No Turning Back

Wednesday Randomness

Yes, Virginias, I'm still alive and well. I have been checking out your websites while not updating mine. I'm the selfish one in this relationship, I know.  But I thought it's about time to post something. Just for you, my Virginias.

1. You are correct -- I have no finished my SOP recap. And technically my one-year-limit has expired, as this week is the Lilac Festival, the very event that kicked off my SOP last year. I think I will upload my photos from SOP to the blog because at this point, the memories are starting to fade. Sorry. I truly meant to keep up.
   
   
2. See this flag?
   
   This is something you will NEVER see at my house. However my next-door-neighbors have this by their front step. It makes me giggle whenever I see it, since there's no chance in hell that thing would ever decorate my homestead.
   
   
3. I went to the grocery store over the weekend with a bent for healthy food. Call me crazy but it has happened before. What's unusual is that I have actually eaten the food instead of throwing it away. I actually had some carrots at work for a snack today. Crazy talk, riiiight? But yes, 'tis true. I'm slowly incorporating the healthy food one step at a time. For example, last night I grilled some chicken G. Foreman style and it was pretty tasty. So were the scalloped potatoes. Were the potatoes a healthy choice? Probably not. But having them was incentive enough for me to go through the agony of grilling the chicken - all four minutes of it. Next time, I will add vegetables to the meal. I'm just a wild woman.
   
   
4. I'm a bit sad that I won't get to see my out-of-town FHS friends this summer. For the past 2 summers a group of us has gathered together, but this summer it seems logistically impossible. I guess we have to wait until the official reunion next year. Drats.
   
   
5. And this past weekend I got sucked into both days of ANTM marathons. I even recorded a few of them so I wouldn't miss them when I went out on Saturday. Sunday's marathon was for the current season, whose finale is tonight. Yes, I'll be watching it. Just because I have to see it to the end, right?

The Yin and the Yang

This morning I received great news and some sad news. On the shallow, selfish side, I was jumping for joy to see my Economic Stimulus tax rebate thingy deposited into my bank account. I didn't expect it for a few more weeks. Wheee!

Then within the hour, I learned of the untimely death of someone close to my cousin. Although I didn't know this man, my heart is still just weighed down with sadness for this situation.

I was going to recap the weekend for you, but I really just feel shallow trying to detail my night at Mulletude, my long Saturday full of volleyball (congrats PSU!) and friends and drinks, another Sunday sucked into ANTM, and then my joy over receiving my economic stimulus money.

It's one of those things that just puts things in perspective. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the fallen officer.

Halfway Between 6 and 4 is a Friday Five

Thanks to Jenn F for this email today. I wasn't sure what to do for the Friday Five. Your timing rocks!

SIX Things About Me

1) FOUR PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER:  work, the volleyball place I work/play at, Rite Aid, potty

2) FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME: John, Mom, Karen, Sal

3) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:  Pizza, cheese, eggs, bagels

4) FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:  Home, on a hammock by the beach, visiting my baby second cousin (?), that volleyball place (at the bar, not working)

5) FOUR PEOPLE I THINK WILL RESPOND:  Karen, Michele, Juli, Noelle

6) FOUR MOVIES I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:  Miss Congeniality, Some Kind of Wonderful, Ocean's Eleven, The Bourne Identity

Feel free to steal for your own blog or email trail. Just CC me too.

I'm heading out tonight to rock out to Mulletude! Girls- tease your hair, boys- comb your mullet, everyone slather on the black eyeliner, and let's rock out to the sounds of Night Ranger, Poison, the Crue, and Bon Jovi!

Don't worry, I haven't lost my way. I was more the Durannie during the '80s, but I still have a fun time listening to my friends' band play these songs. Or maybe I just watched too much Rock of Love on VH1.

Answers: Round One

I was inspired to solicit your questions from Noelle’s blog, so it’s only fair I answer her question first =) Check out her site for some of the interesting questions she was asked, and answered!

What person, living or dead, do you wish was a blogger?
Great question! Once I started thinking about it, I realized there were several people whose life I’d like to read about. I couldn’t narrow it down, so this single Q&A is today’s Friday Five.

1. Any of the contestants on the Amazing Race, as they’re competing. Obviously that’s not logistically likely to happen, but I want to hear about some of those crazy details you don’t get to see, as well as some of those small experiences you have when traveling in foreign countries. I think I’d want to read a blog from one of the all-girl teams (like the beauty queens) just to get some perspective on their experiences abroad.
2. My cousin Karen. Frequent commenter & discussion-stirrer on my blog, but she really needs to do her own blog, instead of the one she does on MySpace (I say selfishly because I can’t get on MySpace at work). Plus she writes some pretty funny shit.
3. Actually I wish all my family members would blog. All of my family except for my parents live in other states, so I don’t know them too well; never have. Frankly I think a few of them could benefit from the opportunity to purge crap from their heads into cyberspace. But more importantly, I’d just like to know my extended family a little better. Oh heck, I can say the same for my parents too. I don’t talk to my dad on a regular basis. He’s made many positive changes in the last decade or so, and it’d be cool to know what’s on his mind on a more regular basis.
4. John (my ex-bf but still very good friend), partially because he can read my blog but I can’t read anything from him =). But seriously, he’s a really good writer. Even for an ungeneer. I am often impressed anytime I read things he writes … beyond emails and text messages, that is!
5. My friend CarrieG. We used to work together at my previous job and we don’t get together as much as we’d both like. But when we do, we pick it right back up from where we left off. She’s a pretty bright, fun, and generally cool chick.
   Quick facts: She continues to be someone I go to for professional advice, even though she’s younger than me; she converted to Judaism before marrying her husband, so I often ask questions about the faith; she taught me how to knit(!); and she’s having her first baby in less than a month!

On that note, I’m giving a big shout out to my cousin Johnny and wife Melanie on the birth of their third son, Noah yesterday! Huzzah! I hope to meet him sometime this year!

And I will answer the other submitted questions at a later date too, and not necessarily in Friday Five style. Feel free to submit more than one question too. I don’t mind!

Happy weekend!

A Valentine for You and Me and the Others

Happy Valentine's Day Inter-webby friends! I'm in a surprisingly happy mood today. No, there's no valentine for me, no special date tonight.

Maybe it's just the fact that I'm not miserable this V-Day that makes me happy.  This is quite an unusual circumstance in my single life, so I'm just going to appreciate it. And share the valentines love with you all.

Make your own ABC valentine here.

Special Guest Star Friday

Hi - This is Karen, Pam's cousin from Philadelphia. I am the guest blogger today on her site and I am proud to present to you the top five actors who died before their time.

5.  Heath Ledger - Sadly, he is at number five because he is the most recent. Cause unknown, it is still a sad, sad case. Brokeback Mountain will live as one of the greatest love stories told (in my opinion). The acting all the way around, from every actor was excellent, but he stood out in a role that seemed almost written for him. His work in The Lords of Dogtown was amazing as well.
He was a versatile actor who, like a chameleon, could fill any role written. Until now, I had no desire to see The Dark Knight, now I want to see it solely on his performance as The Joker.

4. James Dean -  THE MAN. The first actor I would describe as SEX. He was soft spoken, had a way of moving, and a look that could melt any woman into bed. Even if he was gay.

3. John Belushi - One of the great comics that started at Second Stage and continued to Saturday Night Live. His movies were awesome. The Blues Brothers will live in infamy.

2. Chris Farley - The best physical comedian to date. He could do things that made you laugh even in the worst of moods. I remember him on Saturday Night Live in so many skits. The stand outs are the one with him and Patrick Swayze as the strippers. Hysterical!!! "Big guy in little coat" with David Spade, and the lunch lady. Oh - and the motivational speaker guy! There are just too many to name. Tommy Boy - need I say more?

1. Phil Hartman - His role on News Radio was one of my favorites. He was a comedian who, I feel, could have done drama, as well. He was a great talent and one that was lost way too soon. It was a shock to the comedic circuit and acting world as well when he was killed. A senseless crime, that took a great talent at the height of his career.

Thanks for this opportunity to let me speak my mind. Lord knows, I have plenty of opinions. Hope you all have a nice weekend.

Take it easy - but take it.

SOP Recap, Part 1

With no further delay, as promised – and even greatly anticipated by some – here is the first recap of the Summer of Pam (SOP).

You may be wondering what SOP really means. I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around it myself. It definitely means something different in hindsight than it did at its inception.

There wasn’t a great big plan for the Summer of Pam. It just sort of happened. My SOP was inspired by “The Summer of George” from Seinfeld. I was determined to pull myself out of the funk I’d been in for too long and decided to make the most of my time. With my new freelance work, I was able to quit my part-time job (for the second time), have more free time, and a little bit of cash to spend. I resolved to take advantage of this great city and region that I live in and explore, particular those festivals/events that are free or low-cost.

More importantly, if I caught myself saying “I’ve always wanted to do …” or “I’ve always wanted to go to ….” I’m going to do whatever I can to make those things happen. Get out of the house. Meet new people. Maybe meet a boy. Take opportunities. Carpe diem. Be the ball.

I think SOP began the night of May 11, the first night of the annual Lilac Festival. I was actually supposed to just go to dinner with an old friend, but that afternoon suggested that we go to the  festival.  I had always wanted to go to inaugural night of the festival, because, well, I’ve heard that it’s usually tons o’ fun. A virtual who's who of Rochester is there. Kelly and I hadn’t hung out much in the last few years, and it was about time that we start causing some trouble together, like we used to in the old days.

The weather was perfect. The crowd was luscious. I met up with some friends. Met some new friends. The music the first night is usually sponsored by WBER. This year’s performers were Mike Doughty and Chris Trapper. I’d always wanted to see Chris Trapper (formerly of the Push Stars) but it just never happened. We managed to hear some of his set and I liked what I heard. I’ll admit that I have no recollection of Doughty. I’m sure he was fine, but we were too busy socializing. It was a good night.

The next thing I was looking forward to was the season finale of Lost. I know it’s not something that gets me out of the house. But gosh-dang it was worth the wait.
Side note: the new (shorter) season of Lost starts in 3 weeks! If you’re longing for good television while the writers’ strike continues, you can catch up on ALL the past episodes, in HD, here.

For Memorial Day Weekend, I ventured to Philadelphia, the land of my ancestors. I stayed a couple days with my grandmother, who still spunky at 90. And though I enjoy spending time with her and that side of my family, I’m most thankful for the evening I spent with my aunt and uncle on my mother’s side of the family. It might have been the first time I visited with them on my own. That sounds weird, but up until then, I think I only went to their house with my parents (together or separate). It was a very different dynamic. It was probably the most they’ve ever heard me talk! I had made trips to the area before and always regretted that I didn’t have the balls to call them up and visit. I’m so glad I did.

And then….. I went to Jersey.

As my loyal readers probably know, my cousin Karen and her family have a house downashore. For those of you outside the greater Philadelphia / Jersey area, that means “at the Jersey shore.” It was my first time in Jersey. Considering all the time I’ve spent in Philly and all the traveling I’d done, it was odd that I’d never been there.

I think what I enjoyed the most was being able to spend time with her sons. Seeing them only once a year makes it seem like they grow up so fast. I think my post about the things I learned during my visit sums it up pretty well.  The other highlight for me that weekend was that I finally met Johnny & Melanie’s boys. That was another thing I felt pretty bad about  - that I hadn’t met either of my other cousin’s kids. Anyways, it was good to spend quality time with Karen again. Maybe she’ll finally come up to Rochester and visit this year hint hint. Maybe this could be the Summer of Karen?

Next up in the SOP recap: Adventures in a POD, the RIJC, and BCSF.

And so this is Christmas

In the spirit of the holidays, today's Friday 5 represents why it's better to give than to receive. It's easy to come up with the top 5 things I'd like to get for Christmas (or maybe just this one). But instead, this is a list of 5 gifts I'd get my friends & family if money were no object.

1 - Karen & family: round-trip tickets from Philly to Rochester for a visit this year. And if all y'all come to visit, probably hotel rooms too.

2 - Mom: The easiest person for me to shop for. Probably a DVR as well as a Netflix subscription. And a trip to a spa or some other pampering day. She deserves it.

3 - My brother: Straight up cash. Or clothes. Or a new cell phone. Whatever he wants.

4 - John: Satellite radio for his Jeep. And a remote car starter.

5 - Michele & family: Where to start? New car/van/SUV. Paid vacation for Michele & hubby to get some time together. Or an all-expenses paid trip for M, me, and the "Bad Girls" for a week-long reunion this summer.

Don't feel slighted if you're not represented here; I only do 5 for a Friday. Plus it would make me too sad to keep thinking this through for all my peeps. Some of these are practical, some are not, but they are all from my heart.

Coming up:
Since I'm off work -- from all my jobs! -- from now until Jan. 2, I plan to start the recap of the Summer of Pam. I know, I know, it's been promised for quite some time. Part one will come next week. With pictures and everything.

Seriously, is there something in the water?

I have 7 friends/family members who are pregnant and due between now and April. I am so truly happy for each of them. I think it's the first child for 5 of them, so that's even more exciting.

But I honestly can't recall a time where there have been that many in a short amount of time. Even when my "boys" were born in within months of each other - Danny, Jonathan, and Owen - there were only 3 of them.

This time I decided to write a list of the  expectant moms and when they're due. Partially because I can't keep them straight and don't want to forget. And I love any good reason for a list.

I think I just realized what my next few knitting projects will be!

Question for the veteran mommies: Just in case my knitting can't keep up with all the birthing, send me some ideas of useful gifts for new parents. Sure the stuffed animals and clothes are nice, but there's got to be something that would be just as valuable to a new mommy.

A Guest Blogger!

Today's Friday 5 is showing a little solidarity for the television writer's strike going on. Actually I just thought it'd be a fun change to have a guest blogger today.

Today's list is from my cousin Karen. She's a frequent commenter on my blog, so you may feel like you already know her. Here's a brief bio:

- She's just a mere 2 months younger than me, and she's the closest thing to as sister as I have.
- She hails from Killadelphia. I mean Philadelphia.
- She has a fab hubby & 2 charming sons
- Fun fact: she makes fun of me because I say "waaater" but I think she sounds funnier to me when she says "wuter"
- She's threatening to visit me in 2008.

But we know she won't visit Rochester in the wintertime because of the snow. That's cool. I get that. But if she were here in the wintertime, here are the top 5 reasons Karen says she couldn't help me shovel snow.

1. "I have bursitis in my right wrist"

2. "I have degenerative disc disease and arthritis in my low back."
 
3. "If I stay outside too long in the cold, my ears start to hurt."
 
4. "If I take time away from work to shovel, my hands will get too cold and then I can't make any money."

5. "I have no hot beverages or liquor in my house to warm me after I am done."

ETA: I just realized that I ended up doing 5 fun facts about Karen. So you got a 2-for-1 Friday 5!