Who's the Cool Lachey Now?

At five minutes to 10:00 on Sunday night I accidently landed on ABC just in time, it turned out, to see Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke be crowned "Dancing With The Stars" champions. From what I've read I didn't miss much in the first 115 minutes, except maybe Jerry Rice and his partner "free-stylin" in big Foxxy Cleopatra wigs. That I would have liked to have seen. I'm glad Jerry hung in there for second place and that Stacy Keibler was ushered backstage with the rest of the "not quite popular enoughs". I'm sure everyone thought she was going to win, but let's face it, she embodies perfection which most Americans can't ever have, so she fell by the wayside in favor of the rhythmically challenged Jerry and the vertically challenged Drew. I didn't get to watch much of the show this season, as it conflicted with my husband's bowling night, but it seems I showed up when it counted, albeit by accident. My only suggestion for next time would be to leave the "Master P's" of the world out of the competition. It's one thing to be a bad dancer, it's another thing entirely to disrespect the dance.

A Wintry Surprise

Last night, after safely tucking my little blue car into the garage I went upstairs and began working on the computer. It wasn't until almost 11:00 p.m. that I walked down the hall to my bedroom and saw that there was probably an inch of snow outside. Everything was covered in white and the snow was falling in big soft flakes. It was a very peaceful and unexpected scene because I didn't even know it was supposed to snow. Very cool indeed.

A Jim Dandy Good Time

Tonight was my once monthly dinner out with my two BFF's Janet and Liza. Only, due to a re-scheduled January dinner, we've actually seen eachother twice this month. We decided to hit the local Friendly's for food and big ice cream. Well after eating our supermelt sandwiches we ended up having "Happy Ending" size ice cream instead of big ice cream but it was good. Normally we'd have to wait until the last Monday in March to get together again, but Janet is going to be a grandmother soon, so we'll all be seeing each other again on Sunday for her daughter's baby shower. Actually Janet and Liza work together so they see eachother everyday. It's me they only see once a month. Funny, the place they both work is where we all crossed paths years ago. I met Liza there in the mid-90's but she left right before Janet came. Then I left in 1999 and now Liza is back and her and Janet like to compete to see who is my BFF.

A Tall Drink of Water

"A Dangerous Man" that's what I want - a 6'6", former football player and oil-rig worker, with long dirty blonde hair (and I do mean long), a silky deep baritone and swiveling hips that could make a blind woman swoon. To quote my husband, "He's one big mother-f*cker." Who, you ask, is this heaving hunk of steamin junk? It's none other then Trace Adkins and we had great seats to see him on Saturday night at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center in Reading PA. I've been a fan since his first album "Dreamin' Out Loud" in 1996 but I only had one other opportunity to see him live, when he opened for Lonestar at the York Fair, in York PA the other year. Unfortunately, the drunk people in front of us that night were more interested in talking to each other then watching his show so needless to say I was dissapointed with that experience. Saturday night's show was GREAT!!! In addition to many hits he sang my favorite song, "Rough & Ready" and it isn't just my favorite because my boyfriend Dale Earnhardt Jr makes a cameo in the video, though that doesn't hurt. He's been working on a new album and tested a few songs out on us. One dubbed "A Dangerous Man" has a great line "...you make me want to rob a bank and make love in the pile of money." All I can say is "Yes Please." To be fair, rising star Craig Morgan did a great job warming us up for Trace. My favorite "Redneck Yacht Club" brought down the house. An all around great night I couldn't have asked for more.

An Adorable Little Monkey

Now, I very rarely go to the movies because I can't stand to be surrounded by a bunch of people who would rather talk to each other then watch the movie, but Saturday my Mom was taking my niece and three nephews to see Curious George so I tagged along. Once everyone was settled on their booster seats with their popcorn and the large number of previews were finished, we all sat back and enjoyed 85 minutes of uninterrupted Curious George-ness.
The movie was cute and George was beyond adorable. The most surprising part, however, was how a theatre filled with children under the age of ten was all but silent the entire time. One little girl in the row in front of us offered up an occasional pretend sneeze "Achoo!" and at the very end the small child behind me said she wanted to go home. Otherwise, not a word was spoken, not a cell phone rang and I was able to enjoy the show my fingers glistening with buttered popcorn goodness.

Just Like Old Times

I am a 1994 Grad of Elizabethtown College in Lancaster PA. (Go Jays!) and last Saturday night my husband and I, along with my brother and his wife, went to Chickie & Pete's in Philadelphia for a reunion of the old gang. There ended up being ten actual alumni and assorted spouses/significant others. We spent four hours trying to catch up on 12 to 15 years of life events. A few pictures brought back, probably our proudest college moment, graduation. We laughed at bad hair and even worse fashion. Two of the guys in attendance were college crushes of mine and both still lived up to the fantasy twelve years later. Both can still command attention, though for different reasons. One was a jock and a pretty boy, the other, while handsome as sin, is also the nicest guy in the world. With him you feel like you are the only one in the room. Several friends not in attendance asked what it was like spending this evening with my crushes and my husband of almost five years. Since they were only ever crushes not an awkward moment passed. They made me remember what I loved about those four years of my life and what I loved about who I was then. I left with a giddiness that lasted the rest of the weekend.

Something I Read

I just finished reading "Honeymoon" by Amy Jenkins. While I found her writing style to be kind of cumbersome, which made parts of the book difficult to get through, I found this one passage that quite accurately sums up how I feel about being a "grown-up" sometimes.

"I thought about how much I hate the way that when you're grown-up you have to carry your own life around everywhere, the whole time. With no respite, goddamnit. I felt like a pack-horse who'd just faced up to the fact it was going to have to carry the Taj Mahal over the Himalayas." - The Honeymoon by Amy Jenkins.

A Great Song

Tracy Lawrence, one of my favorite country artists, has a new song out "If I Don't Make It Back." It sends chills down my spine every time I hear it and I was lucky enough to hear Tracy himself sing it on January 27th on the Philadelphia stop of the George Strait tour and I recently discovered this article telling the story behind the song.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG by Brett Jones, Co-Writer, “If I Don’t Make It Back” The day Bobby Pinson and I wrote this song, we set out to create a story about those affected by the death of someone close. I shared a personal story that ultimately became the shadow of influence over writing this song. While my personal story has to do with the Vietnam War, this song is meant to comfort anyone who’s ever lost someone close under any circumstance. Here’s the story I shared with Bobby the day we wrote “If I Don’t Make It Back”— “My oldest brother, Lt. James Grady Jones, was killed in Vietnam November 12, 1966. He was a pilot and was killed in a collision flying over North Vietnam. Jimmy was a Navy fighter jet pilot. They were doing a night raid, flying A4 Skyhawks off the deck of the U.S.S. FDR in the Gulf of Tonkin. His jet was shot up by the NVA Flak (North Vietnamese) during a combat mission. He lost communication with his home aircraft carrier, drifted upward, and collided with another aircraft. He was 26 years old. ‘Jimmy’ left behind his wife Emmy, his three-year old daughter Janie, his one-year old son Scottie, our parents, and five siblings. My brother’s son, Scottie, recently committed suicide. We consider him a casualty of the Vietnam War as well. Even though this year marks forty years since my brother’s death, rarely a day goes by that we don’t think of him. Rarely a day goes by that we don’t think of my nephew. We’re a close family.”

Bobby and I wanted to capture part of Jimmy’s spirit and show his personality from the perspective of his friends and family. He was quite the prankster. Bobby came up with the line “sit on the visitor’s side and cheer for the home team” and the song just kept flowing from there. We knew there was something special about this song and we knew it would take a certain kind of artist to deliver the emotion this song held. All of the elements fell into place. Tracy Lawrence’s vocal on it is that rare magic that happens once in a while. The song even brings a tear to my eye.

Scary David Hasselhoff

I was reading the USA Today "Pop Candy" blog and came across this gem. In addition to Germany it appears David Hasselhoff is big in Australia (much to their chagrin I'm sure). I think I would have died laughing if I would have seen this billboard (it's in Sidney). If you love this, here's more.

Top 100 Greatest Teen Stars

I was watching VH-1 and they were doing a show called "100 Greatest Teen Stars". So many great ones made the list:

• Phoebe Cates - who got her start in "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" but then went on to star in one of my favorite movies "Shag". I had no idea she was still married to Kevin Kline.
• Kristy McNichol - LOVED her in "Just The Way You Are". An accomplished flute player with a lame leg - finds Mr. Right by wearing a fake cast at a ski resort.
• James Van Der Beek - I never really watched Dawson's Creek, but I LOVED him in "Varsity Blues" - who could forget the dramatic line - "I don't want your life."
• C. Thomas Howell - great in so many things. "The Outsiders" was on Bravo this weekend so I got to spend two hours with Pony Boy Curtis.
• Jason London - I know he's been in a lot of things but tops has to be him as Randall "Pink" Floyd in Dazed & Confused, so dreamy.
• Scott Baio - "Charles in Charge" need I say more? Okay - maybe "Zapped".
• Christian Slater - who didn't just LOVE him in "The Legend of Billy Jean" & "Heathers".
• Christopher Atkins from "Blue Lagoon" and "The Pirate Movie"
• Anthony Michael Hall - Loveable geek who gets the panties in "Sixteen Candles".
• Helen Hunt - recognized for her outstanding work in another favorite movie "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" also starring Sarah Jessica Parker.

What a fun walk down memory lane.

Shoes

This is my first day blogging. So I thought I'd introduce myself by telling everyone about one of my most favorite things - Shoes. To date my collection totals 41 pair. I have them broken into categories like "Dress Shoes", "Casual Shoes", "Sandals/Slides", "Athletic Shoes", "Boots" & "Specialized Foot Gear". I carry a detailed list of my shoes on my I-Pod in case I'm out shopping and need to check what I have. My husband thought my collection was "excessive" until I asked his mother how many pairs of shoes she had. She went and counted, she has 30+ pairs. I suppose my collection isn't all that "excessive" after all.