Shesabigstar

I Told You!

2009-07-14T20:58:00.003-04:00

Were you doubting me already? I told you I'd be back tonight, and true to my word, here I am! So exciting, I know!!

Gosh, should I even TRY and catch you up with where I've been and what I've been up to? I'm afraid it's probably a little anti-climatic! I'd love to sit here and tell you that I'm now independently wealthy, a stay-at-home mom who goes to the gym each day and shops to her hearts delight... but woah, reality just smacked me upside the head! I'm not giving up on that dream yet... in fact, I still need to check my lottery tickets from Saturday night... but for now, that's not my life.

Let's see... the kiddos, they're growing fast... Ryan is 7 and Emily is 5... quite precious...

Still working at a job that I don't really care for... BUT, I'm thankful to have a job so I won't complain about that.

The website... oh, the website! We've been going strong for over a year now and it's very exciting. We've gotten to travel so much, go to so many shows and meet some pretty amazing people. It's occupied a large part of our lives over the last year and it's become something bigger than we anticipated - very exciting!

I turned 30... talk about a ~~minor~~ major point of stress for me. It's funny - I was mortified about turning the big 3-0, but in the last few weeks, I feel a huge shift in my life... I honestly don't even know what's happening or where it's taking me... but the one thing that I do know is that the 30's, yeah, they don't suck... in fact, they're pretty freakin' amazing so far!

I guess to sum it all up right now, I'm feeling very blessed. I love my kids and I can't wait to share each day with them, to teach them new things, to travel with them and make memories. I'm feeling more blessed and thankful for them every single day... even when I think I can't love them any more than I do at this moment, tomorrow comes and I love them more. As for me, there's still things that I'm working on... I'm not 100% where I want to be just yet, but I'm doing my best to get there... even though I'm still trying to figure out where "there" should be.

As far as this blog... I don't really know... I know that I love to write and even though my life is crazy busy, I want to document as much of it as I can. As I was reading back through my old posts today, (and getting slightly embarrassed at some of the things I wrote!,) it made me realize how much I enjoy being able to relive the memories and I'm not ready to let go of that yet. So internets, it looks like you're stuck with me!

Hello...hello, internets...

2009-07-14T13:42:00.004-04:00

I'm baaaaack! For real!

I can't believe I left for this long and I'm quite certain that I have no readers left, but I'm hoping that miraculously some of you have forgotten that I'm still in your feed readers so if I am, HEY, how ARE you?!

Wow... I was just skimming back through my blog... my, how things change over a couple of ~~months~~ years! I will catch you up to speed in the next couple of days... stay with me here while I give the site a ~~little~~ big overhaul and fill you in on my life now... not that it's THAT interesting or anything, but it's... well, it's me!

Check back tonight - I'll be here - and tomorrow - and the next day, and the day after that, and the one after that! Exciting... for me anyways!

Country Music Is Love

2008-07-09T16:23:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone...so it's pretty clear that this blog has lacked some serious motivation and I'm sorry to say, it's probably going to stay that way, at least for a while. For anyone that's ever visited here, it's painfully clear that I have a passion for Country Music...so my friend, Lauren, and I have created a new Country Music blog with all of the up to date happenings in the world of Country Music. We'd love it if you'd visit our blog, share it with friends and family, and come back and visit often. Thanks! The new site is Country Music Is Love...we'll be constantly working on making it bigger and better...yay, we're excited!!

And btw, just because I haven't been posting here, I'm still lurking (and sometimes commenting!!) on all of your blogs...LOVE THEM!!

Quotes

2008-02-08T15:32:00.000-05:00

" Never Forget How to Have a Good Laugh and a Little Fun. For When You Do, It's When Your Soul Grows Old." ~ Unknown

"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time, it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable." ~ Sidney J. Harris

"Having someplace to go is home. Having someone to love is family. Having both is a Blessing." ~Unknown

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you." ~ Oscar Wilde

"Your life is an occasion, rise to it" ~ Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium!

"Well behaved women rarely make history" ~ Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

"It's not enough to just live" ~ Unknown

"Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels." ~ Unknown

"Don't ask for a light load, but rather ask for a strong back." ~ Unknown

"To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give of one's self;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived —
This is to have succeeded." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." ~ Anatole France

I'm Not Gonna Lie, I'm Pretty Damn Excited...

2008-02-05T00:07:00.000-05:00

I won't be ashamed and I won't hold it inside...I'm pretty excited.

19 Minutes Left To Mourn

2008-02-04T23:41:00.000-05:00

I've allowed myself one official day of mourning for the Patriots Super Bowl defeat, and since I only have 17 minutes left, I thought I'd pour it out into my blog. Oh yes, there will be other Super Bowls...but other chances at a PERFECT SEASON, doubtful. Imagine the tears that fled my face this morning when I stopped at Dunkin Donuts (I know, I know, but I am NOT a Starbucks fan!) for my morning coffee, only to see the newspapers rubbing in the sheer heartache. The toughest one had to be the Boston Herald, covered with a gorgeous picture of New England's Golden Boy (in case you're living under a rock, that would be Mr. Tom Brady aka Miss Cupcake's Baby Daddy wannabe) with a headline that read GIANT LETDOWN. Ouch. That hurt. I'm not gonna lie, I shed some tears right then and there.

What makes it even harder is the fact that my 6 year old Son is a HUGE fan of the Manning family. HUGE. Peyton is his all-time #1 BFF, but Eli runs a close second these days. Being the smart-ass that I am, I told him that if the Giants won, I'd buy him an Eli jersey. Huh, that will be fun going to the register and purchasing a GIANTS jersey...good one Mom.

And damn those Manning boys, just damn them for all of the wonderful things that they have done for the sport of Football both on and off the field. And damn Peyton and Eli , for this moment because once again today, there were tears...

Lifestyle Change

2008-01-10T13:38:00.000-05:00

So who else has made the commitment to lose weight this year? I know, it's kind of a boring topic, but I know I'm not the only one! I have declared 2008 to be all about me (I'm pretty sure 2007 turned out that way too, but I didn't necessarily make the concious decision for it to be that way!!)...and I'm not doing this to be selfish, but it's high time that I put taking care of myself at the top of the list!

So by taking care of myself, weight loss needs to be my top priority...it just HAS to be! I'm not enormous...but I'm not that stick-thin hot body that I want to be either!! And let's be honest, do we really think that Kenny will settle for anyone who's just mediocre looking? Just kidding, this really is about ME. So I've made a lot of changes in my eating habits, and to my surprise, it hasn't been that hard. Maybe it's because I'm finally in the mind set of being healthy, maybe I'm just REALLY ready to shed some pounds this time...don't really know, but I do know that I'm on a mission and that Lean Cuisine's have become by new BFF! If you guys haven't tried them, I HIGHLY recommend them. I pretty much live off of Lean Cuisine...lunch and dinner every single day...add in some extra fruits, veggies, yogurt, reduced fat Wheat Thins, cereal, and a whole lot of water, and there you have it, that is my whole diet. And I'm back to the gym...I go for an hour EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Go me!!

I've been sticking to the "lifestyle change" religiously, but the only frustrating thing is that I don't see results sooner. I'm on the right path and I'm losing weight...but dang, I can't wait to put on my pants and have them be too big, ya know? I don't mind so much that it takes a while to chip away at the actual number of my weight, I just want to see/feel some results already. I guess 10 days isn't much, but I WILL get there by this Summer, no doubt! Miss Cupcake and I have a date at Abercrombie & Fitch when she gets home!! I've lost 3 pounds and counting...my next weigh in is Saturday...I'll let you know how it goes! And no, I'm not going to actually reveal my weight to y'all, we'll just stick with the # of puonds lost!!

So who else is on a "lifestyle change" mission? Leave me your stories in the comments and good luck! And don't forget to check out Lauren's blog to see her progress too!

Knock Knock, Is Anybody Home?

2008-01-07T22:39:00.001-05:00

HI!! Do I have any readers left out there in the WWW? I'm SO sorry that I've been neglecting my poor little blog the last couple of months, but I'M BACK! I've been busy...yeah, you know how that goes, right? It's crazy...I just haven't had ANY motivation for the blog but those days are behind us because I'm here now, and that's all that really matters, right?

Um, can we talk about Britney for a second...cause seriously, what is going on with that poor girl? I know, I know, everyone is so sick of Britney and who really cares anyway, but I care! I'm a total People.com junkie and let's not leave out TMZ, and last but not least, as Lauren puts it, Perez knows EVERYTHING!! So let's all hope that Britney gets some help...cause she is on my iPod and as I was jamming out to her last night, I was very reminiscent of her better days...member when she danced on the pier with her great moves, and she was so cute, and OMG I wish my stomach was that flat! Ok, so you get the picture...I'm definitely on Team Britney!

And speaking of flat stomachs...I've joined the 45648975315489 other people in the world who has vowed to lose the extra weight for the New Year. And I know it's only the 7th, but I'm doing SOOOO good. I'm keeping a food journal, I'm limiting my calories A LOT, and I'm busting it at the gym for an hour EVERY SINGLE DAY!! Go me! I actually started a couple of days before the New Year so I had my first weigh in the other day...did someone say GO ME??!!...yep, I lost 3 pounds in my first week! I know that's ambitious and that you're only supposed to lose 1-2 pounds per week, but whatever...I LOST THREE POUNDS!!! Now only 10 more weeks of that and I'll treat myself to a big dinner of Chinese take-out...HA...just kidding! You better believe when Kenny season comes around, I'll be looking better than ever!! My friend Lauren is joining me on the diet & exercise bandwagon and she even started a blog about it...too cute...you must check it out. And she just started it, so check back often because she's going to update it all the time...like me!

Oh and yes, I said Kenny...surely you've all missed him! There's been lots of fun stuff going on with me...nothing major...just lots of fun little things and I'll update you in the next few days. I don't want to bore you all with one big long post tonight. But I'm back, I promise...and I hope my readers will come back too!

Beckett's Got BALLS!!

2007-10-25T11:24:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning I'll be headed to the open waters for a cruise with a bunch of girl friends...sun, food, drinks, good friends, music, the ocean...yeah, it doesn't get much better than that! We'll be watching the Series from the ship...GO SOX!!

(From deadspin.com...)
• This Just In, Beckett's Got Balls. ...and they're dirty big balls. Where have I seen this before? Josh Beckett on the mound, pressure cooking...game, season, dreams on the line. Oh wait, it happens every single time the dude steps on the hill during the postseason.

Oh, and let's not forget the sexiest Sox fan alive (besides me, of course!!...) ROCK ON BOSTON!!

Just So You Know...

2007-10-18T19:29:00.000-04:00

Who took your profile picture?
I honestly have no idea…it was taken in Hartford, CT at the KC concert, but I don’t know who took it

Exactly what are you wearing right now?
Orange, light green, and white striped pajama pants and a pink and white striped T-shirt
What is your current problem?
Money…or lack there of.

What makes you most happy?
My kids, my friends, working out, and music

What's the name of the song that you're listening too?
Beer In Mexico by KC
Nickname?
Don’t really have one anymore

Eye color?
Blue

Hair color?
Blonde
Height?
5”0’
Do you live with your parent(s)?
No
Do you get along with your parent(s)?
Yes
Are your parents married/separated/divorced?
Divorced

Do you have any Siblings?
Yes, 1 Sister
Favorite Ice Cream?
Ben & Jerry’s Half-Baked…it’s chocolate and vanilla ice cream with brownies and chocolate chip cookie dough…pretty much heaven
Season?
Summer, summer, summer
Band?
KC & the boys

Food?
Peanut Butter and Chocolate…together!!

Drink?
Milk, Water, Margarita, Beer
Pen Color?
Black

Store?
It depends what I’m shopping for…clothes would have to be Gap for Jeans, American Eagle, Abercrombie, and Victoria’s Secret…if I’m just shopping for “stuff” then I’m a Target girl!!
Call people back?
Always

Believe in love?
Yes, but I don’t necessarily believe that it’s for me
Sleep on a certain side of the bed?
Yep, on the right
Broken a bone?
Just a small bone in my foot
Gotten surgery?
When I was a baby…I don’t remember it

Taken painkillers?
Hell yes…God love Excedrin
Overdosed on pain killers?
Ah, no
Been stung by a bee?
Not that I can remember although I did have to fight one off going into the post office yesterday
Threw up in a doctors office?
Haha, no, I don’t think so

Who was the last person to text you?
Kym
Thing you touched?
My phone
Thing you said?
”It’s time to settle down”
Person you hugged?
Ryan
Person you talked to on the phone?
Dr. Donnelly
Last time you cleaned your room?
Last weekend

Red Sox Prayer

2007-10-18T19:19:00.001-04:00

(This is Kenny signing the Green Monster @ Fenway in 2004!! That's right, 2004, the year they won the World Series...it must have brought them luck then, so I'm posting it here in hopes that it will bring them luck again tonight!!)

Our Father, who art at Fenway...
Baseball be thy game.
They Kingdom come,
Playoffs need to be won,
On Earth, then on to the Cask 'n' Flagon.

Give us this day, a perfect Papi,
And forgive us our losses,
As we forgive those,
Like Bill Buckner.

And lead us not, into desperation,
But deliver us from any losses.

For thine is the Power,
And the Glory,
To beat the Indians,
Forever and ever....the Yankees suck

A-men

Stupid Is As Stupid Does...

2007-10-17T18:08:00.000-04:00

Suffice it to say that my financial situation is, at the moment, struggling. On my list of things to do today (you know, besides drop two kids off at school, work 8 hours, go to the grocery store, go to the post office, go downtown to run an errand, pick the kids up, make dinner, give the kids a bath, and put the kids to bed) was to:

1. Call the bank to discuss $60 in fees they've placed on my Savings Account
2. Call the phone company and ask them to be courteous and remove my $200 worth of overage fees from last month
3. Call the credit card company to ask them to remove the $30 over limit fee they placed on my account

When you're poor, you have no shame and will think nothing of doing the above mentioned items...6 months ago, I would have happily paid all of the above...now, yeah not so much. So I call my credit card company and PRAISE THE LORD, I got someone who could speak English!! I knew right then that the call would go my way...no worries at all, they happily waived the fee. Score!

I was on a roll, so I immediately called my bank's 1-800 Customer Service number. I finally get through to a real person and they needed to verify my identity...no problem, I can appreciate that. Social Security #? Check. First and last name? Check. Full address including zip code? Check. Telephone number? Check. Verbal password? Check. Last 4 digits of your checking and savings accounts? "For Christ's sake lady, my checking account has $1.65 in it and my savings account is $60 overdrawn, if someone else wants access to that, they can HAVE IT!" And that's a direct quote.

I haven't attempted the phone company yet...I think my luck is running out...

...And She Smashed The Rear View Mirror With Her Fist, Because Starting Today, She's Never Looking Back

2007-10-17T14:48:00.001-04:00

Rock On Boston!!

2007-10-12T21:11:00.000-04:00

You can thank the Sox for another post from me tonight! Since I'm sitting here watching them cream the Indians, I thought I'd post for the second day in a row!! Very exciting, I know. Just another one of these thingys, but hey, at least I'm here ya'll...

“If I had to” section...

1. If you HAD to get a tattoo, where would you want it and what would you get?
I’m actually considering it, but I haven’t convinced myself yet…I’m thinking about getting a cluster of pink and orange stars on the small of my back

2. If you HAD to dye your hair, which color would you choose?
I do dye my hair…blonde, blonde and a little more blonde

3. If you HAD to get a piercing (that isn't in your ears) what would you get?
I have my belly button pierced…of course, it was a hell of a lot sexier when I was 30 pounds less!

4. If you HAD to change your name...what new name would you choose?
Haha…Brandy…I’ve always wanted my name to be Brandy, not really sure why. Miss Cupcake is writing a book and she asked what I wanted my character’s name to be and I told her Brandy and she said “no way, I’m not having a stripper in my book!”

The "If you could" section...

5. If you COULD go bungee jumping, would you?
Hell no…

6. Would you move somewhere else, if you COULD?
Absolutely…June 2009…I’m just sayin…

7. If you were given the chance to go to Paris, WOULD you go?
Of course

8. If you found 10 million dollars, and it was YOURS to spend, what would you buy?
I’d buy a few houses…one here so that I’d have a place to stay when we come back to visit, one in TN, and one on an island somewhere. I’d also buy a couple of new cars…they’d all be black…a rockin’ SUV and a sporty little convertible. I’d pay off my student loans and then I’d travel, travel, travel. Oh, and let’s not forget front row tickets to every Kenny concert that I could stand. Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I'd share with all of my friends and family and donate A LOT to charity too.

9. Let's say the President called you. How would the conversation go?
Pretty boring…I really have no interest in talking to him. Except that he did have Kenny at the White House to perform for the Australian Prime Minister a year and a half ago, so we’d probably discuss that. HA! The President calls me and we chat about Kenny…what else?

10. Lets say you had to eat a tarantula for $1,000... would you?
Dead or alive? Normally I’d say no, but right about now, maybe…

11. Let's say you could bring one person back from the dead...who would it be?
My brother, Scott

12. Let's say you could star in any movie (made or in the works) what movie would you be in?
Dirty Dancing for sure

The "Favorites" section...

13. Color?
Pink

14. Current song?
Just Not Today by KC

15. Shirt you own?
Fitted white t-shirt…classic

16. Electronic device?
My iPod…my baby, I love it

17. Movie?
Dirty Dancing, Fools Rush In

18. Book?
Mmmm, not much of a book person

19. Pair of shoes?
Flip flops…bamboo on the bottom with orange and yellow rope for the straps

20. Hair color?
Blonde

21. Eye color?
Blue

The "Other Stuff" section...

22. What makes your bedroom unique?
It’s an island, tropical theme…I love it

23. Who do you love?
Hehe…Kenny

24. How long does it take you to get ready in the mornings?
For me and the kids our ideal is an hour and a half…I can do it in 45 minutes though, but it usually involves a little yelling and a lot of stress

25. What's your favorite season of the year?
Sweet Summertime…

26. What is the color of the shirt you're wearing?
Light Green
The "Random" section...

27. What's the last mistake you made?
I might have had a handful of chips this afternoon…pretty sure that’s not on my Special K diet.

28. Is the sun shining?
No

29. Can you successfully blow up and tie a balloon?
Oh yes

30. Do you like text messaging?
Yes

31. Are you having a good/bad hair day?
It was good until it rained, now it’s bad

32. What was your last purchase?
Groceries

33. What are your plans for later?
Going to put my whitestrips on, watch the rest of the Red Sox game, and then bed…and yes, that’s my exciting Friday night

34. Who's your celebrity crush?
Kenny and a little Luke Bryan

35. Is there any drama in your life?
Not really…it sneaks in once in a while, but I shove it right back out

36. What song do they need to stop playing on the radio?
Anything by Carrie Underwood

37. Are you content with life right now?
Yes I am

38. Does anyone like you?
Are we in 3rd grade?

39. What is your current obsession?
That would be Kenny

40. Do you have a cell phone?
Yes…a Blackberry

41. Ever been kissed under mistletoe?
I’m sure, but I don’t remember it

42. Would you ever smile at a stranger?
Yes I do it often…and then usually make fun of them under my breath immediately after. JUST KIDDING…maybe.

43. Ever done a random act of kindness?
I’m sure

44. Last curse word you used? And how?
I don’t remember but give me a minute, it won’t be long

45. Are your lips chapped?
No, they’re never chapped…I use chap stick like it’s my job…Bahama Bo’s Mango Melon

46. Are you currently jealous?
Of who? I don’t think so

47. Do you remember your dream last night?
No

48. Are you mad at anyone?
Mad? I guess not…don’t really have the energy to be mad

49. What's going on this weekend?
Kids stuff…dance and soccer…and a whole lot of football on Sunday

50. Done any summer cleaning lately?
Yes, I clean like a mad woman

51. Anything bothering you?
Yeah, a few things, but I’ll deal

52. Do you get mad easily?
Nah

53. Did you wish for anything last night on 11:11?
I’m sure I was asleep

54. Do you drink coffee on a regular basis?
I’m trying to quit thankyouverymuch…but yes, I normally do…French Vanilla, cream and sugar

55. Do you wish you were someone else?
Not really, but I do wish for things that I don’t have

56. What jewelry are you wearing?
My earrings and hook bracelet…I never take them off

57. Ate any exotic food lately?
Special K diet…nothing exotic there

58. How many contacts do you have on MSN?
Don’t use MSN

59. Are you easily amused?
Yes, I’m blonde

60. Can you lick your elbow?
No, and yes I just tried

61. Do you know this song, "we fly high, NO lie, you know this"?
No, I think you made it up

62. Do you have a crush right now?
No, unless you consider Kenny

63. How was your summer?
Amazing, priceless

64. What is on your mind just this second?
I wish it was still Summer!!

Oh My God, I'm Sorry!!

2007-10-11T21:32:00.000-04:00

When it comes to posting, I just can't get into it lately...I don't know why...although now that I think about it, it's probably because my life is BOR-ING!! If there's any readers left out there, I'm still around and I don't want you to leave me, I'm just waiting for some creative energy! In the mean time, I'll take the easy way out...

50 Q's

1. What's the worst thing about hugs?
When you’re hugging someone who you don’t want to be hugging…that’s the worst!

2. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again
Yes

3. What are you listening to?
Way Back Hartford courtesy of my girl, Nicole…rock on!!

4. Did you talk to anybody random?
When…today? No. Ever? Yes, all the time.

5. Did any particular thing brighten up your day?
No absolutely not

6. What's the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Got married…

7. Did your last outing involve the police?
No

8. If you could hug anyone right now, who would it be?
Kenny Chesney!!

9. Do you make every decision as if your parents are watching you?
No, not at all…it’s all about me

10. When was the last time you were grounded?
Freshman year of high school

11. Do you love any body more than words can say?
My kids

12. Have you ever gotten the butterflies?
Of course

13. What were you doing at 12 AM four days ago?
Most likely sleeping

14. Do you sleep with socks or shoes on?
I sleep barefoot unless I’m REALLY cold, then I’ll put socks on and pull the covers over my head

15. If you could change anything about your past would you?
Absolutely...did you read # 6?

16. Do you bail on people often?
No, I don’t think so

17. Does anyone think youre a bitch?
Oh yes

18. Do you consider yourself attractive?
Depends on the day

19. Do you consider your best friend attractive?
Yes, but I’m not attracted to her

20. When was the last time you went ice skating?
Probably when I was about 4

21. Have you ever been on a real date?
Yes

22. Describe the perfect girlfriend/boyfriend in 1 word:
Kenny

23. Your team loses-are you watching the next game?
Please, I'm a Red Sox fan...I'd have ditched them a long time ago if I was a fair-weather fan

25. Who was the last person you hugged?
Emily

26. What was the last thing that made you smile?
”I hope we’re still here & this isn’t heaven…”

27. Have you ever been fired from a job?
Oh yes, good times

28. Someone trips in front of you- what do you do?
Laugh hysterically ~ I can’t help myself

29. Have you ever failed a class?
Yes

30. Have you ever attended a school dance?
Way back when

31. A person says they like you-you say:
I don’t say anything…just look the other way and roll my eyes

32. What's your favorite thing to do while watching a movie?
Sleep…I can’t remember the last time that I watched a whole movie…unless it involves dancing and I’m at home, then I’ll get up and jam out in my living room along with the movie

33. Do you enjoy cuddling?
Depends on who it’s with...if it's with someone that I really care about then it's all good...or if it's just a lot of flirting then that's good too...but if it's somewhere in the middle, yeah not so much

34. Have you ever woken up next to someone and smiled?
It’s been a while

35. Are you really close with your parents?
Yes, both of them

36. Do you go hunting?
Oh hell no…unless you count hitting a deer in the road, cause I’ve done that

37. Your friend's pregnant-you say?
”I’ll go to the clinic with you”…sorry, no nasty comments please, I’m just sayin…

38. What's your favorite sport?
Baseball & Football…rock on Boston!!

40. Who do you look up to the most?
Myself...I don't really look for inspiration in other people, I just try to create it within myself

41. An ideal 24 hours would consist of?
Food, drink, music, sun, beach, friends…that's pretty much paradise to me

42. Do you like to run?
Yes actually, I love to…but you probably can’t tell that right about now

43. Do you plan on dressing up for Halloween this year?
No…but my kids will

44. What's on your key chain?
A small flip-flop, 4 keys, and my door lock/unlock thingy

45. What word starts with M?
M&M’s…sorry but I love them...oink oink...bring on the peanut and peanut butter ones, please

46. What is your favorite day of the week and why?
Right now it’s Sunday…I LOVE Sundays in the fall…lazy, lazy days watching football

47. Do you have deja vu often?
Sometimes, usually associated with music, it just takes me back to some really great memories

48. Has your favorite color ever been pink or blue?
Yes, it’s pink

49. Do you believe in true love or love at first sight?
No, not at all

50. How many hoodies do you own?
4 I think

Rock On Sox!!

2007-10-04T22:51:00.000-04:00

I've been TOTALLY MIA lately, but I'll be back soon...probably on Sunday for an update and hopefully more regularly after that. Things have just been, you know, busy lately. I've been, ummmmmm, really really busy and haven't had a spare 10 minutes to post on here. Yes, that's it...I've just been really busy...you get it, right? Anyways, to tide you over until then, GO SOX!!

Good Morning America

2007-09-05T11:09:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone...a longer post is in the works as I have some stuff to tell you about, but, in the mean time, I need to beg, plead, cry to you all...anything that will help get me to the roof!! WTF you ask? Kenny is performing on Good Morning America next Thursday, Sept. 13th...we have tickets to be in the studio that day, but as it turns out, Kenny is doing a private performance for VIP's (I thought I was one, but apparently me and GMA aren't on the same page about that) and radio contest winners. So I need a hook up!! Does anyone, ANYONE out there in blog land have any connections to Good Morning America that could get me on the roof?? I'm begging...I know, it's pathetic, but when it comes to Kenny, I'm shameless!

And Baby, That's All I Really Need...

2007-09-02T22:47:00.000-04:00

Well, Hello There!

2007-08-26T20:02:00.000-04:00

Well hello, internets! If you couldn't already tell, I've been on a bit of a blog break...it seems to be the thing to do lately, I guess!! Red has taken an announced break, and like me, The Jen's and Paisley have seem to just mellowed out for a while. It's not that I don't like my blog, because I do, I heart it...the inspiration just hasn't come to me lately. I hope you are all doing well and that all of my 6 readers haven't given up on me already!

So ho-hum, I'm still not really inspired for a funny post, so I guess you just get an update on my life. Exciting stuff, huh?

As you can see by my last post, Miss Cupcake is leaving me. At this time next week, she will be 30,410 miles from here, in Quito, Ecuador...and she'll be there for the next 11 months. I'm all for a road trip, but I'm not sure even Kenny's music could make that one bearable! I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty sad about this...I'm happy for her as she's very excited about this opportunity...but ya'll, it's nothing new, I'm SELFISH!! I've had her here for the last YEAR and I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do without her!! Fear not, she will have internet access so I'm sure she will keep her blog updated and we've already scheduled our daily gmail chats.

My muchachos are both starting school next week! Ryan will be starting Kindergarten and Emily will be starting pre-school...and I will be a mess! Ryan graduated from pre-school last week and you better believe the tears were flowing. Picture 7 little boys in their white caps and decorated white t-shirts (gowns) receiving diplomas and watching a 20-minute slide show of the past year set to the sappiest music, EVER! (Que: "I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside"...it's too bad you weren't in my living room right now because you would have heard my MOST AWESOME Whitney Houston impression, but I guess you'll just have to settle on the visual.)

And then there was the poster that started the tears...

And then there's the whole way that I've been feeling lately. I'm feeling very...empowered? Confident? I'm not sure the best way to describe it, but I honestly feel like I can do ANYTHING that I want to. This is probably going to sound dumb to you guys, but ever since my whole Kenny experience, I have come to the realization that I can do absolutely anything in this world that I want to. And it really has nothing to do with Kenny himself, but with the way that the events of that week unfolded and everything that happened...suffice it to say that I believe in karma, and I believe that you get back what you put out there, and that you truly control your own destiny. There are so many things out there that I want to do, and the thought of doing them doesn't scare me at all, it's the thought of NOT doing them that terrifies me and drives me. It's a pretty good way to feel...and don't roll your eyes, cause it isn't about Kenny at all, it's just a huge life lesson that I happened to learn that week.

And speaking of life lessons, let me leave you with some new Kenny music...

Don't Blink

I turned on the evening news
Saw an old man being interviewed
Turning a hundred and two today
Asked him what's the secret to life
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said "All I can say is..."

Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old and you're taking naps and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your better half
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink

I was glued to my tv and it looked like he looked at me and said
"Best start putting first things first."
Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can't flip over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it's worth

I've been tryin' to slow it down
I've been tryn' to take it in
In this here today gone tomorrow world we're livin' in

Don't blink
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster you think
Don't blink

She's Leaving On A Jet Plane...

2007-08-24T12:59:00.000-04:00

Miss Cupcake is headed to Ecuador! That's right...she'll be leaving next Friday to spend almost a full year in Ecuador, as she'll be teaching the English language to the locals. Please stop by her blog, leave her some love, and wish her well on her adventure!!

A Real Post Is Coming Soon, I Promise. But, In The Meantime...

2007-08-18T12:23:00.000-04:00

by Maya Angelou

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
one friend who always makes her laugh...and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without
ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year...

Since I Have No Motivation For My Blog Right Now...

2007-08-11T19:39:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Red.

How do you like your grilled cheese?
Grilled, with cheese

Where was your last vacation?
From Maine, to New York, to New Jersey, to Massachusetts. What? That doesn't sound like much of a vacation? It was...it was the best vacation, EVER!

Who are your godparents?
Don't have any.

How long has it been since you bought a new toothbrush?
Funny you should ask, it was yesterday. And it's pink...cause I'm a girl like that!

Where are you at noon everyday?
It's hard to say...somewhere between work, the mall, Target, a lunch establishment, or Grammy with the Birdies.

How many speeding tickets have you gotten?
I think just one. I was 17 and the cop was a prick. I tried being all girly and talking my way out of it, but he had no time for me. I was going 49 in a 30...thanks Mom for paying the $225 fine.

Do tarot cards tell the truth?
I don't know...that stuff freaks me out...I don't really want to know.

What was your favorite movie in junior high?
I don't remember...probably Dirty Dancing...and it still is.

What is the last thing you said out loud?
"OK, I will" to Emily as she insisted that I get her Apple Juice instead of Milk.

What do you think of the iPhone?
Thank you for asking as this has been on my mind lately. My first thought is that I don't need one and that I'd never be able to figure it all out. My second thought is that I'm pretentious and I need one.

What is the weirdest thing in your bedroom?
If I thought anything was weird, I probably wouldn't have it. My bedroom is awesome!!

Where did you get the shirt you're wearing?
I'm wearing two...one is from Old Navy and the other is from the Bass Outlet.

Do you use a plan book?
OMG yes! I'm a planner and an organizer and a list girl! I'd be lost without it.

At what age do you plan on having kids?
Nevah! I have two...had them at 22 and 25...no more...thanks for asking though.

When was the last time you swam?
October 2006. Next time I'll swim? Tomorrow.

What do you order at Subway?
Funny you should ask because I went there yesterday. 6 inch Roast Beef on wheat with lettuce, tomato, extra pickles, green peppers, extra salt and pepper, and extra yellow mustard.

Do you keep your closets organized?
Yes, absolutely. I'm an organization freak.

How do you make headaches go away?
I'm with Red...I swear by Excedrin. I heart it.

Have you owned a betta before?
Yes, what college kid hasn't? I had a betta and his name was Ass. Yes, Ass as in your ass! Side note, my friend Colleen had one too and when she went home for Christmas break, she brought her fish with her. About half way through her trip home, the fish bowl tipped over and the water spilled out...she didn't know what to do so she threw her fish in the nearest trash can.

If you moved out of state, what state would you move to?
Tennessee...I REALLY want to!! Like really, REALLY bad.

How old is your best friend?
She's 27.

Did you attend preschool?
Nope, no preschool and no god parents...I was unloved.

What do your shower curtains look like?
It's clear with white vines on it.

Did you have an imaginary friend as a child?
I didn't have an imaginary friend per say, although I used to lay in bed at night and pretend I was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club.

How do you make eggs?
I usually don't but when I do, I make them scrambled...I'd like to make omelettes, but I'm not very good at it.

Where do you wash your clothes?
In my washing machine which is in my mud room.

Which parent do you look most like?
They say I look like my Pops.

Who are the neighbors who live to the right of you?
I don't know...I've only been here for a year and a half.

What are your thoughts on Tom Cruise?
YOUNG MR. FLANNIGAN! Tom, seriously, can you forget about the whole Scientology, marrying Katie Holmes, and having a kid thing...I still have a thing for Brian Flannigan so I'm just going to pretend you're still him. (Hello, Cocktail anyone?)

What is the next vehicle you wish to buy?
A BMW X-5. Black.

Do you pay bills online or by mail?
Another thing that I just did yesterday...I pay them all online...and then I'm poor again.

What would be the best gift someone could get you right now?
Cold Hard Cash.

What is something stressful you will deal with next week?
My ex-husband.

What is something in your home that you collect?
Lovin' me some Kenny Chesney.

How far north have you been?
O' Canada.

Where did you last get gas?
Yet anther thing that I just did yesterday...I got it at the Mobil and paid $2.85/gallon.

How do you take your coffee?
French Vanilla, cream and sugar, Iced in the Summer, Hot in the Winter.

What is the oldest thing in your fridge?
Actually, the fridge is cleaned out often, so it's not bad...I think the oldest thing is some Mexican cheese but it's all good because I ate some last night on my tacos. Unless that's why I was up all night...but they tasted good.

On your keyboard what key is wearing out from pressing it so much?
My keyboard isn't worn out...but it's a little dirty.

Where do you put your keys when you come home?
In my hand bag.

Where do you go for Thanksgiving?
It changes every year. I think this year I'll just throw a big shindig at my house, anyone want to come?

How old will you be in 2010?
Turning 31.

What actor/actress would play you in a movie?
Somebody hot, skinny and blonde who can dance like a rock star...cause I'm hot like that.

How much cash is in your wallet?
None. I NEVER carry cash.

Would you have a one night stand with your favorite movie star?
Absolutely. Although I'm not really into any movie stars. A certain male country music star? Yep, sure would. Some of his band mates? Yep, sure would. Some athletes? Yep, sure would. Does that make me a whore?

What color is your house?
Beige.

If you were starving to death would you eat a pet?
It depends. Do I have to kill it or is it already dead? And can I fry it with some breading? Cause if it was already dead and could be deep fried like a Mozzarella stick, I'm game.

Ever been to Alabama?
No, but I wouldn't rule it out. I know, that's scary.

What kind of accent do you have?
A Maine accent...don't pronounce my r's...and I also pronounce a lot of my o's as a's.

What kind of alcoholic drink could you come up with in your fridge right now?
Can I get you a Mich Ultra, a Mich Ultra Lime Cactus, or a Margarita?

My Kenny Trip

2007-08-01T14:50:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'm back (regretfully!!) from my Kenny trip, and although I don't feel like I have the energy to tell ya'll about my trip, I guess it's time I pull up my skirt and fill you in. If you sense a little sadness in my tone, you're right...I'm sad, very, very sad!! Last week was hands down the best week of my life, and coming back to real world SUCKS! I could totally live my life following Kenny's tour around and you know, being a Kenny groupie...it was amazing!! There are so many stories to tell, but please read through to the end cause that's where it gets the best!

Monday: Our vacation wasn't supposed to start until Tuesday evening, but Heidi and I just couldn't stand it any longer and decided that it needed to start Monday night. So we both called in sick to work for Tuesday and spent Monday night at her house trying on outfits, packing, and getting excited. We managed to get to bed by 1:30am, which allowed us a couple of hours of sleep.

Tuesday: 5:30am we HIT THE ROAD!! That was the best feeling...the car was packed and we were headed on our Kenny journey! We made it to the radio station in NH around 6:45 in time for our first radio segment. The radio show was SO MUCH FUN and we were HYSTERICAL!! The folks from the station were a blast and we continued doing our radio segment every day last week and then wrapped it up this past Monday. And just so you know, they made Heidi & I our own jingle!! It was awesome...as they were introducing our segment, they started playing the song 'She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy'...when the music started, Heidi and I giggled because we like that song and the DJ told us to be quiet and listen because we didn't know what was coming...and then the song busts out (to the tune of 'Tractor') "These Chicks are Chasing Chesney." It was hysterical and I swear Heidi and I played that 1,000 times that day! As we were leaving the station, we chatted with the producer, who wanted to make sure we knew that they still weren't sure if they'd be able to get us Meet & Greet passes, but that they'd try. Sigh. So once again, we set out on the open road, destination: Saratoga, NY. After getting lost in MA for a good hour looking for an Irving gas station, we finally got to Saratoga at about 2:00. After chatting with my family (they live in Saratoga) and resting for a bit, we decided to go check out the venue. We get to the venue, parked, and got out of the car to the sounds of a SOUND CHECK!! Heidi and I pretty much shat our pants right there and went to try and find a way in. As we're sneaking around and trying to find an entrance, security enlightened us that the music we were hearing was coming from the Goo-Goo Dolls as they had a concert there later that night. Sigh once again. In an effort to better scope out the venue and the backstage area, we walked and walked and walked...over the hills, through the woods, and right through a sinking swamp. 'It's fine', I thought, 'I can make it'...I was wrong...I ended up covered in mud, but I didn't care...it was all for the love of Kenny ya'll!! We then headed to dinner to celebrate my Sister's birthday and then ended the evening by meeting up with a few fellow Kenny fans at a local hotel...we hung out there for a while and chatted (all Kenny talk, of course!) and then headed back to my Sister's place for bed.

Wednesday: Big day...show day! Woot Woot! Heidi and I weren't fucking around so we hit the grocery store and were at the venue at 9:00am for the show that would start at 7:00pm. As soon as we drove in, we saw the busses...busses, busses, and more busses...there had to be about 20 of them. As we so calmly lingered around the busses for a few minutes, we were approached by a couple of Kenny's bus drivers. They chatted with us for a while and told us that it was fine if we wanted to park our car there and hang out for the day. Ha...we were IN! Security came over, and the bus driver promptly told him that we were fine and to let us stay there. I love being a VIP!! So throughout the day, we hung out right there, ate, drank and mingled. We saw Sugarland as they were coming off their bus in their jammies and they waved and said 'hey' so we were pretty hot shit right there. We also met a few of Kenny's band members who were way cool and nice and they actually chatted and hung out for quite a while. Kenny wasn't there throughout the day as he hadn't had a show for the last couple of nights and he was home and flew in that afternoon...so no Kenny sighting, but it was a fun day. Then it was time to head into the show and our seats were in the VIP Pit section...of course...the view was amazing and there's nothing more that I can tell you about the show...the man is just AMAZING!! He has so much energy and is such a blast up there on that stage and makes the show a blast for everyone. So ya'll know that I like Kenny's song 'Big Star', right? (Hence, the name of my blog, my e-mail address, my ring tone, my license plates, etc...) Anyways, Heidi had made a sign that said 'She's A Big Star' with an arrow pointing at me. So he starts singing 'Big Star' and Heidi holds up the sign...Kenny saw it and laughed, and then security came and tried to take the sign...props to Heidi who hoarded that sign like it was her job and wouldn't let them take it. At the end of the show, Kenny signs autographs for a few minutes and I brought up the sign...Kenny reached over about three people, grabbed my sign, signed it and gave it back to me. I was a pretty happy girl right there!!

Thursday: We hit the road bright and early to get to NJ, hoping that we could hang out and tailgate with the band and crew like we did on Wednesday, especially now that Kenny would be there for the day. No such luck, as when we arrived, we learned that the busses were out back and we couldn't get through security. We drove around for a while and did manage to see Kenny out running with his trainer and WITHOUT a hat on. We were happy to see him, but bummed that we couldn't get up close. So we headed off to lunch, came back, sat in the car with the a/c on (cause we're brats like that) and once it cooled off, we put out our blanket and took a nap. We pretty much just wasted the day away waiting for the show to start. Once we got into the venue, we managed to sneek through an area where we could see the busses, but no sight of Kenny. Sigh. But soon enough, it was time for the show...and this is where we had FRONT ROW!! Kenny had requested that the front row be right up against the stage, and let me just tell you, until that point, that was the best night of my life...Heidi and I were in heaven!! When Kenny came out, he was going along high 5-ing everyone in the front row...and since I couldn't decide which hand to throw up there, I just put them both up there for him. And ya'll...he grabbed both of my hands, squeezed them, looked at me and said 'thank you.' I don't know what the 'thank you' was for, but I'm pretty sure it was just because he could feel the love shooting right through him!!

And don't get me wrong, Heidi had just as much of an AMAZING time as I did, but I'm pretty sure her happiest moment all week was when she got this picture! She was feeling the pressure to get that pic, let me tell ya! And just to prove to you how close we really were, here's a pic that I girl I know took from the other side of the stage:

Right in front of Kenny's legs you'll see an African-American (is that PC?) security guard, then Heidi, and then me. Kenny was a blast at this show...he kept dancing and jamming out right in front of us, and was high fiving us, shaking our hands, and punching our hands all night...it was great! Although I still really wanted to meet Kenny, after this night, I really felt like if I didn't, it would be ok, because everything about that night was more than I had ever hoped for.

Friday: We made our way up to MA for the show that would happen on Saturday. As we're strolling around the hotel, Heidi mumbles 'Erin, there's two guys waving at us right there, who is that?' And of course I didn't want to look, and then the guys came over and low and behold, it was two of the bus drivers that we had met on Wednesday...they remembered us! They filled us in that the band and crew were staying at the hotel and that they'd all be up for partying in the lounge later. So that's what we did Friday night...we hung out in the lounge, drank (too many!) beers, and chatted it up with the band and crew. Kenny wasn't there (sigh) as he doesn't stay at hotels...he stays right on his bus at the venue because it's safer and because his bus is like his 2nd home. Even though there was no Kenny, we still had a good time...we found out some good gossip and got to hang out with some cool people. Good times.

Saturday: We got to Gillette Stadium at about 10:30am and found the radio station van immediately to see if we had Meet & Greet passes. He still couldn't say for sure since he didnt' have them in hand, but he was pretty certain that we were all set. This never got confirmed until about 2:30 when we got our Meet & Greet passes IN HAND and knew that we were going to meet Kenny at 6:30!! We were beyond excited!! Let's fast forward right to 6:30 and the Meet & Greet...it was awesome!! It happened so fast and I was so excited that I don't remember everything that was said, but here's what I can remember. I walked up to Kenny and he stuck out his hand and we introduced ourselves and then he immediately put his arm around me, put his hand on my hip, squeezed my hip, and called me 'baby.' I pretty much melted right there! I know, I know...he calls everyone baby, but I don't care...ya'll, he was touching me and calling me baby!! So then he signed a picture for me:

Hehehehe...he loves me! And then we took our picture together:

Can you please look at how tight I'm holding onto that man? I was in heaven!! And in case you want the cropped, closer up version:

So then my turn was over and I started to walk away, but then I turned back around and said 'Oh Kenny, wait' and he looked at me and I said 'are you going to sing 'Boston' (a song that he wrote that's on his 'Be As You Are' album) and he said 'I don't know, we haven't finalized the set list yet.' So I stuck out my bottom lip, pouted a little bit, and said 'you HAVE to.' And he said 'I really won't know until we finalize the set list, but I'll try. We'll see.' And that was it...my Meet & Greet with Kenny was over. SO THEN, the concert starts and of course Kenny is amazing and having such a blast up there...genuinely moved by a stadium full of 65,000 people and he was just soooo happy. ANYWAYS, about 3/4 of the way through the concert he grabs the microphone to start talking and at the same time Heidi grabs my arm and goes 'Oh my god, Erin!'...and he starts talking...(and by the way, I'm crying right now just thinking about it!!)...and he says 'earlier tonight, I had a girl ask me if I was going to sing this next song, and I told her that I didn't know, and I really didn't know, I wasn't lying, because we hadn't finalized the set list.' YA'LL, HE WAS TALKING ABOUT ME. I was DYING!! The people around us thought I was nutty...I was screaming at the top of my lungs, shaking, and crying and I just kept screaming 'THAT'S ME, HE'S TALKING ABOUT ME!!' We were in the 6th row so I was hoping that he'd see me, but he didn't. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that was the greatest moment of my life...I was so friggin' happy. I couldn't tell you what he said after that because I was screaming so loud, but he talked about ME. ON STAGE. TO 65,000 PEOPLE!! HE REMEMBERED ME!! And then he sang 'Boston' and in all the reviews I've read, everyone keeps saying how cool it was that he sang that song and ya, of course he did, BECAUSE OF ME!! And then before we knew it, the show was over and we headed back to the hotel. No excitement back at the hotel since the crew was back at the stadium breaking down the stage, and Kenny and the guys headed home after the after-show party. Sunday morning, we headed home, and just like that, our Kenny week was over.

So what do you guys think? Isn't that the most amazing week, EVER??!!?? We're pretty happy and excited at everything that we got to do and see, but we're also pretty sad that it's over. Monday was a particularly hard day for me as I was on the verge of tears the whole day...I could honestly live that week over and over for the rest of my life, or better yet, become a full time groupie! Thankfully, we have one more show to go to this summer...September 1st...so I'm really looking forward to that. I hope you guys followed this post to the end...I know it's long, but hey, at least it's GOOD!!

Just Two Things...

2007-07-31T19:41:00.000-04:00

Because I don't have the energy to do a report on my Kenny trip yet...

JUST TWO THINGS:

> Two Names You Go By:
> 1. Mom 2. BigStar
>
> Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
> 1. St. John hook bracelet 2. Pink shorts
>
> Two Things You Would Want in a Relationship:
> 1. Respect 2. Independence
>
> Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
> 1. Kenny concerts 2. Shop
>
> Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
> 1. To re-live last week 2. To lose weight
>
> Two things you did last night:
> 1. Cried 2. Uploaded pictures
>
> Two things you ate today:
> 1. Rice 2. Chicken
>
> Two people you Last Talked To:
> 1. Emily 2. Ryan
>
> Two Things You're doing tomorrow:
> 1. Working 2. Making car payment
>
> Two longest car rides:
> 1. Maine to Pennsylvania 2. Southern Maine to Norhtern Maine
>
> Two Favorite Holidays
> 1. Christmas 2. Thanksgiving
>
> Two Favorite Beverages:
1. Diet Pepsi 2. Water
>
> Two Things About Me! Things you may not have known.
> 1. I really want to move. 2. I think I'm finally getting the balls to do it!
>
> Two jobs I have had in my life:
> 1. Office Manager 2. Admin Rep
>
> Two Movies I would watch over and over:
> 1. Fools Rush In 2. Dirty Dancing
>
> Two places I've lived:
> 1. Delaware 2. New York
>
> Two of my Favorite Foods:
> 1. Lime Tostitos 2. Salsa
>
> Two Places I'd rather be right now:
> 1. With Kenny 2. With Kenny!!

LOVIN' ME SOME KENNY!!!!

2007-07-23T14:14:00.000-04:00

Ok readers, it's getting down to the wire, and this is the last time you'll hear from me for at least the next week. In case this is your first visit to my blog, let me just recap what this next week holds for me:

Tues: Hit the radio station for our first 'Chicks Chasing Chesney' radio segment...can you stand it already?? Lol. Then we hit the road out to NY...it is my Sister's b-day tomorrow so we'll be celebrating that tomorrow night IN STYLE!!

Wed: Tailgating, tailgating, tailgating...and then the Kenny show from THE PIT!!

Thurs: Tailgating, tailgating, tailgating...and then the Kenny show from the FRONT ROW!! I think Single Jen put it best when she called me a 'Front Row Ho.' Enough said!!

Fri: We'll be in MA spending the day looking for Kenny. We have some insider info...a lot more info than the average fan, so we're doing good. And no, we don't want to stalk the man, but we fully intend on hanging with him at the bar and pounding beers together!!

Sat: Tailgating, tailgating, tailgating...and then the Kenny show from the 6th row center! This is the biggest show of them all...60,000 people...and in addition to his normal opening acts of Pat Green and Sugarland, Kenny is bringing along Sara Evans and Brooks & Dunn. This is also the day that IF the radio comes through with our Meet & Greets, we'll be going backstage to meet Kenny...you know, in the off chance that we aren't best friends with him already at this point.

Sun: Sunday will be a sad, sad day. Upon waking and recovering from a hangover (I'm calling it right now), we head home.

And you know, just to prove that Kenny love just follows me...Sat nite I won tickets to the MA show!! Of course I already have seats, and good seats at that...but I'm giving these to a friend. It's karma people, all about the karma.

Don't forget to tune into www.wokq.com at 7:10am every day this week for our radio show!!

I'll be sure to tell you all about it and post some pictures when I get back...and hopefully then, ya'll will get a break from hearing about Kenny. Stories people...I plan on coming back with plenty of stories...and that's all I have to say about that!

It's Official...

2007-07-19T10:23:00.000-04:00

I just got off the phone with the lady at the radio station and it's official, Heidi & I are going to be the guests on the morning show every day next week for our 'Chasing Chesney' adventure. I'm a little bit nervous...please peeps, give me some advice...what do I say??

Oh, and they don't know yet if they'll have backstage passes...they won't know that until the day of the show, but if they have them, we WILL get them. So we're doing this without a guarantee of meeting Kenny, but it's still a shot and I'll do anything to meet him, so here's my big chance!

MySpace...

2007-07-18T15:43:00.000-04:00

I broke down and made a MySpace page, and I'm a bit worried about the whole thing...it kind of gives me anxiety!! My blog is such a happy place...I love it, and everyone is so nice around here. But MySpace scares me...it's like high school all over again! Of course, everyone from high school has a MySpace page, and it's the whole gossip thing all over again...'what do they look like now'...'what have they done with their life'...I don't know, this may not be a good idea, but I did it, so if any of you have a MySpace, here I am. My page is pretty basic right now as I just made it last night, but it's a work in progress!

Hey Mr. DJ

2007-07-14T17:38:00.000-04:00

Last night, Heidi and I headed down to our most favorite place to watch a concert and enjoy a few beers (not necessarily in that order.) The place is right out of the 1980's, maybe even the 70's, but is just a great place to catch a show...last night's event: Trisha Yearwood. After enjoying a few beers on the beach, we headed into the ballroom to catch the last few songs by the opening act. In true Heidi and Erin style, we made our way right up to the stage and were chatting it up with security and the local radio station crew.

When Heidi pointed out to me the male host of the station's morning show, all I saw was an OPPORTUNITY!! First of all, this DJ is a little of the heavy, hairy, sweaty, pretty sure he doesn't get laid more than once every two years type, so you can imagine how easy it was for us to pour on a little charm. So then I just had to get to the point of this conversation so that's when I proceeded to tell him about our upcoming Kenny vacation and I made the DJ a proposition...Heidi and I are willing to do daily call-ins to the morning show and let all of the AM listeners in on the joys of our Kenny trip/stalking/becoming groupies! Reviews of the show, reports of finding Kenny, anything they want to know about Kenny and what he's up to, we're the girls who will find it out and report it FOR THE PEOPLE!! We aim to please people, we aim to please. My only catch is that in exchange for 'Erin & Heidi's morning show,' we want backstage passes to meet Kenny. The DJ LOVED the idea but informed us of how low on the totem pole he really is so he called over the show's producer who makes those decisions. She is also on board with this FANTASTIC idea but she won't know until next week if they'll be getting any backstage passes. I have all of her contact info and I have to touch base with her first thing Monday morning to arrange all of the details (daily call in times and whatever else goes on in radio) and then we're set...that is, if they deliver with the backstage passes...we're not doing this without a hook-up!!

So there you have it folks, Heidi & I maybe be coming to you on your morning commute right through your radio dial...and it's all for the love of Kenny!!

Stress...Good Stress

2007-07-12T19:58:00.000-04:00

Today I learned that stress can actually be...fun! Last year at this time I was getting ready for my one Kenny Chesney show of the year, and I was READY!! I had lists galore of all the tailgating supplies that we needed, what he had on hand, what we still needed to buy, and for about a month before the show, I had everything packed in the corner of my bedroom just waiting to go. This is always an exciting time for me and Heidi! Well, you guys know this year we are taking a 'Kenny vacation' which involves SO MUCH MORE than it ever has in years past, but we hadn't done ANY of the 'official' planning.

So this morning I sent Heidi an e-mail letting her know that I was starting to stress that we are leaving in 12 DAYS and aren't really organized. So, quite impressively, we hunkered down and got ready! We now have our hair appointments confirmed, mani/pedi's directly after hair appt., plans for shopping tomorrow evening (and yes, this is all for the trip...a girl has to look good for her man, remember?)...and then I got our travel folder ready, complete with directions to every destination, ticket confirmations, VIP parking passes, and hotel confirmations. On our way to go shopping tomorrow, we will complete our lists...which clothes to bring, who's going to bring the hair dryer, what products to bring, which shoes we'll bring, how many suit cases, the coolers, the lawn chairs, the grill, the iPods...gosh, SO MUCH STUFF and I LOVE it!!

So readers, even if you're not the biggest Kenny Chesney fan (you don't know what you're missing!!) and wouldn't spend your vacation 'Chasing Chesney' around the whole Northeast region of the country, you have to admit that it sounds like a pretty good time. Picture this...two best friends on a road trip across 5 states and back to go to 3 concerts...music, sunshine, beer, and good friends. Seriously, does it get any better than that??!!??

How Country Are You?

2007-07-11T20:01:00.000-04:00

This is pretty cheesy, but since I’m a country music girl, I thought it would be fun!

Have you ever.........
Gone Mud Ridin ~ No
Lived On A Dirt/Gravel Road ~ Yes, growing up our house was on a dirt road
Had or Been To Party At A Barn ~ Lol, yes
Had A Bon Fire ~ No, and never been to one either
Driven A Tractor ~ No
Ridden A Horse ~ Yes
Made Out In A Pick Up Truck ~ Ah yes
Ever Ran From The Police On A Dirt Road ~ No
Worked/Lived On A Farm ~ Growing up, I guess we had a ‘farm’…horses, and sometimes a pig and a goat, chickens, it sounds more country than it was
Been To A Rodeo ~ No
Said Git-Er-Done ~ Only in a joking manner
Ridden A 4-Wheeler ~ Yes, and the last time I did, we got stuck in the mud because I made the driver go slow because I didn’t want to get my coat dirty
Gone Hunting ~ Only if Heidi, Kevin & I SLAMMING through a deer going 50 mph counts
Gone Fishing ~ When I was a kid
Line Danced ~ Once and it was useless…I couldn’t keep up with Heidi. I’d love to learn, but I need to start with a beginner’s class
Camped Under The Stars ~ No, camping’s not really my thing
Been Tailgating ~ Every year for Kenny!!
Drank Moonshine ~ Nope
Included The Word "Yunder" In Your Daily Vocabulary ~ No
Milked A Cow ~ Hell no
Been To A Nascar Race ~ No, I don’t really like Nascar, but it would be fun just to be in the environment and drink

Which Do You Prefer?
Ford or Chevy ~ Since I just bought an Escape, I’ll have to go with Ford, however as a rule, I don’t really go for American cars
Diesel or Gas ~ I love driving Diesel trucks with balls!!
Bulls or Broncos ~ I didn’t know there was a difference
Wrangler or Cinch ~ Ewww
Lace Up or Pull On Boots ~ Pull on
Justin or H&H ~ I don’t know
Tailgating or Line-dancing ~ Both
George Strait or Chris Ledoux ~ Love, love, LOVE me some King George
Bud or Coors ~ Coors if I had to choose one
Cope or Skoal ~ That’s disgusting
Do It For The Buckle or The Girls/Guys ~ Sure
Beef or Pork ~ Beef
Hunting or Fishing ~ Fishing as long as there’s bug spray and I don’t have to touch fish or worms…I’d be happy just being near the water, so I’d just watch
Drugs or Jesus ~ Not really into either, but I’d rather not go to hell, so I’ll go with Jesus
Stetson or Resistol ~ Stetson
Bed of Your Truck or Motel ~ Whatever works!
Texas or Colorado ~ Never been to either, but I’d love to visit Texas
Tatoos or Scars ~ Neither
Weekend At The Rodeo or Weekend With The Love of Your Life ~ Weekend with the love of my life, if that even exists

This & That!!
What's Your Favorite Country Song ~ I have to choose one? I’ll have to say ‘Anything But Mine’
Do You Own Cowboy Boots ~ No, but I definitely want a pair
Do You Own a Cowboy Hat ~ Not any more, I had a cute Kenny Chesney one, but I threw it out
Can You Name One Rodeo Star ~ Luke Perry in the movie ‘8 Seconds’…does that count?
Are You From The Country ~ Country turned snobby, modern, rich town
Is Your Heart In Dixie ~ Absolutely
Do You Drive a Pick Up Truck ~ No, I drive an SUV, but I can definitely drive a pick-up
Own A Pair Of Overalls ~ Are you serious? Cause I’m pretty sure I’d look prego
Are You Country, Southern, or Redneck ~ Not really sure that I’m any of those, maybe a little Country
Do You Know All The Words To At Least One David Allen Coe song ~ Don’t know who that is
Who is Your Favorite Country Music Singer Of All Time ~ It’s a given…Kenny Chesney
Do You Think Tractors Are Sexy ~ I think Kenny’s tractor is sexy!! And I SWEAR TO GOD I didn’t put this question in here
Have You Ever Been To A Funeral Where Overalls Are Accepted Attire ~ Seriously?

El-Cheapo

2007-07-09T21:04:00.000-04:00

So, my bills are about to increase...DRAMATICALLY! My rent is significantly increasing, I have a car payment now, my auto insurance is double what it was for The Bird, and my student loan payments are significantly increasing as well...I'm having chest pains just typing all of that! So I have to start being frugal...very, very frugal. This is not easy for me because I like to shop...really, really like to shop, and I'm not picky about what I buy. Clothes, jewelry, makeup, hair product, vacations, Kenny tickets, bring it all on, I love it! I'm a natural born consumer, what can I say?

So this is where you all come in...I need your tips & suggestions about saving some money. What products can I buy that are just as good if you go with store brand vs. name brand? (laundry detergent is a MUST buy name brand, not negotiable) I took Married Jen's suggestion of the body wash and I actually like it...I'd still prefer my $9 Olay body wash, but I'm doing good here with the Suave. (I think it helps that it's in an Orange bottle...I LOVE Orange. And by the way Jen, in your post you said it was $1.75...it's $3 here!! Bastards!!) And the new score with the body wash even inspired me to buy Suave Shampoo & Conditioner for blonde highlights (my Mom will be VERY proud, yes Mom, I said SUAVE!) And how about food? I need some good menus of food to make that is delicious, cheap, and will last me a couple of days with leftovers that I can bring to work for lunch. Cause the $8/day for lunch and $3/day for coffee adds up, ya know? Any tips that anyone has for saving money, please leave them in the comments section.

And to show you all how serious I am about saving $$, I might (MIGHT) switch from Target to Walmart to save a few bucks. That's a big deal for me folks, because I HATE WALMART and I LOVE Target...but, it is a bit more expensive (and that's where I bought the body wash, so maybe it's $1.75 at Walmart??)...I don't mind paying for the sheer pleasure that is Target, but I'm just THINKING about switching, just thinking. I'm not above clipping coupons either, so I'll do that too.

So come on fellow internets, help a sister out...show me some love and help me save some $$!! Please, please, please leave me some comments on this one!

Wad Up G's...

2007-07-06T20:20:00.000-04:00

So, I haven't really had the time or energy to post during the last few days, but I knew it was time to post when my Mom called me this morning and instead of greeting me with a 'hello,' she proclaimed 'YOU NEED TO UPDATE YOUR BLOG!' So peeps, here I am.

Well let me start with the new baby...

Yup, yup...I made it up to the dealership without going to jail for driving the highly illegal Bird...and picked up my new baby. She's a Ford Escape and I love her. I was going to take suggestions on what to name her, but Heidi informed me that there was NO decision to be made, that the baby would be named 'Big Star.' So there it is folks, the Big Star. And 1st thing yesterday morning I went right to the DMV to register and get my plates...and can I get a guess on what they say? Ding, ding, ding...they say BIGSTAR. I know, I know...roll your eyes, laugh a little...but it's quite fitting and very cute. And I was reading someone's blog the other day about vanity plates and how cheesy they are...oops!

After we were done at the dealership, the kids and I headed to my Dad's house for the evening. I hadn't seen him in months since he was in FL for the Winter and it was great to spend time with him and my Step-mom. The kids had a blast too, and I know that my Dad and Debbie enjoyed spending the time with them. We took the kids to the local playground, went out for pizza, and then settled in at my Dad's house for the evening.

The next morning we headed to their lake house, but that was after making a stop at the local bakery...yum-meee! The day at the lake house was very relaxing...we chatted, played games, had a cookout, and the kids played in the hot tub. The day was winding down, and the kids and I and the Big Star headed out on our 2 1/2 hour drive home...only I missed my turn, so it turned into a 3 1/2 hour drive (Sadly, the Big Star doesn't have a navigation system!)...but that's ok, it gave me and Big Star more bonding time. Now back to the lake house for a second...my Step-mom has this lake house that she's told me time and time again that I'm more than welcome to use for a girls getaway weekend! It's a 3 bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom, porch, hot tub, complete with kayaks and jet ski's house that they call 'camp'...but it's actually a lake house. So I'm trying to arrange a girls weekend as we speak...because what could be better than that? A free vacation!!

And then I return home to an e-mail from the ex-husband...and I normally don't talk about him on here, but good lawd...'I miss you...I have things that I want to talk to you about.' Seriously, there's nothing that would make me happier than for him to step up and be a good Dad and be a positive influence for the kids...and yes, I'd actually like to have a friendly relationship with him so that we can do fun things with the kids together and all that good stuff. But like I said...GOOD LAWD!!...and that's all that I'm going to say about that!

Oh and one last thing before I go...so now that I have a car payment and my insurance has doubled (cuz who knew that insuring a new car would be lots more than the Bird??) I really need to limit my spending. Really. So I'm determined to do that, and even the shop-a-holic in me has agreed to make the sacrifice...but then today I had to go to the mall to buy a Birthday present for Matty. I searched and searched for a video game that he wants and finally found a copy at the local, smelly, dirty video game swap store. Anyways, on my way to this store, I happened to pass the Sports Memorabilia store and they had a 'Big Papi' figure that I knew Ryan would die for. So I had to buy it and then, well you can't just buy a toy for one of your kids and not the other. So I headed to the Disney Store to find something for Emily and got this great Tinkerbell puzzle. Awesome. And as I'm headed to the checkout, THERE IT WAS...(two things to keep in mind - my bedroom is a tropical them, very cute, but very mature tropical theme - and I love Disney cause I did my college internship at Walt Disney World and I also have many fond family vacation memories there)...so yes, there it was...a giant stuffed Minnie Mouse dressed up as a hula girl. And holy shit, there's a matching Mickey Mouse! Cause, you know, every 28-year old mother of two who's trying to pinch pennies definitely needs a giant stuffed Minne & Mickey!

Oh wait, there's something else...Wheel of Fortune is auditioning here in two weeks! I love Wheel of Fortune and I'm insanely good at it...so this is super-exciting!! I actually have to work the day that they're here...but come on, it's THE WHEEL!! I'll keep you updated...wish me luck!

Peace out homies ~ have a great weekend!

Ryan & Matthew's 1st Red Sox Game...

2007-07-02T15:15:00.000-04:00

This just might be the cutest picture ever. Ryan and his friend, Matthew, enjoyed their very first trip to Fenway Park yesterday...in the hearts of us Red Sox fans, that day ranks right up there with 1st b-days, high school graduation, and marriage. The boys had a fantastic time and I think that David Ortiz needs to have this picture framed in his living room.

Just Call Me Paris Hilton

2007-07-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

Yup, pretty sure if I make it through the next 30 hours without getting a $500 ticket or heading to jail, I will be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL!! In Maine, once your vehicle registration expires, you have a 30-day grace period, and since mine ran out May 31st, driving around with an expired registration in June didn't really worry me. Now that it's July, I pretty much have a mild stroke every time that I'm on the road. Why don't I just register it, you ask? That would be because my inspection sticker ran out in May too, and The Bird (yes, I STILL have it!) has a cracked windsheild and an ever glowing engine light, therefore it won't pass inspection, and therefore can't be registered. So double whammy for me if I get pulled over...expired inspection sticker and expired registration. Awesome!

And that leads me to the next topic...car shopping!! Oh where oh where do I begin? Let me start by saying that I totally love my Dad...he has my best interest at heart and is a very smart man. HOWEVER, the whole car buying process with him has been, ummm, a little frustrating. I find something, he doesn't like it, he finds something, I don't like it...too much money for what it is, too many miles, buy used, buy brand new, buy an SUV, buy a car...I want a Honda or a Nissan, apparently he's in love with Pontiacs! Yes, that's right, I said Pontiacs! They're good cars, dependable, last forever, reasonably priced...what's that?...you don't like Pontiacs?...oh, that's ok, just buy one anyways. I swear to God, Pontiac has become the dirtiest word in my mind...because I DON'T LIKE PONTIACS!! No offense to anyone that drives a Pontiac, but they're not for me...and Pops just doesn't get that! Good news is that he's at the dealership as we speak and is working out the final details on my new car...if all goes as planned, I'll be picking up my new baby tomorrow night!

I'm doing ok today on the whole can't concentrate at work cause of Kenny thing...feeling a little better than I did on Friday, but that's probably only because I'm stressing about the car situation. My Mom did her best to try and add to my Kennyitis last night when she FINALLY found out about our seats for the NY show. A friend of hers made a major score for us a while back and he let my Mom know that he'd get us tickets for the NY show, they'd be good seats, and he'd pay for them! And as awesome as this is, all this time has gone by and I havne't known where my seats are. I knew they'd be good, but I didn't know how good. So anyways, she found out last night that they 3rd row, so I'm pretty damn excited over here! 3 weeks from tomorrow folks, me and Heidi will be headed on our Kenny vacation...can't freakin' wait!

Not much else going on over here...just trying to recover from my dinner of fried goodness last night. Me, Emily, Miss Cupcake and Allie headed to the Lobster Shack. The Lobster Shack is just that, a shack, located on the beach at Two Lights State Park...you get there, wait an hour in line, reach the window and order your food, wait another half hour for your food to cook, then eat outside on the lovely picnic tables, amid the beach, rocks, and the lighthouses. It really is quite lovely, and Miss Cupcake and I have been wanting to go for a while now. I ate (devoured!!) a whole plate of fried clams, french fries, cole slaw, biscuits, and polished it off with an apple pastry! Yeah, feeling pretty gross today, thankyouverymuch. Although I gained another chin and spent $35 on dinner for me and Emily, it really was quite enjoyable.

That's all for now folks! I'll keep you updated on the new car situation, and I'll need suggestions to name her. I'll post a picture, and you guys will have to help me come up with a name. Send me your positive vibes so that I don't wind up in jail, PLEASE!!

I'm Having Serious Problems Over Here...

2007-06-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, so please don't just roll your eyes and skim this post...I'm in need of some serious support over here! You know I'm a big Kenny Chesney fan, ok, you all get that, right? I think you knew that already, but just in case you didn't, there it is.

So, yeah, as you can see by my countdown over there on the right, there's 26 days until I see Kenny in concert! That kicks off our Kenny vacation...3 shows in one week, traveling across 6 states, you get that too, right?

Well, here's my problem. I'm excited. Really, really excited. And for fuck's sake, I'm crying again! Yes, I said crying. Whenever I think about it, which is pretty much every second of every day, I start crying. Not boo-hoo like a baby crying, but my eyes fill up and there are tears. Real tears. And, I can't get ANY work done. No joke. I haven't done anything all day, and trust me, there's plenty to do. The next couple of weeks at work, I'm going to be completely swamped...problem is, my brain is so scattered and excited for Kenny that I can't concentrate. Not to mention, there's a constant excited knot in my stomach that just won't quit. And let's talk about how I can't sleep at night. Oh yeah, I was up at 5:00 this morning...wide awake. And usually, when I go to bed, as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm out like a light...not now. Now I toss and turn and lie awake in excitement.

I knew this was coming...the same thing happened last year, except that last year I was only going to see him one time and I had floor seats that were pretty far back. Do I need to tell you again that I'm going to see him 3 times that week with fantastic seats each time, and even front row one night??!!??

I'm excited and happy, but seriously, how am I going to make it through the next three weeks? Help!!

100 Things...

2007-06-25T17:03:00.000-04:00

1. My name is Erin.
2. My grandmother picked out the name.
3. My middle name is Amanda.
4. When I was a kid, my Dad always called me Mandy or Manda.
5. Now he calls me Karen.
6. Because my great-grandfather thought that was my name because he was hard of hearing. Apparently the family just went along with it.
7. The only time my Dad calls me Erin is when he's trying to teach me a life lesson and it ALWAYS starts with "Erin, dear..."
8. The rest of my family calls me Erin.
9. I call myself 'Big Star.'
10. And no friggin joke, just as I typed # 9, the song, MY SONG, 'Big Star' came on the radio.
11. On a cruise last fall I did a karaoke version of 'Big Star' and it was bad. Really, really bad.
12. That cruise was the most fun that I'd had in a long, long time.
13. We went to the Bahamas.
14. A local man, 'Slim' wanted to marry me and paraded me around the island telling everyone that I was his new wife.
15. The other tourists just gave us weird looks.
16. My friends thought it was funny.
17. I did too for the 1st hour...then it just got really creepy.
18. The Bahamas is the furthest I've ever traveled.
19. Until next year.
20. I am going to the Virgin Islands.
21. I love to travel.
22. Travel & Tourism was my major in college.
23. I never pursued a career in that industry because the pay is too little in this part of the country.
24. You'd have thought I would have taken that into consideration before devoting my college years to it!!
25. College is kind of a blur to me.
26. As are my early to mid 20's.
27. 27 was a great year for me.
28. 28 is going even more fantastically!!
29. I have two kids.
30. Ryan is 5. Emily is 3.
31. Ryan is an angel. Emily is not.
32. But she's adorable.
33. I think the qualities that make her not-so-angel-like, she actually gets from me.
34. Woops!
35. I love music...a lot.
36. Country music...Kenny Chesney!
37. I listen to music pretty much 24/7.
38. Even when I watch TV, which isn't very often, I always have the radio on in the background.
39. I've already taught my kids to be music lovers.
40. I hope they hold on to that.
41. My dream is to move to an island.
42. I wish I had the guts to do it.
43. Someday I will.
44. I hope that 'someday' isn't too late.
45. I have a HUGE fear of dying.
46. Not really scared of dying, but I really, REALLY don't want to.
47. I think about it everyday.
48. My favorite colors are Orange and Pink. Bright, fun, summery Orange and Pink.
49. My favorite season is Summer.
50. I hate the cold and snow.
51. I don't know how I'm going to make it through another Maine winter.
52. Or why.
53. I'm hoping for the guts and some $$ to move somewhere tropical before snow flies.
54. I think I'm destined to win the lottery so that I can be a beach bum.
55. My favorite shoes are flip flops.
56. My favorite flip flops are brown, with bamboo on the bottom, and yellow and orange braids as the straps. Love them.
57. I'm on a diet.
58. Desperately want to lose 30 pounds.
59. I haven't been that small since high school.
60. But I know I can do it.
61. I'd like to lose those 30 pounds in the next 4 weeks.
62. I don't think that's going to happen.
63. That's ok, Kenny will love me just as I am!
64. By Kenny, I mean Kenny Chesney.
65. In 4 weeks, I am going on a 'Kenny vacation.'
66. With my best friend, Heidi.
67. We really like Kenny.
68. We've been friends for over 10 years.
69. She's more than my best friend. It's kind of hard to explain, but she's kind of like my 'other half.'
70. We do everything together.
71. And tell each other everything.
72. And share each others secrets.
73. We've made some pretty funny stories in the last 10 years.
74. I have a feeling that the next 10 years will be even better.
75. I never went to summer camp but I always wanted to.
76. I am a big Red Sox fan and have been ever since I was a kid.
77. I was the only one in my family who liked baseball.
78. I am also a big Patriots fan.
79. My Son is a Colts fan but I think I'm slowly converting him.
80. My favorite TV show is Wheel of Fortune.
81. I'm going to be on it someday.
82. I'm really, really good.
83. I was also really good at the old game show Scrabble.
84. My favorite TV show as a kid was Growing Pains.
85. I cried like a baby during the last show.
86. I used to have a huge Kirk Cameron poster in my room. He was wearing black jeans, a gray t-shirt, a black leather jacket. I loved him. A lot.
87. I also cried like a baby during E.T.
88. I still remember going to see E.T. in the movie theater and my friend threw up in the grocery store before the movies. We were very young, but I remember it.
89. I used to work at Disney World.
90. I loved it and wanted to stay once my internship was over.
91. I came home instead and I think I should have stayed.
92. My old roommate is still there and she still works for Disney.
93. Every time I go back, I always feel as though I'm home.
94. My favorite drink is a Margarita.
95. In a close 2nd is Mich Ultra.
96. The boys at work make fun of me for drinking the Ultra, but I love it.
97. I have too many favorite foods to list.
98. Remember how moments ago I said that Ryan is an angel and Emily is not? To prove that fact, Ryan is now playing quietly and Emily is in a time-out.
99. Now she decided to leave her time-out without my permission.
100. I have to go put her back now.

Her Favorite Story Is The One She's Living Right Now

2007-06-20T20:29:00.000-04:00

Since both my vacation days and my vacation funds are already spoken for during 2007, my inner traveler has now begun planning trips for 2008. And I've come up with what could quite possibly be the best one, EVER!! Departing December 26th, 2008, off we go to celebrate New Year's in St. John, USVI!! Are you so excited that you can't even stand it, cause I TOTALLY am!!

I'm not talking about some fancy vacation where we're going to stay at The Westin, St. John, although it is quite lovely. No, we're thinking more along the lines of the Cinnamon Bay Campground where we can, at least for a week or two, live the authentic island life! I want to lay on the beach, eat at all of the whole in the wall shacks, and drink the homemade rum at places like Foxy's (BVI's) and pound beers at Woody's, and drive a Jeep around the island on the wrong side of the road! We're going to take day trips over to the BVI's and experience the tranquility that these islands are.

Oh, and in case you were wondering why we're going over New Year's? Are you freakin serious? Foxy's is home to one helluva NYE party! A two day NYE party! (And Foxy suggests a third day for recovery!) They say the biggest amusement on New Year's Day is watching all of the hungover people searching for their dinghy's out in the water. People, I can't wait! And I'm pretty sure there'll be tears when Foxy and I actually meet. Seriously, read this to get a glimpse of who Foxy is and how he lives. Amazing, truly amazying!

You might be surprised to learn that I, Miss spoiled brat who gets freaked out by bugs who's afraid of the dark and can't stand dirt, is ECSTATIC about a vacation like this, but honestly, simply thinking of this vacation puts my soul at ease. I could totally live the island life...forever! Don't be surprised if I shack up with the locals and refuse to come home, cause I'm seriously considering it!

And while you might be wondering what the title of this post has to do with the actual post itself, let me fill you in on what's on the horizon: Kenny Vacation, Kenny again, Girls cruise to the Bahamas, Florida trip with the kids, Key West, USVI's and BVI's...seriously, I'm a pretty happy, travelin' kind of girl!

Fashionista In Training...

2007-06-16T22:11:00.001-04:00

Like Mother, Like Daughter!

Quote Of The Day...

2007-06-16T17:07:00.000-04:00

"It's fine, we're fine. We have cheese, we're good."

Ryan Lost His 1st Tooth!!

2007-06-14T21:25:00.000-04:00

It Came Upon Me Wave On Wave

2007-06-13T20:31:00.000-04:00

By now you should all know that I live near the ocean, and more importantly, you should know that I HEART the ocean. Heart, heart, heart!

Yesterday was an anxiety filled day...nothing too major, but some lingering stress from the night before just kept brewing and brewing. I figured that once I got out of work, instead of emotional eating which is my most favorite past time, that I'd try something more productive and go for a walk. (Hello, going to see Kenny in 6 weeks...need to lose some pounds!)

With the mood that I was in I feared that I might be like Forrest Gump and keep on running and running, (except in my case it would walking and walking, because right about now if I ran too far I'd have a heart attack) so before leaving I set a limit for myself. I decided that I'd walk to the beach that is directly to the East of my house (yes, there is also a beach directly to the West of my house!!) and back and that surely a trip to the ocean would cure everything! And I was right!

Ok, so I set out on my walk, iPod in hand, and sorry to all of the bikers that, in passing, got to hear my stressed out versions of Kenny's island music. (Side note: do yourself a favor and buy this cd. Even if you're not a country music fan, this cd is a must have. Kenny wrote all of the songs about stories and people that he's met during his time spent in the islands. The music is amamzing and has the ability to take me away to a different world in an instant.)

So after walking for a bit (and a brief attempt at running) I arrived at the beach...the sun was just starting to set, and there must have been 150 people at the beach. There were over 50 people in the water surfing (I counted) as well as many locals playing ball with their dogs, frisbee with their buddies, and I even noticed one lady who was laying out (at 7:30pm??). Anyhoo, I approached the water while still listening to my iPod, and if you know me at all, you know that the ocean and the iPod are my two favorite things, so at this moment, my stress started to slowly fade. I stood there for a while taking in deep breaths of ocean air and letting them out slowly while staring into the ocean as far as my eyes could see. This is the beach that I was at:

Although I was starting to feel a lot better, it wasn't until I walked into the ocean that I felt completely whole again. I walked right in, sneakers and all, and my feet played and danced in that ocean for the next few minutes. Who needs therapy when there's an ocean nearby? Miss Cupcake summed it up best when she said 'it's funny how something so illogical can feel so right.' Normally I would have whined and cried about having wet, spongy shoes and socks and a 20 minute walk ahead of me, but last night, it was the best feeling in the world.

So as I breathed in the last few breaths of ocean air for the evening, I exhaled and let all of my stress leave with it. It was an awesome feeling. And then me and my wet feet started the journey home, passing all of the quaint little beach houses along the way. I smiled, I sang, I inhaled fresh, clean air, and my happy, wet feet danced the whole way home.

2007-06-10T10:38:00.001-04:00

God didn't promise days without pain,
laughter without sorrow, or sun without rain
But God did promise strength for the day
comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Happily Ever After...

2007-06-08T14:11:00.000-04:00

The happy marriage, two perfect kids, the nice house, the nice car, the dog, and the white picket fence = happily ever after, right? HELL, NO...that's what I say!

Don't get me wrong, I truly believe that marriage is a beautiful, beautiful thing...I really do. For those of you that are happily married, I say congratulations, becuase it's wonderful. But, I wonder how many people are truly happy...really and truly, true to your self, true to your soul happy. I've been there y'all...I've been married, and although it didn't turn out the way it should have from a marriage stand point, I truly believe that it turned out exactly as it should have for me.

Now, being single for the last year and a half has been fun...lots and lots of fun...probably too much fun, but hey, I need it! And I've come to the conclusion, and slap me for being skeptical, but men really do SUCK!! Seriously, I love them dearly...great people, great friends, they have good hearts, and let's not forget about the obvious...they're great in bed! But alas, let me get back to the reason that they suck...men cheat. That's right ladies, men cheat. Husbands cheat, boyfriends cheat, and the single ones, well they'll probably end up cheating on someone someday too. And I'm not being all bitter...this has NOTHING to do with my ex-husband, but everything to do with the boys that I've come into contact with this past year. I don't hate men...in fact, I love them a whole lot, however...being single has opened my eyes to a lot of things, and quite honestly, the more I see of men in general, the more I realize that my own happily ever after isn't going to consist of the whole 'white picket fence' scenario.

This WILL BE my happily ever after:

A beach house = a cute comfy house, a slight breeze flowing through the open windows, sun beating in, and a nice porch that opens out to the soft, white sandy beach.
An Island = I'm not sure on which island this is going to be, but rest assured, it will be on an island. Some cute shops, local restaurants, watering holes, and plenty of local folks who share their life stories.
Girlfriends = plenty of girlfriends in the 'hood to shop with, lay out with, dream with, and chat about the things that only girls can.
Sun = I know it seems obvious, but in my happily ever after, the sun will be beaming every single day, with temperatures varying from low 80's to high 90's, and of course, no humidity.
Margarita's = Ah yes, plenty of Margarita's. And plenty of my girlfriends' adult beverages of choice. This is quite important for the...
Nightly soirees on my porch = Each night, the girls and I will gather on my porch to reflect on the day's events, and to relish in the dreams for tomorrow.

So for all of you happily married folks, I sincerely wish you well and am in awe of the relationships you have created...it is truly admirable.

But for the girl's out there like me that have witnessed too much wrong to think that things could ever be right with a relationship...please, pull up a chair on my porch, and what can I get you to drink?

Song Lyrics...

2007-06-06T10:07:00.001-04:00

I am a huge music lover...HUGE. It accompanies every single moment of my life, and I don't know what I'd do without it. I don't have time for a big post right now, so I just want to post these two lyrics from songs that I was listening to on my iPod this morning...can't get them out of my head!

"We come here with nothing, take it with us the day we leave, the first and last breath don't matter, it's all the ones that are in between." ~ Sugarland "Happy Ending"

"How do you keep your feet on the ground, when you know, you were born to fly?" ~ Sara Evans "Born To Fly"

Oh wait, here's another good one that I was just listening to...hehehe...
"Oh Darling, how I'd love to lay you down..." ~Kenny Chesney

You're Only As Strong As...

2007-06-03T22:02:00.000-04:00

The tables you dance on, the drinks you mix, and the friends you roll with.

34 Random-ass Questions

2007-06-03T21:09:00.000-04:00

Yup, a little bored, so here's my post for the evening...not all that exciting, but I actually like these things...

1. Where were you 1 hour ago?
Same place I am right now, in my living room, playing on the 'puter. Might have taken a break to clean up poop off of my bathroom floor. Yup, good times.

2. Have you ever laid underneath the stars?
Yes, most recently last summer in my back yard with Heidi listening to the iPod.

3. Are you wearing socks right now?
Yes, and my feet are still cold.

4. When was the last time you went out of the country?
October 2006...Bahamas.

5. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
I haven't been to the movies in like, the last 5 years!

6. What was the last thing you had to drink?
French Vanilla Iced Coffee

7. What are you wearing right now?
Black and white socks, jeans, white t-shirt underneath a black long sleeved t-shirt.

8. Last food you ate?
Chicken nugget...gross, I know.

9. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
My Dad.

10. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
I can honestly say no! That's impressive for me!

11. Do you have a pet?
No. Hell no.

12. I spy with my little eye...... :
Something that is pink...my cell phone.

13. Llama party:
Wtf is that?

14. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
Honestly? On top of Kenny. Sorry, but you asked.

15. What is the last thing you purchased online?
My Mom's Mother's Day present...a back/shoulder/neck all natural, theraputic pack.

16. One thing you hate about yourself?
Huh? Can we concentrate on the positive please? There's a few things that I'm not all that proud of, however...time to cue Ralph Waldo Emerson here: "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have, no doubt, crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, begin it well and serenely, and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

17. What's your favorite soup?
French onion.

18. Last movie you saw?
Seriously, I fall asleep. I think the last movie that I watched thoroughly was 'My Father The Hero.' Don't laugh, I heart that movie. Or it might have been 'Dirty Dancing 2: Havanna Nights.' Yummy, yummy, Diego Luna.

19. What are your plans for the day?
Going to bed.

20. What time did you go to bed last night?
This morning...about 2 am.

21. What's the nearest red thing to you?
A toy truck.

22. Were you an honor roll student in school?
I'll have to go with no.

23. What do you know about the future?
Nothing. Pretty sure if there's one thing I've learned lately, it's that you NEVER, EVER know how things will turn out on any given day.

24. What is your favorite scent?
If you're asking about perfume, I'll have to go with Clinique Happy. But as far as a real scent, there's nothing better than the smell of the ocean.

25. What is your all time favorite band?
Does Kenny count? Cause he's my all time fave.

26. Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
Aside from my ears, I have my belly button pierced. Ha! It's not as cute now as it was when I got it done at 19, trust me!

27. Are you obsessed with Disney movies?
No. But I heart Disney. Love Disney. Very special.

28. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw?
Yes. These questions are getting dumb.

29. How do you like your soda?
Cold, with ice cubes, and with plenty of carbonation. I hate flat soda.

30. Do you like hot sauce?
No, but I wish that I did.

31. Last time you took a shower?
A few hours ago. How bout you, Cupcake?

32. Are you someone’s best friend?
I think so.

33. What are you thinking about right now?
"Finish each day and be done with it." - RWE

34. What are you doing right now?
Finishing these questions, finishing my iced coffee, and heading to bed. I'm tired.

Karma Is A MUTHA FUCKA!!

2007-06-01T20:32:00.000-04:00

And that's a direct quote from Single Jen a while back. And it's true. Oh so true. And sweet. And that is all I have to say about that.

Quote Of The Day...

2007-05-30T09:53:00.000-04:00

Courtesty of Miss Cupcake:

"Seriously, that's not funny. If your cooter was itching all weekend, you'd want to do something about it!"

PA Trip...Friday

2007-05-29T21:56:00.001-04:00

This was the scene at 7:30am on Friday:

The fine folks at the Holiday Inn woke us with a blaring alarm, and a 'There has been an emergency reported, please evacuate the building immediately.' It was at this point that we thought we were cursed and were carrying the bad luck with us everywhere we went. But once again, we pulled up the skirts and were bound and determined to get the fun started!

We made our way to the Crayola Factory:

Lots of activities for the kids, a good time...but hurry up, let's go, it's time for Dorney Park!

Dorney Park = fantastic! This place was soooo much fun. Good rides for the adults and a fantastic kids section as well. I HIGHLY recommend this place to anyone that's in the area. They have THE BEST river rapids ride that I've ever been on...and as the sign says, YOU WILL GET SOAKED!! And I mean head to toe drenched! Some of the highlights of Dorney Park:

And the number 1 attraction at Dorney Park:

Can you say 'oh, we got a mullet!' I so hope that you guys can see the extent of this guy's mullet (double click on the pic to see it bigger)...cause it seriously is the mullet of all mullets. (Mom, that guy's hairdo is a mullet, but Kenny's wasn't that bad!)

PA Trip...Thursday

2007-05-29T20:48:00.001-04:00

So, the night before we left for our vacation, I was having a chat with Miss Cupcake...it was about 11pm and I was just finishing up packing and setting out clothes for the next morning. The conversation went like this:

BigStar: Ok, so I'm only gonna sleep for 5 hours tonight, and I'll be in the car for 8 hours tomorrow, and no one but family will see me, so it's ok if I just wear sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt, right?

Cupcake: (trying not to roll her eyes) Oh yes, it's fine, wear the sweatpants, you'll be comfy.

Fast forward to 9:30am the next day...1 1/2 hours into our trip. We're driving along I-495 in Mass and we pass an accident...guy hits girl, they're pulled over working out the details. No injuries. About 2 minutes later I'm comfortably sitting in the middle seat of my sister-in-law's new GMC Yukon when all of a sudden...KABOOM!

I'll sum it up for you. The guy that had hit the girl that we drove by had actually taken off from her when she went to get her insurance card...hit and run...he's racing down the highway to get away from her so he naturally doesn't even notice that traffic is STOPPED, and he crashed right into the back of us. Did I mention that we were stopped?? Kids were all ok, and the three of us adults are ok too...just really sore from our bodies getting jarred all around. Guy that hit us? Not so lucky! He had blood pouring from his mouth, and ended up in the big house...the cops pulled all kinds of drugs and needles from his truck...hence, the reason he was running from his first accident. But, being the troopers that we are, since our vehicle was still driveable (his wasn't) we carried on and didn't let this spoil our vacation.

And yes, the whole world (at least the majority of I-495, the State Troopers, and rescue workers) got to see me in my sweatpants!! Awesome.

Another Weekend Away...

2007-05-23T21:03:00.001-04:00

Gosh, am I a rock star or what?? Well let me answer that...I'm a frickin' ROCK STAR!! Big plans two weekends in a row...uh-huh, uh-huh...wad up, G? Who ever said I don't have a life??

We're heading out in the morning...me and the kiddies, the mother in law, the sister in law and her baby...headed for a long car ride, and final destination = Pennsylvania! We're taking the kids to Hershey Park, Crayola Factory, Dutch Wonderland and/or Dorney Park, and I'm not sure, but Ryan keeps mentioning something about Sesame Street Place...not so sure about that one, but it wouldn't be the first time that he knew more than I did!! So those are our big plans for Memorial Day weekend...we're very excited!!

And can we please just talk about Hershey Park for a second? Hershey Park = lots of Chocolate = Erin's on a diet = going to see Kenny in 9 weeks = Chocolate vs. Kenny, Chocolate vs. Kenny = what's a girl to do???? Gosh, my head is going to explode!!

I'll take lots and lots of pictures, so I'll be sure to post them on Tuesday.

Um, can we talk about the knee just for a second? Cause I have to WALK around these parks for the next 5 days, and the knee is still NOT ok. It's definitely making progress everyday, but it still hurts and I still can't fully extend my leg, and about once every 50 steps my whole leg buckles and I wince in pain and half fall down! That'll learn me, huh?

All right...I have to go paint my toenails and finish packing. Have a Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone...and safe, cause lots of you will probably be traveling!

"The Way You Slide To The Middle Of My Pick-Up Truck"...And Twist Your Knee And Fall Down And THANK GOD For The Margarita's To Ease The Pain

2007-05-20T20:48:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone...hope you had a good weekend. Mine was fantastic! Gosh, I don't even know where to start. I went out to NY to visit with my family and a couple of friends, and the weekend just turned out to be so much more fun than I could have hoped for.

When I got to work on Friday morning, our building was having a power outage...some people had lights, some people didn't, some had their computers, some didn't...some had both, some had just one...and then there was me...I HAD NOTHING! No lights, no computer...a sure sign that I was meant to have the day off and get my trip underway! So that's just what I did.

The 4 1/2 hour drive was actually quite relaxing and peaceful...just me and the iPod jamming out the whole way. So much fun. So I arrive in Saratoga and the first stop was Ruby Tuesday's for a bite to eat and some drinks...some yummy, fantastic, fruity, frozen drinks! (You'll notice that the common theme for the weekend was DRINKS!) So after Ruby Tuesday's we (me, my Mom, Step-dad, and Sister) headed to the track (they all have race horses) to watch some races and try our luck over at the casino. I am NOT a big gambler...I hate to lose money, so I vowed that the $6 that I had in my pocket was all that I would spend. So I found the nearest Wheel of Fortune slot machine, put in my $6, and continued to push the button...I had been on this machine for all of about 2 minutes when I won $81.25, and you better believe I took the money and ran! They weren't getting that money back. So my Mom and Sister stayed in the casino to press their luck and Brian (Step-dad) and I headed to the bar to get a drink and to watch the races. Good times...we chatted it up at the bar with a bunch of people, and continued to drink. And drink. My Mom and Sister had made it over to us at this point, and oh yeah, we drank some more. Throw in a little (or big) hissy fit by yours truly about a friend...a boy...a boy who is a friend...call me a brat, because I am, but props to my family for TOTALLY indulging my bratty, undeserving, never ending, drunk hissy fit. It was all in good fun, and the night ended with my poor Mother having to tuck my spoiled, 28-year old drunken ass into bed, on her couch. She was a trooper! Although, I must admit, I did provide quality entertainment for the evening, so I think the score was even.

So I got up Saturday morning still pouting a little bit, but doing ok. The family had to go spend the morning at the barn taking care of the horses, so I headed there too to play with the horses, and catch up with some friends who also have horses there. Aside from the rain, the day was fun...I visited with some friends, and made plans for the evening. Went back to my Mom's house, had a late lunch, showered, and waited for 'my date' to pick me up!

My date was Neil...(not a real date, he's married)...a man that owns some of the race horses that my Mom and Brian train and a good friend of theirs. Neil is probably in his late 40's, extremely wealthy, and quite possibly, one of the nicest people that I've ever met. Since the rest of my family had to be in the paddock racing the horses, Neil took me up to the casino/restaurant/bar so that we could enjoy a fun evening at the track! You guys, I felt like a princess and I loved it! First of all, Neil's assistant drove us, and when Neil told him to valet the truck, I knew Neil and I were going to get along famously! We mosey up to the bar, order up some drinks, and settle in to watch the Preakness! Neil immediately finds me a seat at the bar, goes and buys about 10 different race programs so that I could know what was going on at every single track in the country, and laid some cash on the bar to ensure that we'd be catered to for the evening. And we were. So we spent an hour or two at the bar...hello Margarita, and Margarita, and more Margarita's...until Neil decided that we needed to head upstairs to indulge in a delicious dinner at the restaurant. I'm thinking that was probably a good idea, cause yeah, can we just say Margarita?!? After running into a buddy of Neil's and inviting them to join us, there ended up being 6 of us for dinner. The food was awesome, and oh yes, the Margarita's! After dinner, Neil and that crew stayed up at the restaurant while I headed back downstairs to the bar to meet up with some friends...and to have a few more Margarita's. I met up with some friends who don't even live in the area...but as it turns out, took a little road trip and ended up there for the night. So that was a score...getting to see more friends who I didn't even know were going to be there. We chatted, we laughed, and we drank...and made friends with tons of people that I didn't know, but we just went with it. Neil and I kept checking in with each other throughout the night...he checked in on me to make sure that I was never without a drink and to make sure I wasn't paying for anything...I'm telling you, the man was WONDERFUL. After the races were over, Neil headed to the barn, and I stayed at the bar. Shocker! By this time, my Sister had joined me, and we were having quite a time at the bar. We shut down that bar, and headed to another local hangout for a couple more drinks and to hang with a few more friends. So to sum up the evening...food, drinks, old friends, new friends...an awesome time all around!

Except for the part where I think I crippled myself. Seriously. At some point during the festivities I headed outside and got in my friends truck...the boy...the friend who is a boy...the one that I threw the hissy fit over the night before. Ya, ANYWAYS, as I'm getting in the truck, somehow and don't ask me how because I have no idea, I hurt my knee. Bad. It hurt like a mutha when it happened, but thank god for the Margarita's because the pain was bearable. Until I woke up this morning. I couldn't fully extend my leg, and I had no idea how I was going to drive home to Maine. But being the trooper that I am and since I'm SOOOO tough (really I'm not, not at all!) I made it through. I still can't walk and I think my Mom summed it up best when she said 'you look like someone railed you a little too hard last night!' Yes folks...my Mom just made reference to me getting railed! And then she said that it was a sign from up above telling me that I shouldn't have gotten into the truck in the first place! Moving on.

Oh and let me tell you about the rest of my morning. Somehow, amazingly, my Sister and I made it home safely at some point this morning. I woke up, hobbled around, and after she got ready, we headed to my Mom's. Upon arriving at my Mom's, her and Brian were greeted with a scene that couldn't have made them very proud. I busted through the front door, looked at them, hobbled up the stairs as fast as I could, and puked my guts out! Yes, I'm sure they were quite proud...BUT, as they were all weekend, they were troopers! After emptying the remaining tequila out of my stomach, I was feeling much better except for my knee. Brian headed off to Boston with Neil to go to the Red Sox game...Brian being a huge Sox fan, and Neil being a Braves fan...not sure how the game turned out, but I'm sure they had a blast. Mom, Sister and I had a leisurely day and drove around to look at some property to buy, and to scope out the 'shed' where we'll be seeing Kenny in just 66 days! Then it was time for me and my crippled leg to head home. I gathered my belongings, kept my Sierra Mist and Gatorade close by my side, and survived the trip back home...thanks in large part to Kenny and the iPod...they kept me awake and jamming yet again!

So a fun weekend was had by all (I hope!) Special props to my family for putting up with my drunken ass two nights in a row! Good times my friends, good times...I can't wait to do it again! Although I'll probably wait a couple of months...if my family saw me act like this too often, they'd surely disown me! I can't even tell you how fun and relaxing it is to hang out with your parents and totally be yourself and not have to worry about what they're thinking or what they're going to lecture you about cause they TOTALLY weren't judging me. Thank god...cause if they were judging me, I'd probably have scored somewhere right around a 2 for the weekend!

Bits & Pieces

2007-05-17T15:46:00.000-04:00

Nothing really too exciting to write about, but just in case any of my 3 readers might be checking, I thought it was time to write a post about something. Anything.

Ho-hum.

Got my Kenny tickets for Hartford, CT (show is Sept. 1st) this week...12th row. Not that any of you care, since no one (except for Allie and it was mean) left a comment on the post for him!! Anyways, so my ticket purchasing is done for the year. And for those of you who are keeping track, we're going to 4 Kenny shows this Summer and these 12th row tickets for Hartford are the worst seats that we have. Pretty awesome, huh? Yeah, we rock!

Thanks to Miss Cupcake, I scored a flat screen TV complete with remote control and wall mount for $50! Yes, very exciting. Her job sucks, however, her perks are FANTASTIC!!

I went to dinner last night with a friend from high school...a good friend. We were very close in high school, and as so often happens, just drifted apart after graduation. Anyways, we reconnected about a year ago...we went out last year, and had a blast, but we haven't seen each other since. We've kept in touch through e-mail and such, but haven't gotten together until last night. It was a good time, as it always is with her. It's so nice to have those people in your life that no matter how much time or distance comes between you, you can always just pick your friendship up right where it left off. And we vowed to get together more often...much, much more often!

Talked to my Dad last night, and he's heading home next week! That's right folks, The Bird should be just a mere memory in the very near future! I'll keep you posted!

Tomorrow I'm heading to NY for the weekend. Off to see my family, and visit with a couple of friends. I'm looking forward to it...I need a nice relaxing and fun weekend...and the 4 1/2 hour drive with nothing to do but listen to music and sing...yes, I'm very excited!

Oh, let us not forget...I lost 2 pounds this week! I'm very happy...it's not a whole lot, but I look at it this way: I'm going to see Kenny in 10 weeks (well, 9 weeks and 6 days and 3 hours and 1 minute but who's counting!) and if I can lose 2 pounds a week until then, that's 20 pounds. That would be good. I'd be happy. Pretty sure I'll be happy regardless since I'll be seeing Kenny, but hey, a girl's go to look hot for her man, right?

My agenda for tonight? Leaving work in a few minutes, off to get my nails done, eyebrows waxed, tanning, walking, then home to do laundry, pack for the weekend, paint my toenails, and watch the season finale of Grey's. An action packed evening!

So you probably won't hear from me til Sunday night or Monday...oh stop it, all 3 of you, just stop the crying...and have a fantastic weekend!

Entertainer Of The Year!!

2007-05-15T23:30:00.000-04:00

(photo courtesy of Gettyimages.com)

Congrats to Kenny for winning Entertainer of the Year for the 3rd consecutive time at the Academy of Country Music Awards tonight in Las Vegas! Yay Kenny!!

Organization...It's A Good Thing!!

2007-05-12T20:12:00.000-04:00

Ok, so we've already established that I'm turning into the oldest 28-year old, ever...so let me just explain to you my exciting weekend thus far.

Ok, Friday night 10:30pm...scrubbing the shower!! That's right...cleaning the bathroom, and scrubbing the shower...glanced over at the clock and see what time it was and I'm thinking 'oh yeah baby, it's Friday night...I have a life!'

Saturday morning...take the kids and go meet my mother-in-law and sister-in-law at the mall for a walk. Who knew that the mall had mile markers in it? Oh yes, we peeled through the mall three times around like nobody's business and got in 3 miles. It was actually quite fun and if I continue on these daily jaunts with them, it will hopefully help me shed some poundage!

Oh, and then I hit Target, cause there's nothing like shopping for laundry detergent, dish washing detergent, and fabric softener on a Saturday afternoon. I was going to hit the grocery store on my way home, but I was just way too tired for that.

So I came home and cleaned...and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I cleaned the kids' room which was a major accomplishment. Toys are organized and put away, and I'm feeling much better about that. I followed suit with the rest of my house, and I'm happy to report that EVERYTHING is cleaned, disinfected, and smelling quite lovely!

So yeah, it's now Saturday night and I'm playing on the 'puter and watching a Kenny DVD!! Can I tell you one more time that I need to get a life??!!?? It's all good though...it's actually good for the soul to have weekends like this. I can't stand chaos and clutter, so I'm really quite refreshed and ready to start my week off right! And I have all day tomorrow to do nothing except grocery shop!!

P.S. As I was writing this post, my friend, Alex stopped over for a visit. He was here for an hour so I actually got a little social interaction this weekend!! See, I'm not that bad after all!!

Because I'm Bored, And Grumpy, And These Are Fun

2007-05-09T19:57:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Paisley

A - Available or Single? Both...aren't they the same thing?

B - Best Friend? Heidi

C - Cake or Pie? Pie...coconut cream pie, baby!

D - Drink of Choice? Water, milk, and Margaritas!

E - Essential Item(s)? Sunglasses, phone, iPod, lip gloss

F - Favorite Color? Pink...but not sissy light pink (although I do like that too), I prefer bright, bold pink

G - Gummi Bears or Worms? No thanks...but if I HAD to, I'd choose bears because I hate worms. And anything else that squirms.

H - Hometown? Cumberland, Maine

I - Indulgence? Shopping, and lots of it...clothes, make-up, bags, and product (lots and lots of product)

J - January or February? February because it's closer to summer

K - Kids? Two...Ryan and Emily

L - Life is incomplete without music

M - Marriage Date May 20, 2001 (Divorce Date April 21, 2006)

N - Number of Siblings 1 sister and 1 half sister but she doesn't really count

O - Oranges or Apples? Usually oranges, but I like both

P - Phobias/Fears Snakes, turtles, heights, and death

Q - Favorite Quote: Oh, there's so many, but to steal Miss Cupcake's favorite John Mayer lyric: 'I believe the heart of life is good.'

R - Reasons to Smile? Kenny

S - Season? Summer

T - Tag Three Hehehe…MJ & SJ (yes, BOTH of you) and Miss Cupcake

U - Unknown Fact About Me: I can wiggle my ears

V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? Neither, or, a little bit of both. Is that possible? I don’t eat a lot of meat but not cause I’m all against the killing of animals and stuff, it’s just cause eating meat kind of turns my stomach lately

W - Worst habits? Let’s all say it together now…”EMOTIONAL EATING!!”

X - X-rays or Ultrasounds? I’ll stick with the x-rays since ultrasounds go along with being pregnant and yeah, NO TIME FOR BEING PREGNANT EVER AGAIN!

Y - Your Favorite Foods Appetizers…like nappy fried appetizers from all the chain restaurants…mozzarella sticks, potato skins, wings, salad w/ Ranch dressing

Z – Zodiac Aries

I Need A Vacation...

2007-05-09T15:44:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, I'm in the midst of another one of those bi-monthly breakdowns that I seem to have. Although this one doesn't seem as bad as the last one, it's still just a stress-filled day. And I should be thankful...I'm seriously happy every single day, with the exception of these crappy days that happen every so often. I'm gonna make a list, cause lists always make me feel better. Seriously. I'm a list person.

Emily had a doctor's appt at the asthma specialist this morning and yes indeed, just as expected, she does have asthma. So they're talking about this and that and everything else and then they bring two different machines in the room and ask me 'which one do you want to use?' Um, excuse me, wtf? I don't know, I don't know how to use it or what to do with it or what's gonna be best for her...how about YOU guide ME since you're the DOCTOR!! So, the medical supply company is delivering a nebulizer to my house tomorrow which Emily will have to use EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. Awesome. Oh and did I mention that I also just found out that Ryan is allergic to dogs and cats? Yup, fun stuff folks, fun stuff. The only up side is that they've both had these conditions for a while, but now I can manage it better.

Fat...that's how I'm feeling. I'm not gross by any means, but I'd like to lose 20 pounds or so. And seriously, all of this warm weather is just making it worse. I feel gross. Nasty. Pig-ish.

My house is in disarray and I can't take it. Ever since the massive rain storm about a month ago, my kids playroom has been unusable...it's wet and it's not drying up. So the landlord doesn't view this as an emergency and it's probably not. But seriously, like any kid, my kids have tons of toys and the majority of them are out in the garage right now, so the poor things are forced to play upstairs in their bedroom. Not fun when you're used to having a playroom that resembles Toys R Us. Really? You want your $1050 every month? I want my f-ing playroom fixed.

The car shopping is not going well. Since Pops is taking his sweet time in coming home from FL, I ventured to the dealership last week bound and determined to do this by myself. I NEED A NEW CAR!! This was Friday, everything was great, and they were all horny to make me leave a $500 deposit. Fine. Saturday they called but I was too intoxicated to answer. Fine. Monday they didn't call so I called them. I wasn't really happy that they hadn't called back, but maybe they were busy. Fine. He says he's waiting to hear back from the bank and he'll call me right back. Really? Cause now it's WEDNESDAY evening and I still haven't heard from you. Seriously, they could call me back and tell me they'd sell me a 2007 BMW X-5 for $1,000 and I wouldn't buy it from them. Have some common courtesy people. Good, bad, or ugly...I don't care what the news is, but you could at least call. It's good business.

On a more positive note, my first Kenny show of the season is 11 weeks from today! I'm excited...but really not feeling it today. Of course I'm happy, but not like any other day. And I do have other vacations to look forward to. Memorial Day weekend we're going to Hershey Park in PA, there's the Kenny trip in July, and then there's the cruise in October...so lots to look forward to. Let's just hope tomorrow is a brighter day cause I can't take feeling like this...it sucks.

My Dearest Alcohol...

2007-05-07T20:44:00.000-04:00

Just read this online, and since I'm now in day 2 of a hangover, I thought it would be appropriate to share.

Dear Alcohol,

First and foremost, let me tell you that I'm a huge fan of yours. As
my friend, you always seem to be there when needed. The perfect post-
work cocktail, a beer at the game, and you're even around during the
holidays, hidden inside chocolates as you warm us when we're stuck in the
midst of endless family gatherings. However, lately I've been wondering
about your intentions. While I want to believe that you have my best
interests at heart, I feel that your influence has led to some unwise
consequences:

1. Phone calls: While I agree with you that communication is
important, I question the suggestion that any conversation of substance
or necessity takes place after 2 a.m. Why would you make me call
ex-boyfriends/girlfriends when I know for a fact they do not want to
hear from me during the day, let alone all hours of the night?

2. Eating: Now, you know I love a good meal, but why do you suggest
that I eat a tacos with chili sauce, along with a big burrito and some
stale chips, washed down with WINE & topped off with a Hershey Bar after a
few cheese curls & chili cheese fries? I'm an eclectic eater, but I
think you went too far this time.

3. Clumsiness: Unless you're subtly trying to tell me that I need to
do more yoga to improve my balance, I see NO need to hammer the issue
home by causing me to fall down. It's completely unnecessary, and the
black and blue marks that appear on my body mysteriously the next day are
beyond me. Similarly, it should never take me more than 45 seconds to
get the front door key into the lock.

4. Furthermore: The hangovers have GOT to stop. This is getting
ridiculous. I know a little penance for our previous evening's
debauchery may be in order, but the 3pm hangover immobility is
completely unacceptable. My entire day is shot. I ask that, if the proper
precautions are taken (water, vitamin B, bread products, aspirin)
prior to going to sleep/passing out face down on the kitchen floor with a
bag of popcorn, the hangover should be minimal and in no way
interfere with my daily activities.

Alcohol, I have enjoyed our friendship for some years now and would
like to ensure that we remain on good terms. You've been the invoker of
great stories, the provocation for much laughter, and the needed
companion when I just don't know what to do with the extra money in my
pockets. In order to continue this friendship, I ask that you carefully review my
grievances above and address them immediately. I will look for an
answer no later than Thursday 3pm (pre-happy hour) on your possible
solutions and hopefully we can continue this fruitful partnership.

Thank you,
Your biggest fan

THINGS THAT ARE DOWNRIGHT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Thanks, but I don't want to have sex.
2. Nope, no more beer for me.
3. Sorry, but you're not really my type.
4. Good evening, officer. Isn't it lovely out tonight?
5. Oh, I couldn't. No one wants to hear me sing

I'm So Hungover, I Can't Even Think Of A Title To This Post...

2007-05-06T18:46:00.000-04:00

Good evening all...I hope your weekend was fantastic and I hope that you're feeling a little better than I am right about now!! Being that yesterday was Kentucky Derby day and Cinco de Mayo, I'm sure I'm not the only one who found that was the perfect reason to get wasted!

At 12:30 yesterday afternoon, Heidi and I began our drunken adventure, if you can even call it that. We went to the races (horse races) and headed up to our usual spot at the bar waiting for the usual crowd to join us. We didn't waste any time and started drinking right away. I was pretty much completely trashed by 2:00, and we were home, and PASSED OUT at 7:00pm...it was a rough day!! I did wake up at 10:00pm, convinced that life was about to end. I had a headache from HELL, I was sweating bullets, and I'm quite certain that there was a gremlin living in my stomach!! I managed to take 2 Excedrin, and go pass back out on the couch next to Heidi. We both woke up at 1:00am, and after Heidi figured out where she was and what was going on, we stayed up until 3:30am putting the pieces of our day/evening back together. I'm actually pretty impressed that we (for the most part) behaved ourselves, and EXTREMELY impressed that we drank about 6,423 beers without spending one dime! Two friends of ours bet on a race and made $1,100...and being the vultures that we are, without even saying 'Congratulations' to them, we blurted out 'oh good, can you pay our bar bill?' And they did. And after that the beers just kept coming and coming and coming...I don't who was buying them or where they came from, but they just never stopped. And let's not forget about our fantastic (heavy sarcasm) dinner at Burger King because we sooooooooo needed that. I am proud to say that no vomitting occurred...a couple of close calls, first when Heidi found a bite of her burger from last night still in her mouth this morning, and then when I burped and a little bit of burning vomit came up in my mouth...but that was it...the rest of it stayed down. I'm feeling pretty old...can't believe we were passed out at 7pm, but seriously, we were in no shape to do anything but sleep.

Sorry this is such a boring post, but I'm definitely nursing a hangover right now. I'm off to tuck the kiddies into bed, and then off to bed myself. I'm old...seriously turning into the oldest 28-year old ever. If there was anything from last night worth repeating, I promise I'll post it in the days ahead.

TGIF...Week In Review

2007-05-04T10:49:00.000-04:00

So, I really have nothing exciting to post about, so let's go with the ever trusty week in review:

Mom was here to visit this week...always a good thing. The kids were very glad to see her (as was I) and as soon as I get a car that can go faster than 60 mph without shaking like it's having a diabetic seizure, I will go out to NY for a visit. Yes, I need to visit Mom/Step-dad/Sister/my horses...but even more importantly, I NEED TO CHAT WITH NEIL!! Neil is a friend of my Mom's...an extremely rich friend with connections who hooked us up with 5 Kenny tix in NY in the 9th row and gave them to us...fo' free...oh, and tix haven't even gone on sale for this show yet!! So I figure that all rich people have connections, and since my Mom refuses to bug him about it, I'm going to see if he can hook me up with getting backstage. I'll keep you posted!!

I went to see the doctor...who I have affectionately nicknamed Dr. McILoveYou!! He's not hot, so generally he wouldn't get the privelage of a Mc-nickname, but he makes me very, very happy! I'm one of those poor souls who carries all of their stress/tension in my neck and shoulders, and after years of doing this and not taking care of it, I have daily neck/shoulder pain and headaches...and I didn't know this was related, but I also have bad sinuses. Well, Dr. McILoveYou is fixing me up in good shape. He's working on my muscles, trying to get them back to where they're supposed to be and relieving all of the pressure that's built up. I've only been for 1 visit...2nd one is this afternoon...and I felt better after that 1st visit than I've felt in YEARS!! I'm in no way cured, but I felt sooooo good. And, my sinuses have not stopped draining in two days, since he worked on the muscles that were putting pressure on them. Drainage people...it's a good thing...especially when you haven't had any in 5 years!! So to recap, he thinks he can help my neck pain, sinuses, headaches, and posture...I heart him!

Sea Dogs game. You guys already read about that, but good times people, good times.

Kentucky Derby is tomorrow!! Yahoo...pretty much just an excuse to get drunk, which I fully intend on doing!! My kids are going away for the night...don't know where yet, but they're either going to Nana camp or to G's house. Either way, Mama will be enjoying a night out...with Heidi...and beer.

Talked to Pops yesterday. You guys remember, I'm PATIENTLY (not really) waiting for him to get home from FL so that he can help me get a new car? He's so leisurely and is soooo enjoying his time down there, that he keeps delaying his return home. I'm dying. I miss him, of course, but come on...I NEED A NEW CAR!! So I talked with him yesterday and he thinks he may stay down there for another month. Awesome. I couldn't take it any more...I chatted with the boy at a dealership yesterday and I'm just going to do it without my Dad. If I can. If they're going to rape me (which, right about now, I probably wouldn't mind) then I'll have to wait another month for him to come home...but I just can't take it and can't wait any longer. Trust me, if you saw the Bird you'd understand why.

I went to the gym last night. That usually isn't a blog-worthy event since I try to go everyday, but last night was a particularly awesome effort. I was EXHAUSTED...had NO energy and NO desire to go. I had completely talked myself out of it, when my inner Kenny piped up and reminded me that I'll be seeing him from the FRONT ROW and that he'll be seeing me...and I can't see him while looking anything less than spectacular. So, I hit the gym...made it through my one hour and two minutes...burned 689 calories and was quite proud of myself for making it through.

Today is PAYDAY!! Let's leave it on that happy note!! Have a good weekend y'all!!

"Baseball The Way It Should Be...Portland Sea Dogs"

2007-05-02T18:41:00.000-04:00

If there's one thing that us Northener's cherish, it's our beloved Boston Red Sox! The Red Sox aren't just another baseball team, for us, they're a way of life. If you grew up in New England, whether you're male or female, young or old, chances are that you eat, sleep, and breathe the Sox.

Here in Portland, we have the Sox AA-minor league team, the Portland Sea Dogs. While it's not quite the same as being in the stands at Fenway, going to Hadlock Field is still a good time. Last night Heidi and I took my son Ryan, and his friend (who is Heidi's nephew) Matty to enjoy a night at the ballpark...it was a b-day gift for Matty whose b-day just so happened to be last July...but, better late than never, right?

Since it was a b-day gift and all, I sprung for the $8 seats so that the boys could sit directly above the Sea Dogs dugout...let me tell you folks, well worth the price of admission!! Not only were the boys right on top of the action, but Heidi and I had a pretty good view of the hotties all night too! We made Matty promise to watch the hitters at all times and to be ready with his glove cause we were right in prime line-drive foul territory and we couldn't chance the Coach sunglasses getting broken! And if you know Heidi and I at all, you know that if anyone was going to get beaned with a foul ball, it would definitely be us!

Anyways, our night at the ballpark was a blast! The players were great...they gave each of the boys a baseball...Ryan's ball they rolled on top of the dugout for him, and even way cooler was Matty's ball...after warming up, the 1st baseman threw it from 1st base to Matty so that he could catch it, it was pretty awesome...and as they were coming off the field at the end of the game, a few of them jumped up for high-5's for the boys! They were thrilled. And as for Heidi and I, sitting outside, watching a baseball game, chatting it up, and drinking beers...yes, it was a magical evening.

Note to anyone who attends a game at Hadlock Field: they stop serving beer at the 7th inning! Devastating I tell ya, just devastating!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!!

2007-04-28T18:30:00.000-04:00

It's official...our annual girl's cruise has been booked!! There's 11 of us girls headed for a long weekend of fun in the sun and sea. For those of you who have never cruised before, I HIGHLY recommend it. Before going on a cruise last fall, I never really thought I was the 'cruising' kind...but seeing is believing, that's for sure! We had a blast...and I can't wait for October...it'll be even bigger and better this year!!

Pablos be prepared, bartenders be ready, cause we're just a little on the crazy side and ready for a good time!!

Friends

2007-04-27T13:51:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you've all had this 'forward' in your e-mail inbox at least once, but it came to me again today, and reminds me of how lucky I am to have the friends that I do. Read on:

A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps themselves (and thinks nothing of shutting your beer/Pepsi drawer with their foot!)

A simple friend asks if you'd like a beer. A real friend already has one opened for you.

A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.

A simple friend doesn't know your parents first names. A real friend has their numbers programmed into their cell.

A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party. A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean. (or attempts to clean if they're not too wasted, right Heidi?)

A simple friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed. A real friend asks 'what took you so long to call?'

A simple friend wonders about your romantic history. A real friend could blackmail you with it.

A simple friend would come bail you out of jail. A real friend would be sitting right next to you in the cell saying 'we screwed up.'

A simple friend thinks your Kenny obsession is crazy. A real friend will travel the entire Northeast region of the country with you to follow Kenny!! (Ok, so that one I made up, but it's still true!!)

Walmart...Seriously?

2007-04-27T11:02:00.000-04:00

You have got to be kidding me.

First of all, let me just tell you that I HATE WAL-MART!! I hate that place with a passion. I hope I don't offend anyone here, but...the place smells, it's always dirty and disorganized, it's always about 120 degrees in the store so while you're already pissed off cause the place sucks so bad and you can't believe that you actually went in there, fear not, you get to sweat your balls off the whole time...and the people that work there...I'm sorry, but the majority of them are gross. And that's all I'll say about the people...but they're fucking gross.

So I needed a new cord for my 'puter and someone told me that they'd have the cord at Wal-Mart. Ya fucking right. Off to Target I went. After happily searching the calmness and enjoyment that is Target, I discovered that they did not have the cord that I needed. So I dreadfully headed to the shit hole. And I walk in and grab a basket and there was a piece of plastic in it so I tried to dump it in the basket beneath mine when the 110 year old greeter who couldn't stand up straight muttered 'that stays in there.' So I looked closer and guess what folks? Wal-mart now has the plastic detectors in their baskets...like the ones on $400 leather jackets at the mall...you know, just in case you decide you need to add a Wal-mart basket to your collection. Are they kidding? Cause that's just what I was thinking of doing. Screw that new Coach bag I just bought...I think I'll go steal a nice gray Wal-mart basket with black handles for my new handbag. Seriously...the money they spent putting those plastic things in each basket would have been much better spent on air freshener so that I don't have to almost vomit from the STENCH of burnt popcorn everytime I walk into that awful, awful store.

P.S. - Please don't respond with 'My Mom works at Wal-mart, blah blah blah'...I really don't care and I'm sorry if I've offended anyone...but it's just my personal opinion of the place.

Happy Birthday Sissy!!

2007-04-26T16:54:00.000-04:00

Today is Emily's 3rd Birthday...so Happy B-day Sissy, we love you!!

I JUST SHAT MY PANTS!!!

2007-04-25T14:19:00.000-04:00

Well, not really, but almost. Ummmmmm, I just pulled front row tix for Kenny in NJ!! No joke people, front fucking row!! I'm dying. I was crying, shaking, and having chest pains all at once. And I will no longer have a grocery bill since I'm not going to eat from now until July. Do you realize what this means? Front row = Kenny will see me = Kenny will probably shake my hand = Kenny will probably see my boobs.

K, I can't write anymore, I'm too damn excited.

The New Layout

2007-04-24T13:48:00.000-04:00

Yeah, with all of this nice weather, I couldn't stand my blog looking all dark...and I love pink anyways, so here's the new Summer layout. Yeah that's right...just like my wardrobe and handbags, the blog has to change with the season!

"Summertime Is Finally Here..."

2007-04-24T13:03:00.002-04:00

Hehehe. For those of you that don't know, the title to this post is a reference to a Kenny song! Oh, and no, this is NOT what Summertime in Maine looks like, however, this is my blog and this picture is my paradise, so let's just pretend, k? (Actually, my paradise would be this picture with a big old fancy boat, Kenny, me, and a Margarita, but I don't have any pictures of that...YET!)

Ok, so Summer has arrived! Ya-fucking-hoo! Actually, it's just Spring, but I prefer Summer, so I'm just sticking with that. If you know me, you know that this warm weather and the sunshine make me soooo incredibly happy...it's hard to describe, but the summer weather kind of makes me feel whole. I hate winter, I hate the snow and cold, and I just don't feel like I belong here in the winter time...if my kids didn't have family around here, I would most definitely not be living here...right now, that's the ONLY thing that's keeping me here. And Heidi. Anyways, I am just sooo happy to feel sunshine and warmth and breeze...it's fantastic.

For me, this weather brings along a few extra things...let me explain:

1. The warm weather makes it perfectly ok with me to live on fruits, veggies, and water. In the winter I need my comfort foods...warm, carb-filled, comfort foods...but alas, it's time to eat healthy because after all, you are what you eat, right? And yes, I did just say that.

2. It makes me realize that these extra 30 pounds NEED to come off...NOW!! Seriously. A size 10 = great. A size 10 when you're 5 feet tall = not ok. And I'm not obese and I'm sure I'm critical...but, I'm not exactly skinny either, and for me, that's where I need to be. And maybe 30 pounds is a little too drastic, but like I said, I'm 5 feet tall...I think my ideal weight is more like 62 pounds, but pretty sure that won't happen in this lifetime! Oh and my legs...HA! I tried on a really cute pair of shorts and let's just say that it's a good thing that I can laugh at myself!

3. Do people have mirrors? I just went to the mall to do some shopping (see Number 4) and seriously...do people look in the mirror before they leave the house? I know it's nice and I'm glad it's nice, but that does not give you permission to wear a halter top with your titty-do hanging out! (For those of you who don't know...a titty-do is when your gut hangs out further than your titties do...much different than a gunt, which is when you have a gut that combines with your cunt...sorry, but to give the proper explanation I had to say it...you know, like when your stomach never ends it just carries over into that section?) Anyways, I saw a lot of people today that fit into this category and although it made me feel great about my own body, it's just plain wrong.

4. The shopping. I need to stop. Seriously. Stop. I have a shopping....mmmmm, problem...addiction is such a harsh word, so let's go with problem. My latest round started a couple of weeks ago...I went to dinner with Heidi and as we were looking at her wallet (that I've already seen many times) I decided that I HAD to have one. So, eBay here I come...and two days later I'm the proud owner of a new Coach wallet...$108.50...a little much, but a good deal and it was my birthday and all, so perfectly acceptable. Well then, the wallet needed a new bag to go with it. The Coach bag that I'm currently using...I like it, but it needs to be cleaned and I've had it for a while, so I need a new summer one, right? Yeah, I thought so too, so eBay here I come again. Found the bag I wanted...the PERFECT bag...$84.53...pretty impressive, even if I do say so myself. So then the new 2007 Kenny tour merchandise comes out...and even though I'll never wear any of it, I thought it was imperative that I contribute to Kenny's bank account so I spent $85 there. I know, I know...it was stupid...but since he brings me sooo much happiness, I figured I might as well give back. What else...oh, Emily's b-day is this week...ok, so she's going to be 3 so this is the age where I can get away with being cheap, right? I put a $100 limit on the b-day, oh but oops, spent $160. Whatever, she's my daughter and it's her birthday, and you can't put a limit on that, right? And then there were the imperative items that Heidi and I HAVE TO HAVE for tailgating at Kenny shows this summer...the 6-foot inflatible palm tree and the 6 giant inflatible flip flops...gosh, I heart eBay. Well then with this GORGEOUS weather I realized that I have NO summer work clothes...NONE. And the sweaters, turtlenecks and close-toed shoes are just not going to cut it any more. So I had a $40 gift card to the mall plus a $30 coupon from a store that I frequent...I figure great, I'll head to that store, get a couple of summer, work appropriate shirts, and not have to spend much money. YUUUP! That plan went well. I just got back...spent $130 on top of the $70/gift card/coupon...so $200 total...but they were having great sales. Seriously. I got 3 pairs of pants, 1 pair of capris, 5 shirts, 2 necklaces, and 2 pairs of earrings. Not bad, huh? So I'm excited about all of my stuff, but really...let's not forget that I'm a single Mom with bills, who has trips planned, and a new car coming, Kenny shows to attend...all that good stuff. I wonder if Kenny would be interested in being my Sugar Daddy? I think that would work well. Either that or we could get married...either way. I'd prefer the marriage one, but I'd settle for the Sugar Daddy. Yes, I think that would work well for both of us. Ahhh, slipping off into a day dream here.......

Ok, one more thought for the day since we're discussing money. I need all of your POSITIVE thoughts for tomorrow...hehehehehe. Ok, we have a 'Kenny trip' in July...heading to NY for a show, then to MA for a show...and there is one show in between these shows and it's in NJ and we did NOT plan on attending that one. But, the presale for that is tomorrow and we figure that since we'll be traveling anyways, that if we can pull 1st or 2nd row tix through the fan club, then we'll add that to our list (which also includes another show later in the summer!) So pray for us, send us your positive thoughts and energy...I'm pretty sure Kenny wants to see us in NJ, but we've set the limit to only go if we get 1st or 2nd row. So come on peeps...we need some luck!

Two things to take away from this post: positive thoughts for the presale tomorrow, and please, if you have a titty-do or a gunt, stick to the t-shirts...halter tops and tube tops are just not acceptable.

The Beach...

2007-04-22T21:37:00.000-04:00

Last week, it completely sucked that I live across the street from the ocean. And I mean REALLY SUCKED...roads flooded, washed away, first floor of my house was flooded, kind of sucked. But today, living across the street from the ocean ROCKS!! And as much as I hate Maine, I do absolutely adore the ocean. I certainly don't see myself in Maine forever, but I will ALWAYS be near the ocean, and this is why...

Ok, so it's not the perfect picture...Ryan is squinting and Emily isn't even looking at the camera...but it's just soooooo amazing to be able to go across the street to the ocean. I absolutely love it. This was taken last night...the kids were getting a little restless, so I decided to take them to the beach so that they could run around and act like monkey's for a while! And I'm sure that I take advantage of having the beach in my backyard...but I just can't imagine it any other way.

Fun Stuff!!

2007-04-19T14:56:00.000-04:00

Since I'm dying of boredom over here at work,Single Jen (and as soon as I can figure out how to make your name link to your blog, I will) must have ESP because she gave me something to do! We're both fairly new to the whole blogging thing, but apparently when someone gives you these questions on your blog, you have to post a new blog with all the answers. I think. I don't really know, but like I said, I'm bored and I need something to do. And besides, I kind of like doing this sort of thing. So here goes:

What colors have you dyed/highlighted your hair? This is throughout your entire hair-life.

Ahahahahaha. Hahahahaha. Oh gosh. Ok. My hair is naturally dark brown, but I haven't seen it natural in a very long time, so I really can't tell you it's true color to be exact. I started dying my hair around age, mmm 16, I think. Yep, bought one of those Clairol ones from Wal-Mart (Walmart also known as a place I hope to never visit again, it's gross, it smells, it's dirty, it's disorganized and the majority of people that work there give me the willies.) and went into the bathroom and dyed my hair blonde. Or so I thought. It came out to be more like orange brassy/blonde. Hehehe. Except no one ever told me the difference so I kept up this habit for a few years. Yikes, can't believe I admitted that, but it's true. Now, I get blonde highlights, and depending on the season, it depends on how many highlights I get. Summer = lots of blonde, Winter = less blonde. But early last year I had them put a lot more brown low lights in to try and 'match' my 'natural color' (whatever that may be) and I didn't really like it. I'm used to blonde, and I like it on me. And in case you care, I heart my hair dresser, Karla.

What is your longest relationship and why did it end?
For fuck's sake Jen, my panic attack's are starting again with this question! Let's just start by saying that with one or two exceptions, I make it a point to NEVER discuss my ex-husband on here cause I don't want that negativity coming into my happy place...but, with that being said, so that you all can learn more about me, here goes. My longest relationship was with my ex-husband. We met young, fell in love (little bit of vomit just came up in my mouth), got married young, and had kids young. You can pretty much tell where this is heading, right? We were together for almost 7 years total, married for one month shy of 5 years. Why did it end, you ask? Well, it ended because we were unhappy...we had BOTH been unhappy for a long time, but never wanted to deal with it or admit it. HOW it ended is where the bitterness creeps in. He met someone else, left me a month later, married her less than a month after our divorce was final (4 months after knowing her), and yes, they're still together (for now--let's just say he's spilling info to me that he probably shouldn't and I'm sure he told others the same things about our relationship before he left me.) It's disgusting. Or at least I think it is. Moving on, because although it still hurts, and at times I still feel attached to him, the bottom line is that I'M MUCH HAPPIER NOW THAN I'VE EVER BEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!

What is your favorite drink (alcoholic)? and how often during the week do you drink it?
A Mango Margarita. Closer runner up has to be the regular Margarita. Margaritas make me happy, very, very happy. And well, I was going through a spell where every night I would sit down to a Margarita or two, and although those were very happy times, I don't think it was helping me in the weight loss department.

What color are you bedroom walls painted?
Mmmm, boring. They're white. I rent, so I can't really be creative there. However, my bedroom is fantastically themed with tropical beachiness and I love it. It makes me very happy. Signs with flip flops, Margaritas, and sunglasses, a map of the Carribean, a clock covered with flip flops, bright fun pink down comforter with matching bright fun pink hamper, and yes...sorry, but here it goes...some great beach pictures of Kenny from his calendar. They're hot and they match the decor, it's fine people, really.

Who is your best friend? Tell me about her/him.
Her name is Heidi. If you know me at all, you've heard me talk about her. I've known her since I wassssss, 17? I think. And we've been friends ever since (minus the few years that I ignored all of my friends and was consumed in my marriage...pretty much let go of my friends and didn't make time for myself.) Anyways, worry not, we got back together (me and Heidi, that is) and we do everything together. Everything. Fun stuff, not so fun stuff, whatever, it doesn't matter...but we do it together. When my time isn't being spent being a Mom, you can find me at Heidi's house. Pretty much all of my 'stories' throughout life involve Heidi, and that's a pretty cool thing. I heart her.

Seriously, Just Don't Have A Girl

2007-04-19T13:24:00.000-04:00

Ok, you guys have heard me mention my kids, and if you've read much of this blog, you know that my son is pretty much the perfect child. He's loving, affectionate, attentive, smart, loyal...you know, pretty much the exact OPPOSITE of every man I seem to meet! Ok, and then there's my daughter, Miss Emily, who I love dearly, but good lord, she can be just plain awful. And she's this way A LOT!!

Let's start out by saying that she's adorable...just freakin' adorable. She turns 3 next week, has blonde hair that's curly on the ends, big blue eyes, and her mother's girly girl attitude that leads me to believe she's going to be an expensive teenager!! But her attitude, for christ's sake, I just can't take it sometimes. She always wants her own way...ALWAYS...and is always wanting to be the center of attention. Let me give you some great examples of Emily at her most Emily like moments:

1. Today, Ryan is sick. He's achey, starting a fever, and uncomfortable...you know, like just before you get the flu. So they're at GWB's (Grammy with the birdie's) house today and I went to visit them and have lunch with them on my lunch hour and Ryan was laying down on the floor, wrapped up in his cozy blanket, with a big comfy pillow, minding his own business, watching cartoons, and every once in a while he'd start chatting with me. Just very mellow because HE DIDN'T FEEL GOOD, right Emily? (She can't read yet, but for the sake of my mind, I'm pretending she's reading this and is learning the error of her ways.) So I'm getting ready to leave, I gave Ryan a hug and a kiss and some Tylenol, and he laid back down...on his back...belly facing up...big mistake. All of a sudden, Miss Emily leaps from her place on the floor and lands with all 32 pounds of her right on his stomach. Are you kidding me? Who does that? Her brother constantly takes her shit and doesn't get mad...instead, he looks out for her and just adores her. When she landed, he cried...like real tears and everything...and then said 'Mom, don't forget to give Emily a hug and a kiss.' For real...little sister jumps on big brother in a painful way when he's fallen ill, and all he wants to do is make sure I don't forget to give her a hug and a kiss. That's just how he is.

2. Last night...I'm in my bedroom folding a load of laundry, and the kids are playing in the living room. Things are peaceful and quiet...how lovely. Five minutes pass and I go to check on them and find Emily...with her face, hands, legs from the knee down, and feet all covered with dark pink marker. Oh awesome Emily, how lovely. I run to get a washcloth and that's when I see it...the wall, the train table, the coffee table, and the hardwood floor are all covered as well. I wanted to throw up. (Sidenote...it was all washable, it came right off...I heart Crayola.) Now I know that every kid does this when they're young and I seriously wouldn't have minded so much if this same thing didn't happen a month ago on her bedroom wall. And yes, I have the markers where she can't reach them...we won't discuss how I had actually been using the marker and left it out within her reach. Come on people, I'm the Mom.

3. She's potty trained...has been since she turned 2...thanks in large part to GWB. So yesterday I pick her up from GWB's house and she had on different pants than when I dropped her off. I asked her why...her response: "I peed in my dungarees!" Ok, first of all, you try to get mad at your child when she says a word like 'dungarees'...she hangs with GWB Monday-Friday while I work, so naturally GWB's vocabulary rubs off a bit...and to hear your 3-year old say 'dungarees' is fucking hysterical!! So I asked her why she did it...her response: "because I wanted to." Oh, really?

Notice how all of these events have occurred within the last 24 hours? Oh, great fun.

Let's just say good luck to the boy that marries her. And good luck to Ryan's preschool teacher who I chatted with the other day who thinks it's a good idea that I send Emily to preschool this fall...she doesn't have to go until next year, but some social interaction will be good...like I said, GOOD LUCK!! And good luck to those of you wanting children. Let me make a suggestion: you know how they say that your position during sex can determine the gender of your child? I'd do a little research on that subject...go ahead, buy some books, read them...and for Christ's sake, stay in the position that makes you have a BOY!!

Virginia Tech

2007-04-18T08:43:00.000-04:00

My thoughts are with the entire Virginia Tech family...I can not pretend to understand what they are going through, but my thoughts are with them and I can only hope that they find comfort and strength in each other and in the memories of the ones who were lost.

I Almost Forgot...

2007-04-17T13:03:00.000-04:00

(photo courtesy of Gettyimages.com)

This guy, who is apparently a 'correspondent' on the Tonight Show presented a CMT award last night. And clearly, he is a little on the feminine side...actually a lot on the feminine side. And yet another comment from Ryan that proves he's growing up...'Mom, that person looks like a boy but sounds like a girl.' Yes, Ryan, yes he does. Seriously, what do you tell a 5-year old? I just kept agreeing with him and thought it best to keep my other comments to myself.

The Perfect Ending To A Not So Perfect Day...

2007-04-17T11:39:00.000-04:00

(photo courtesy of Gettyimages.com)

So as you may have heard, us folks up here in the Northeast have been hit with rain and lots of it! I awoke yesterday morning to pouring rain, a soaked first floor of my house, and by the time I brought my kids from the house to the car, I was soaked from head to toe. I did manage to make it into work, however I only stayed for an hour as the fear of what was happening to my house was a little overwhelming. I usually wouldn't be thankful that I'm still renting, but right now, I am. So I left work, headed home to move every single thing that's on the first floor of my house up to the second floor, pack up some clothes, and then I left. I headed over to my in-laws house where at least I'd be dry, safe, and in good company...until...the power went out! We suffered through that for about 3 hours and then decided we all better head over to Grammy with the birdies house...she had electricity, heat, hot water, and most importantly, she had cable so that I could watch Kenny on the CMT awards! Let's be honest, this was my main concern!

So we all gathered...GWB, me, my kids, my sister-in-law, my neice, my mother & father-in-law...and we ate take out and watched the awards, plus we had Dancing with the Stars on the smaller screen. It was quite a comforting evening considering the disaster that was going on around us. I was very happy to see Kenny on the awards...of course, it made me ever so excited to see him this summer! He won the award for Male Video of the Year, and most importantly, he looked smokin' hot!

Ok, two things about the awards show last night:

1. My son is growing up. He's 5, and naturally, loves country music. The fact that he and I were sitting on the couch having a real conversation about who we wanted to win which awards really hit me...he has his own opinions and doesn't just go along with my opinions anymore. Thankfully, he was still rooting for Kenny! Probably the biggest comment that hit home and made me realize he was growing up was when I said to my mother-in-law 'ew, I don't like Carrie Underwood's shorts.' My son piped right up with 'well, I like them!' Um, seriously, did he just say that? My 5-year old son apparently has a crush on Carrie Underwood and thinks she looks hot in those shorts. Wow.

2. My proudest moment of the evening: when I got a text message from Heidi proclaiming that while she was watching the CMT awards she was also logged into the Kenny chat room to see what everyone was saying. This made me very happy...happy enough that I did a little jig around the living room. Clearly, my obsession has rubbed off and rocketed Heidi to new levels with her own love and devotion to 'The Man.' I love it! I can't tell you how happy this made me. And of course, since we weren't together watching the awards, we spent the entire awards show texting our thoughts back and forth. Good times, people, good times. You seriously don't know what you're missing!

So yay for the CMT awards last night! And it's still raining up here and I'm not sure when it's going to stop. I do think that it's safe to go home now though...so I'll probably head home tonight and wait for my landlord to deal with the mess that is the first floor of my house. Better him than me!

Wasted......

2007-04-13T12:39:00.000-04:00

(photo from Margs.com)

Yeah, that title pretty much sums up my birthday...I spent the day WASTED!! It started with a 10:30 e-mail at work from my bestest friend, which stated that she had called out for the day, and it was my birthday so I needed to leave work and have a fun day. So that's what I did. Since there was a fantastic snow/ice/hail storm going on, we didn't have a lot of options, so we met at my house and just hung out there for the entire day. And drank. A lot. Once the beers started flowing, I decided it would be only fitting to put in a Kenny DVD since you know, it was my birthday and his tour was starting and all, so I figured we should show a little Kenny love. From noon until 7pm, that's all that we did...sat in my living room, drank beer, watched Kenny DVD's, and jammed out to Kenny from the iPod. You guys probably think that we're insane, but it was actually a lot of fun and very fitting. (Oh, and just as a side note, due to the nature of the afternoon, I do believe there were some pornographic messages left on the official Kenny Chesney fan club message boards...oops!)

So 7pm rolls around and it was time for Margarita's...my most favorite local watering hole and restaurant! All's I have to say is I hope we left Andrew (our waiter) a good tip!! I'm pretty sure I had detailed conversations with him about things that most people don't talk to their waiters about...but he didn't seem to mind one bit. He even invited me to steal anything that I could fit into my hand bag...so I did! Food was good, drinks were fabulous (even the one I had to sip up off the table with a straw because I spilled it), and the company was fantastic. Thanks for a fun evening girls!

Miss Cupcake so graciously drove us home even though she had to head 30 minutes in the other direction in a snow storm. Everyone arrived at their destinations safely. My bestest friend Heidi stayed at my house and we stayed up long enough to try and torment people that we knew who happened to be online...I don't fully remember what we were saying, but I do know that we thought we were pretty fucking hilarious! Then, off to bed for the evening, only to awake three times during the night to feelings in my body that made it pretty clear that today I wouldn't be feeling so hot.

So, it was a fantastic day! It wasn't overly eventful, pretty laid back with 12 full hours of drinking! I wish the weather would have been better...a nice sunny day would have been preferred, but trust me...jamming out to Kenny all day wasn't so bad!!

P.S. I do have some pictures, but I haven't decided yet if I want to incriminate myself with the evidence...we'll see. I may post them but I'll have to ponder that thought for a day or two!

P.P.S. A special shout out to the local Hannaford for making an 18-pack the same price as the 12-pack. And a special shout out to Miss Cupcake for stopping on her way to the house for picking up more beer...we really needed it.

2007-04-12T09:24:00.001-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

The Girl In Me Prevails!!

2007-04-11T14:51:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I like to think that I can be independent and take care of all the little day to day things that life throws at me, but sometimes (ok, 99.9% of the time) the girl in me just shines right through. Like on my lunch break today...

I had big plans for my lunch hour today. First, I was going to head to the Cingular store where I planned on flirting with one of the semi-cute sales boys so that he'd let me trade in my year-and-a-half old car charger that just broke for a brand new one. You girls know what I'm talking about...this should have been a sure thing. So I head to the Cingular store only to be greeted by a GIRL!! She totally threw my plan for a loop, and had no time for me trying to exchange the old one for a new one. Since she ruined my plan, I left without buying a new charger, and called my sister-in-law who happily gave me her car charger since she doesn't really use it much anyways. Take that Cingular LADY!!

So, then onto my next mission which was heading to VIP (the local auto parts store) to get my tail/brake/blinker lights fixed. I really hated to do this (you guys know, Pops is coming home soon and I'm getting a new car...blah, blah, you've heard it all before)...but, I figured that if someone rear-ended me and injured my children, I would have never forgiven myself for such a careless oversight. So I pulled up the skirt and headed to VIP. I wish I could play the scene for you guys right on a big movie screen...it was classic...me at my girliest (complete with my new big Nicole Richie-esque sunglasses!) walking into the big auto parts store. I laughed immediately upon entering, which prompted the team of sales boys to start laughing too. It was an unspoken aggreement between all of us that yes, this was going to be a girly incident but that it was perfectly acceptable. I proceeded to tell the boy at the counter that I needed a light, that I'd need help installing it, and that I only wanted to spend about 30 cents because I wasn't gonna have the car much longer. He said the first two he could handle, but the 30 cent one he couldn't help me with. His exact words were 'two outta three ain't bad.' Ok, Meatloaf. He then asked what kind, to which I replied 'I don't know' followed by a long pause in which he didn't come back with anything so I continued 'a light that goes in the back, like a break light, blinker light, tail light thing.' Once again, he laughed. He did a little research, grabbed the correct part, and we headed out to The Bird. So he's doing his thing, switching bulbs and such, and I just stood there polishing off my lunch from Subway. (I felt kinda bad that I was eating lunch while he was working on my car, but I'm a multi-tasker!) So he asks me to go turn my blinker on, so I did, and nothing...none of the lights were working. That's when he looked down at my hand and saw my keys...he then responded with 'you need to put the key in and turn it, and THEN put the blinker on.' Oh. So with a couple more instances just like this with each blinker, and then with me touching the brakes, things seemed to be going smoothly. And then, here it is, he says 'put your car in reverse'...to which I admittedly just stared at him with the blankest, blondest, dumbest look on my face, and then said 'ok, I'm really sorry but do I do that with the car off, on, or with the key turned just a little bit?' I'm sorry...it was awful, but I really didn't know. He about pissed himself from laughter and advised me just to put the key in and turn it once. And then, voila, my lights were fixed. It was great. So thanks to the VIP boy for helping me out, and getting me out of there with a bill of only $4.50.

Now even though I mentioned Nicole Richie when talking about my sunglasses, I assure you that I'm not as dumb as her and Paris are on that dumb show they have...if that's even still on and if they're even still in it. Whatever. I'm not that dumb. But today, I kind of felt like it.

Oh Christ, Omaha?

2007-04-10T14:24:00.000-04:00

Ok, so my ex-husband just called and he is picking the kids up today, which is a day early, which is just a whole other post, but anyways, I could TOTALLY hop a flight to Omaha tonight, spend tomorrow trying to find Kenny, go to the show on Thursday, and then fly home. Oh gosh, I have to see if I can get tickets...I'll keep you updated on the progress. Somebody, PLEASE talk me out of this!!

UPDATE: I can still get decent tix to the concert, but the cheapest airfare I can get is $600 roundtrip. If Heidi agrees to go, it's Omaha, here we come........

SECOND UPDATE: Heidi can't go, any other takers?

A Blog Concoction...

2007-04-10T13:07:00.000-04:00

When we were kids, my brother used to make what he called "concoctions." I've always thought that was a real term so concoction is part of my vocabulary, but when I spoke the word to Miss Cupcake the other day and she had no idea what I meant, it led me to believe that maybe my brother had made that word up. Don't really know if it's a term or not, but a concoction, in our world anyways, was when Scott would take a big frying pan and just add whatever ingredients he could find...he'd cook it all together for a bit, and voila, he had a meal: a concoction. Anyways, the reason for that story is that I was trying to explain that this post is going to be a concoction. I have different/random bits to write about today so here goes.....

Um, let's just say that I HATE driving in the big city. And to me, driving in Portland, Maine IS the big city. Let me tell you, I love to drive around, listen to music and just relax. Put me on a road trip, I'm fine with that, no problem...but stick me in the city, and oh yeah, the chest pains kick right in. So this morning, Miss Cupcake needed a ride to work cause her car was in the shop, so we head to town and OMG it was awful. First, I'm in the left hand lane about to turn left when this Frank (our term for any man over the age of 50) headed right for me...he was in the wrong lane, coming right at me, and had no intentions of stopping. He almost hit me, and then acted like he wanted me to back up and get out of his way. Ya right. I sat right there which made him maneuver around and finally get the F out of the way...but he didn't care, he was pissed that I didn't move for him. HELLO FRANK, you're on the wrong side of the road aiming HEAD ON at another vehicle. So I lived through that only to get to the light where I had to take the left. So the light turns green, I turn left, and there's a construction lady standing RIGHT THERE with a STOP sign. Well I had already turned because I had a green light, go figure, so you'd think that since my direction had a green light, we would get the 'slow' sign instead of the 'stop' sign. But no, I had to stop, once again with traffic heading right at me and they couldn't go anywhere cause I was in the way...so I just whipped my car around to get out of the way, only to almost get SMASHED by an oncoming car...totally my fault, or actually the fault of the lady who was holding the sign the wrong way. I screamed, starting laughing hysterically, and was crying all at the same time. We finally pulled around the corner and Miss Cupcake kindly suggested that I just 'pull over right here' and she would walk the rest of the way to work which was just across the street. I proceeded back to the highway of safety, THANK GOD!!

So on my lunch break today, I had to go to the Kindergarten that my Son will be attending this fall and pick up the paperwork to get him enrolled. Ok, suffice it to say that I can be a little emotional about things like this. Or a lot. Yup, walked into school where the kiddies were sitting in the cafeteria on those tables with the round seats attached with the lunch ladies looking on...that was all it took...let the tears begin. Seriously, I'm a young Mom, I'm only 27 (until Thursday!!) but it seems like I should be the one at school, not my Son. OMG, you guys just wait til the first day of school...it will just not be pretty.

I have this fairly new job that I got through a temp agency that my Mother-in-law (technically ex-Mother-in-law but we declare that we didn't divorce families, just spouses) is the VP for. She found the job for me and for the last 11 weeks I've been working here through the agency, and then the company hired me on, and this week has been my first official week of working for this company. So I'm getting enrolled in all the benefits, insurance, 401K and all that good stuff (a little Kenny shout out: "Yeah man, that's the Good Stuff.") Anyways, the benefits here are FANTASTIC!! Their 401K is pretty amazing and unheard of these days, health insurance is more than reasonable, they're going to pay a portion of my child care expenses, they're paying 50% of my gym membership, and even though I just started THIS WEEK, I have over 3 weeks of paid time off between now and the end of 2007!! There are other great things, but the above mentioned are my favorites. Makes me think that I'll probably work here til I'm 65 cause the benefits are so awesome.

Kenny's tour kicks off on Thursday, which just so happens to be MY BIRTHDAY!! I really don't think this is a coincidence...I think it's due to the deep rooted connection that he and I have. I have more than once suggested to Heidi that we hop a flight from Maine to Omaha, Nebraska to catch the first show for my birthday, but with all of the money that we already have wrapped up in our 3 Kenny concerts and other vacations for the year, we declined. Although, when someone posted on the fan club yesterday that they live in Omaha and the tour busses have arrived, I did go to expedia.com to check flights. With all of the excitement of the tour starting, I have to admit, I get a little misty-eyed. I'm sorry, I know I have problems when it comes to Kenny, but this makes me very happy and excited!

Ok, I think I've added enough to my concoction for one day. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and please, please, please pray for NO SNOW this week. The forecast is calling for a snowstorm on Thursday (my b-day) and I HATE snow...I'm a warm weather girl. So, # 1, I just don't want a storm, and # 2 it scares the heck out of me that having a much hated snow storm on my birthday is somehow a signal that I'm headed for an awful year. Positive thoughts and positive vibes people PLEASE!!

"Cause I'm Dreaming, Of You Tonight..."

2007-04-06T09:31:00.000-04:00

"Til Tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight. And there's no where in the world I'd rather be, than here in my room, dreaming about you and me." Lol...does anyone remember that song by Selena? Member? Ugh...I know you guys don't know what song I'm talking about, but if I could sing through the 'puter right now, I'd belt it right out for you. ANYWAYS...

So you know when you have those dreams that seem soooo real and then you wake up and you're all caught up in the realness of that dream? Well I had one of those dreams last night and SCORE, it was about Kenny! In my dream, Heidi and I were at the concert at Gillette Stadium except for that it was in this small type room, and the lights dim and out comes Kenny in a bad ass outfit of red windpants, a tye-dye t-shirt, and a red baseball cap. So he sees this little boy in the front row and walks over and hugs the little boy, and then Kenny makes eye contact with me and I scream (shocker!!) so he walks over to the row that I'm in, cuts through all of the people and hugs me. SSSSSSSiiiiiiiiggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh. He hugged me people. Touched me. With his body. I'm all weak just thinking about it. Then, for the rest of the concert he was paying attention to me...singing the songs that I wanted him to, bringing me gifts, and at one point...get ready...he was showing me how to use the Elliptical machine at the gym while standing upside down. Hhhmmm. Can't figure that one out yet, but who cares, it was KENNY!! That was it...that was the dream...and then I woke up convinced that Kenny and I have this deep connection now because of all the activity in my dream...I seriously think we're good buddies. And then......

I open my e-mail this morning to find an e-mail from, and I quote, 'Kenny Chesney.' I shit you not. (Have you guys ever heard that expression? It might be a Maine thing...'I shit you not.' Wow, what is wrong with me today?) Anyways, since I'm a member of his fan club...that's right, I said FAN CLUB...that's a little embarassing to admit, but I just can't help it when it comes to Kenny...and when the fan club sends out an e-mail for whatever the news may be, it comes up from Kenny Chesney. I was sure when I saw that I had an e-mail from THE MAN that he must have had as much fun in my dream as I did and wanted to thank me for a great evening and profess his undying love for me...but apparently the fan club just wanted to alert me of the concert ticket pre-sales for next week. Way to burst my bubble, huh?

Ummmm, I've realized that I say 'anyways' a lot in my blogs which leads me to believe that I get side tracked a lot and have to revert back to what I was originally writing about. Makes me start to believe Allie when she says that I'm very random and that she never knows what's gonna come out of my mouth next! It's so funny how when you see how other people see you and then you realize that you never really knew that before but they're probably right, know what I mean? ANYWAYS, back to work. Happy Friday everyone!!

What A Random-ass Week...

2007-04-05T12:11:00.000-04:00

So as you've read, the week started off HORRIBLE on Monday with the full moon, and thank god that day has come and gone, but it's still just been a very random week...

1. HELLO? A big ass snowstorm in April? For real? And I live right across the street from the ocean, so we don't ever get as much snow as they do inland. Until today. There was at least a foot of snow in my driveway this morning. Awesome.

2. Power Outage. I haven't been without power in the whole year that I've lived at my current house...once again, until today. I would have stayed home from work because of the storm, but you better believe I'm not staying home with no electricity. (Side note: my Son was especially concerned that they wouldn't have power at Grammy's house today...he couldn't bear the thought of missing his cartoons!)

3. I got yelled at by a lady at the gym last night. Back up just a little...since Single Jen has no problem openly admitting it, I guess I won't either...here goes...I make fun of people. A lot. I know, I'm probably going to hell for this, but it's the truth. I do have one exception though...I NEVER let myself make fun of people at the gym. No matter how fat, ugly, dirty, or in desperate need of a makeover they may be, I just don't make fun of them. I figure at least they have the ambition to be at the gym and are trying to change to a healthy lifestyle, so I give them props for that. Ok, so you get it? I don't make fun of people at the gym. Until yesterday. I was working out on my machine and turned the fan on behind me...the fan that is directly behind MY machine, it's whole reason for being is to cool of the person on MY machine. And this lady on the machine in front of me throws an absolute hissy fit because it was "too cold." She could have just asked me nicely to turn it off like any NORMAL person would do...but no, she threw a fit. So I calmly shut off the fan and proceeded to sweat my balls off (just an expression, I don't really have balls, obviously) cause I JAM OUT during my work-out, while the lady who clearly hasn't been railed properly since 1982 never even broke a sweat cause she didn't leave warm-up speed! Fuck-you bitch!

4. I shoveled snow this morning...that's a BIG step for me.

5. Got a call this morning from my ex-husband, and he told me that this guy who's maybe 35, who we used to be pretty good friends with is dying of cancer...only has a few days to live. Huh? Are you serious? He's 35 for Christ's sake...I haven't seen the guy in a couple of years and he lives in another state, so I had no idea. Wow.

6. Got bitched at by a guy in the parking lot because he'd been following me for 2 miles and apparently I have no break lights. That's news to me, but hey buddy, read my blog about Pops coming home soon and a new car on the way! No time.

7. Saw 'THE DUMPSTER' at Dunkin Donuts this morning. That's not really weird but pretty funny. Dumpster is actually a person and I think he only has 1 1/2 ears. Heidi will have to clarify that...I can't remember.

8. Since I had no power, for the 4th day in a row I couldn't do my hair this morning. Thankfully I showered last night so I just threw it up in a clip...and rest assured...it looks FANTASTIC!!

9. OH!! I almost forgot!! I got woken up in the middle of the night by a frantic Miss Cupcake, and I do mean FRANTIC!! She'd heard the unmistakeable scurry scurry sound...yep, the MICE are back!! We haven't had a single one since the massacre, but apparently the snow storm brought them back inside. We went into the garage this morning and there was a mouse, dead in the trap. I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE that he was the last one...just a straggler.

I think that's it for now. Another random side note: I'd like to thank my work for the policy that we have of whenever it snows more than 2 inches, you are free to wear jeans. Fantastic! My office is a brand new office with lots of clients coming and going so jeans really don't seem like they'd be accepted here...but alas, my company is GREAT...shout out for the jeans today!!

I Have Great Hair!

2007-04-04T10:25:00.000-04:00

(I'd like to start off by saying to Miss Cupcake that although I'm not with you right now, I KNOW that you rolled your eyes when you read the title to this post!)

Anywho, in a never-ending effort to teach those around me about SELF-LOVE (hello Tracey), I've been constantly reminding myself that I need to follow suit and take care of me. This really isn't all that hard...you need to make the initial effort, and then trust me, you will be constantly telling yourself what a great job you're doing and giving yourself a great big hug (unless of course it happens to be a full moon, in which case, you're screwed.)

I digress. Anyways...I have FANTASTIC hair!! And yes, as Miss Cupcake likes to remind me, I should have great hair with all of the money that I spend on it, but nonetheless, it's still great hair! My hair is fairly long (down to the bottom of my shoulder blades) and mostly blonde with a few light brown low lights and has long layers. My hair is naturally a little on the flat and stringy side since it's so thin, but I don't mind...that just means a little extra product (which I LOVE) and a little extra time with the blow dryer and straightening iron (which my Mom can't for the life of her understand...why on earth would someone with straight hair use a straightner?...I promise you Mom, it does the body good!) in the morning. So all three days of this work week have been a little slow going in the morning so I haven't had time to do a lot with my hair. Monday (ie: bad full moon day, bad, bad, very bad) I threw it up in a ponytail, Tuesday morning I threw some gel in it and went with the wet look (which prompted a female co-worker who I've NEVER spoken with before tell me that I had a SEXY LOOK...that's right bitches, sexy look!!), and today I was at a loss...no time to do my hair, but I couldn't repeat one of the last two days looks...what would people think? So I just sprayed in a little root lifter and blow-dried my roots and out the door I went. I was a little mortified, but didn't have much time to think about it...until I got to work and looked in the bathroom mirror and Voila: my hair looks FANTASTIC!! Very soft, a little wavy today...and I find myself going to the bathroom, or the lounge where I can see my reflection in the fridge, or walking by framed artwork on the walls just so that I can see my gorgeous self! I rock!

Full Moon

2007-04-03T14:29:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was a full moon, and although I usually don't pay attention to that sort of thing, from now on I am staying IN BED when the moon decides to be full. Seriously. I woke up yesterday to my horoscope telling me that since the full moon was in Libra (whatever that means) that I would have a rough day. Awesome. The horoscope was right. It really all started on Sunday night, when I'm sure the moon had already began filling it's bad ass moon self and plotting it's revenge on me.

I had purchased a new bed frame...nothing spectacular, just a simple frame. I decided that with cute pillows, I didn't need to purchase a nice extravagant bed...I just wanted a new frame. Great...went to the store, bought an EASY TO ASSEMBLE frame and when I got home that night, I attempted to put it together. (I'm not a handy person AT ALL, so when I say I attempted to put it together, that really means yelling for help to whom ever will listen...I begged for help from Miss Cupcake who was in the living room, and from various friends via phone calls and text messages.) So Miss Cupcake gave her best effort but to no avail...eventually, I was able to convince my friend, Alex and his buddy, Nate to stop over on their way home from work. Awesome...two adult men, surely they could get this simple frame put together. But no luck...the frame is a dud and I need to exchange it. So, for the past two nights I've been sleeping on the couch while my room looks like an earthquake has come through. For those of you who don't know me...this drives me INSANE!! I can't stand leaving things in utter chaos...especially when I'm anxious to finish redecorating my bedroom, but I took it in stride. Moving on.

So yesterday morning just didn't get any better. My children, who I most affectionately call 'Oscar the Grouch' and 'Miss Princess I Want Everything My Way' in the morning, were having a particularly rough morning, but we made it, and headed out the door only a half an hour late. No worries...that's how we roll. I drop 'Miss Princess' off at 'Grammy with the birdies' house for the day, and me and Oscar head to drop him off at preschool. Now, aside from early in the morning, 'Oscar' is the best, most happy child that you could ask for...but now struggles with a natural fear of abandonment since my ex-husband decided to go from Dad of the year to Dad who has no time for his children in a very short amount of time. 'Oscar' has always been very close with his Dad, so being 5 years old, this has been quite an adjustment, but we get through it just fine. Usually. Drop off at preschool was awful yesterday...he clung to me and didn't want me to leave and was being all shy around everyone at school and instead of understanding, I was sooooooo annoyed. Anyways, I left and cried the whole way to work out of overwhelming frustration of being a single mom. Not only did I cry on the way to work, I cried when I got to work, called my ex-husband and cried my eyes out to him cause I felt bad for getting frustrated with our son, I e-mailed 3 of my friends who are a big part of my support circle and cried the whole time I was writing, got their e-mail replies and cried again. I seriously think I cried non-stop from 8am-2pm yesterday...it was awful. I don't usually cry or have bad days like that...yes, it's overwhelming being a single mom and it's a lot of work, but we roll with it and get through each day just fine.

Miss Cupcake kept reminding me that it was a full moon yesterday, so that's what I'm blaming it on...FUCK the full moon. I'm not kidding...someone please alert me to the next full moon cause I'm going on va-ca for a couple of days...I'll go to Mexico and drink Margarita's and Salsa dance with the Pablo's. I have no time for the full moon and all of it's bitterness...seriously, what did I ever do to you full moon?

It's Time You Knew the Truth About Me

2007-03-29T13:03:00.000-04:00

(photo courtesy of kennychesney.com)

If you've read my blog, which of course you have because you're reading it right now, you've gotten the hint that I'm a bit of a Kenny Chesney fan...well, truth is that I'm a BIG Kenny fan!! Big, big, big, big, big, big Kenny fan!!

Seriously, I just can't help it...people, have you seen the man? He's gorgeous...yummy, hot, sexy, adorable...and yes, I completely adore his music too.

This all got started a couple of years ago...let me tell the story from the beginning. Ok, (gosh I'm getting all excited just writing about it!!) so he'd been in my area for a concert in 2004 and I would have liked to have gone because I liked his music and all, but just didn't have the extra money to spend. So in 2005 the announcement comes on the radio that he'd be doing a country music festival at Gillette Stadium (Go Pats!!) in Foxboro, MA which is only a couple of hours from me. I round up my best friend and we decide to go...the time came for tickets to go on sale, and once again I really didn't have the extra money to spend, but screw it, rent would have to wait a week. I missed out on Kenny the previous year, I wasn't doing it again this year. So the day of the concert arrives and we get to the stadium a few hours before show time with my Jeep packed with all of the essentials for tailgating. And tailgate we did. The weather was PERFECT...probably 90 degrees, but no humidity and the most perfect breeze ever. At that moment I declared that if I died the following day, I'd die a happy woman. For a few hours we sat in beach chairs, listened to music, and drank a TON of beers...we chatted with the people that were tailgating around us, and with the many peeps walking about. It was great. We go into the show just in time to catch the end of Pat Green's performance, then Gretchen Wilson (yuck!), then Keith Urban, and then, that's right, people, it was time for Kenny! Mind you I had been drinking beers for about 8 hours and during the break before Kenny, I thought I was ready to lose it...thought for sure I would pass out before Kenny took the stage, but alas, I got a second wind like never before and was sooooooo excited when he came out and performed. It was just awesome...he's such an amazing entertainer. I can't even put into words how fun that day was...I'll never forget it. At the time, it was the funnest day that I'd had for a long time...I finally took a day for ME, which wasn't a common thing at the time.

Ok, so 2006 rolls around. With one show under our belt, you better believe we're pro's at this now. So we arrive at Gillette Stadium at 8:00am ready to tailgate, baby! We were the second car in line waiting to get into the parking lot which wasn't due to open until 11:00...so we set up shop right there on the street. Busted out the beers bright and early and lounged around...rest assured, we weren't the only ones. As the line started forming behind us, the streets along Gillette Stadium looked like one big beach party minus the beach. They ended up opening the parking lot at 10:00am to let us crazy fans in, and once again, just a fantastic day of tailgating. Complete with the pink grill...that's right, I said PINK GRILL for our burgers and dogs, plenty of beer, music, people, sun and plenty of good times my friends, good times! So the show starts, we head inside. Carrie Underwood opened the show and she was pretty good, better than I expected, followed by Dierks Bentley who is a great entertainer, Big & Rich with special guest Two Foot Fred...he was hysterical, I remember thinking, 'this can't really be happening right now' as I'm watching a midget JAM OUT on Kenny's stage...and then Gretchen Wilson (yuck, even more yuck than last year.) I figured that with Gretchen Wilson performing it would be a perfect time to go to the ladies room and VOMIT...sorry, a little TMI but it's true...I'm pretty sure it was from the excess of lighter fluid on the grill/burgers since we all got sick and tasted lighter fluid for days, however I'm not convinced that watching GW didn't have something to do with it. Anyways, I digress. So, I told you I was a pro by now right? Well I had a heads up that Kenny would be entering the stadium from a small stage in the back of the stadium and that he'd sing the first song there, and then run to the main stage. Since our seats were on the floor, we decided we'd try and find this small stage. We weren't having much luck finding it and since my stomach was still a little nappy from the whole poisoning/puking incident I thought we should just head back to our seats...that's when Heidi, my HERO, said, 'wait, that looks like a little stage right there.' I didn't think so, but we headed over to find out. There were two guys standing there by themselves and they let us in on the secret that yes, this was in fact the small stage. Immediately people came crowding around us, but no time for them, we were front row. A few minutes go by and we see this small case being wheeled out, and since we're the pro's, we knew that Kenny was in there. Heart racing, oh my god, Kenny's in there. So the lights dim, the music starts, and Kenny comes out rising up on this platform RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. People, he was RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE. It was amazing...I couldn't believe that this man that I'd seen on TV, magazines, and my computer...the man that I annoyed the crap out of people at work talking about constantly...the man who those same 'annoyed' people at work came to love because since I was their boss and they HAD to listen to Kenny all day and look at pictures of him on the walls, was singing right in front of me. It was just amazing. So the song ends, we head back to our seats and just jam out for two hours. If you've never been to a Kenny show before it's just awesome. You don't sit down...you stand and dance and sing and smile the whole time. And so does he. He has an absolute blast on that stage, and even though there are 60,000 people there, you truly feel like he's singing right to you.

So this year he's coming back to Gillette...we got our tix...5th row center...that's right, I said 5th row center!! We're also going to his show in Saratoga, NY where we have 9th row tix...a little inside help from a friend thank you very much...and then we'll be heading to Hartford, where we've decided to spend the big bucks and get front row. Front row or we don't go, baby! And rest assured that I WILL meet him this year...I don't know how yet, but I WILL meet him. Like I said, Heidi and I are pro's now...we'll get it done. We're both cute 27 year olds and we're on a mission...I KNOW we can get it done. If anyone has any good ideas that might help us on our mission, let me know...we'll take all the help we can get.

Oh, and we're also going to decorate the car (I know, it sounds dumb, but it will be fun) because the Saratoga and Gillette show are in the same week...we're taking a little Kenny vacation...heading to Saratoga, NY, then from there heading to Gillette just to relax and have fun for a few days in between concerts...so it's a Kenny va-ca so we figure we might as well be goofy and have fun with it. Anyone have any ideas of what we can write on the car? Something fun, cute, and catchy. Let me remind you that we're trying to get this man's attention, so we need something creative. I want to write 'Hey Kenny, I want to ride you like it's my job.'...Heidi says no, and she also says 'no showing Kenny your boobs'...I don't know that I agree...what do you guys think? Can we take a vote? Boobs or no boobs?

I'll Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

2007-03-26T15:17:00.000-04:00

Never in my life has it been so evident to me how truly important your friends are than in the last year or so of my life. I'm thankful that I've come to this realization now...I think that some people go through their whole lives without realizing the true value of a friend or without having a true friend. I think that I laugh more than anyone else in the world and if you could hear the majority of the conversations that occur between me and my friends, you'd surely understand why. So to my friends, I tip my hat, raise my glass, and say 'cheers.' Cheers to......

To the friend who sends you a one line e-mail at work asking 'have you pooped yet today?'

To the friend who calls you at 1:00am to tell you that he loves you, he loves your children, and most importantly, that thanks to you he now loves Kenny Chesney.

To the boy friend (emphasize space between boy and friend) who calls you at 10:00pm to tell you that you looked nice that day, when you haven't heard that in a long, long time...and you actually believe him and know that he's telling you the truth.

To the friend who tells you it's still ok to cry, because it's still sad.

To the friend you haven't seen since high school graduation day who finds you and reconnects with you at a time in your life when you really need your friends, and upon your first meeting in 10 years, takes you to the sex shop because she's convinced you need a good vibrator. (No Mom, I didn't buy one.)

To the friend who tells you to get up off the floor, pours you a Margarita, and proclaims that she's staying with your children so that you can go out.

To the friend who is ever the economist, who saves every penny and can't understand the comfort and joy of retail therapy yet when you've just spent an enormous amount of $$ on make-up, she tells you that it's worth it to look your best. And when you've spent too much $$ redecorating your bedroom, she says that you deserve it because you need a place to be inspired. You know that she'd never follow her own advice, but it makes you feel better just the same.

To the friend who, in an effort to make her friends always be safe, randomly puts condoms in your make-up bag because she knows you never leave home without it. (This is especially awkward when you get to work, open your make-up bag and condoms fall out everywhere when you didn't even know they were in there to begin with.)

To the friends that have called and texted because it's Kenny's birthday today and they know it makes you happy.

To the friend who when you have just seen Kenny UP CLOSE for the first time and you look at her face and see that it's just as special of a moment for her as it is for you.

To the friend who listens to your most heinous karaoke version of 'Big Star' and has a beer waiting for you when you're done.

To the friend who makes you take off your pants because they're two sizes too big so that she can immediately throw them in the rubbish. And she did.

To the friend who brings you to McDonald's when you haven't eaten in 10 days and feeds you a hash brown and orange juice.

To the friend who pulls you on the dance floor when you really don't feel like dancing and he compliments you during the whole song.

To the friend who calls you from half way across the country and when you say 'hello' she replies with 'my butt hurts.'

To the friend who walks up and asks you if your nipples still hurt and are they ok.

And probably most importantly over the past year, to the friend who shares her bed with you because it brings you the most comfort when you so need it.

I often wonder if it's normal for people to discuss the things that we do...and maybe we're crazy, actually, yes, I'm pretty certain that we are...but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm Officially In Training

2007-03-23T22:52:00.000-04:00

So, we've established by now that I'm a girl...a girly girl, borderline brat (but I'm working on that, I swear!) So here I am on a Friday night watching what used to be my favorite yearly event as a young girl...the Miss USA pageant! I haven't seen this pageant in recent years, however, rest assured that it still brings me the same excitement and motivation that it did all those years ago. I swear that beginning tomorrow in addition to going to the gym everyday (I'm not lying, I really do...not everyday, but almost) I will do 100 situps, I will tan 4x a week, I will continue to do my whitestrips, I will make sure my nails are always done perfectly, my toenails too, my make-up will be done to PERFECTION every single day, I will cleanse, exfoliate, and moisturize every inch of my skin twice a day, and give my hair a daily dose of only the best shampoo, conditioner, mousse, gel, root lifter, anti-breaking creme, and smoothing creme. This won't require any $$ from me, because I already have a gym/tanning membership, and happily own all of these products, most of them in many different varieties. Now I know that I'm not going to be in the pageant any time soon, but no joke, this pageant always fuels the ever burning fire inside of me that wants to be a beauty queen. I can't believe I'm confessing this on the World Wide Web, but come on ladies (and some of you men too!), I know I wasn't the only one practicing my smile and wave tonight, was I? Where my girls at?

Yes, I'm adorable, and Yes, I'm a Good Kisser...Thank You Very Much!!

2007-03-21T12:34:00.000-04:00

I got one of those forwards today that I usually don't pay attention to, but I had to forward it on for fear that if I didn't, I'd have 16 years of bad luck. Anyhow, here's what the e-mail says about me:

ARIES - Outgoing. Lovable. Spontaneous. Not one to mess with. Funny. Excellent kisser EXTREMELY adorable. Loves relationships. Addictive. Loud.

My favorite parts were the EXTREMELY adorable and excellent kisser ones. Gosh, these people don't even know me, yet they've pinpointed me sooo well! Thank you to the complete stranger who made up that e-mail for brightening my day!

My Thoughts For The Day...

2007-03-21T08:58:00.000-04:00

Some great advice; not only for others, but most importantly for me:

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"What you're looking for is not in there." - Miss Cupcake

Welcome Spring and Good Bye Poison

2007-03-20T20:40:00.000-04:00

I for one, could not be happier that Spring has finally arrived! Good bye winter, so long, good riddens, adios! I am clearly not a fan of winter (don't know why I stay in Maine) so the turning of the seasons comes with great pleasure in my household.

Now with the passing of winter, I want to take this opportunity to bid au revoir to the negative energy and poison that seems to creep into my life every so often. For real, I just can't take it anymore. And this goes to EVERYONE...keep your negativity, your poison, your energy that gets me all worked up and emotional and stressed and causes the chest pains that make me think I'm dying...keep it away from me. I'm officially drawing the line and I will not allow your hurt and anger in my 'magical kitchen.' I AM HAPPY...I am doing great, I'm living the life that I want to...I have hope, I have energy, I have determination, and I have love for myself...I will not let you cloud that with your POISON. That's it...I've drawn a circle around myself, and unless you're bringing only happy energy, I will not let you in.

My Saturday Night Date.....

2007-03-17T21:27:00.000-04:00

(very sexy photo courtesy of starpulse.com...let me be the first to say thank you starpulse, amen!)

Pretty sure this is the sexiest picture I've EVER seen! And yes, it's Saturday night and I'm home, playing on the 'puter, looking at pictures of Kenny. This is your prelude to an upcoming post about the true love of my life...Mr. Kenny Chesney. I know, I know, you're so excited you can't even stand it, right? You'll have to wait until tomorrow though...there are currently 14,100 images on Google of Kenny...I have a long night ahead of me so I better get going!!

Neil, You Rock!!

2007-03-16T22:13:00.000-04:00

I don't want to go into much detail for fear that I may curse the situation, but suffice it to say that Neil deserves a big ol' gold star!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You Rock, you're a star, and you just may be my new BFF!!

Thank God It's Almost Friday...

2007-03-15T21:52:00.000-04:00

Ok, so there's some good news...last night we set out 16 new traps, yes 16...making a total of 18 traps in the garage just patiently waiting with their peanut butter for some hungry vermin. 6:00 this morning we go asess the situation...convinced we're going to find 18 dead mice...but voila, there are none...zip, zilch, zero. Checked again tonight, and again NOTHING!! I know this doesn't mean we've cured the situation, but thank the 'dear lord baby jesus' because I just don't think we could have handled another day of this. As it was I woke up at 4:45am and layed in bed just dreading the massacre that I was expecting in the garage...couldn't go back to sleep. I'm having chest pains (always happens when I have anxiety), and the knots in my shoulders are so bad that I can't even get comfortable. And poor Cupcake, she got pulled over today for going 58 in a 35 or something ridiculous like that...and she just cried...told the cop that she's had an awful week and just cried. Thankfully he just gave her a warning...a ticket just might have been the straw to break the camel's back. I'm afraid she would have lost it.

I do have to give Miss Cupcake props for getting up with me prior to the sun rising...a good hour and a half earlier than her normal waking time...so that we could take out about 15 bags of trash/recycling/toys for the garbage men to take away...far far away. She was not happy about it...sporting the famous Harry Potters and growling the whole time...but we got it done. Nice work Cupcake, nice work. Once again, we pulled up the skirt and got it done!

So no mice, the trash is officially gone, and Miss Cupcake is doing the research as we speak to find out the best spa for us to rejuvinate our tired and stressed out bodies. We're thinking Mexico for the weekend...a spa, and dinner at a fantastic restaurant (La Bipolar-yes, that's really the name) owned by Diego Luna. I'm going to check flights right now........

Can Someone Say 'Independent'

2007-03-14T11:35:00.000-04:00

Yes, just call me Rudolph...or Hermey, which ever you prefer. Because I am now officially IN-DE-PEN-DENT! No, I'm not leaving my fellow elves to become a dentist, or leaving my family out of shame for my red nose, HOWEVER, I can now add mouse exterminator to my resume as well as license plate screw holder fixer extrodinaire. Yes, that's right...not only have I pulled up my skirt EVERY DAY THIS WEEK to attack the vermin, I also managed to go to the hardware store ALL BY MYSELF to get screws for my license plate, AND, are you ready for this? I even put the license plate on, once again ALL BY MYSELF!! I'm sure the local PD will be quite impressed. Now I just have to go through my files and find my insurance cards and I'll be in business! And you wonder why they call me a Big Star.......

Just Because Walt Disney Built An Empire Out of A Mouse Doesn't Mean We Have To...

2007-03-13T22:01:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I promise not to put a new post about the mice every single day, HOWEVER, I am going to keep this post updated with new totals for your entertainment. It's absolutely awful, but making light of the situation is the ONLY way I'm going to stay sane through this ordeal.
GARAGE: Fully cleaned out
MOUSE TRAPS RECOVERED FROM THE MISSING: Three (even though we thought we were only missing two)
DEAD MICE RECOVERED IN MISSING TRAPS: Six
TOTAL OF DEAD MICE SINCE MISSION BEGAN: Eleven (that's right folks, welcome to double digits!)
TOTAL OF DEAD MICE RECOVERED SINCE MISSION BEGAN: Eight
TOTAL OF DEAD MICE STILL AMONG THE MISSING: Three
NEW MOUSE TRAPS IN THE GARAGE: 16
HEART ATTACKS: 1327

Squeak, squeak...SNAP

2007-03-13T14:50:00.000-04:00

I'm going to apoligize in advance for this post. I really was going to spare the world wide web from this horrific and anxiety driven story, but the fear that I might just die from chest pains, convulsions, and the knot in my stomach forces me to share. Again, I'm sorry.

There's really no easy way to put this, so here it is: there are mice living in my garage. That's right, mice. Not a mouse, I said MICE...as in a family, a brood, a gang, a pack...Compadres as I like to call them. This was brought to my attention well over a month ago by Miss Cupcake, but I totally ignored it...out of sight, out of mind. I did often ponder the thought of buying outdoor trash cans so that the trash wouldn't be scattered all over the garage, however, I was too busy spending $100 at the MAC counter at Macy's to spend $25 on trash cans. You understand, don't you?

This past Saturday night I realized that it had been a while since I last got oil, so I should go check the oil tank which just so happens to be in the garage. Open the garage door and low and behold, there's a mouse...a small mouse...a baby mouse...that must have a Mom & Dad mouse somewhere, right? And probably lots of siblings. That was it...it overwhelmed me...so on a SATURDAY NIGHT Miss Cupcake and I started our 3-hour adventure of finding trash cans and mouse traps. (That's a whole other post, my friends.) We returned home, determined to put the trash in the containers and put out the traps, but when Miss Cupcake punctured her thumb and almost died of fear from assembling one mouse trap, we decided it was time to head to the Old Port for some cocktails (again, a whole other post.)

Next morning, got the trash put in the cans...nice work...I was quite proud. (Oh, and I want you to know that while I was in the garage so bravely taking care of the trash, Miss Cupcake stood outside all the while holding a shovel over her shoulder...not sure why, but she finds great comfort in that shovel...she feels that it will protect her from the mice.) So that was Sunday. Monday evening I decide it's time to pull up the skirts once again and set the mouse traps and put them out. After Cupcake got them set up, I BRAVELY ventured into the garage to put down the traps. My advice: set the traps down gently because if you set them down with any force, they snap, flip over, and could certainly make you die of a heart attack. Ok, garbage is in the cans, traps are out, we're in good shape, right? We wait an hour and decide to check on the traps. I BRAVELY open the door just a smidgen and see a mouse convulsing, broken neck and all. Cupcake feels as though we might be too harsh, but no time for sympathy here...take that you little bastards. Another hour goes by, and I once again BRAVELY open the door and FREAK OUT. There is a dead mouse DIRECTLY in front of the door with one of his very alive Compadres humping him. Yes, my friends, it was quite a sight to see. Awesome. Since it's dark out and I can only handle two heart attacks per evening, we call it quits until the next day.

So now we're up to lunch time today. Armed with a plastic bag and tongs, and Cupcake armed with her ever trusty shovel, we head to the garage. Cupcake stands outside trying to ward off evil spirits with the shovel while me and the tongs get to business. I'll spare you ALL of the nasty details, but I will share with you that the TWO DEAD MICE we saw last night were gone...MIA...gone! Apparently there must have been a mice funeral last night in my garage, or the family is sure that they're going to die as well and were feasting on the dead mice as their last supper. I don't know...don't really want to know. I did get two other mice though, dead in the traps. Two other traps were missing, so the mice must have brought those to the funeral/last supper as well. So to borrow Cupcakes format:

NUMBER OF THUMBS PUNCTURED: One
NUMBER OF HANDS ALMOST SNAPPED ON BY TRAPS: Two
NUMBER OF HEART ATTACKS: 672
NUMBER OF DEAD MICE IN TRAPS: Two
NUMBER OF DEAD MICE MISSING: Two
NUMBER OF TRAPS MISSING: Two
NUMBER OF MICE LEFT IN GARAGE: Countless

Fantastic stuff, huh? Awesome. Yup, this is my life this week folks...first the cops, then the mice.

Two important things to know about this story: I do NOT live in a craphole. It's actually a nice, modern house that I happen to pay more for in rent than a lot of mortgages...not a place that I would expect mice. Important thing number 2: I am not usually this brave, but with shovel girl warding off the evil spirits OUTSIDE of the garage, I pulled up my big girl panties and got to work.

Now, if you take one thing away from this story, let it be this: Just because it's cold and snowy outside and you're too much of a girl, do NOT let your trash pile up in your garage. Nope, not recommended.

My Recent Run-Ins With the Local Po-lice

2007-03-12T14:15:00.000-04:00

Rewind 10 months...I suddenly need a car, so in an effort to help me save money by not having a car payment, Pops (God love him) buys me a car. The first thing that you should know about my Dad is that his favorite line is 'I got a good deal'...this is quite a scary thing when you're a spoiled brat but soooo desperately need Pops to help you out. So Pops heads to the local auction...a gold mine in his eyes because it's just full of great deals! He emerges a couple of hours later with a car for me...which we all have come to know and love as simply "The Bird." Did I mention that I'm a spoiled brat? I've driven the car since then and am actually still alive, although at times I thought I was sure to die of embarassment. So now fast forward to the present...I make it through some trying times with bells on, better than ever. So naturally, my next venture is a NEW car. Pops agrees to help me out once again (he's great), but unfortunately for the brat, he's in good old Florida living it up in the hot sun for the winter...I'll have to wait until Spring when he gets home to get a new car. I've made it this long, surely another month won't be the end of me, right?

Yes, the car annoys the crap out of me...but this is the only time and place that you'll actually hear me admit a small appreciation for The Bird. Since the gas gage doesn't work and always shows a full tank, I have to measure my gas by miles driven after I fill up...apparently I'm not that good with doing this because MORE THAN ONCE the poor Bird has shut right off, run out of gas, but somehow manages to start again and putts us right to the nearest gas station. Very appreciative of that, thanks Bird.

So last week we're in the middle of a blizzard, cop pulls up behind me, flashing lights and all. WTF? He asks me why I thought he pulled me over...I figured I must have speeding relentlessy or driving erratic in the fantastic blizzard, but oh no, Mr. Policeman decides it's imperative that he pull me over in a blizzard for not having a front license plate...a necessity here in the state of Maine, even though I haven't had one since the Bird and I first became teammates. I explain to him that the screws that I have don't fit in the plate holder...of course, he didn't care, gave me a warning and told me to take care of it. Oh, and also the tint on my windows was too dark so he thought I should have the tint taken off...I kindly explained to him that Pops would be home in a month and that would be the end of the Bird's and my relationship. He agreed that it wasn't worth the effort. Thanks, have a good night. The week goes by, and being such the girl that I am, I never gave a second thought to my front license plate. That is until yesterday.

Cop pulls up behind me yet again, flashing lights and all...different cop, same town. After sitting there for what seemed like forever, Mr. Cop comes back with all kinds of stuff for me. "Here's another warning for the lack of front license plate, it's your 2nd warning, I don't want to see you again without it. And here's another warning for having a crack in your windsheild (the fact that Pops would be home soon and I'm getting a new car didn't matter at all to this guy.) And buckle up next time...don't you know it's a law in the state of Maine to wear your seat belt?" Ok, so he's an ass, but at least he hasn't given me a ticket for any of this. Surely he must be sympathetic that I've only slept for 5 hours and can't even speak due to the shot of Jose that came spewing out my nose only hours earlier, right? Oh no..."And miss" (thank god he didn't call me ma'am), "here's a $171 ticket for failure to have your insurance card in your vehicle." He almost got a big old "F" bomb, but thank goodness, I refrained and just responded with "are you SER-I-OUS?" And yes, he was serious...I have the blue ticket in my car to prove it.

Ok, so I'll find screws somewhere and try to get my front license plate to stay in place, resolve to always wear my seat belt, and I'll finally put my insurance cards in my car...but I REFUSE to pay $$ to fix my windsheild or take the tint off of my windows. Did I mention that Pops will be home in a MONTH??!!?? Bird, don't fail me now!! I've made it all this time without getting pulled over, now all of a sudden twice in one week?? I can't take it...if it happens again I'm not above crying. Juvenille and girly, yes, but I'll do it...I have no shame.

I AM a big star....

2007-03-11T18:47:00.000-04:00

Typical Americn Girl. Boring as it may sound, I guess I'd use this phrase to describe myself. I grew up in your typical American family with two parents that worked hard to provide for the family...experienced the typical things that every American teenage girl experienced...went to college in a typcial college town filled with frat houses, bars, pizza joints, shopping and yes, plenty of academics. I even drove the typical college car that every 19 year old girl at the time drove...a Honda Civic. And although my life hasn't always turned out exactly as planned, I still feel like the typical American girl. I love my family, I love my friends, love the beach, flip flops, pink and orange, country music, make-up, shopping, mango margaritas, my iPod, pictures, and I love love love my dreams...and not the ones that I have at night...my best dreams come with my eyes wide open. And yes, as the title of my blog suggests, I am a Big Star...at least in my world I am.

So that's me in a nutshell...a very small nutshell, but you get the jist, right?

So now on to the part where I tell you why I decided to start a blog........

I used to love to write as a teenager, mostly poems...poems that I thought were fantastic at the time, and some of them were, but a lot of them now bring a pretty good laugh. Regardless, they brought me comfort. Writing came extremely naturally to me, and no matter what the situation, it always brought me a sense of peace. Not sure where or when it happened, but at some point during my typical busy life of a 27 year old, I stopped writing. It's often made me sad, and I've longed for the desire to write again, but that spark, that 'thing' that would actually awaken me in the middle of the night to write down a quote or a thought, just never came back. Ah yes, that is until just the other day when I was bored almost to tears at work, I begged a friend (and fellow blogger) to send me some fun websites to check out to cure me of my boredom. The first website on her list was that of another blogger...didn't really have much interest in reading a stranger's blog, but did I mention that I was bored? So I visited that blog and spent the next 3 hours reading some fantastic posts and not only finding comfort in the similarity of our lives, but also was inspired to write again. The poetry ship has sailed, but I'm very excited to write some life experiences and thoughts and to share them with you.

So for those of you who know me, I hope this blog gives you the chance to get to know me just a little bit better...for those of you who don't know me, thanks for visiting and I hope that I can provide some comfort and entertainment for you just as that other blogger did for me...and most of all, this blog is for me. It's a place for me to keep discovering myself, for me to keep dreaming, and for me to be exactly who I am...a big star.