I wanna go to Madrid too!!!

If you don't already enjoy the lovely and funny Crazy Aunt Purl you should hop right on over there. I wanna be her when I grow up!! I wanna be smart enough with my money that I can hop on over to Madrid for a long weekend!


http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2009/02/the_email_machi.php

Red Molly Tonight!!

Sheldon and I are going to see Red Molly tonight. Can't wait! Hoping they play this for us again!!!!!



Oh and this one too!!!

Fountains of Wayne

Sheldon and I went to see Fountains of Wayne at the Birchmere last week. I really didn't know what to expect as the only song I had ever heard of theirs was Stacy's Mom. Sheldon had actually bought 2 tickets for himself and his son Jack, I went over to the venue when I got off work because it is open seating and an early slot allows a much better chance at a good seat. I was only planning on getting their line number and then waiting for them to show up but listening to the people in line around me I decided to try for a ticket myself. The concert was sold out, but the Birchmere releases any seats that the band doesn't use at 5pm on the day of the show. As it turned out the woman behind me in line had an extra ticket when one of her friends didn't show, so I got a seat no problem. The show was really good. Sheldon had already bought the new album so he loaned it to me the next day. I have listened to it a LOT already. The video above is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

49.5.5 books

The BBC recently stated that most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books listed below. I find this a little hard to believe, especially after I marked all the ones I had read. I mean, I know I like to read, but I thought everyone read the classics. I had to laugh when I got to the Russian authors. My dad had a large collection of those in the bookcases at home and I would resort to them when I was finished with my library books. I think I made it through all of them on his shelf before I left home.

Here's the list:

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (x)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (x)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (x)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (x)
6 The Bible (parts)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (x2)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (x, I read this in 1977 and it scared the crap out of me! I thought it could all still happen, hey I was 12!)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (x)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (x)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (not sure)
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (x)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (prolly half of these)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (x 2, first time at age 8)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (x)
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (x)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (x2, first time at age 10)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (x) (and everything else he wrote)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens (x) (and everything else he wrote)
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (x)
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh (not this one, but others by him)
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (x)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (x) (and a bunch of others by him)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (x)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (x)
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (x)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (x)
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (half of these)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (x)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (x)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (x2)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (x)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (x)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (x)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (x)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving (x, thought this was the best book I had ever read at the time)
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (x) (and a ton of others by her)
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (x)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan (I have this on my pile to read right now)
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (x)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (x)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (x)
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (tried to read this and just couldn't do it)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (x)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (x)
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt (x)
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (x)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac (may have, can't remember for sure)
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (x)
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (tried and couldn't)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (x)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker (x)
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (may have, not sure)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson (read others by him and love him)
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (oh lord, tried and couldn't)
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath (x)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (x read it and acted in the play twice with a professional company)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (x)
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry (x)
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (x2)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (tried and couldn't, does that make me a bad person?)
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (x)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (x)
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (x)
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (x, took me three months. might be the longest I ever spent on one book)

You realize that now the rest of them have to go on my list of books to read...right?

A Rose in Every Color!

I love roses.  I love growing roses.  I love receiving roses.  I love buying roses.  My favorite roses to buy or receive are yellow ones, I love growing every color.  My great-grandmother died when I was about to turn 14, in fact she was buried on my 14th birthday.  Her favorite flower was yellow roses and her casket was covered with them.  I decided at that moment on a beautiful sunny April morning that yellow roses would always be my favorite as well.  I have a china cookie jar that once belonged to her.  It is very old and the glaze is cracked and darkened with age.  It has yellow roses on it and I love it.

I mention all this because it is Valentines Season and I love roses and hearts and all things involved in this holiday.  I sent Sheldon a bouquet today that was yellow roses and orange lilies (his favorite).  I can't wait to see it!  He called me just now when I was driving home from work and we got to talking about the meanings of the different colors of roses.  He asked what blue meant and I had no idea.  So I went online (thank God for google) and looked it up.  I was so fascinated that I decided to share my new knowledge with you, my dear readers.  :)

red - love, romance

white - purity, innocence

pink - happiness, grace

dark pink - gratitude, thank you

yellow - joy, friendship

yellow with a red tip - falling in love (I love this!)

orange - fascination, desire

peach - sincerity, sympathy

lavender - love at first sight, enchantment

black - death, farewell

blue - impossible, mystery

roses sent every month - beauty ever new

The Hunt

The hunt is on! Sheldon and I have been house-hunting. I love looking at houses. I used to work for a new home builder and I loved visiting the models and poring over the floorplans, all of which was part of my job. One of the communities where that builder built houses is a very exclusive shi shi neighborhood (Michael Jordan plays golf there when he is in town), that is beyond gorgeous. I never in a million years ever thought I would live there. And then, the housing bubble. OMG. We found an absolutely perfect house last night. It meets all of our requirements and then some.

I am trying NOT to get excited because this is a business deal and not an emotional one, but that is hard. Sheldon is all business about it, don't get me wrong, he loves the house as much as I do, but he is able to look at things rationally. This is a very good thing. It is so nice to have a partner who zigs when I zag. I will keep you posted!

Come live with me and be my love.

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
Christopher Marlowe

My Dad thinks he's so punny!

My dad prides himself on his punniness. He has been a punster since Hector was a Pup, and if you don't know who Hector is you have obviously not met my dad either. The all time great pun story though happened long ago and far away. I was 12 or 13 years old and for some reason was home alone with my dad. I'm pretty sure I was sick from school that day, but whatever was wrong with me didn't involve my appetite because I was starving at lunchtime. This was before the days of microwave ovens (yes, I am old, I told you it was long ago!) so kitchens were not so kid friendly and a child, even a teenage child didn't just skip into the kitchen to make lunch for themselves. I was begging my dad to feed me and all I was getting in return was stupid jokes.

Hungry Child: (imploring) Dad will you please make me a hotdog?
Punny Dad: *employing imaginary magic wand* Poof! You're a hotdog!
Hungry Child: Daaaaad! *sighs*

Hungry Child: (tries again) Dad, will you FIX me a hotdog?
Punny Dad: (without even looking up from the book on his lap) I didn't know they were broken!
Hungry Child: Dadddddy! *rolls eyes*

Hungry Child: (really getting desparate but also thinking she has this wordsmith licked) Daddy, will you please PREPARE me a hotdog?

My dad put his cigarette in the ashtray, set his beer on the side table, snapped his book shut, jumped up and ran to the kitchen. I thought FINALLY, I'm gonna get some lunch! Until I heard this...

Punny Dad: *opens the refrigerator door and shouts* LOOK OUT HOTDOGS, HERE SHE COMES!!!!!

Gawjuss

I'm here to tell you folks that if this is what global warming means, I'm all for it! It is February 11th and it is 70 degrees right here in Washington, DC! I just went for a walk on my lunch break. No Coat! The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, it is absolutely wonderful weather. So much better than the 17 degree temps we had only a week or so ago! I wish it could stay like this til June! Really. Please?

Spring Awakening

I am betting that you have never heard of this show before unless you heard about it from me. I am a lifelong theatre lover. My dad was an actor when I was a child and I was exposed to the theatre from toddlerhood. I have even done a turn or two on stage myself. All that being said, I didn't see my first Broadway show until I was in my 30's. I have only seen one Broadway show twice and it was Spring Awakening. To say I love this show would be a complete understatement. I was completely mesmerized the first time I saw it and bought the soundtrack on my way out of the building. I made my date play the cd all the way home to Virginia. That was two years ago. I still listen to it often. The music was done by Duncan Shiek and it is so fabulous. The play was not originally written as a musical, it was in fact, a very dark controversial play that was banned for more than 80 years! It was written in Germany in 1891 and that is where the story is set. The twist that this show has brilliantly done is bring the story to the present through the use of rock and roll. The fact that the themes are still present in our modern day high schools is almost scary. The story involves teenage sexuality, pregnancy, abortion, suicide, drug use, homosexuality...all the same things our society still struggles with.

The cast on Broadway was magnificent, especially for such a young ensemble. I know the same cast won't be on the road show, but I hope they can do as good a job. This video from youtube will give you a better taste of it...





The second time I saw the show I knew all the songs by heart but was still moved to tears and laughter, maybe moreso because I knew what was gonna happen this time. The show has closed on Broadway now which I think is a shame, but luckily it is now on tour. I have every intention of forcing Miles to go. He is horrified as he wants to pretend like I don't know a thing about sex or about being a teenager. I really want him to see it though, I think it will show him a lot about how he is no different from the teens of every generation.

I hope you go see it too! It is so so so wonderful!!!

Travel

I love to travel.  I can't afford to at the moment, but I want to go to Europe before Miles is grown and gone.  The following is a list of the countries I'd like to visit, in order of importance and why.

1. Iceland - cause I've wanted to go there since my Aunt and Uncle sent me a postcard of their trip to the Blue Lagoon when I was a teenager.
2. Italy - because every book or article I have ever read gushes about the light and the food and those are two things you just have to experience for yourself.
3. England - because I am an Anglophile from way back.  Dickens, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Rowling, McCartney-Lennon et. al.  Not to mention the hundreds of movies about King Arthur and other royalty and all those palaces!  Plus when I went there as a teenager I was only there for 24 hours and that is not NEAR enough time to explore a city block, much less an entire country!
4. Ireland - the green and the accent, need I say more?
5. Portugal - because it looks so beautiful and unique on Amazing Race
6. The Netherlands - tulips, windmills, fascinating.

Where would YOU like to go?  Comment with your list...I'd love to know!

The Weekend

Sheldon and I had a fabulous weekend. It started out in a weird way, I had probably the worst panic attack I have ever had on my way home Friday night. I was on the Metro (DC subway, for those of you not from these parts) when I felt it coming on. My chest started tightening up, I got flushed and felt very hot and I was sure I was gonna throw up. I managed to make it to my station and get out of the train without passing out or otherwise embarrassing myself. Between the gates and my car though I began losing it. I think I was away from any other people before I really started sobbing, but I didn't turn around to find out. I got in my car and REALLY lost it. It was weird, because there wasn't any real reason for it, but it kept escalating anyhow. I managed to dig the Xanax out of the bottom of my purse and find my water bottle. I tried to call Sheldon but he was still in school and had his phone silenced. I tried to call Wren but was crying so hard she couldn't understand me. In the end I just had to let it out until the meds started taking effect. I drove home and packed up my stuff to go to Sheldon's. I drove over there and asked to take a bath in his big tub, I went upstairs and set myself up in a wonderful bubble bath and read my book. I was in there for at least an hour and when I got out I just climbed right into bed, didn't even go back downstairs. I was still feeling pretty shaky. He came up and read with me for a little while and then after I fell asleep he went back downstairs to watch tv and play on the computer.

Saturday Sheldon and his son Jack went Snowboarding again. Sheldon is the faculty sponsor of his high school's snowboard/skiing club so he goes 4 times a year with a busload of students. He invited me to join him, but since he didn't need the chaperone I stayed home. I putzed around his house for awhile and then went home and putzed around my own house for a while. He and Jack were due back around 7pm so I headed back over there and started dinner around then. I made him chicken piccata and mashed potatoes and a caesar salad. So yummy! We even had wine and candlelight. We talked and looked at houses on the internet until close to midnight. He is shopping in earnest for a new house, he'd like to buy this spring before the market takes off again. We are discussing me buying it with him. It has been a very up and down year for our relationship, so this might seem a little soon, but we both really feel like we have turned a corner and are in a much better place than we have been in the past.

Sunday we got up and got dressed up and went into Georgetown for a lovely brunch at the News Cafe on M Street. I had found this place online and the menu sounded wonderful so we decided to try it out. It was truly delicious. I had the eggs benedict and he had the crepe sampler. He had a mimosa with his and I had my first bellini in years. As yummy as it was though, the portions were pretty small and we were both still hungry. I'd recommend the restaurant, it had a cool funky interior and a terrific wait-staff, but don't go if you are starved! After brunch we walked around Georgetown, popping in and out of various shops and art galleries. The weather was scrumptious...it was sunny and in the 50's and felt like a summer day after all the freezing temps and ice we have had lately! On the way home we discussed our finances and house plans some more. We also bought chili ingredients and went home to eat and watch the Big Game. :)

LUMI

Just finished reading this book...

and I loved it! Although I don't live in NYC, I absolutely adore it there and still see a gaping hole in the skyline that breaks my heart whenever I am there. This book made 4 of those 3000+ names into real people. It also made me pine for Manhattan, reading about the great meals and the great trips they were taking really made me want a better paying job!!!

I highly recommend this book. It wasn't a tearjerker, just a realistic look at how these four women overcame the most devastating event in recent memory.

Monthly Resolutions

At the beginning of the year I decided to make a list of things I wanted to start doing on a regular basis. I didn't post the list here, cause I didn't want to be embarrassed if I didn't many to DO any of them! But I did MOST of them and I am proud! I am resetting the list for the month of February. Here is how I did in January. :)

January To Do's

1. meet someone new (finally met Matthew in person)
2. go to a museum (went to see the Cassatt Exhibit with Matthew)
3. paint a room or part of a room in the house (FAIL)
4. spend time with an old friend (although we didn't see each other in person, I did reconnect with the Tall Willowy Queen online)
5. try a new recipe (New Years Day SOUP!)
6. go dancing

Work Out Wednesday!

Sheldon and I met at the gym last night. It is so great that I have him to work out with because if it was just me I would go once or twice a month if that, but when he calls and asks me to meet him I jump right off the couch and run out the door! :) I did my favorite treadle machine first, then 20 minutes on the bike, then enough time on the rowing machine to equal a total of 400 calories!

I was totally craving french fries but Miles and I stopped at Subway instead. Sigh.

Today I didn't eat nearly as well. I went down the street to get a yummy club sandwich and my long craved french fries at Jonathan's on 14th street. I didn't eat til around 2pm so I won't be hungry again til 8 or 9pm.

Tonight is my normal Date Night with Sheldon. We have spent a LOT of time together this week, but have not been alone since last Thursday so I am really looking forward to cuddling with my sweetiepie!

We had a really long phone conversation last night about our relationship and our thoughts on living together/buying a house together this year. It was a very very good conversation, and as always we feel closer after we discuss things that we have analyzed separately.

Celebrity Encounters

I was telling Sheldon one of these stories recently and I thought I would revive this entry from a previous website. I will add to this entry as new encounters happen. Enjoy!

Celebrity Encounters

Kevin Bacon (movie star/musician)
He waved his water bottle at me during a show at the Birchmere. This was when his first album came out and I already owned it and knew all the songs...unlike most of the audience who were only there because it was Kevin Bacon. I was singing and dancing through my favorite song and he acknowledged me at the end. The next time I saw him at the Birchmere the same thing happened. I stood up singing and dancing through the whole song and he kept an eye on me to see if I was still there. Don't believe me? I have witnesses!

Danni Leigh (country music singer)
Danni Leigh is from my hometown. We went to the same church and the same high school. She graduated with my brother. A few years ago when she was in town I got to talk to her. She has been fighting hard to realize her dream and she has an amazing voice. Someday she'll get to the top of the charts!!

Joey Ramone (rock legend)
My ex-husband and I saw Joey Ramone on 2nd Avenue in The Village just months before he died, May 2000.

Sean Lennon (child of a music legend)
Walking down East 55th in Manhatten on a sunny day in December 2000.

Louise Gluck (poet)
Attended a reading and then stood in line for her to sign my book. She seemed really shy.

Clarence Thomas (supreme court justice)
A few years back when Miles was a baby I worked as a cashier at the Price Club one Christmas season. One day a handsome black man came through my line. He was very chatty and we discussed nutrition and diet and such. He was a bit portly and he was dressed in jeans and a windbreaker type jacket and a baseball cap. He looked very familiar to me but I couldn't place him. Since he was discussing "diet for energy" and was dressed like a coach I asked him if he was a sports coach of some kind. He chuckled and said no that the topic just interested him. His wife was getting snippy at this point, I guess she thought I was flirting or something. So he hands me his check and I immediately zero in on his name. Boy did I feel like a doofus. Here I was talking to a Supreme Court Justice and asking if he's a football coach! I think he enjoyed being treated like a regular guy though. He was very nice, but his wife needs to take a chill pill.

Pat Conroy (author)
Went to a book signing for "Beach Music" by Pat Conroy when my son was an infant. The line zigzagged through the store, out the front door and around the corner. I was around the corner. I had no idea how long the line was inside the store or I probably wouldn't have waited. When I was inside the store about 2 rows away from where he was sitting my son had had enough and started fussing. I picked him up and jiggled and swayed and sang to him til he quieted down. When I was about 20 people back and he was in sight, a mom with a child who was leaving grabbed one of the clerks and made them take me up to the front of the line saying that we had waited long enough. (Miles was long quiet by then so it wasn't because we were making a ruckus.) Anyway, when it was my turn Mr. Conroy asked if mine was the baby who had been crying. I was quite embarrassed and said "Yes, I'm sorry." He was very nice and said he didn't know why I would stand and line all that time just to meet him. He asked my name and Miles's name and he wrote in my book..."To Sarah and Miles, who EARNED this book." Course, I still had to pay for it, but I thought it was sweet of him to take so much time talking to us when the line still stretched way out.

Jeff Bostic (Redskins football player)
The Ex and I were eating with some friends at the Outback Steakhouse in Herndon one night in the early '90s. Jeff Bostic was in the booth beside our table. He had been hurt on the field a couple weeks before and was wearing a sling on his arm. There was much fluttering by the waitress when she bought his food as she got to cut his steak for him.

Charlie Taylor (Redskins football player)
Charlie is a former Washington Redskin, a hall of famer, and one of the ex's childhood heros. He also happens to be the friend of a friend. Our friend Jane invited him to the ex's birthday party one year. The party was in a restaurant where I was working as a bartender. I had a long table set up for the 20 or so people in our party. When Charlie came in Jane sat him down right beside the ex who had no idea that he was coming. He was flabbergasted and overwhelmed, he couldn't even talk, finally he got up and moved to my side of the table, he could hardly talk to Charlie even from across the table. We still laugh about that. A funny sidenote to this story is that the ex's mom and dad also knew Charlie but their son had never believed it. When they were married they had a date night every weekend and they would go dancing and clubbing. They would run into Charlie at the clubs. When they told their children, the kids always thought they were teasing. That night Charlie walked right up and started talking to Big T and L, he knew exactly who they were. As if the ex wasn't flabbergasted enough, he now had to realize that he had been wrongly accusing his parents of lying for years!

Stephen King/Dave Barry (writers)
I had a temp job with a company on the waterfront in Georgetown back in 1993. I was the receptionist and my office sat over a walkway between two buildings. It was always fun to watch the people walking by. One day I looked out the window and saw a man who looked like Dave Barry. I kept staring at him trying to figure out if that's who it was, and why on Earth he'd be walking in Georgetown when he lives in Florida. Suddenly I remembered that I had read that he was in town playing a gig with the "Rock Bottom Remainders" his rock band with Stephen King and Amy Tan et al. At the last possible second I looked at the other man and realized it was Stephen King. They passed out of sight underneath me and I almost passed out from the shock. I wanted desperately to run down the stairs and chase after them, but didn't for 2 reasons: 1) I was the only one in the office at that moment and couldn't leave. 2)I didn't want to look like a complete stalker idiot even though it would have made my year to meet Mr. King.

Dexter Manley (Redskin football player)
I was taking a Public Speaking course at George Mason University in 1985 (or so). The first day of class this HUGE black man sat behind me. He was so large he hardly fit in his desk. I glanced back and saw a huge ring on his finger and I thought to myself that it looked as big as a Super Bowl ring. At this point I still didn't know who he was and no one else seemed to notice him. When the teacher called the roll she said "Dexter Manley" and he answered and I totally froze. The most surprising thing about this to me was that no one else reacted. There was no rustle of recognition or anything. Now you have to realize that in sports circles he was a huge celebrity in DC at this time. I about had a heart attack that I was in the same room with him. Anyway, class went on as usual. At the end of class I was walking out with a guy and I turned to him and said, "Was that THE Dexter Manley?" and he said "Who's Dexter Manley?". Later it turned out that I wasn't the only one who recognized him, we were all just staying cool. After we got more comfortable with him there was much joking about tickets to games and such. He was a really nice friendly guy. Unfortunately his personal life wasn't so peachy and he ended up dropping the class about halfway through.

Jay Schroeder (Redskin football player)
Jay is a former Redskin quarterback and years ago when I first moved to Fairfax I literally bumped into him. If I remember correctly, the Redskins were playing against the Eagles in Philadelphia and Jay got hit so hard he was knocked out. It was a playoff game and we lost. During the 11pm news that night the sports reporter was broadcasting from Redskins park and he said that there were fans there to welcome the team back even though we were now out of the playoffs. He said that the buses with the players were due back before midnight. Well my boyfriend and I looked at each other and realized that we could be there before the buses were so we high-tailed it to the car and raced over there. We got there right before the buses pulled up and this actually put us on the outside of the crowd and right up against one of the buses, just to the right of the door. Well when the doors opened the fans parted and made a path right up to the door of the building. We were all screaming and hollaring to let them know that we were still fans, the tv cameras were on and the lights were bright. Evidently Jay was still a little out of it because when he came down the bus stairs into all that chaos instead of following his teammates into the building he turned right and ran smack into ME! Now from watching football on tv I always thought that the quarterbacks were small guys. I mean beside all those linebackers they Look small! But boy was I wrong. Jay was huge, he was so tall I was staring his belt buckle in the eye! Someone behind him grabbed him and pointed him in the right direction. A fleeting but exciting moment.

George Jones (country music legend)
I was working in Hechts at the men's cologne counter. George was in town performing at the Patriot Center. The morning after his concert he stopped into Hechts to buy some perfume. The lady who waited on him was a older German woman who had NO IDEA who he was. The rest of us girls had gathered on the opposite corner of the counter to gawk. I wasn't a big country music fan at the time, but I knew he was a legend.

Ralph Sampson (basketball player)
He was a guest of honor at the Sport Banquet at my high school one year. I was a waitress at the banquet. He was taller than I was when he was sitting in his chair!

Mystery Actor
Remember that guy from Geritol commercial who said "I'll think I'll keep her."? I can't remember his name but I saw him in the London production of "The Little Foxes" with Elizabeth Taylor. While my group waited by the stage door for Liz to leave, he came out and tried to get us to join him in the bar across the street. He was at least 40 and we were all about 16. Much giggling ensued!

Kicking my Ass!

http://www.nautilusgsa.com/brochures/Treadclimber.pdf

This machine is kicking my ass at the gym and I am loving it! It works you twice as hard as a regular treadmill and you don't have time to get bored. 20 minutes burns over 200 calories for me and every time I use it I feel like I have to crawl off of it to get to the bike for another 20 minutes and then the rowing machine for 10 minutes. I have used it 3 or 4 times now and I am planning on upping my time by 5 minutes today! It conveniently asks me at the end of each workout if I'd like to add 5 more minutes. I have wimped out every other day either because I forgot my water, or was too exhausted, but I am determined today. I am down 7 pounds in my search to reclaim my 40 year old body. I was hot at 40, at 43 I'm "not so hot"!! Sheldon and I go to the gym together which is great motivation for me as I am always more than willing to talk myself out of the going when I am on my own.

No snow sports for me thanks.

Hi All!
I am back from a lovely day in the mountains of Pennsylvania. I accompanied Sheldon and his kids Sasha (8) and Jack (15) and my Miles (14). Sheldon had gotten Jack a new snowboard for his birthday and had bought himself a new board as well while he was at it. Sasha skis but just rents for now until she is bigger. The three of them have been doing this for years, but Miles had never been so I convinced him that this would be a good "life experience" and it would also be his xmas present. I was along for the ride and to wrangle the 8 year old when she was too tired or cold to ski, so that her dad could get maximum time on the mountain. I DO NOT DO SNOW SPORTS. In fact, just walking from the car to the lodge and back was more than enough cold weather for me!

We went to Liberty Mountain which is about 90 minutes from where we live in Northern Virginia. When we got there the place was a madhouse of boards and skis and people bundled to within an inch of their lives. I was amazed at the activity, but obviously the resort workers are used to this because the place ran like a well-oiled machine. We set Miles and Sasha up with lessons and Sheldon and Jack hit the slopes. It was about 11am. I hit the lodge with my book, my cross stitch and my macbook in hand. I was NOT going to be bored!

The book I was reading was fantastic, so that got first priority. I was a little past halfway in the second book of the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer.



I absolutely love this series and this book. I finished it before 2pm. I had brought a second book, but didn't feel like starting it right away, so I played on my computer for a while. I checked email and toyed with the idea of writing an entry here, but didn't. I ended up playing gangster wars on Facebook for a little while and then shutting down the computer and looking for a more comfortable seat closer to the fireplace. Once situated by the fireplace I took out my stitching. I am making a little sumpin sumpin for my best friend Wren for her birthday next month. I can't discuss it any further as she reads this and I don't want to give her any information. I promise to show it to you later though.

After a while Sheldon and his kids came in looking for lunch. Sheldon had packed us a complete picnic so we gathered the food and headed to the "picnics allowed" room. We hadn't been able to track down Miles at this point even though all three of us who were big enough had gone on a search, and I had called and texted him. Eventually he found us and we all dug in to yummy sandwiches. After lunch Miles decided to stay indoors with me but the hard core snow bunnies went back out into the sunshine.

Miles and I were lucky enough to find seats on the couch by the fire and ended up camped there all afternoon. He never went back out. He had had his adventure and he was done. He had a book and his iPod with him and seemed quite content. I started my second book, but didn't much like it so I ended up stitching and people watching and reading the Washington Post that was on the coffee table for the rest of the day. I was VERY bored by the time Sheldon finally came in around dark and was ready to leave. His son had been crashed on the couch for at least an hour at that point and his daugther was camped in front of Sponge Bob on the big screen tv beside the fireplace.

When we left the resort we decided to stop for pizza on the way home and I am proud to announce that we discovered one of those great hole-in-the-wall, family owned pizza joints that you always wish for, in Emmitsburg. It was named Stavros Pizza and it was absolutely delicious!!! We got a hawiian pizza which was absolutely drowning in delicous cheese, and Sheldon's kids ate burgers and fries. I swiped some of Jack's fries and they were ALSO super yummy! If you are ever in Emmitsburg, PA, I highly recommend this stop!

I fell asleep on the way home and woke up so exhausted that I wasn't sure I'd be able to drive back to my house. I did make it home and went STRAIGHT to bed. When the alarm went off this morning I felt like I could sleep for another 9 or 10 hours. The only thing I can think is that the constant stimulation of being surrounded by conversations around me, people stomping past in ski boots, the tv and screaming children really wore me out!

Pleasantville

I love this movie. Have you seen it? I went to see it in the theatre when it first came out. It was not what I was expecting at all, I was surprised and pleased by what it turned out to be. I had expected some sort of mistaken identity/screwball comedy. Instead I found a beautiful allegory on humanity, freedom, racism, sexuality and etc. I rented it for Sheldon to see last week and he and I watched it over the weekend. Today I have been watching it again with the director's commentary turned on. It was written and directed by Gary Ross who also directed Dave and Big, two other movies I really enjoyed. I really, really love this movie. If you haven't seen it, by all means rent it asap, if you have seen it I can recommend rewatching it.

It has been a musical weekend.

Sheldon and I went Swing Dancing on Friday. There is a swing dance with a live swing band every Friday night at a ballroom in a local hotel. This is one of my favorite forms of exercise but unfortunately it is not one of Sheldon's. He was a good sport and went with me just this once. He did enjoy the band and liked the fact that I was having such a good time. I won't make him go again, although he assures me I can go whenever I want and dance my little heart out, as long as I come home to him. I actually did dance with 5 or 6 other guys who were great dancers and were throwing me all over the floor. I had a great time and I'm sure I worked off a lot of calories. If I start going every Friday or every other Friday I will kick my weight loss up a notch AND have fun!

Last night we went to the Birchmere to see Eddie from Ohio. Sheldon loves this group and was really looking forward to the show. I love any show at the Birchmere so although I had never heard any of their music I was pumped. I did enjoy the EfO show, but even better, we were both introduced to a new group that we both loved. They were three young girls from New York named Red Molly and they were marvelous. They had beautiful harmonies and one song that they sang a capella was enough to give us goosebumps. It was called "May I Suggest". Sheldon bought the CD and we even got the girls to sign it. They are coming back to the area to play at Jammin' Java next month and we are hoping to see them again!

This was our third concert in a month! We saw OAR and the Bacon Brothers before xmas. We both love live music and luckily this area is a goldmine!

Weight Loss!

I have good news on the weightloss front!!!  Yesterday when I weighed myself I saw a number I hadn't seen in over a year, today when I weighed myself it was an even BETTER number, one I hadn't seen in over 3 years!!!  I came squealing out of the bathroom and Sheldon did not know WHAT to think, but he was very happy for me when he figured it out.  It was a very happy moment!!  Well deserved too, Sheldon and I went dancing on Friday and went to the gym yesterday.  The machine I chose at the gym yesterday really kicked my butt and burned over 200 calories in 25 minutes.  It was a Nautilus treadle treadmill where there are two separate belts you are walking on and they treadle up and down like the old fashioned sewing machines.  It is supposed to replicate hiking as opposed to walking and it is also supposed to be twice the workout.  I believe it because after 25 minutes I felt like I had to crawl to the bike...I didn't crawl mind you, I just felt like it!  That is definitely the machine I will be using from now on instead of the normal treadmill!

I have been doing quite well on my eating too.  Not eating unless I am actually hungry and trying to choose well.  I have had a few cheeseburgers...but I'd take a banana right now over a bowl of ice cream hands down.  I wish I had a banana right now!

The Best Book!

I just read the Best Book! I started it when I was sitting in line waiting to get into the Birchmere. I just finished it this morning on the train. It caused me to miss my stop one day this week and I almost missed my stop two other days! I read a lot of good books, I even fall asleep on the train, it has been a VERY long time since I missed my stop!


The book is "Red River" by Lalita Tademy.



I highly, highly recommend it. It is about 3 generations of African American in Louisiana. It begins in 1873 shortly after the end of the Civil War. The main characters of that generation are former slaves who are fighting for their voting rights. The story follows those men and their progeny up through 1937. The most fascinating part is that it is the story of the Tademy family and the author threw in photographs of the characters as they came up in the story. It was a wonderful weaving of history and family and fiction. I got lost in it every time I picked it up.

I love Heath

This is the best piece I have read about Heath Ledger since his passing.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20252991_27,00.html

I personally loved him best in "A Knight's Tale". I could watch that movie over and over. I refuse to see Dark Knight. I just can't bear it.

I'm a Packrat and a Gangster on Facebook

I love Facebook. No really. Love it. I like it for lots of reasons...I like being able to find old friends and keep in touch with friends, but most of all I love to play the games. I have been addicted to Packrat since last May. Play it all the time. I got Sheldon addicted to it as well. Now he has paid me back by getting me addicted to Gangster Wars. This is the most boring post ever. Sorry. Come play on Facebook with me, I'm much more entertaining...I swear!

Boob Job?

If you saw me this morning in my brand new sharp looking striped blouse you may wonder if I had a boob job over the weekend. The answer to that query would no and YES! While I did NOT have any surgery I did in fact enhance my figure. Saturday while Sheldon was snowboarding and Miles was hanging with his friends at the mall I went to Nordstroms and got myself officially measured and I found out I was wearing The Wrong Size Bra!! Oprah did a show on this a while back and when I watched it I thought it was so ridiculous...I mean who could be so dumb. Turns out it was me! So I got myself measured and then fitted and then I bought several of the new lacy concoctions with their matching undies. Sheldon was SO happy as this is something he was really missing in our relationship. I feel like I am wearing a straight jacket as this contraption is much more involved than my old ones were...but it is also much more uplifting!! I'm a whole new girl, before you know it I will be paying more than $10 for a haircut and having manicures and all those other girlie things I have managed to avoid so far in this life. Ugh!

Of course, when I was wearing a new bra I had to go buy some sexy new tops to show off my new figure. Luckily, cute, sexy tops are much cheaper at Old Navy than they are at Nordstroms, so I was able to buy several. I guess the fact that I spent nothing on xmas is now moot as I spent a boatload that I didn't have on new clothes for myself. I did need the clothes though, I have not bought myself anything new to wear in quite a while.

Miles hasn't noticed the new me yet (and honestly, he shouldn't!!), but Sheldon was quite pleased with the results!