Hey all, hope your week went great, mine did, but I am very happy to be starting my weekend. It was a long week and I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, so I spent the day kind of dragging, but it was totally worth it.

Yesterday my sons had an outing with their PDP group. They went to see the play Wicked and they enjoyed it very much. They both thought the play was great and couldn't stop themselves from telling my how it ended. This was my youngest son's first outing with the group, so I was very happy that things went well. He is already looking forward to the next trip.

Anyway, I picked them up afterward and headed for home, but when we got there I didn't let the youngest one out...just dropped off the Stud Muffin and left again with my youngest still in the car. He asked where we were going, of course, and I lied to him. I continued to lie to him while I was driving. I told him we were off to help my sister install a new machine and that he was needed to help fill it up and get it ready to run. You see, when I watch her business for her when she needs to be away, he is always the one that volunteers to help and he does like doing it. He bought the lie, hook, line and sinker. We continued to drive and he asked me again about what we were doing and where we were meeting my sister. I continued to make it up as I went along...trying not to smile too much and the lies just slipped from my lips without a pang of guilt.

Finally, we arrived in the town we were headed for and he realized he had been there before. I turned into a parking area, inside a park and he looked at me as if I had lost my mind. I told him to look for my sister's car and he did, believing my story, trusting my words. I parked, with my sister's car not yet found and him really looking at me like I was crazy. He asked again, as he watched smiling people pass by the now parked car, where we were and what the heck we were doing. The time to confess was at hand, so I reached in my wallet, pulled out two tickets to a show and explained that we were there to see "Weird Al Yankovic," his favorite recording artist. He was stunned. He sat and looked at me, then at the tickets and then very loudly proclaimed, "You rock, Mom!"

Now, I am not sure that many of you know who Weird Al is, but he does parodies of songs by other artists and they really are quite clever. I was not a big fan before the show, but, because he is my son's favorite, got the tickets and figured I could deal with sitting through the show because it would please my son.

We entered the arena, got some drinks and headed for our seats. We went further and further down and finally found our seats, in the tenth row just to the left of the stage. Perfect. Weird Al took the stage and my son gazed at him like he had never seen anything so cool in his whole life. The show started and I, having been to many concerts before, have never seen anyone work the crowd the way this man did. He had the entire audience in the palm of his hand, including me. My son knew every word to every song and me, being a novice to the whole Weird Al thing knew none, but it didn't matter, the man is a master performer and held our attention throughout the show. He came out into the audience and sang to some, cracked jokes with others and never had a moment of empty space in his line up. Even during costume changes there was always something to watch that held your interest. The show, which ran just shy of three hours, was worth every penny and then some, it left everyone who saw it with a smile on their faces and a memory that will last a lifetime.

Driving home, his new concert T-shirt in his lap, I apologized to my son for lying to him, explaining that I had wanted it to be a surprise. His response, "This is like a Christmas lie...it is OK to lie about presents, and this is the best surprise present lie ever!" Success, happy kid, happy mom...it doesn't get any better than that. I am now a fan and won't miss another chance to see him live, should one come along.

I hope you are all off to have a great and fun weekend, I am...another busy but fun weekend is in the works and I am ready for the next adventure.

later...

Hey all, hope your week is going well. Mine is off to a decent start and I am hoping it will continue to go that way.

So, the title of this blog kind of says it all. I am an addict. Now I suppose you are wondering what it is I am addicted to. Many things...some good, some not so good.

First off I am a bit addicted to TV...not all TV, just certain shows and as the summer wears on I am having a bit of withdrawal. I have not seen any Prison Break in months, which seems like years, and therefore I am watching every spoiler clip I can get my hands on. The clips won't really spoil the show, as they are never accurate and always take things way out of context, but getting my fix in tiny little thirty second spots is starting to make me crazy. Of that thirty seconds, maybe 10 or 12 are Michael and even less are of Mahone, so it just leaves me craving more, with no relief in sight.

My other addicted to show is Criminal Minds, which left us with a huge cliffhanger and no way to come to any sort of conclusion other than to think something horrible has happened to one of the key members of the team. How could they do this? The entire summer to wonder if the dashing Morgan, the funny and lovable Garcia, the handsome and charming, in a weird and nerdy kind of way Reid, or one of my other favorites might not be back or might not be in one piece come fall. So far I have not seen so much as a glimpse of a spoiler and I am starting to get a bit shaky about this one. Yes, they will be back, but in what condition and if they are all together again remains a mystery.

My other addictions are not all TV related, but are more lifesty1e related. I am addicted to my computer, seriously. I don't know how I was able to function in life before I had it and now that I do, I cannot imagine my life without it. If I have an extra 15 minutes before work in the morning, I am on the computer. Ten minutes unclaimed while cooking dinner, between stirring or measuring, I am on the computer. Kids off with friends and a quiet house in which I could run around naked and sing dirty songs at the top of my voice, nope, I am on the computer. It is an addiction and if something prevents me from having my computer fix, I feel it. I wonder what I am missing. My palms get sweaty, wondering what comment I may have missed, what awesome new video, what new mail from a friend might be lurking in my mailbox. I need it, it is my place to hang out with friends and be me, without having to dress up or put on make-up. It is freedom, my window on the world, right on my desktop and I need it.

Now I know there are many worse addictions I could have, and I am saving my biggest one for last. I could be addicted to many harmful things...booze, drugs, gambling, sex, (well that one might not be so bad,) coffee, shopping, (yes, I have heard there are people actually addicted to shopping,) or eating, (this one might not be so bad, either.) I am addicted to none of the above, but I am seriously addicted to one thing...chocolate milk.

While you might reach for that morning cup of coffee, cappuccino, or latte, I am reaching for my morning glass of chocolate milk, tall, cold, and yummy. It is how I start my day, each and every morning. It is also my afternoon snack...a cool refreshing drink to keep me going until dinner time. Recently it was brought to my attention that milk is not really all that good for adults and especially for women. But will I heed this warning...not likely. I didn't heed the warnings way back when that said TV would rot your brain and turn you into an idiot. I didn't heed the warnings that said staring into a computer screen for hours at a time would make you go blind and numb your brain, and I will be treating this news about my favorite drink with the same attention I gave the other dire warnings. I will say, OK, I get it, then continue to pour that tall, cool, yummy and refreshing drink and enjoy every smooth, delicious swallow. I can soothe my conscience by telling myself I am fighting off osteoporosis as I pour another glass and enjoy every drop.

This is a coffee drinker in the morning....^^^ Following is me in the morning.

OK, so now you know some of my addictions, what are some of yours?

On to other things, I have been tagged again, so here are my ten things...and I am not going to be tagging anyone, as I think we are all running out of unknown things to add to these fact lists.

1. I am 5'5" tall, which makes me 165cm, for all you metric users out there.

2. I wear eyeglasses and have since I was in the sixth grade.

3. I am a fairly good Scrabble player and I love the game.

4. I do like video games, but if they use more than two buttons on the controller at the same time, I am lost. My kids think this is hilarious and never fail to remind me of it when we are playing together.

5. I love to experiment in the kitchen with new foods and will try anything if it sound delicious.

6. I have eaten many unusual things in my life, (well, unusual for here,) not the least of which is raccoon and snapping turtle from of a nearby lake. Both were quite good, but must be prepared properly.

7. I love words. I love everything about them and am always striving to learn new words and how to best use them.

8. I no longer like to sleep in. I loved to do so in my teens and twenties, but now if I sleep past 7am I feel as if I have wasted way too much of the day. I do like an occasional nap, though.

9. I have a few movies that I have seen many times over and can never pass by when channel surfing. Dirty Dancing and Road House, both with Patrick Swayze, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, and The Shawshank Redemption with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

10. My favorite everyday kind of restaurant is called Super Buffet and features a combination of Chinese and American food that can't be beat. The stuffed mushrooms alone make it worth the trip and everything they serve is beyond yummy. It is the perfect place, as they always have something for everyone. I don't have a favorite fancy restaurant because I rarely go fancy.

So there you go, another 10 facts about me...sorry they weren't more exciting. Hope the rest of your week goes great.

later...

Hey all, hope your week went well and that you are now enjoying a great weekend. Mine is off to a good start and I am here just long enough to post this and then off again on the next adventure.

First off, I must apologize to hikinggirl and Naughty Nats for failing to have the info I promised to provide about the hottie featured in my last blog. I tried...I searched...I wracked my brain trying to remember where I had gotten the pics from, but to no avail. I did everything I could think of to find the original location, but failed. I searched photobucket under every possible combination of "hot guy," "sexy guys," and "smoking hot guys," I could come up with and found nothing...well not exactly nothing, I did find plenty of hot guys, just not the one I was looking for. So I have no name to give you to go along with that handsome face, but I do have a couple of other pics of him and the story of why I saved that picture in the first place.

Here is the original picture and the only two others I have of him. Enjoy. The story follows.

If you remember, a while ago I was searching for a replacement for MHCM and spent a good bit of time perusing different photo sites trying in vain to find someone to equal his hottness. During that search I came across the pics of this guy, but it wasn't his handsomeness that made me take notice. It was the striking resemblance he has to my niece. My niece, the one I have written about before, (massive thighs might jog your memory), is a very pretty girl. She is rather petite, has an athletic build, and has a strength of character that kind of sets her apart from most of the other girls her age that I meet. She carries herself with a confidence I know I didn't have at her age and hope to someday develop. She not only participates in track, but has stared in the school plays, is active in all kinds of activities at the school, and is just a joy to be around. She exudes a love of life, an energy, and a positive attitude that always amazes me.

Anyway, when I first saw this picture, I stopped and stared. The shape of the face, something about the eyes, the shape of the mouth, it was like looking at the male version of my niece. I was a bit stunned. I called each of my kids in to look at the picture and they all saw the same thing I did...he is the masculine counterpart to her femininity. When I look at her I see nothing the least bit masculine. When I look at the picture I see nothing the least bit feminine, but the resemblance is really quite stunning. That is why I saved the picture, to send to my sister so she could see what it was that I was talking about. How sad is it that I have yet to send the picture to her, but have shared it with you all instead. I did call her and tell her I had posted it, so now she can come on here and see all three at the same time. I wonder what her response will be. I wonder if she will see in the picture, the same thing I see. Who knows, but either way, the pictures are still very nice and I hope you enjoyed them.

That's it for now...I am outta here and off to have some fun...

later...

Hey all, hope you had a wonderful weekend and are off to another great week. I am back from what was a not so relaxing, but oh, so fun weekend. This blog is kind of a random one, as I have much I want to tell you about. I hope you will hang in there and find something in the following to enjoy.

First off, this blog is a milestone one, as it is my 100th. Exactly one year ago today I posted my first ever blog here at TV.com. It wasn't much, just a short paragraph about how proud I was to have figured out how to put a blurb in the about me section. I am the first to admit I was beyond techno challenged at the time. I have improved a tiny bit since then, but I am resigned to the fact that I will never be a computer savvy person.

My blogs have changed, grown, and hopefully become considerably better since that first one. In the blogs that have followed I have written about family and friends, fellow employees at my job, blunders, embarrassing moments from my younger days, life, loves, laughter, sorrow, loss, and pain. I have shared past experiences and new discoveries. I have written about aging, death, struggle and happiness. I have even written about writing and blogging. I have written from the head as well as the heart and I hope I have managed to entertain you along the way. If one of my blogs has made you think, shed a tear, smile or laugh, then I have done what I set out to do. I will try to provide more smiles and laughter as I embark on the next 100.

OK, so now on to the new news. I spent Friday night with my kids, some friends and about 5,000 other people celebrating the Forth of July. We went down town to watch them light up the night sky with fireworks of every imaginable color. They were incredible, easily the best display I have ever seen. They ran for 40 minutes and the air was filled with the smell of the powder from the fireworks as well as the oohs and ahs of the very pleased crowd.

More fun to watch than the show, though, was the Stud Muffin and the girl eyeing him. This girl is the daughter of a friend of mine and she is older than my son by about 6 months. They met last year at a picnic and she thought he was cute then. That has changed. He has grown two inches since then and now she no longer thinks he is cute. She now thinks he is soooo hot. Her first thing to do was to ask if he had a girlfriend and when she found he didn't it was like Christmas come early. The only problem is that they are both shy. Neither one could get the nerve up to actually have a conversation, so the looks just continued to fly back and forth, accompanied by foolish grins and much blushing.

After the fireworks had ended and the applause had died away we started packing up to go and began saying the good-byes. There were hugs all around, but the best one had to be the one in which the girl flung herself into the Stud Muffin's arms and gave him a huge, though brief hug, then turned and hurried away before he could say a word. He didn't really need to voice anything at all, the huge, silly grin on his face basically said it all. He more floated back to the car than walked and now he is making plans for the next time he sees her, which will be next month at the company picnic.

The rest of the weekend was spent playing chauffeur and just hanging with my kids, but it was very nice. I am looking forward to more weekends like this over the next few months.

Now a bit of color and a few favorites in celebration of this 100th blog.

Drool buckets, just in case.

And a couple of newbies worthy of a bit of drool...

Hope you enjoyed the eye candy, until next time, I am outta here. Hope you all have a great week.

later...

Hey all, hope the week is going well. Todays blog is dedicated to Penny(tursiopsseries) and Avishnen (avi01). Penny is celebrating on the 30th and Avi is celebrating on July 1st. Hope you both have awesome fun and a marvelous good time. So lets get this party started.

No birthday would be complete without cake, so we have two.

Just help yourself. We will also need some beverages to wash the cake down...so...

So, a fully stocked bar complete with warning poster.

And of course we must have... so for Penny we have... and

and

And for the amazing Avi we have...

Remind you of anything?

Now just for fun.

A very happy birthday to you both. *hugs*

later...