A Weekend of New Restaurants

This weekend Jeffro and I decided to go to Bebo Trattoria for lunch after our classes on Saturday morning. It was perfect, cause my class is Italian, so I got to continue the experience a little longer. It's owned by Roberto Donna, acclaimed chef of Galileo, probably the best and priciest Italian restaurant in DC. Bebo is a more affordable option. We got sucked in by the lunch menu posted on the outside of the restaurant, but unfortunately when we got the menu at our table, it showed about 1/3 of the food they normally serve for lunch. We still enjoyed ourselves immensely, splitting the culatello (proscuitto), condiglione, and carciofini pizza. Check out the Saturday menu here.

Today I finally got a chance to go to Busboys and Poets, one of the newer restaurants in Shirlington. They have an awesome brunch menu, and really good French Toast. It's a neat, artsy vibe, kind of like a library, bookstore, coffee shop, and restaurant all rolled into one.

Other than eating "molto" this weekend, we got a lot of work done on the basement. I have two huge bags of trash ready to go out, and four bags for Goodwill. Yeah!

An Interesting Week

I laughed, I cried . . .

This Wednesday was the annual CMAs, and I have to say it was a pretty good show, except for Martina McBride not getting a much-deserved award for either song or single of the year.

I got a $1,000 bonus (sadly, the largest bonus I've ever gotten) and a 5% raise this week, so that was some good news.

Bad news . . . I had a doc appointment and that didn't go so well. Last time I went she was concerned about my blood pressure. Apparently this time was much better, but we discovered a potential new problem--short pr syndrome. One of the associated risks is sudden cardiac death. Boy does that sound like a good time.

Jeffro and I tried to buy tickets during the presale for Bon Jovi/Christ Daughtry, but those bastards were putting us in nosebleed seats for $65, so we might wait till tomorrow's regular sale or scalp the night of. We'll have to see. Boy does that piss me off.

So now I'm having some wine and that's fun.

Affordable Places to Live Well

For many years now I've had this crazy idea to get out of the DC rat race and move somewhere where the dollar actually goes a little further and I can afford to purchase something more than a 1,400-sq. ft. condo. This list shows the top 10 places to be able to do that. Now of course, I really wouldn't consider most of these places because they're too cold or too Midwest, but there are a couple good options here I would think about. You'll just have to guess which ones.

Hard to Believe It's November

I just don't know where these past few months have gone. With all the warm weather we've had this fall, it doesn't seem possible that the holidays are almost here. So as we're all frantically making our Thanksgiving plans, thinking of recipes, anticipating all the great food we're going to eat, and struggling not to pack on the holiday pounds, here are some great tips to keep in mind to ward off the seemingly inevitable holiday weight gain.

Top DC Chef?

In the tradition of Iron Chef, DC is having its own competition, "DC Capital Food Fight" to benefit the DC Central Kitchen. There will also be tastings from 40 top restaurants, including my personal favorite Farrah Olivia, and a silent auction with great prizes like a "Year of Dining" (dinners for six plus wine at each of 12 restaurants) and a stint as production assistant on Jose Andres's new PBS series. How cool is this? If you had an extra $175 sitting around, and if it wasn't sold out, you too could go.

Hopefully not a Trifecta

So far this week, country legend Porter Wagoner, who launched Dolly Parton's career, and singer Robert Goulet have died. Hopefully this will not be a trifecta week . . .

Crazy Inventions

This is the kind of stuff we send around at work for entertainment . . . this first crazy invention called the Transition, a small plane that turns into a car. So you can fly yourself somewhere, land, then get on the road and go. Can you imagine?

The next is the Walkstation--the answer to stopping the weight you gain by sitting on your ass at a desk day after day doing useless, pointless work and getting no exercise. Pretty crazy!

A Bird in the House is Worth . . .

Well, my adventure this weekend involved trapping and releasing a sparrow to get it out of my house. We often leave the back door open for air and we don't have a screen cause my dog destroyed two in a row and I decided not to put one back on. So yesterday I was in the basement doing some work and I hear a big scuffle upstairs involving said dog. Jeffro went up to investigate what my bad dog was doing, and when he got upstairs, all he kept saying was "oh my God!" then finally "there's a bird in the house!" I went running upstairs and there it was perched on the window sill in my bathroom (luckily). I took a towel and tried to catch him, until finally it landed in the trash can. I threw the towel over that and took it outside. It was pretty darned funny.

The rest of the weekend wasn't as eventful, though we did go out last night to our favorite sushi place, Matuba, then to Jay's in Clarendon to listen to a favorite local band, Catfish Honeymoon. They're always a great time, and had some fun new songs including Kathleen Edwards' awesome song "Back to You," which they did a great job covering.

Stealing the Three-fer

1. My coworker that I share an office with has been sick, and coming in to work every day hacking and spewing her germs all over. To the point where now I feel like I'm on my way to getting sick.

2. I have to agree with Jeffro and Metrocurean that Morou got ripped off by getting kicked off The Next Iron Chef. Farrah Olivia is still my favorite local restaurant, the judges obviously have poor taste buds.

3. This recipe, posted by A Sizable Apple, is truly delicious and will be great when (if ever) the cold weather gets here. I changed it up a bit by cutting down the garlic a bit (used three instead of four cloves, and boy was it garlicky-good and cleared out my sinuses!), using Swiss Chard (don't like broccoli rabe), and sprinkled pamensan cheese at the end as I couldn't find fontina. I also added some crushed red pepper. Highly recommended!

Curse of the Cowboys

According to Jeffro, I have the power to make or break the results of the Dallas Cowboys games. Whenever I watch, apparently, their luck turns bad and they start losing. The minute I leave, things turn around and they win. So I have been relegated to the basement today for the remainder of the game, after they were losing at halftime. I'll have to look into this power more, to see how it can be used in conjunction with betting to earn big bucks.

Matt Nathanson Live

Last night Jeffro and I went to the 9:30 Club to see Matt Nathanson, one of our favorite live acts. He recently released a new album, Some Mad Hope, so it was cool to hear some new songs from him. Plus an excellent cover of Journey's Don't Stop Believing!

Another Gorgeous Weekend

It has been another beautiful weekend here in the DC area, trying to fool me into wishfully believing that winter will never arrive. However, when I walk the dogs in the morning, I am getting closer and closer to needing to wear some gloves cause my hands get cold easily.

Friday night Jeffro and I went to see Marah at Jammin' Java. Check out the footage that he took on his blog.

Yesterday I had my Italian class--it's hard to believe it's already 1/2 over. Then Jeffro surprised me with a picnic at Gravelly Point, which was the highlight of my weekend. Until Jeffro got sick, that is. We think he's fighing off a cold. The rest of the weekend was chores, errands, and long walks with the dogs.

Next Iron Chef

I'm so excited about the latest Food Network Show, The Next Iron Chef. It debuted last night and my local favorite chef, Morou, is one of the competitors! I absolutely love his restaurant, Farrah Olivia in Old Town.

Beautiful Weekend

This weekend was probably the most gorgeous weather we've had in quite a while. I spent a lot of time outside, particularly on Sunday, when Jeffro and I took his mom, who was visiting for the weekend, to the Occoquan Craft Fair. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to walk around and see some of the vendors' fares. I even got a replacement pump for a soap dispenser that I'd gotten a couple of years ago.

Cake Love Open in Shirlington

Big neighborhood news. Cake Love is now open in Shirlington! I went in there tonight to take a peek before my pedicure, and lo and behold, Warren Brown was standing there frosting a cake! I thought it was him but wasn't 100% sure and didn't want to look like a star-struck idiot, so I just said hello and he said he'd be right with me. I wound up not getting anything immediately cause I didn't want to have to carry it into the pedicure appointment, but went back later and got vanilla/vanilla and chocolate/cream cheese cupcakes. At about $3 a pop, I was really curious how they would taste, and they weren't what I expected.

They were good, but not fabulous and I wanted fabulous. I really wanted to love, love, love Cake Love. I do, but only cause I think it's great what Warren Brown has accomplished with his life, and how he left his job as a lawyer to do what he loves in life. The cupcakes are not very sweet, and the cake is very dense, both of which I like. But they could have had a little more flavor overall. They had butter creme icing, for the most part, which isn't my favorite cause I admit I like cheap, sweet-as-hell, store-bought cupcakes! I would definitely go back, but next time I would pick a more exciting flavor (the vanilla/lemon was sold out when I got back after a 45 minute pedicure, so I guess sales are going ok there so far). The prices of cakes started at $40 for a small, so I doubt I'll be buying anything more than an occasional cupcake here or there . . . but it was mighty exciting to see the Food Network star there personally frosting cakes! They're having a grand opening on November 3, and participating in Shirlington's Oktoberfest on October 6, so come check it out!

Working from Home

I'm working from home today for several reasons: One: it's quiet at work this week so I'm trying to play catch up on projects that have been hanging over my head. There is one in particular that requires a lot of writing that I can't seem to finish in the office, no matter how quiet. Two: I just needed a day to sleep a little later than usual. Three: because I can! I'm not sure about the productivity of the day, when it looks something like the scenario below. However, I am just about done with my project, so I guess that's what counts.

Me: Sitting at computer, minding my business, doing work
Dog: Comes up and bumps wet nose against arm, causing typos
Me: Tell dog, “no, go lie down”
Dog: Goes away for 5 minutes
Dog: Comes and stands under desk, looks up at me and wags its tail, “can we go out yet?”
Me: Tell dog, “no, not yet”
Dog: Goes away for 5 minutes
Dog: Comes up and presses wet, slobbery toy against my leg, “can we play?”
Me: Tell dog, “no, I’m working”

Repeat pattern for the next 7.5 hours. . . .

Fall's A-Comin'

Jeffro and I spent the day driving out near Skyline Drive--friends of ours were having a birthday lunch out in Winchester. What a beautiful day! In the mountains, the leaves are already starting to change, much more so than here. So that means fall is definitely upon us. But I'm happy to hear we're supposed to have 80 degree weather this week. I'm not ready to let go of summer yet.

It's been a busy weekend . . . yesterday I had my Italian class then did some freelance work. So this weekend has just flown by and I have to go to work tomorrow. The next few weekends are equally busy. Jeffro's mother is coming down next weekend, and my grandfather and uncle are coming the following weekend.

Cape Cod: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

We're back from our trip to Cape Cod, and it was a pretty nice time, although way too short and too much crappy weather. Here's an overview of what we did:

The Good

Had plenty of seafood and good meals at Vinings and abbicci.

Had a fun (yet rainy) day trip to Provincetown.

Took a wonderful ferry trip out to Martha's Vineyard (see photo), which was my favorite part of the trip.

Went to some cool antique shops and art galleries in the town of Brewster where we stayed.

Enjoyed our stay at Ocean Edge Resort. We had a great little apartment, complete with kitchen and living room separate from bedroom. Very spacious.

The Bad and the Ugly

The weather from Sunday through Tuesday really sucked. Cold and rainy, not my idea of a fun vacation. Plus I hadn't packed appropriately. We went to some beaches but they just weren't beautiful and sparkling like on a sunny day. My birthday trip to Martha's Vineyard got postponed by a day, which was a bummer.

Ciao for Now

Well, I had my first Italian class today, and considering that I didn't get to bed last night until like 2:30 due to Jeffro's gig, I think I did pretty well! The class is bigger than I thought, and the instructor seems like he's going to be molto bene. So we'll see. We leave for Cape Cod soon, so I probably won't be able to post for a little while. Ciao!

Friday Night Plans?

If so, cancel them and join me this Friday, Sept. 7 in Old Town, Alexandria at Bistro Europa to see Jeffro's band, Jeter. You might even catch me singing guest backup for one song . . . The show starts at 10:00 until ?? There’s no cover, so come on out, and bring a friend or twelve! Check out their MySpace site to listen to a couple of new songs. Hope to see you there!

www.myspace.com/jeterband

MP3: Lay Down - Jeter

Happy Labor Day!

Boy, am I glad we have a three-day weekend. I feel like I've been fighting off a cold, so three days to sleep in is just perfect. The weather has been gorgeous, and yesterday I enjoyed an outdoor BBQ at NOAAgirl's house. A friend of hers was visiting from Italy, so she decided to have a typical American cookout, complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, and apple pie. It was a very fun time. Today is a cookout at my sister's for my nephew's birthday celebration. Tomorrow, thankfully, I have nothing on the books. Maybe I'll go to the pool for a last tribute to summer. Boy do I hate when it ends.

New "Designer" Mutt?

I met the cutest dog in my neighborhood today, a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Apparently, the "Cavachon" is a registered breed with the American Canine Hybrid Club, not that I ever knew the club existed. So very cute!

I predict this will be the next big hybrid since the "Puggle," which I also love. Coincidentally, Sam the Cavachon was playing with Greta the Puggle when we met.

Two Moons Tonight

If you're a night owl . . . tonight the sky will look like it has two moons. The planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky throughout August, and it will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye tonight when it comes within 34.65M miles of Earth. If you're awake, be sure to watch the sky at 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again! It's also a lunar eclipse tonight.

Vick Diatribe

I feel I have to make my own public statement about Michael Vick, who today plead guilty to dogfighting charges. Being a long-time dog owner and animal lover, I find the man to be a disgusting, depraved, inhuman, son of a bitch. I hope he rots in jail, and encounters the same cruel treatment that he inflicted on those poor dogs who didn't want to fight. He is a monster, and I feel very sorry for his family. If he were my father, brother, or son, I would be ashamed to be associated with him. It's too bad this crime doesn't carry the death penalty. I know this is all very harsh, but I'm really angry and disturbed about this story, and felt the need to vent. At least for once justice is being served, and a celebrity is not wrangling out of punishment.

I'm Back!

I didn't get a chance to make a post about this before I left, but I've been "away" all week at our annual conference. It was held in DC, so it was local, but due to the early morning staff meetings (5:30 am) and inevitable late night receptions, dinners, etc., the entire staff stayed on site. Thank God. Let me just say that I was dreading the whole experience, especially the 4:30 am wake-up calls, and I wasn't let down. It was an exhausting, excruciating, stressful week and I'm so thankful it's over. When I got home yesterday at noon, I plopped myself in front of the tv and didn't move all day, taking a couple of naps along the way. I feel much better today and have the day off tomorrow, so that will be good. I'm just hoping I don't catch whatever bug poor Jeffro--who had to deal with the dogs all week--was striken by. There were some funny conference moments, including a fun closing reception at Lucky Strike, but overall I'm glad the conference only happens once a year.

Keith Urban Concert: Amazing!

Jeffro and I went to the Keith Urban concert last night at the Verizon Center. One word: amazing! He has obviously recovered well from his rehab problems earlier this year, and even made reference to that in the concert, thanking everyone for their support and especially his wife. He even dedicated a song to her.

His voice was excellent--no studio overproduction for Keith! What you hear on the CD is what you get live. His guitar playing was really complex, and the band was excellent too. They obviously have a lot of fun together. He played longer than scheduled, cause the crowd was so rowdy and fun. At one point he asked us to do the wave with our camera phones. My favorite song was "Tonight I Want to Cry" which he did solo, playing the piano. A couple of girls near me were in tears.

The craziest part of the whole show was the camerawork. Really high-tech stuff going on all night, projected on a huge screen behind the stage that really focused in on the guitar work and of course, Keith's face. As Jeffro said, he always knew where the camera was. The camera work was quite impressive.

And the best part about the whole show? Since they had all these cameras, and our seats were apparently behind one of the cameras, they upgraded us to sit literally four rows from the stage! It was awesome! I felt very lucky, and even got a couple of photos with my cell phone camera, so we'll have to see if those turn out--and if I can figure out how to download them. All in all, an amazing show with Keith at the top of his game! The Wreckers opened the show, and they were quite good too. That previously unknown Jessica Harp has a mighty powerful voice.

Simpsonize

I finally got a chance to Simpsonize myself. You can try it too at www.simpsonizeme.com. Pretty fun stuff! I've had a long day--10 hours at work before our conference next week plus working at home, so I'm easily amused tonight.

Vacation Plans At Last!

Jeffro and I have finally booked a vacation for this year! We're going away in September to Ocean Edge Resort, suggested to us by our friend NOAAgirl. I'm so excited! I can't wait to get away. It's in Cape Cod, and I've never been to the beach in the Northeast, so this should be an adventure. There are a lot of cute towns nearby, which will provide some fun day trips and diversions.

Haircut and a Smoke

I just got my hair cut today, and while I like the guy that cuts my hair, I can't stand that he smokes. And like, right before he cuts my hair so he's all reeking and doesn't wash his hands. So I feel like he's touching my newly-shampoo'd hair, which I have to tip someone for, and running smoky grossness through it. I think I smell smoke now! But what to do, you can't exactly ask the hairdresser to wash his hands, how awkward!

DC Restaurant Week!

Jeffro and I participated in DC restaurant week tonight by going to Willow, where we were supposed to have gone for Valentine's Day but didn't cause that's when my sister first got sick and I went to FL. We both had Sea Scallops with Eggplant Ravioli, Shiitake Mushrooms & Sun-Dried Tomatoes for the appetizer. It was absolutely delicious and probably the best course. I'm not a big mushroom fan, but these were some damn good 'shrooms! Then Jeffro had the Miniature Rack of Pork Stuffed with House Made Sausage, Baked Tomato Tart, Roasted Cipolini Onions and Ham Hock “Jus”. Apparently the latest thing in the culinary world is to serve pork "medium rare." Um, I'll skip the trichinosis, thanks. Jeffro actually had to send it back once cause it was too rare. I had the Tournedos of Pepper Crusted Filet Mignon, Potato Tart, Red Wine Mushrooms, Crispy Onion Rings and Beef Jus. Boy was that rich but delicious. The filet was beautifully cooked and tender, and the beef jus was outstanding. For dessert, we both selected the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake with Danish Sweet Cream Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. I should have chosen the fudge brownie sundae instead cause the sticky toffee pudding cake wasn't as impressive as it sounded. It had the consistency of banana bread, but without bananas it was weird and the caramel sauce tasted a little burned. So I would say that was the least successful course for me. Do I sound Iron Chef enough yet? It was a nice meal, if a little rushed cause the place was packed. Saturday we head to Hook for lunch, so I'll have to give you the full report after that.

Oreos + Cake

What could be better? Two of my favorite things! I saw these new Oreo Cakesters in Giant the other day and nearly bought a truckload of them. I thought it showed great restraint that I didn't, but I suspect I will be getting some this weekend. I found out I didn't get the job I was trying to get, cause they turned it more into a graphic design job. Whatever! So I went and had a HUGE margarita at Guapo's and now all's well.

Your Commute is Killing You!

Literally! Check out this Forbes article that discloses the top 5 most unhealthy commutes in America. You guessed it, Washington DC clocked in at number 5. I always knew that sitting in so much traffic was terrible for me, that's why I got a job closer to home. And why I can't understand people who move out from metro areas to have a "better life" only to sit in 2-3 hours of traffic daily. No thanks, not for me.

Go Faith Hill

Apparently at a recent Tim McGraw/Faith Hill concert, an overeager female fan groped Tim McGraw's privates, right in front of his wife Faith Hill. She responded by publicly reprimanding the girl from the stage. Watch it here. I think the girl got off easy. If I were Faith, standing over the girl like she does in the video, I would have kicked her in the f*ckin' head!

Karaoke Queen

What a great party Saturday night! It was every bit as fun as I'd hoped it would be, with plenty of karaoke opportunities. I bailed out this terrible girl (who turned out to be Jeffro's hairdresser!) trying to sing Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time, sang a duet of Bon Jovi's Who Says You Can't Go Home, and sang Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot. A most fun time, once I got my courage up! There was a lot of great dance music in addition to the karaoke and some really great drinks, including a Captain Morgan Parrot's Bay bottled pineapple colada that was really good, if a bit sweet. I got to see some friends I hadn't seen in a while, which was really nice.

The week started slow today, since I was running myself ragged all weekend. The good news is, I have a second phone interview with the company I talked to last week. Jeffro thinks all the phone interviewing is a little odd, but I don't really mind. I hate to waste my time going all the way out to MD for no reason. At least this way, I can sneak off during lunch hour and not have to make some excuse for being gone several hours in the afternoon. So we'll see what happens. I'm not holding my breath, but I am excited to get a second interview.

And lastly, don't forget to watch Six Degrees of Martina McBride tonight at 9 pm ET on ABC! I'll be at my yoga class, but I intend to tape it!

Week in Review

It was a very, very long week, with a lot of stuff happening at work with our conference coming up next month, a phone interview, and two doc appts. The interview was a follow-up from something I had done before I got my current job. It's hard to say how it went, since it was just a phone interview, but my fingers are crossed, cause I think it would be a cool opportunity, despite being a lot of work.

Last night Jeffro and I went out for sushi, then watched a very messed up movie called Molvern Callar. Very bizarre. Today is cleaning & errands, then a great party tonight where I'll get to do karaoke, provided I have enough liquid courage beforehand! Tomorrow is lunch and possibly dinner with two different friends. Very busy indeed. I need to find time to figure out if I will be able to put together my new gas grill so I can start grilling every night!

Harry Potter Widow

Since Jeffro picked up the new Harry Potter yesterday, he's been reading just about non-stop . . . to the point that he just finished the 700+ tome in less than 36 hours. So I guess now that the weekend is over he'll be willing to go out and do something fun in this beautiful weather!

Six Degrees of . . . Martina McBride?

Yep, believe it or not, Six Degrees of Martina McBride is a new TV show airing, Monday, July 30 at 9 pm on ABC. It's a very odd concept, and I'm not sure what to make of it. Of course, since Martina is my favorite singer, I'll watch it, despite my enjoying my long summer nights sans TV. Anyway, I plan to check it out, and you can read more about it here. The very complicated premise is six Nashville hopefuls will compete for the chance at recording and releasing a single.

According to article, part of the competition is finding a connection to Martina McBride: "To complete this part of the competition, contestants had to go to someone they know and ask them to take them to someone they know and so on with the goal of eventually getting to someone who knows Martina McBride personally."

Once that's done, the article says, "Paired with some of the best songwriters in town, they'll be charged with learning a new song and then face off in a singing competition held at Nashville's famous Wildhorse Saloon. The three contestants voted best by the audience will move on to studio sessions with Martina McBride herself at her recording studio in Nashville. She'll help each singer produce a demo of their best work, which will then be critiqued by three judges, all pros from the music industry. The winner they pick will be revealed on ABC July 30 and the winning single will be released that night, digitally distributed by Sony BMG through iTunes and other online outlets."

Photo courtesy of ABCNews

Petition VA Traffic Fines

Have you VA residents heard that out-of-staters can speed in VA and pay less in fines than actual VA residents? Do something about it, like signing this petition. And the fines were talking about are in the thousands of dollars!

Thanks to Jeffro for the tip.

Parlo Italiano!

I'm taking an Italian class this fall. Yet another early birthday gift to myself! I also bought this really cool sapphire ring recently! I'm milking this birthday for all it's worth!

Productivity

I had such a productive night, it's amazing what you can do with the paltry 4 hours you have from the time you get home till the time you're too exhausted to do anything else. I love nights like this:

• roasted eggplant
• made blueberry cobbler
• did some freelance work
• started tracking things for my latest skin allergies
• filed my nails
• talked for an hour with a friend
• did some major straightening up/throwing things away
• read a magazine outside for a while
• watched HGTV

DC Restaurant Week

If you hadn't heard, DC Restaurant Week is coming up, August 6-12 with fixed price, 3-course lunches at some of DC's top restaurants for just $20.07 and dinners for just $30.07. Check out the selection at Open Table. Absolutely the easiest way to check availability and get a reservation. And no, they didn't pay me to say that. Jeffro and I will be sampling Willow for dinner one night--was supposed to have been our Valentine's dinner but that didn't happen due to family emergencies--and then Hook for lunch with friends. Check it out!

Beautiful Night

Last night was so gorgeous. I went to an outdoor party at the Old Dominion Boat Club, right on the water on King Street. They served great food, free mai tais, and had a great band playing. The weather was perfect, a slight breeze and no humidity. What more could you ask for? I didn't get home until really late, so I'm totally dragging today but managed to vacuum and get a pedicure.

Crazy (But True) Story

This story completely made my day today. I'm really stressed out at work this week--we have a huge deadline looming at the end of the week and it's really putting everyone to the test to get everything done. I had to work late tonight, and probably will the rest of the week. However, this lunchtime entertainment really made my day bearable. I was in a good mood the rest of the afternoon.

In the complex where I work, they have been holding afternoon concerts once a month this summer. I was curious to see today's band, Don't Panic because last month's jazz duo was quite good. I walked down to the area where the band was playing, and noticed that my drum teacher was their drummer! What a surprise! I knew he played in a band, but didn't know the name of it. Well, now I do. I must say it was a good performance and it was really great to watch my drum teacher perform. I'd never seen him perform before, and it kind of validated that he's a good teacher. He made drumming look so effortless, which it's not. It was almost like getting a mini-lesson/performance because he was (it turns out purposely) using some techniques that we'd just been talking about the lesson before. He came and talked to me afterwards, and he verified that he'd been doing some things specifically for me to see how they would work in a performance. So that was really cool! And it turns out their band does a lot of great work for charity, so that's another reason to go to their website and see what they're all about.

The other even crazier thing that happened during the performance was this woman came to listen with her dog on a leash and kid in a stroller. The kid was old enough to walk, so at one point he was toddling around and he started getting away, as did the dog. I reached over and grabbed the dog's leash as it went by, and the woman came over to get it from me and thank me. About 5 minutes later, the kid came toddling over to me (I was pretty far away from them) and reached out his arms for me to pick him up! It was so hilarious! I didn't know what to do, so I picked him up and put him in my lap for part of the show. He was having a grand old time with his new-found friend, and I kept gesturing over the mother at first that I had no idea why he had come over to me. Hilarious! He finally went back to her, but came back to bring me a leaf and then again to check on the leaf. After the performance, my drum teacher asked if I knew them, and I told him I'd never seem them before in my life. What a weird story. Things like that, luckily, happen to me all the time. I say luckily because I like having a good, weird story to tell. And it's 100% true!

Live Earth Disappointment

Jeffro and I did indeed get out to see Live Earth here in Washington, DC. What there was of it, that is. As I suspected, the crowds weren't so bad. We got to stand in the shade, which was nice, but we didn't really have a direct view of the stage at all. The stage was set up at a weird angle so that very few people actually got to see it, except for the camera people.


Apparently they were having some pretty bad sound problems, cause you couldn't hear a single word anyone said. A few people spoke, but I had no idea who they were cause we couldn't hear anything. Then Al Gore came up and said some words, which again I couldn't hear. He introduced Garth & Tricia who came up on stage and gave the performance of their lives . . . uh . . . yeah. They sang one song. Yes, indeed, one whole song, We Shall Be Free. The cool thing about it was that it was acoustic, just Garth on guitar, Tricia, and two backup singers. But I mean, why bother? Why would they come and just sing one song? It was such a joke and the whole experience wound up being completely ridiculous. The only good thing was that I can now say I've seen Garth live, and at least they sang loud enough to be heard. So it was quite an interesting time. The photo shown above is Garth and Tricia on screen. On a full monitor, it's a pretty cool shot, considering we couldn't really see much. Below is a shot of Al Gore on screen, and a shot of the crowd. Happy Live Earth. Or something.

Garth and Tricia in Concert!

WMZQ announced this morning that Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood are performing on the mall for Live Earth on Saturday morning. Check out the info here. I am actually considering going, which is weird because I never do these sorts of things. But I'm hoping that it will be a little less crowded than normal due to the holiday weekend and no advanced warning about the concert to attract people from everywhere else. So we'll see! I'll keep you posted!

Celebrate July 5!

I feel like I've been celebrating all week, and indeed I have. Friends of mine throw a July 3 party every year, so I went to that, then last night I went to a party at Halstead Towers and watched the DC fireworks from the 15th floor pool/patio. It was a pretty fun time and I met some real characters.

Today I got a bunch of stuff I ordered from Amazon and I'm psyched to listen to new music. Check out the selections on the right side of my blog. I also got a drum book/DVD (came with a really cool wall poster) to help me with my playing. Check it out here: Groove Essentials.

Good Start

Well, it's been a good start to the weekend. It was quite a busy week, complete with taking a "Knife Skills" class through Arlington County. I thought the class would be teaching things like how to chop like an Iron Chef or something, but it was a lot more about safety, sharpening, etc. At the time I was disappointed, but looking back I really learned a lot and want to get a stone to sharpen my knives. The guy who taught it--aka "Meat Head" per an email he sent prior to class--was a retired Journeyman Meat Cutter, or butcher. So that was pretty interesting. This older, retired guy with tons of great stories including teaching women prisoners to butcher!

Last night Jeffro and I kicked off the weekend at our favorite sushi place, Matuba. Today I decided to get up early to get some stuff done before I went to visit my sister. I went to the car wash at 8 am(!) before the lines started, then got some muffins and coffee to take home. I got a much-needed pedicure, and then went to see my sister and have lunch with her then do some cleaning for her. Then I went by this pawn shop I'd been before and had seen this really pretty sapphire ring. I went today to see if it was still there and it was! I managed to talk the woman down $65 so I decided to buy it! So it's been a rather good day. Tonight we're going to see Honor by August, the Reserves, and Getaway Car at Iota. I'm actually psyched to see this show. But I'm thinking I might take a nap before I go, as I'm starting to lose steam.

8 Lbs of Blueberries!

How would you like to be the proud owner of 8 lbs. of blueberries? Well, today Jeffro and I made a trip to Butler's Orchard with NOAAgirl and her DH to go blueberry picking. I am so excited! The weather was just gorgeous and the blueberries were very plentiful and huge. A great crop! So now I have to dig up some easy recipes to get rid of said 8 lbs. of blueberries . . . today definitely made up for being inside yesterday doing some work. Tonight is my drum lesson, then Top Chef, then unfortunately getting ready for work tomorrow. The weekends go too fast.

Good News

I just got back from a doctor's appointment for my sister who has lymphoma. Good news! The scan showed that the cancer is gone for now . . . she still has a mass in her chest that needs radiation, but overall things are looking good for her. Of course, there's still a 50/50 chance of recurrence, but I guess we'll take it one step at a time. It would be nice if she were to acknowledge her good fortune with some new-found wisdom and stop smoking. Man, that just burns me that everyone has spent all this time and money to help cure her, and she won't stop. I can't even tell you how furious I am about it.

Ballet and Shopping

That's basically what my entire weekend consists of so far. My nieces are in various ballet recitals on Friday night, and two performances on Sunday. I love my nieces so I always go, but I can think of about a million better things to do with my time on the weekend. Like shopping. So that's what Jeffro and I did this morning. I have been wanting a glider for my patio forever, but have never been able to find one affordable enough or small enough for my tiny space. I found this cool glider at Home Depot, but unfortunately the box wouldn't fit in my car, so I decided to order it online. Check it out here. Then we went to Target and another garden place to get some cushions for it, some charcoal to barbecue, and some plants--including tomato plants. So we'll see if we can get any vegetables this year. I had already bought some basil, which is doing well, and cilantro, which isn't.

So tomorrow it's back to ballet, but hopefully first we'll make it to the Alexandria Red Cross Waterfront festival to see one of our favorite local bands, Catfish Honeymoon at 11:45 am.

Medical Condition of the Week

I feel like for the past two months I've had one health problem after another. I finally got rid of my contact dermatitis around my eyes (yeah, that was a fun, itchy time), and while I was at the dermatologist taking care of that, I had him look at this mole that was bleeding--never a good thing. He removed that and it turned out to be benign. Then I showed him this other problem I've had for a while, a lipoma, and he said "I can fix that." So since it's covered by insurance, I had it removed--excised to be precise--this week. It was an outpatient procedure and used only a local, so I was awake for the entire thing, which was really pretty gross as he dug this thing out of my leg. Considering its location, I thought it would be pretty painful, but it really hasn't been more than just a little bothersome, much to my relief. Ah, the wonders of modern medicine.

Speaking of medical conditions, my sister goes in for tests next week to determine how much her lymphoma has improved. She goes on Friday to get the results, and I think my whole family is going to lend her support. Say some prayers, everyone.

The Heat Is On

Well, today was certainly a lot nicer outside than yesterday, but I guess summer is really here to stay (yeah!). Jeffro and I are going to our first outdoor summer party at the Old Dominion Boat Club this evening, and I'm psyched to be spending the evening outdoors. Jeffro, on the other hand, not so much. I'm the kind of person that on a day like this I want to be outside all day and he doesn't so that's hard for me sometimes. So I basically just ran a bunch of much-needed errands today instead of going to do something great outdoors. Blah.

Tomorrow we're having brunch with MJ and Computerguy and then we have dinner at my sister's to celebrate my nieces' birthdays--two of them this past week. Last night we had dinner at Ravi Kabob on Glebe Road in Arlington, which was excellent. It was Pakistani food, but it was just about identical to Indian and absolutely delicious. Then we went to Springfield Mall to pick up gifts for previously mentioned nieces. I haven't been down there since they redid the mixing bowl, and boy was I shocked. To get to the mall, you don't even have to get on 95S at all anymore, you are immediately separated from all of the insanity that used to be a near collision course. I was very impressed and shocked, since I didn't like the change they made for the exit for 395N being a left-handed exit to a right-handed exit. I figured they just f*cked the whole thing up, but I guess not.

New Food Network Star

Everyone turn your tv on right now and watch the The Next Food Network Star! It will soon be going head to head with Bravo's Top Chef, which also starts this week. What a great summer of cooking!

I don't know about you all, but I had a very nice weekend, complete with a trip to Matuba (my favorite sushi place), my first visit to the pool, an unusual trip to the movie theater (I never get around to going) to see Knocked Up (just aiight, nothing to rush out and see), a trip to the Clarendon farmer's market on Saturday morning, and Music and Lyrics on DVD. A fun weekend, all in all!

Damn, Well . . .

Last night Jeffro and I went to the Birchmere to see a much-anticipated show, The Damnwells and Ari Hest. We found out at the last minute about a third opening act, Julian Velard. Initially, I wasn’t thrilled to have two opening acts, but I actually wound up liking Julian’s voice quite a bit. I wouldn’t say he was commercial or pop enough for me to actually purchase his music (sorry, Julian) but he has an absolutely wonderful voice that made me want to keep listening. I would describe his voice as Jeffro did of Melinda Doolittle on American Idol, like warm chocolate, velvety. I would liken his voice to Lou Rawls, for the few of you who might remember him from “You’ll Never Find” or “Lady Love” back in the 70s. Listen for yourself and see what you think.

Ari Hest was quite good as well, and his band was outstanding. Ari's voice had a bit of vocal effect on it, which probably isn't needed since he's got a fine voice that doesn't need crazy vocal production. Frequently, I thought Ari’s voice sounded like a non-country version of Mark Miller from Sawyer Brown. His bass player sang harmony vocals that really made the songs shine, and his guitarist/steel guitarist sang occasionally as well. There’s nothing I like better than good harmony.

Which leads me to The Damnwells. They are a great band, don’t get me wrong. The lead singer has a great voice, the guitarist/steel guitarist (yes one here too) was superb, and the songs are catchy. I was really looking forward to seeing them cause Jeffro plays their CDs all the time and I’ve gotten to really like them. They put on a great show, however, it was severely lacking in harmony vocals. I found out today that due to a recent change in band members, there was no one to sing backup. But last night I was gravely disappointed and that kind of ruined the experience for me. I kept telling Jeffro I was "crushed." But despite this, and a suddenly very slurring lead singer during the encore, I am still a fan of The Damnwells. They just need to polish up their act to include once again the brilliant harmonies that are so much a part of their recorded songs.

Kiwi Invasion

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. This was a busy week, as they all are, made busier by a visit from friends of mine who have been living in New Zealand (kiwis) for the past couple of years. They originally weren't supposed to stay with me, but at the last minute their plans changed and they asked if they could crash here. It was actually fun having house guests. They were here from Thursday till today and we had some fun times and good eats. Thursday night was another visit back to Cap City and last night we ate at Panjshir II in Vienna, which was really good. Friday night, Jeffro's band, Jeter, played out at Bistro Europa and it was a good show. I just wish I didn't have to leave early, but I did because I had to work all day yesterday. So it's been a busy few days. But this morning I slept in, and all I'm doing today is going out to buy some plants to do a little gardening and keep things fairly low key. The kiwis left this morning and Jeffro is off doing band stuff, so I've got an entire day of peace & quiet. Well, except for my obnoxious dogs, that is, who are insisting that we all go for a walk NOW. Bye!

Birthday Weekend

This Sunday is Jeffro's birthday, and finally a weekend where we are not going out of town. Festivities started last night when we met a friend of mine whose birthday I missed last month at Cap City Brewery in Shirlington. Today we're meeting friends of Jeffro's for dinner (during the day I'm going to Home Depot to get plants for my yard and get a pedicure, yeah!), and tomorrow we're going to the Corcoran Museum (Jeffro's been wanting to see their new modernist exhibit) and to a secret place for lunch.

BTW, I'm STILL sick, going on week 3 or 4 now, I can't remember. I'm pretty sure it's a sinus infection so I finally got some antibiotics, but am not really feeling any good effects from them yet. Unfortunately, when I get an infection like this it usually takes something powerful like Cipro to kill it, but I am trying to hold out hope that this lesser one will work . . .

Idol Slip?

I'm so bummed about the outcome of American Idol tonight . . . Melinda Doolittle was sent home. However, we all got a warning about it from Ryan Seacrest. Was it accidental or not? Before a commercial break he said something like "when we come back, Melinda is going home," supposedly to mean that we were going to see footage of her visit to her home town. Or not? I think he was secretly trying to prepare us, cause as soon as he said it I knew she'd be kicked off. It sucks.

Rear Ended!

This morning driving to the allergist I was rear-ended for no apparent reason. There was a long line of traffic, and I'd been sitting there stopped for quite a while. So it wasn't like a sudden slamming on brakes or anything explainable like that, the woman just didn't feel like using her brakes, apparently. It took me a minute to figure out what happened, and thank God my airbag didn't deploy. There was no damage to my car, but her bumper looked pretty well ruined. So at least there was that. I didn't get her info, cause in the past when I've exchanged info I haven't needed it, but in hindsight I probably should have just in case. Cause now of course my back is hurting a bit.

Jeffro and I leave tomorrow to go to yet another wedding, an Indian wedding like we went to last year. Hopefully it will be a fun time, but I'm freaking out cause I have so much to do at home. I haven't vacuumed in weeks (if you own dogs that's a big deal) and we haven't been grocery shopping in forever. So somehow when we get back we need to do those two very important things or I will indeed lose my mind next week. Hopefully it will be a better week than this one.

And for all you allergy sufferers, there's a new antihistamine nasal spray called Astelin that I've been prescribed, so I'm gonna give it a try. I'll let you know if it's the next miracle drug.

Long Time No Post

Sorry folks, been sick and didn't really feel like posting last week. That was the sickest I've been in 2 years. Very nasty virus or something, and I'm still not feeling 100%. I really thought that I was going to wind up with a sinus infection. I even took Weds off work, but had to go in Thursday and Friday for a conference. So this weekend I tried to get some rest, but had to take my oldest dog to the vet for an ultrasound that I'd put off for a month cause I wasn't home at all in April. The results were better than I expected. Her liver enzymes have been increasing for a while, and we weren't sure why. Now we know:

1. Her gallbladder is messed up, essentially she has a gallstone and suspicious inflamed tissue.
2. Her liver is messed up, she has a nodule and suspicious inflamed tissue.
3. Her adrenal glands are enlarged, which could mean she has Cushing's disease, a disease that humans also get.

The treatment is 3 weeks of antibiotics and then rechecking the blood to see where things are. Of course, this whole ultrasound, etc. set me back almost $600. That was fun. Then I gave the dogs a bath, had a drum lesson, and didn't do much else this weekend.

I'm having a short week at work, thank God, cause I'm just not in the mood right now. I'm taking Friday off to go to a wedding with Jeffro. Of course this means I'll miss Mother's Day and my sister's birthday yet again as I seem to every year. I'm not in a good mood today, but going to a yoga class tonight, so hopefully that will cheer me up or mellow me out. My job is really getting me down.

Trip to MN

Well, my trip to MN was very interesting. Kind of a huge waste of time, work-wise. We left on Tuesday to get things set up for a judging that was taking place on Saturday. There simply wasn't enough work to justify being gone that long and I was pissed cause I've been traveling way too much. We stayed in kind of a crappy part of MN, very industrial. The block we were on had a nice restaurant right next door to Sex World. No, I'm not kidding.

I did have a couple of really nice meals while I was there. I went to Jax, which is apparently a local institution, and had walleye, a fish that is only found near MN. I also had walleye and a great meal at Cafe Brenda, another restaurant that's been around for a long time.

I got together with a friend of mine that I met as a junior in high school and I hadn't seen since. Even though I don't really know her that well, we were never at a lack of conversation, and she took me on a driving tour of some of the local lakes around the city. It was really beautiful, and some of those homes must have cost a pretty penny. As opposed to the cool new lofts they're putting in near Sex World, which were running in the 100s and low 200s. It almost made me want to buy one as an investment and rent it out. I really envied people their lifestyle. A lot of people had an extra home on a lake, or lived right on a lake. Almost made me want to move to MN. But not quite. Too cold.

I didn't get back until last night, and had to work today, so needless to say I'm not very happy about all that. I have a scratchy throat and feel kind of crappy, so I'm trying not to get sick. I am going to a new yoga class at 7:30, and hoping that maybe that will transform my current malady into health. We'll see.

Thursday Night Fun

Jeffro's band, Jeter has a show coming up this Thursday, April 26th at Bistro Europa in Old Town Alexandria. They'll be starting around 9:30 and playing ‘til closing, so come on out with some friends, and get your Thursday on. No cover.

www.myspace.com/jeterband
www.bistro-europa.com

Minnesota Bound

I'm headed to Minnesota for work this week. I'll be gone all damn week and I'm not happy. I hope, at the very least, to get to see the Mall of America, touted as "the largest fully enclosed retail and entertainment complex in the United States." It should be an interesting trip. Have a great week.

Bathroom Done!

My bathroom was finished last Friday, but I had to go straight from work out of town, so I didn't get to see it until yesterday. They did a fabulous job, what an improvement!

Bathroom Pics, Part 2

This is my bathroom under construction.

Vindicated

Can I tell you how proud and gloating I am after my Tuesday night prediction of Sanjaya finally getting kicked off came true? Well, I guess I just did. Outta here until after this weekend . . .

Face the Fat Facts

This cool new site from the American Heart Association explains the fats in your diet and helps you to figure out how much of which ones to eat. What's really great is this fat calculator, where you put in your personal info and get a specific amount of fat grams to shoot for each day. This is the part I always find confusing, trying to remember what percentage of your diet fats should be and how many grams that translates into. This new calculator makes it easy. Just remember, though, just because it says 0 grams of trans fat on the label, doesn't mean there's no trans fat in there. If the amount is less than a certain amount, they don't have to list it on the label, but if you read the ingredient list, you see where they sneak the trans fat in . . .

Bathroom Pics

I got home from work tonight, eager to see the progress in the bathroom. Here's what I came home to . . . a demolition zone! Tomorrow they're putting in the tub. Apparently when the shower was put in years ago, they didn't line it with anything, which is why I had such a bad mold problem. The contractor said the entire drywall was moldy and rotting. Lovely! Glad I breathed in that air for the past 7 years . . . so now I get to go clean my downstairs bathroom, which we'll need to use for the next 3-4 days while everything is being installed. I can't wait to see the final product!

Crazy American Idol Prediction

Ok, I'm going to say that this week the impossible will happen . . . I think that it's finally time for Sanjaya to be kicked off. This was, by far, the absolute most abysmal performance of his to date, and there have been some pretty bad ones before this. We are getting down to the heart of the competition, and while I'm sure all of this has been fun for those out there voting for him just cause he's awful, I think there's going to come a point when America has to "keep it real" as Randy would say. I also think unfortunately LaKisha is at risk this week too. She took a very popular song by a former Idol winner and tried unsuccessfully to "make it her own." Just not a good performance. So we'll see if my prediction about Sanjaya is right . . .

What's On My Mind

I haven't blogged in a while, I've been busy as always. I haven't been feeling well, so I actually took a day off work yesterday cause I have a really busy 2 weeks ahead and couldn't afford to get sick. I'm even skipping a concert tonight cause I don't want to be out too late.

I had a bad day at work today, and I'm just not happy overall with my job.

I'm on the brink of finally getting my bathroom shower redone. It's a total disaster and I can't wait to get it fixed up. The problem is, the price is $500 higher than when I had it estimated last June, which really sucks.

I also want to gripe about the weather. I just cannot stand one more friggin cold, windy day. Is this not April? I'm so depressed about it . . . and yesterday in all that wind, the gate to my yard was completely destroyed. The only good thing about that is it's the condo association's responsibility to fix it, thank God.

This weekend I'm going to NY to visit my grandfather. He sold his house since it's hard to take care of after my grandmother died, and he's moving closer to his son, which is good. However, he chose now to do this and I'm just pissed about it. Couldn't he have waited until things settled down with my sister a little more? So I have to go up there and see if there's anything I want. Then next week I have to go to MN for work for almost the entire week.

Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty stressed out these days. I also was pretty upset about yesterday's incident at VA Tech. Having something like that happen is horrific, and the fact that part of it could have been avoided had officials closed down the campus really pisses me off. I just feel horrible for all of those students, who were looking forward to the end of the year. This hit me pretty hard, I think partly because we had a suicide on my hall my sophomore year, and that was just awful to go through. I can't imagine having to deal with a loss of this magnitude.

Martina on Idol Tonight

Don't forget to watch Martina McBride tonight on American Idol! I'm very interested to hear what she'll have to say to everyone's favorite contestant Sanjaya.

Ode to Zoe

A good friend of mine's dog died last night. I found out at work today and had to go into the bathroom cause I was crying. Non-pet owners might not understand, but often dogs are like children, especially those of us (like me) that will likely never have kids. Zoe'd been sick for a while with various and serious problems including congestive heart failure, so we knew she wasn't long for this world. My friend and I got our dogs around the same time 13 years ago, so this has been doubly hard, because I'm dreading the somewhat impending demise of my own dog. My dog is doing relatively ok, but when a dog gets to be that old, you just never know. I'm just so sad for my friend, and the empty spot in her heart and home that was Zoe. She worked at home, so Zoe was always around, which is going to make things even harder. This pic is the way I like to remember her, one ear up and one ear down. Zoe used to go absolutely nuts whenever I'd visit, and her mom got angry that she got so wild and crazy. But it just made me smile that she was such a happy dog. RIP, Zoe.

George is Gone!

I reported back in January about a new radio station, George 104. Well, believe it or not, it's gone already, changed over to some gospel station. Gospel? I'm very disappointed, to say the least. Apparently George is still around on some HD station, so maybe that was their ploy. Come in strong, get people hooked, ask them to switch over to HD. That really sucks!

In other news, I spent the weekend in NJ with Jeffro's family. It was a pretty good trip. This whole month is packed with travel. I'm going to NY next week to see my family, then going to MN the end of the month for a work trip. My goal in May is to stay home, have things slow down a bit, but we'll see if that actually happens. It's unlikely.

DC Wins Iron Chef

Congrats to local chef Jose Andrés from Jaleo and Zatinya, among others, who battled and beat Bobby Flay on tonight's episode of Iron Chef America. How exciting! There was a viewing party at Jaleo, I just wish I'd gotten my act together to go over there to be a part of the victory celebration!

Catching Up

It's been a while since I posted, guess things have been busy. Did I mention I finally did my taxes last week and I'm getting a huge refund? I can't wait, I already know what I'm doing with the money.

My weekend has been WAY too short. Yesterday I spent the day at the ballet. Before you get too excited, it was a ballet my nieces were in, so a bunch of kids in tutus. Yes, it was cute, but not how I wanted to spend the one really nice sunny day of the weekend. The good thing about yesterday was I got to spend a little time after that with my sister who has cancer. I haven't really gotten to spend much time with her since she moved back here. I had a few things to get off my chest, and I was able to do that. Despite that, we did have a nice visit overall.

Osmond Bros Reunion!

For all you children of the 70s, get ready for the biggest reunion of the decade--the Osmond Brothers! As another example of my great musical taste, I was a big fan of the Osmonds in the 70s, particularly Donnie & Marie. Read all the details here.

Martina McBride on Idol

Martina McBride will appear on American Idol on April 18. I'm so excited. Her new album, Waking Up Laughing, will be available on April 3, I'll be the first in line to buy it. You can take a listen to all the tracks here. I love it already!

The FL Update

Well, I'm sure you're all curious as to how the trip went this past weekend to get my sister and move her stuff and her 2 cats up here. Let's just say it was hell, pure and absolute hell. My sister left on Thursday with my other sister on the train to come up here, while my mom and I stayed in FL to finish packing the apartment, supervise the movers, and take the cats home on the plane.

The packing and move went fine, but the travel day was excruciating. Everything that could go wrong did. The vet gave us pills to sedate the cats but only one took the pill. Luckily, it was the meaner of the 2 cats. The vet had said she'd come over and help us load them in the carriers, but when we called her she was an absolute bitch and we had to beg and pay her to come over. (My mom and I are scared of cats and don't really know how to handle them.) Once the cats were packed up, we had an ordeal at the airport trying to check in with them, then when we got to security we were told we had to take the cats out of the carriers and walk them through the metal detectors with us! No one had ever told us this was the procedure. I just assumed we'd walk them through in the carriers, and they'd take that little wand and look over the carriers. Who in their right mind would ask you to unpack a nervous animal in the middle of the airport?

My mother just about flipped out, and the head of TSA was being a complete asshole. Somehow a nice lady from Jet Blue took pity on us and helped me to maneuver getting the cats out and through security, but I was shaking cause I was so scared that the cats would scratch the crap out of me, and/or get out of my grip and go running through the airport. Luckily, the drugged cat was practically comatose, and the other cat was so scared he was motionless too. It was pretty unbelievable.

After the inevitable delays, sitting on the tarmac for 1/2 waiting for a gate, and the 45 minutes waiting for bags, I finally got home only to have my very ungrateful sister get on my case for a very stupid reason. Just because she is sick doesn't give her the right to treat everyone trying to help her like shit, but that's basically what she's doing and it's getting very old very fast.

New Release from Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi, one of my favorite 80s bands, is going strong and set to release a new album June 19. Read about Lost Highway and Bon Jovi's upcoming live performances at the CMT Awards and on American Idol. Here's hoping they tour. They are amazing in concert and I've liked their past few albums enough to go see them again.

Thanks to Jeffro for the tip.

Haagen-Daz

Tonight I'm enjoying this great flavor of Haagen-Daz light, blueberry cheesecake. Even if you don't like light stuff, I guarantee you'll like "ribbons of blueberry and crunchy graham crust pieces are swirled throughout our creamy cheesecake ice cream" as described on the web site. With all the stress I've been under lately, I could eat the whole pint, but I guess I won't or Jeffro will kill me.

Need to go and pack and get ready for my trip. Have a great weekend, everyone!