What I won't do for Travis....

There are actually numerous things I won't do for Travis... Kiss a Rainbow Butt Monkey square on the cheek is a perfect example of one of them(and I'm not talking about the members of Finger Eleven)... But when my darling Bro tags me.. well... he was tagged by Janna and then he tagged me... and... well... to tag or not to tag... you shall see... Oh... Thought I'd give you a radio to listen to while you sit and read... I've heard Janis, Blossom Dearie, Aretha, Ray Charles and The Supremes all in the space of 30 minutes on this station.. hopefully you'll enjoy some of the selection.. nice feature: you can skip ahead... and that's a good thing! (I just heard Shirley Horn sing Here's to Life.. *sigh*... Hope it plays for you!) LIST FOUR SENTENCES YOU'VE NEVER SAID BEFORE: 1. I don’t need a new pair of shoes. 2. Cheesecake or fruit salad? I’ll take the fruit salad. 3. I’d love an enema, how relaxing! 4. I LOVE plaid on you! LIST ANY NUMBER OF SONG TITLES THAT DESCRIBE HOW YOU'VE FELT THIS WEEK: 1. World on Fire – Sarah McLachlan 2. The Bitch is Back – Elton John 3. I Can’t Decide – Scissor Sisters IMAGINE YOU'RE HAVING THE IDEAL PERFECT DAY. WHAT FOUR THINGS WOULD YOU BE DOING? 1. Waking up to a warm summer breeze and spending the morning in bed with sweet music playing and the perfect person to share it with. 2. Hiking to a waterfall in the mountains. 3. Sit on a park bench to people watch (this includes making up stories about the people that walk on by…) 4. End the day by making love during a fireworks display (trust me.. it's quite the experience). MAKE UP FIVE CREATIVE NAMES FOR A NEW ROCK BAND: 1. Green Jello Wrestlers 2. Accidental Tourista 3. Monsters in the Backyard 4. Lawnmower Incident 5. Ted Nugent’s Shirt CONGRATULATIONS! YOU GET TO GO BACK IN TIME AND ENSURE THAT THREE SONGS WERE NEVER WRITTEN, THUS SPARING HUMANITY FROM EVER HAVING TO HEAR THEM. WHAT THREE SONGS WOULD GET THE AXE? 1. Popozao - K-Fed 2. Party All the Time – Eddie Murphy 3. Having my Baby – Paul Anka So... I tag Angell... (sorry babe.. just had too...) Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

I just had to...

The strangest things make me laugh... please don't hold it against me. Hope it brings a giggle to your day. What form! Had to change this one.. and honestly? this is SOOOO much funnier! Guess when his mother told him to always wear clean underwear he had no idea this was going to happen.. it may have started clean.. but I doubt it stayed that way... bwahahahahahahahaha! New bottom buddy for Meribah.. hehehe Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Wordless Wednesday - the way

Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

I've been tagged (warning.. video alert...)

I’m struggling with Twyla’s tag… ARG!!! 7 songs I’m listening to!!! I’ve wondered how to do this… hit random on my music player… pull out the CDs that are sitting on the passenger seat of the car as I drive and pick my favourite song on each… How do I pick 7 songs? 7!!! Sheesh.. Ask a mother to pick a favourite child why don’t you… Here goes… these are 7 songs that I’ve hit repeat on when I listen to them in the car, in my office, as I sit and read my e-mails… In no particular order (and the styles are different so… maybe there’s something for every one of you dear readers…) 1-Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd I was going to pick Free Bird for matt-man and his adventures in flight *snarf* but I absolutely love this song… and it’s been on in my car for a week… Have to make my way south and see them live... yup… 2-Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton Had to… just had to.. I mean.. the guitar GOD.. and well, it makes me feel warm and .. not fuzzy.. I don’t like fuzz, I do my best to remain fuzzless… tingly.. yup.. tingly… *sigh* 3-SuperSexMe - Jonas Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… have nothing to add… 4-Hoochie Coochie Man - Muddy Waters A souvenir from my trip to B.B. King’s in Memphis… 5- Rock me Baby - Etta James Erin Mitchell’s version at Workplay in Birmingham had me thinking about Etta.. She’s the voice I most strongly associate with this song. I had to go back and pull my cd out… this is a gem folks.. 6- Rocket 88.. (Ike Turner really, but credited to Jackie Brenston) Thought by many to be the first Rock and Roll song… well according to Sam Phillips of Sun Records (another memory of Memphis) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 7- Wings of a Dove - Madness This is one of my Happy Songs.. it also reminds me of carefree days… and matt-man bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Was your flight anything like this dearest? Actually, this video has serious echos of my flight back from Birmingham.. Part 2 the Journey from Dulles Airport to Montreal… If you can avoid flying through that airport.. DO! Kudos to the pilot of that flight (I forget his name, I do remember that he was actually quite fetching indeed… but let me say that the crew on that flight was fantastic).. hmmmm he didn’t have a hat with earflaps... or Elvis sunglasses… and he didn’t SPRING from the cockpit (*giggle* I’m in quite the mood at the moment.. sorry) and prance down the aisle… DAMN… Anywho.. Leave it to yours truly, who actually managed to pack everything I needed for my trip South in a carry-on … I’m an excellent packer by the way.. I even managed to pack 2 extra pairs of shoes (I do have a shoe thing, but then my regular reader knows this) which I ended up not wearing because quite frankly the peek-a-boo pumps would have killed my feet at Workplay… (then again, we would have seen another shoe dance from the Hottie and that was quite the sight to see)… and, since I never made it to the after party in the Red Velvet Lounge, where I was going to wear the lovely black ankle strap heels.. but um.. I ended up snug as a bug in a rug sleeping off the lovely initiation ceremony we had for Bodacious Hoochie… I spent the weekend in boots. Good lord I just rambled… and it’s not over… What I was saying was, leave it to me to have adventures in luggage... even though I managed to actually get through this trip without checking any luggage (I do NOT trust ground crews with my luggage.. or the *cue sinister music here* TSA.. whom I partly blame for the delays in my return flight for Birmingham…) My flight was delayed after they had overbooked the flight (how they actually do this puzzles me – and NO I actually don’t want an explanation thank you very much) and since it was a flight to Canada.. the *cue sinister music here.. again* TSA decided to check all foreign baggage (bastards!) They finally managed to get the bunch of overbooked extremely vocal annoyed bunch of Montrealers on the plane (if you actually believe the myth that all Canadians are nice polite people.. I have an Olympic Stadium I'd like to sell you), and of course they had a TON of luggage.. they’d been on a cruise. And since they weren't suppposed to be on the flight in the first place... their luggage wasn't on the trolleys to be loaded onto the plane.. and had yet to go through the Security process the *cue sinister music HERE.. once more* TSA has devised.. so.. luggage induced delays even before taking off! I mean you usually end up waiting for you luggage once you get to your final destination only to find out it's in Reikjavic when you're in Ste Lucia... We watched the ground crew stand there staring at about 5 suitcases on the tarmac scratching their butts and shaking their heads as if they’d actually never seen luggage before that very instant and hadn’t the foggiest idea what to do with said luggage… (Imagine the scene when Neanderthal man discovered a use for leaves when tending to nature calls in the forest.. eureka!) I mean ACK, the luggage wasn’t on one of those trolley thingies.. I actually think they expected the luggage to walk onto the plane by itself or at least shout up to them “Hey Morons, we’re headed for Montreal, mind loading us on that there plane over yonder?”... but in French. From what I gather, French would have been as foreign to them as English so it wouldn’t have made a difference. And um.. I saw a very disturbing sight as I sat there waiting for the airline personnel to sort out the overbooked situation. There was a guy, in a tight Superman costume top and black army pants sitting across from me... two guys were talking about him laughing and kept looking over at me smiling because they KNEW I was about to burst out howling in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.. I believe they were betting on how much longer I could hold out …he actually had one of those long Matrix like black trenchcoats with him and I tell you I almost lost it. Unfortunately he was too far from me or I would have used the camera on my phone.. but lordy lordy lordy… so myself, the guy sitting next to me (actual flight crewman) and the two guys headed to Florida were nervously looking at him hoping to GOD he wasn’t on our flights. I’m happy to report he wasn’t on mine… I think he had to take a plane because his cape was in the wash. What's most disturbing is.. he got through the security checkpoint... Meet my long lost brother... BTW... I dance so much better than him... Thanks for the tag Twyla ... smooch! Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Manic Monday ... SPRING

He just SPRINGS out of nowhere doesn't he? Did that little girl SPRING a leak? hehehe Love you all more than my luggage! hugs, smooches and gropes!

Siblings.. ugh...... (I am SO glad I'm an only child)

I love these guys! Brotherly love... "You look like a freakin' gopher"... bwahahahahahahahahahaha! "put down the yard stick"... bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha! This is priceless... Sibling Rivalry But I love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Wordless Wednesday - Spring?

Love you more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

WOOOOOOOOO!!!

Music from a lazy Sunday - warning.. Bestaudiocodes are on the fritz for some reason.. and I've been having difficulties with lifelogger so.. I'm putting up some videos... be patient, it's worth the loading time. I was having an easy Sunday folks. I was still recovering from the flu, so I’m afraid I don’t have much to say as of yet (thank God for all y’all). But good news.. I’m eating! I was going to do a little review of my trip south to see the sweet Taylor Hicks and about getting to meet all the fantastic folks I got to meet, but so many of my wonderful blogging friends have done such a stellar job. I mean how many different accounts do you folks want? But I will regale you with my adventure going home in the following days.. leave it to me to have adventures in luggage… For today, here's a little snippet that stayed with me from my trip down South… Memphis and Beale Street. My host, the gracious Couch, took me to B. B. King's.. and WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! We drove by Graceland on our way to Birmingham and it gave me shudders.. BIG TIME. Oh.. and by the way.. On this day in music history in 1957, Elvis Presley bought the Graceland estate... which we drove by.. did I mention that already? I thought I’d share some of the songs that were playing in my house this weekend as I made Irish Guinness Beef stew, shamrock punch (the Chicklet’s own invention and a new family tradition), green jell-o (yes Travis.. green jell-o), leprechaun gold cake, bangers and green mash (we’re making a whole weekend of St. Paddy’s)… and sweet and tangy Veal with peaches (not so Irish but yummy indeed). All these songs had me shakin’ what my momma gave me and tapping my feet… The Chicklet got quite a kick out of this music, she'll do just fine that one! As I joted these songs down in a list I noticed that a lot of the artists I was listening to recorded in the studios of the Birthplace of Rock’n’Roll: Sun Records, located in beautiful Memphis, Tennessee … Just standing in front of the building where Rock’n’Roll originated is enough to give you chills… (Thanks for humouring me Vince). So I've decided to showcase these artists.. At some point I'll give you a bit of history about Sun Records, Sam Phillips and the artists that recorded in that hallowed building.. but for today, I'll leave you with the music... Elvis Presley - yes.. I LOVE Elvis, and I've made certain the Chicklet inherits this love of the King. So.. Black Leather Elvis (THUD) and the song that started it all when Sam Phillips rushed over to the radio station from the studio and the DJ just kept playing it and playing it.. over and over again... all night long (it's the second of Elvis' Sun Recordings). Johnny Cash- The Man in Black Jerry Lee Lewis – The Killer himself! WOOOOOOOOOOO! Howlin’ Wolf - I'll be Back Someday Carl Perkins - yes.. the original 'Blue Suede Shoes' Also on this day in music history in 1971: The No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was ``Me and Bobby McGee,'' Janis Joplin. This song is the second posthumous No. 1 song of the rock era, it reached the top of the charts almost six months after Joplin's death. And yes Vinny, Erin was channeling Janis and has exquisite taste in footwear... A heartfelt thanks to those who have inquired either directly or indirectly about my absence and health, it’s much appreciated. Your kindness will be returned to you at a moment when you need it most. Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Friday funnies... for the ladies...

I got this via e-mail this morning and since I'm too excited to write anything coherent... Bham in 1 day... OMG OMG OMG SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Here are a few funnies... Pregnancy, Estrogen, and Women PREGNANCY Q&A and more! Q: Should I have a baby after 35? A: No, 35 children is enough. Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move? A: With any luck, right after he finishes college. Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex? A: Childbirth. Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's borderline irrational. A: So what's your question? Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right? A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current. Q: When is the best time to get an epidural? A: Right after you find out you're pregnant. Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor? A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you. Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth? A: Yes, pregnancy. Q: Do I have to have a baby shower? A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly. Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again? A: When the kids are in college. "ESTROGEN ISSUES" 10 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE "ESTROGEN ISSUES" 1. Everyone around you has an attitude problem. 2. You're adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelet. 3. The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans. 4. Your husband is suddenly agreeing to everything you say. 5. You 're using your cellular phone to dial up every bumper sticker that says: "How's my driving-call 1- 800-". 6. Everyone's head looks like an invitation to batting practice. 7. Everyone seems to have just landed here from "outer space." 9. You're sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy. 10. The ibuprofen bottle is empty and you bought it yesterday. TOP TEN THINGS ONLY WOMEN UNDERSTAND 10. Cats' facial expressions. 9. The need for the same style of shoes in different colors. 8. Why bean sprouts aren't just weeds. 7. Fat clothes. 6. Taking a car trip without trying to beat your best time. 5. The difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell. 4. Cutting your hair to make it grow. 3. Eyelash curlers. 2. The inaccuracy of every bathroom scale ever made. AND, the Number One thing only women understand : 1. OTHER WOMEN "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." Love you all more than my Luggage! Hugs, Smooches and Gropes

Wordless Wednesday - Public Service Announcement

Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Teach me...

At Duke University, there were four sophomores taking chemistry and all of them had an "A" so far. These four friends were so confident, that the weekend before finals, they decided to visit some friends and have a big party. They had a great time, but after all the hearty partying; they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they decided that after the final they would explain to their professor why they missed it. They said that they visited friends but on the way back they had a flat tire. As a result, they missed the final. The professor agreed they could make up the final the next day. The guys were excited and relieved. They studied that night for the exam. The Professor placed them in separate rooms and gave them a test booklet. They quickly answered the first problem worth 5 points. Cool, they thought! Each one in separate rooms, thinking this was going to be easy.... then they turned the page. On the second page was written.... For 95 points: Which tire? _____ Can you blame him? There's been much debate about banning cell phones in schools. Is it a sign of the times that parents need to be able to have contact with their children at all times during the day (what's the school secretary for anyway)? The fact that some parents have been interviewed and actually stated that kids today (I'm not talking about college students.. kids in middle school) need their cells as a tool to 'manage' their lives and busy schedules astounds me. But then I have a nine year old who hasn't been signed up for classes, activities and sports evey day of the week. Maybe some of our children are over loaded with obligations, classes, sports and have forgotten how to actually play. It's gotten to the point where you find kids that are burning out from too much stress. They're being groomed to become corporate drones? Is is fair to expect teachers to teach in an environment where they have to constantly compete with gadgets for the kids attention? Was it any different back when I was in school, after the invention of the wheel and the calculator? You know, before the arrival of palms, ipods, blackberrys and laptops, back in the days of the good old commodore 64.. yup.. and big old boom boxes. Oh.. and a quarter to call your parents if you needed to reach them. I've been wondering where to draw the line. Should they be allowed to bring them to school with the condition they be left in the students' lockers to be used before, after and between classes? Can we truly expect parents to forgo the security blanket their child's cell phone has seemingly become? Do they actually think children don't lie about their location when called? That they will always answer the phone when Mom or Dad calls? That it's a magical device that surrounds the child and envelops them in a stronger than kevlar protective bubble akin to the slipperiest of slimes that predators can't latch onto? Who teaches the child to use the cell phone in a constructive and responsible manner? The parent who can't go to a meeting at work and put their cell phone on vibrate or silent because they can't possibly miss a call, no matter how mundane? In my line of work, I'm 'on call' 24/7 (unless I'm on vacation - and they would still find me) so I can be reached in the event of a disaster or an emergency, but I have sufficient respect for the people I do business with to mute the damn phone when in a conference, a meeting or a presentation. If it 'hummms' I'm intelligent enough to look at the caller display, get up and leave the room quietly if I need to take the call. Are the teachers of today given any support in how to deal with this? After incidents like school shootings, parents feel safer knowing their children have a cell phone handy. But can cell phones and their use actually help or hinder in the event of an actual emergency? I'm one of the people responsible for emergency preparedness and emergency response for my employer. And knowing there might be active use of cell phones during an emergency is a mixed blessing. Yes, it can alert the authorities in a more timely fashion, but their increased use in an emergency situation can cause serious problems for the personnel charged with intervening and crisis management. They can overload the network in the event of a tragedy (9/11, Columbine, etc...) thus hampering communication capabilities. A cell phone could actually detonate a bomb during a bomb scare. They can hamper rumour control and may leak information that needs to remain hushed during the intervention portion of a crisis. Timely emergency response can be hindered when parents flock to the location of an emergency. So, what's the solution? Does it make your kids safer during school hours? Should they be allowed in the classroom? Any thoughts? "Most people are willing to pay more to be amused than to be educated." -Robert C. Savage Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Manic Monday - the BLOW edition..

After some fast and furious e-mailing that occured this weekend between some crazy people Meri, Travis, Julie -yes.. you too, Vinny (bad bad man LOL.. please don't ever change bwahahaha) and poor Dana our Queen who was subjected to our wild and crazy ways (I could think of worse things to be subjected to.. really...) I almost went the way of the obvious for this Monday's Manic assignment... I know.. you're expecting a dissertation on one of the most wonderful tools given to man... the leaf-blower! What? Not what you thought? Well... as I am always willing to throw a curve ball (ugh.. baseball talk.. I blame The Couch)... My use of the word BLOW... well a variant... So I saw this and it blew me away! Well... don't that beat all. Thank to all the sweet people who dropped by and shared their thoughts about my Friday Funk... I'll answer each and everyone as soon as I can but I must say I appreciate the concern, the support and especially that you took the time to really think about my little rant (except Matt-man.. who was too busy thinking of a big juicy lovely braised piece of beef....... how's that lent project thingy coming along?) OOOOOH!!! I have a double topic.. Things that might make Matt-man blow his lent project thingy... bwahahahahahahahahahaha! Duck of the Irish? I have officially 'De-funkified' as Matt-Man put it! Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Friday funk.. not the good kind...

I’ve been listening to Norah Jones today… BestAudioCodes.com Have you ever just plopped down on the bed or couch next to a dog that’s sleeping peacefully? You can hear them snoring, and feel their heat, touch the softness of their fur… hopefully it doesn’t engage your other senses. Wait, it’s like a husband… Dogs know how to clear a room.. and they look at you with a “what? You do it too’ look which of course is a lie… ladies just don’t do that… (stop snickering I am TOO a lady)… I know.. being home on a snow day SHOULD be reason for me to be cheerful and happy.. but I’m feeling a bit blah today. I know… looking at the trip counter (you know.. the one under the bus) and anticipating the moment I get to meet some fantastic people who have managed to weave themselves into the fabric of so many patches on my life quilt should fill me with glee… but I feel like there are holes in it. There are some very important people I love very much who won’t be there… and it makes the trip bittersweet. I’m annoyed with blogs lately... and bloggers… I don’t believe in blogs that “pimp” other blogs on the condition they get a link… or make you pay for featuring (ugh). I’d rather spend that money on someone I love or give it to charity.. you know.. for something worthwhile… I hate that people are only interested in how many hits they’re getting… I started blogging because I thought it would be fun.. it would give me a place to share with some of my friends some fun things I’ve come across… or music that speaks to me… I started blogging so I’d have a place to put some of my thoughts… I’ve made new friends... discovered fun blogs.. I’ve got a little widget that tells me what country people who visit come from… it’s fun… I’m on MyBlogLog because I enjoy seeing the faces of people who stop by… I hate feeling like I have to go everywhere… I do sometimes wonder why friends show up and don’t comment... but I sometimes have nothing to add to a post when I visit someone’s blog... or I only have the time to go for a quick read… and my over heated mommy, daughter, manager brain gets overloaded and I forget to go back… I hate seeing people who “court” the “in - I have the power to nominate you for best - I’ll review you and increase your traffic” bloggers.. I watched the news today and saw an overturned bus in Atlanta, and a devastated high school in Alabama… young people dying… I’m proud to say a good friend sent me an e-mail telling me he would try and get a team of firefighters and first responders together to give the local firefighters in Enterprise, Alabama a break from the taxing work of going through debris… (one of the few good things in my day). Sifting through the debris of a high school… heartbreaking.. I’m in a funk... I’ve been meaning to update my links… there are some new people I want to add because I enjoy their blogs for what they write... not what they can do for my traffic… (Hi Dan and Songbird! Hi Sanni!) If I’ve offended you because I’m not impressed with “best” that just means sucking up…. Well… tough.. hit the next blog button… I told you the funk wasn't good... Ok.. I can't actually leave without posting SOMETHING funny... Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

He huffed and he puffed... yeah.. he's on something...

Uncle Chris? Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!