The Secret Belly Dancer's Club....

I recently had the good fortune to be able to spend a wonderful evening away with good friends celebrating our 40 years on this lovely earth. (Ok, by the look you're giving me you either can't believe I'm 40 or that I have good friends!) Three of us have known each other since 6th grade and the 4th, well she fits in so well it seems like we've known her that long. We talked about anything and everything...and it was that comfortable talk, when no one judged each other and we all made each other feel good....at least that's how I felt...the other three are probably reading this saying, "Shit, I feel bad now for talking about her after she left!".
Anyway, our group had a little initiation of the ever so important secret toe ring ceremony....and if you remember a blog I did waaaaayyy back with a photo of Bethany's feet...you could probably figure out which foot is mine....

This, of course, was after much good food and many, many raspberry lemon-tini's...don't leave home without them! And maybe some wine....and a beer or two...

But mostly it was about just taking the time to spend with one another and kind of rejuvenate our sisterhood. I only wish we could do it more often...just enjoy laughing and not have to explain what I'm laughing about to my 9 year old. Or go to the bathroom without someone knocking on the door the instant I've sat down. Or passing out and not have my kids trying to wake me up saying "Please get up mommy!"....kidding! Totally kidding!

These are some very special friends in my life...and I don't mean "special" as in...you know.....and why did I call this "The Secret Belly Dancer's Club"? I'll never tell....

And The Death Pool Winners Keep Coming....

Well, people, I completely missed the boat on the David Carradine's scandalous death! He was found in Thailand in his hotel room, with a rope around his neck and genitals...they are saying it was some kind of sex thing and he died from asphyxiation. Quotes I read online from his friends and family, of course, say they can't see him doing this to himself. Really? I mean take a look at this photo:
You can't imagine this guy into any kinky shit? His friends and family are probably well aware of his closet habits and are trying to give him a respectful send-off. Freak....I mean..to each his own!

Now this next one, I have to tell you kind of freaked me out. Not because of who it was, but because last week at work when we were discussing the demise of The Gloved One and The Goddess, one of my co-workers actually said this guy was next! I'm serious....I saw it on the news and my jaw dropped. Billy Mays will undoubtedly have the cleanest funeral EVER!

Can you imagine if they do his eulogy "Billy Mays" style, shouting all the reasons we should remember him? That would be great!

Heavy Losses...Any Winning At "The Death Pool"?

Sorry, was that a bit callous? If you are not familiar with "the death pool", it is an actual list of famous people who people bet on as to when they are going to die. People will bet on anything! Those crazy people....not that I have $20 on Charo biting the dust in 2015...her hip will give out during an onstage performance and cause her to careen off the stage, ultimately causing her demise. I do have some evil thoughts, don't I?

OK, on to more serious memories. It's always difficult when famous icons pass away unexpectedly or at an earlier than expected age.

With Farah Fawcett, when I was about 6 years old, you either wanted to BE Farah Fawcett, or you wanted to BE WITH Farach Fawcett.
This first photo is an early Farah...notice the photo is from an old "Teen Beat" magazine...weren't those the best!
Now this next photo was really famous and at one point in time you could walk into almost any boys' room and see this poster on their wall....my brother and I actually had mugs with this photo on it - but it was just her head. I will never forget one night we were both going to have some milk in our mugs, but after my Mom left the kitchen, my brother decided to have soda instead. When my Mom saw the soda she asked why he didn't get milk and he said, "Farah made me do it"...it doesn't seem that funny now, but I remember laughing about it back then...

This was Farah probably a few years ago - not so bad, but looking a little ragged. If we only knew the terrible disease she was enduring. Farah will be missed, but unfortunately I believe her death will be but a fleeting thought....

Mainly because she had the misfortune to pass away on the SAME DAY as Michael Jackson! What rotten luck! Her memory will forever be overshadowed because she died on the same blasted day as the King of Pop! That will be my luck. I will finally have my chance for 15 minutes of fame some day, and guaranteed some gigantic event will overshadow it. Not that I'm in any way comparing myself to Farah....I never could get my frizzy, curly hair to feather like hers! But we all tried, didn't we! (don't lie, I know you did!) Always had my comb handy in back pocket to fix my non-feathery hair at a moments notice! Or is was in my Bermuda bag. Or that pocket of my Barracuda jacket.

OK moving right along....I can remember meeting my friend Julie, who was my new neighbor at the time, and her playing the song "ABC, 123" by the Jackson 5.
This photo is when plastic surgery was just a sparkle in his eye...he was all about normal at this point in his life....

Then I think it was 8th grade when Billy Jean came out. I remember that video and thinking it was sooo cool...those moves! We all wanted to be able to dance like Michael Jackson. When "Beat It" came out, my friend, Lisa, and I actually took a break dancing class....we thought it would help us dance like him in that video. I was never one of the screaming Michael Jackson fans, never went to one of his concerts, but I definitely enjoyed his music....

This photo shows he has begun the face work, but it doesn't look bad, he hasn't turned into scary mask guy yet....

I even remember when the Thriller video came out. That was insane! No one had ever done anything like this before! Every time I would watch MTV (back when MTV played videos all day for 24 hours a day) and the Thriller video came on, I would pray it was the long version. There was the long version which was about 20 minutes long, then the short, more commonly played version that was about 5 minutes long.

Ok, now we get to the scary photo. I'm sorry, but the guy turned into a whack job! I read an article today that said his interview a few years back where he let the guy basically live with his entourage for a few months, really did irreparable damage to his reputation. I think if MJ didn't look so freaky, he would have been easier for the public to stomach. I'm assuming he had lots of bad plastic surgery; supposedly he had that pigment condition which was turning his skin white; and during his trial for child molestation he supposedly had back problems. I don't know, I think he made some crucial mistakes: marrying Lisa Marie Presley, dangling a baby over the balcony AND SLEEPING WITH CHILDREN! My husband thinks he hired someone to stage his death - fake body and all - so that he could just disappear; I said I thought it was very possible that was the case and he was living somewhere as a woman right this minute.
MJ (I can call him that because we go way back), your music will be missed.

Heeeeere's Ed! OK, I thought Farah had bad luck? Poor Ed McMahon died a few days before Farah and MJ and his memory was less than a blip on the news screen.
Who didn't like Ed McMahon? He came off as a clean cut, all-American guy...like your favorite Uncle or your best friend's Grandfather. Secretly he might have had a mouth like a truck driver and worn women's clothing, but what we don't know won't hurt us....right?

So I wonder if he's in heaven now following God around saying...."Heeeere's The Almighty!"

Dragons and Polar Bears and Ravens..Oh My!

You may or may not know that I read a lot. Books, magazines, cereal boxes...you name it. I also strongly encourage my children to read. When Jamie was younger and became a voracious reader I decided I would read some of the same books so we would have something to talk about. Every now and then I would read one...and I usually enjoyed them. Now that Bethany is also becoming a reader, she is enjoying some of the same books Jamie and I have. I particularly love this set of books. I believe the fourth in the series is out now although we have yet to get that one. Dragons are brought to life in modern times and have all sorts of powers. These are an easy read so if you have kids, you might want to give them a try.

So You Didn't Think It Was Funny? Boo Hoo!

I know the David Letterman comments about Sarah Palin's daughter is kind of old news - a few days anyway - but I felt it had been far too long since I have commented on any current events. First, can we please shoot the person who coined the term and the meaning of "politically correct"? I am really sick and tired of hearing that phrase - I'm not saying I want to be able to call someone a name that will degrade them, I just think different groups take things too far...Like in this instance. From what I read online - I did not see David Letterman's show when it happened - David mentioned that Sarah Palin had gone to a Yankees game and as part of his joke, said Sarah's 14 year old daughter got knocked up by A-Rod during the seventh inning stretch. That's it. Nothing more. And lots of people got very angry. Really people? I mean, her other daughter got pregnant when she was 17, so it's not really far off the mark, right? If you want to get technical about this. AND, I strongly feel that if you are famous by your own doing...meaning you became famous because you put yourself out there, then you and your family are fair game. I don't mean fair game to be stalked or anything like that...but if people like David Letterman WHO TELL JOKES FOR A LIVING, make a joke about you...BIG DEAL! You should not run and pout...it's actually a compliment that he thinks you are still worth commenting on! Sheesh!
OK, I think I got it all out....for now.

Me First! Hummus, Hummus, Who's Got The Hummus!?

I keep meaning to post this before someone else does. This has happened to me a few times...I will be thinking about posting on something specific and I will read about it on another blog! The nerve of them! Anyway....this picture doesn't do this wonderful pasta salad justice. If you are like me (for so many reasons, start praying you're not)...you love, love, luv hummus! The first time I had hummus I was eating at a little restaurant in Sydney with my friend, Kath and they served it with pita bread wedges. Since then the need to constantly have hummus has only grown. Now you might want to sit down for what I'm about to tell you. I know I don't cook, but I made this up! You know as soon as I post this there will be people emailing me telling me they've been eating this since the dawn of time. I keep trying to think of new ways to incorporate hummus into my daily meals and here is one:

Cook a whole box of rotini or spiral pasta
In a separate bowl mix a few spoonfuls of hummus with a big dollop of creamy ranch or Caesar dressing - blend them together good.
Mix the dressing into the pasta.

Now this in itself is delicious, but I usually add cut up peppers and cucumbers, or chicken, or edamame, or tuna. Really it's quite versatile....don't I sound like Julia Childs?!

So if you like hummus, try it and let me know what you think! Unless you don't like it....I don't want to know...

In Preparation For Things To Come....

I recently got together with friends and realized - mostly from the reaction on their faces I think - that I need to cut the 'ol strings a bit with my kids. I guess I know it's true...way deep down...where it will never escape into an action of actually doing so! I guess my feeling is, why take the chance that something could happen? But I guess suffocating them isn't the answer either. I guess...because people told me so. (kidding! it definitely could be the answer if it was a multiple choice question and the other two answers were "letting your 12 year old daughter go to a boys house for a party" or "letting your 12 year old girl go out with a 15 year old boy"...then suffocating would be a great answer...) Anyway, I still will not fly without my kids so Mike and I have never had the chance to go away anywhere far, just the two of us. I know, it's ridiculous. Either we all go down together, or no one goes! So a wonderful event happened the other day to prepare me for things to come. The baby robins in the nest just outside our door, flew the coop, so to speak! Jamie was actually taking pictures of them when it happened:

We thought there were only three babies in the nest, but after a week or so we were able to count 4 little beaks reaching up to be fed...

Then they grow pretty quickly and the nest gets VERY crowded. The parents start trying to get them to fly out of the nest, and then finally....

take off! Right onto the grass! After about 3 hours, all four babies had flown the coop. Quite traumatic for me...but I have to get used to it, I guess.

Birthday Bliss...9 Year Old Style!

We all know there is no handbook to raising your kids; it's definitely a listen-to-all-the-advice-use-some-and-make-up-the-rest kind of thing. One thing I have learned...and this is still a hard one for me....don't ask your children something unless you are willing to accept the answer completely. When we celebrated Bethany's birthday with just a small family gathering, I asked her what kind of cake she wanted. I was flattered when she said she wanted me to make her cake....and before you get all "See, you do so cook!"...by "make", she means buy the Duncan Hines cake mix and supervise her while she adds all the ingredients to the mixer. Anyway, before I realized what had happened, I had agreed to let her decorate the cake! I do have control issues so I could feel the anxiety from sloppy flowers already creeping in. As a parent, I had to take a deep breath....then quickly think how to make both of us comfortable with this. She agreed to let me frost the cake, put on trim.....and do the lettering (the last one only because I told her if she messed up I couldn't fix it....I know, I know, that was playing dirty b/c you and I both know I could have fixed it, but I didn't think she would go for it!). So here is the result:
After all was said and done, what's a few globs of frosting going to hurt, right? It's OK that she got some on my lettering, right? So last night was her birthday party with 3 of her friends. Again she wanted me to make the cake....then she said, "Actually, I'm kind of sick of cake"....wh- wh- what? My brain does not compute. But before the look of terror completely takes over b/c I realize she must have been switched with an alien child, she removes all doubt and says, "How about we make cupcakes instead?"....I stare blankly....do I tell her cupcakes are just a big cake made into smaller cakes? I decide to keep quiet (no small feat for me) and go with the flow. I decided I wanted to try something I had seen in a magazine or two, but never had a chance. A flower cake made out of cupcakes. Here are the cupcakes with just the middle frosted:

Again, yellow cake mix and a can of white frosting can do wonders! Here is the finished product:

She chose the colors and didn't ask to help decorate this one...and I know it's my own fault they were up until 1am - with all the sugary goodness in these babies!

Holy Cucumbers, Batman!

OK, just to re-cap: we've never grown our own food before; I decided it would be a good idea to start and to do it from seeds, not plants; I didn't really go by the directions on the seed packets when I planted them, but really, what are the chances that ALL the seeds will grow, right? Oh, and I don't cook so Mike will have to figure out how to cook all the veggies we will get...that's of course if the plants don't get eaten or attacked by pests since we don't have any guinea hens to ward them off....
So here is a photo I took in May just after we planted everything. I started the pepper seeds in the house in February, so those plants are already well on their way; and we were given four cherry tomato plants; and the cabbage plant is actually a school project. Other than that, it's all seeds.
Now here is a photo Bethany took last week...look at the size of that cabbage plant! And what do ya know, it looks like ALL the seeds are growing! My next door neighbor, who has a garden every year, said one or two zucchini and squash plants are enough to feed our whole family (like including distant relatives!) ....but look at all those viable little plants! Now this photo was taken, say June 3rd....

This photo was taken only a few days later, this past weekend, and look at these zucchini plants! Those little spiky leaves weren't there in the last photo!

Here are the cherry tomato plants...

And of course our red and green pepper plants....I have no idea which is which!

And lastly, the small row of cucumber plants!

I cannot wait! We'll see if I still feel this enthusiastic by the end of the summer!

Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's Forty....

ME! Yahoo! Yes, ladies and gents, as of yesterday, it has been 40 years that I have been gracing everyone with my presence! Too pompous? Would you rather I wallow in self pity about the fact that I'm now 40 and life is over? I didn't think so. The weirdest part of turning 40 is that I still feel like it was just a few years ago that I was in college...high school, even! Technically, I know this to be untrue, but mentally, I just can't seem to grasp this concept. It started in my early 30's....I spent the good part of a year telling people I was 32 and finally Mike had to tell me I was only 31. I really didn't care how old I was. I still don't, not yet anyway...I think this is because I don't feel like I've grown up yet...I look at other people who are 40 and their lives are so organized and smart....I still live in day to day chaos...I guess that's what I get for having a "live in the moment" attitude!
Well, as luck would have it, 3 of my very best friends and myself all turn 40 within days of each other. We've known each other since 6th grade...this is when Lauren would pipe in and remind us that she and Amy have known each other since like birth or something and Kris and I would concede they win for being friends the longest. Lauren had a celebration at her home recently, and I'm sure I will catch an earful for posting these pictures, but hey, I'm in there too and I HATE pictures of myself...so no complaining.

Lauren and her husband are the ultimate hosts - everything is always spot on and fantastic. This is Lauren pouring some drink we all had to try...I'm not sure who the older woman in the photo is, but she brought the bottle with the drink we all had to try....the thing Kris and I couldn't figure out is...she showed up with the bottle and it was already half gone?! We thought maybe she just got really thirsty on her way there....she is leaning to one side...
Lauren makes a mean sangria, of which I had many, many refills by the time this photo was taken...or maybe not, I don't remember...but this is me and Kris

Amy is still in Africa but will be home soon to continue our celebrating! Happy 40th my friends!