty soon I heard him flipping pages and he was well past the first chapter. He finished the book in about a week which is lightning fast for him. Now whenever someone asks for a book suggestion he is quick to jump in with this book. He calls it the Book For People Who Don't Read.

And proving our point is the fact that my brother loved that book. He read it pretty quickly as well. And if a book is good enough to get two people who never read to read it and then rave about it, well, I think it is a pretty good book to have on this challenge.


The Husband by Dean Koontz. Read it!