Hysterical

As I was checking out a few blogs this morning - I visited one of my new favorites (http://www.cutewithchris.com/) and came across this little gem:

Needless to say, I almost wet my pants.

I LOVE IT!!! Some creative boy in Canada (named Aaron) apparently decided to give Scooter and I a makeover and Chris posted it on his website.

Awesome. Twice in one week!!!

The funny thing is, that Jim and I were JUST talking about this last night. It seems that Aretha's "hat" (really?) was such a hit at the inauguration that there is now a website that allows you to put her hat on whatever you choose...see example above.

I'm very happy that it's Friday and I think it's going to be a fairly quiet day around here, which is nice.

Have a good weekend and have fun doing whatever it is you're doing on Superbowl Sunday!!!

xoxo

And I Thought 'The Gays' Were Vicious!!!

For the first time in my young life, ;-) I’m feeling the wrath of the ‘anonymous’ comment writer.
Not here, on my blog – somewhere else.
Allow me to explain.

Last week, one of my favorite bloggers (Brettcajun) informed his readers that he was featured on a blog called ‘Cute with Chris’. I took a look at this new blog (http://www.cutewithchris.com/) and thought it was quite funny and yes, cute. So, after following Chris’ blog for a few days, I thought “Hey….my dog is pretty damn cute, I’ll send him a picture of Scooter”.
I decided to send him a picture of both Scooter and I. He often has a ‘Men With Pets’ feature on there, so I thought the picture would be appropriate.
You should check out his blog, as well as his weekly show 'Cute With Chris' - you can watch episodes on his blog...V-E-R-Y funny.

Anyway, he posted the picture, along with part of the email I sent him; and that’s where the fun begins!

I checked his blog this morning, and while some of the comments were quite flattering, a couple of them were a little ‘eye-opening’, shall we say?
Actually, the more I think of it, it’s actually a very interesting ‘exercise’ – to put one’s self ‘out there’ to be judged by the rest of the planet.

Please don’t think that I’m looking for my ego to be stroked….I couldn’t care less what some strangers think of me, but I did find it a bit jarring at first. :-)

However, it gives me great comfort to know that I have so many amazing people in my life, and these ‘comment writers’ are sitting at a computer down in their mother’s basement, friendless and covered in Cheeto dust.




Here's the picture:





John from MASSACHUSETTS writes: "...Since I have a pretty cute dog, I thought I’d send a picture of him along. I’m in the picture too. If you don’t think I’m cute enough for the blog, but like my dog – I can send you a picture of only him. Who am I to hold him back?"




And here are the comments:

I think John and his dog are cute!! ^_^
Posted by: Bethany January 28, 2009 at 01:07 PM


me too bethany!
(SHIRTLESS!)
Posted by: leslie January 28, 2009 at 01:55 PM


super cute!
Posted by: mel...* January 28, 2009 at 03:27 PM


John and his dog are adorable. The Sox shirt I could do without. Take it off!
Posted by: Lila January 28, 2009 at 04:03 PM


PUPPY!!!!!!
Posted by: Parsons January 28, 2009 at 04:19 PM


John is cute for an older bald guy. Some older bald men just have loads of machismo.
Posted by: galefan2004 January 28, 2009 at 04:30 PM


Cute!! .... and the dog isn't too bad either.
Posted by: Eliz January 28, 2009 at 05:31 PM


cute, sure, but is he a gay bear just like the rest of them?give us hope John, and show some skin. I hear we like that stuff
Posted by: tanya January 28, 2009 at 09:12 PM


Old, balding, slightly overweight guy with stubble.
...have you people no standards?
Posted by: NO NAME FOR YOU! (name nazi) January 28, 2009 at 11:57 PM

Ho-Hum...

It's snowing AGAIN.

I have been kind of unmotivated to blog this week. Well, actually just yesterday and today. Granted, I was SOOO busy yesterday that even if I had wanted to blog, I wouldn't have had time. It was a very frustrating day.

Long story short: I got home at 8pm last night. I was working on something that took all day to research, and had the people involved listened to me from the beginning; it wouldn't have been an issue at all. Whatever...I'm over it.

So yes, it's snowing again. It looks like it's snowing pretty hard out there right now, and I've heard that we're expecting anywhere from 4-6 inches.

For what it's worth: I'm ready for the warm weather to return!!!

As you ALL know, my birthday is quickly approaching. I really hope I get a scanner for my new computer. I have so many fun pictures that I want to share with people!! Now that I have a super-duper, fast computer, I'm hoping that it won't be a chore to upload them all to various locations around the world wide web.

I'd also like a police scanner. If you didn't already know it, I'm kind of nosy. :-) I would TOTALLY be 'that guy' sitting in his rocking chair listening to all the activities going on around town. My grandfather had a police scanner and when I'd visit him and my Nana, I would sit there for hours and just listen to it. I loved it!!

I'd also like some new socks and underwear. I know they aren't typically considered gifts, but to be honest - I NEVER buy myself new socks and underwear so when I get them as gifts, I'm always very happy. I need black/blue (cotton) dress socks, white athletic socks (both crew and those little ankle-height ones), and some boxer briefs. (shoe size: 10 / undies: large)

There...now you know what I want.

Random? Yes.

Do I expect my blog readers to shower me with gifts?

Absolutely. :-) :-) :-)

I'm going to be turning 37 (2 weeks from today), which is a fairly uneventful birthday.

Although, when I think about being 37 it's kind of crazy. Not because it's 'old'...it's certainly not.

It's just that....I remember being in my twenties and thinking that being over 35 was SOOO old. It's funny to think back to those days...being 37 felt so far away.

Hey, at least I'm not 40. :-)

That's enough of that. If you're dealing with the snow, as I am, please stay warm and be safe.

If you're dealing with warm weather....enjoy it, and know that there are a whole lot of envious people up north.

Here are some cute men, for your Wednesday enjoyment....

Weekend fun!!!

What a fun weekend I had!!

Friday night I met up with my softball teammates at Fritz (the gay ‘sports bar’ in Boston) for a pre-softball season meeting. It was very productive and also quite fun. Jim and one of his co-workers met us at the bar as well, so once the meeting was over, we all hung out and had a few (dozen) drinks. It was nice to see everyone again (it’s been a while) and it was very encouraging to see that we’re starting the season off on such a positive note.

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast and ran a bunch of errands. We decided (very last minute) to have some friends over to our house for food, fun, and games. We never actually got around to playing any games, but we had SOOO much fun. There was a LOT of laughing…a LOT. I think that everyone had a really good time.
Of course, we ordered WAY too much pizza, and since no one wanted to take any leftovers - Jim and I literally had FOUR whole pizzas left over.
Needless to say, we had pizza for lunch and dinner yesterday, and lunch again today. Good thing we like pizza!

Sunday morning we woke up, I did a bunch of laundry; we went grocery shopping and eventually headed off to rehearsal. After rehearsal (it was only from 4 to 6) we headed home for more pizza and watched our regular Sunday night line up. It was an excellent way to end a very fun weekend.

Here are some pictures from Saturday night (courtesy of Barrie’s blog – thanks Barrie!!)

This is a bunch of us checking out the 'high hair' in the QHS Class of 90 yearbook.
Awesome.

This is Alicia (L) and Christabelle (a.k.a. Christine)

This is everyone enjoying their post-pizza Klondike Bars (we had 4 different kinds...YUM!!)

I'm still here!

Yes folks...just like Yvonne De Carlo, I'm still here.

For all of you non-musical theatre types, that's a 'Follies' reference...which is a musical written by James Goldman (book) and Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics).

Here ends the musical theatre lesson for the day.

Yesterday turned out to be a VERY quiet day around the office as far as layoffs were concerned. There were a couple of Senior Vice Presidents in my area that were 'let go', but other than that, no one that I work with directly was affected. Some friends of mine had team members that were laid off, but thankfully, my team and I made it through the day unscathed. Of course, we're not aware of any patterns or the specific criteria which puts you on 'the list', so it's still pretty scary. Not to mention the fact that we're hearing everything through the rumor mill - so for all we know, there could be layoffs every day from now until God knows when....it's really crazy.

The only thing I can do is show up every day and get my work done.

Speaking of.....I should get back to work. :-)

Enjoy your Friday! I have a meeting tonight at Fritz with my softball teammates to discuss the upcoming softball season (it's never too early!!) and I can't WAIT to see them all. I'm sure it'll be very fun....and I just adore Fritz.

Other than that, I should have a fairly quiet weekend.

Thank you for all the words of encouragement and keeping me in your thoughts.

Have a GREAT weekend.....xoxo

PS - Only 98 days until softball opening day!!!

Quickie....

Hey y'all!!

This is going to be a supes quick blog entry because I'm up to my eyeballs in work.
Rude, I know.

Well, tomorrow is Thursday, and there are STRONG rumblings about it being a big layoff day. SCARY!!!
Now, I don't want you all to go into a panic if I don't write an entry first thing in the morning. Things will probably be a little bit crazy around here tomorrow morning. Not only because of the HR folks that will most likely be roaming around the floor trying to figure out who they're laying off, but because I've got a boatload of stuff to get accomplished.
Let's hope that my current workload is a sign that they need me to stick around. :-)
Keep everything crossed for me, and I promise I'll write as soon as I can - whether I have good news or bad news.

Don't forget to go see 'The New Century' at SpeakEasy!!
I told them that I'd give the show lots of attention on my blog...the entire show, not just Bud...so if you go and see it, be sure you tell Jim (the marketing guy, who's there every night) that you heard about it here first!!

A Fresh Start???

Happy Inauguration Day!!!!

Although I’m at work and not keeping up with the festivities, I hope that all of you who are able to watch are enjoying it all!!

In spite of the fact that we got a TON of snow over the weekend, I managed to have a VERY nice weekend.
Yes, the snow-covered landscape looks really pretty, but COME ON!! My tired, old body can’t take it anymore!!! All this shoveling is KILLING my back. I’m kind of in a lot of pain right now….but I’ll manage to survive, have no fear.

The show on Saturday night (Heart & Music) went very well. The theatre company made a decent amount of money and I think the audience had a good time. Personally, I thought it went quite well. Especially given the extremely short rehearsal period time and the amount of ‘stuff’ that we all had thrown at us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m relieved that it’s over, but I’m definitely glad that I did it. I had the opportunity to meet and perform with a lot of very talented people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise…which is always a good thing.

On Sunday afternoon, in spite of the raging snowstorm, I ventured into Boston to see the play ‘The New Century’ at SpeakEasy Stage Company and I LOVED it. Sure, the play itself isn’t perfect, but I thought all the performances were excellent, and I had a great time. There were moments when I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t even breathe and I had tears streaming down my face. In addition to those moments of hysterical laughter, there were moments when I was actually crying – without the laughing. So yes, it definitely has it’s ‘touching’ moments as well.
If you’re looking for a great night out, I highly suggest it. Granted, it was written by Paul Rudnick (‘Jeffrey’, ‘The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told’, ‘In & Out’) so it’s very gay, and there is a brief moment of male nudity - so consider yourself ‘warned’.
Actually, now that I think of it, those two things may actually be the reason that some of you would buy tickets. :-)
Either way, I highly suggest seeing it.

On a related note, I’m now doing another show. Yes, I know….I said I was taking a break, but I’ve changed my mind. Leave me alone!!!
The bottom line is this; Jim and some of my really good friends auditioned and were cast in a show, and apparently the directors were in need of a few more guys.
Jim and I talked about it and I decided that I would be happy to do the show, if they (the directors, choreographer and musical director) thought I’d be a good ‘fit’. I went to rehearsal last night and they said they would be happy to have me!!!
So, not only am I doing another show – but it’s a chance to do a show with Jim and some of my nearest and dearest friends. YAY!!! Maybe I’ll actually lose some weight?!?!?

Wishful thinking.
The show is ‘Godspell’ and it’s with The Company Theatre. I’ve been in ‘Godspell’ two times before, but I have a strange feeling that this production is going to be VERY different than the other two I’ve done (in a good way, don’t worry).
So that’s the scoop…the show isn’t until March, so I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot about it between now and then. Have no fear, I won’t spoil the ending for you. ;-)

Don’t forget to go see ‘The New Century’ at SpeakEasy!!!

Go to http://www.speakeasystage.com/ for more information.

From left: Robert Saoud, Bud Weber, Paula Plum and Kerry A. Dowling

Kerry A. Dowling as the "crafty" Barbara Ellen Diggs.

Bud Weber in the military fantasy sequence.

Sing....sing a song.

It’s Friday!!
Not only is it Friday, but for me (and many others) it’s the Friday before a long weekend, which is makes it all so much better (yes, that’s another ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ reference, thank you very much.).
Unfortunately, Jim doesn’t have Monday off - but he’ll be working from home, so that’ll be fun. Whenever he works from home, it’s my job to keep Scooter entertained and out of his way. When I’m not there and he’s working from home, Scooter sits at his feet crying for attention. That usually results in Jim spending the day with Scooter on his lap, while trying to get work done at the dining room table. Very cute, but not the most comfortable or efficient way to spend your work day.

Speaking of YouTube….I am SO glad that it wasn’t around when I was a kid. There is no doubt in my mind that if it existed when I was younger, I would have made countless videos of myself. I can see it now....little John, performing every 11 o’clock number out there....from ’Fifty Percent’ to ‘Being Alive’. And I wouldn’t have stopped there…I’m sure there would have been several production numbers included in the mix. It would have been magical...and really embarrassing.

I can’t even bring myself to watch some of the clips on YouTube of these anonymous kids; sitting in their bedrooms and singing their hearts out for the entire planet to see. Most of them are horrific, and I end up feeling SO embarrassed for them that I have to shut it off before they finish. If you want a little taste of what I’m talking about, go to YouTube and do a search for ‘Defying Gravity’. Not only will you see the song performed by every Elphaba that’s played the role from Broadway to Japan, but you’ll be treated to a million teen age girls (and some boys) who think that they do the song justice; and feel the need to share their ‘talents’ with the rest of the world. It’s disturbing.

A few years ago, I came across a tape I’d made (cassette tape, not video – sorry!) of myself singing along with ‘Jellicle Cats’ from the musical ‘Cats’. Excellent.
What’s odd, is that I have no recollection of making the recording. I’ve never been a huge fan of ‘Cats’, but clearly I was so moved by that song that I decided that my rendition of it needed to be preserved. Thankfully, I had a record player in my room, so the rest of my family was spared the sight of me dancing around while I recorded this masterpiece. Of course, I couldn’t have danced TOO enthusiastically, or the record would have skipped.
Keep in mind, the ‘Cats’ album was released in October of 1982, so I was almost 11 at the time the tape was made. Yikes.

Although I don’t remember my ‘Cats’ recording session, I do have vivid memories of dancing around my living room and singing along with the Original Cast Albums of ‘Annie’ and ‘A Chorus Line’, as well as the 8-track of ‘The Sound of Music’ (movie). That one was extra special, because it required a trip to the attic in order to fetch my sister’s guitar case so that I could re-create ‘I Have Confidence’ at it was intended to be performed. Although that 8-track (and my 8-track player) is long gone, I still have my Broadway albums!!! Maybe someday I’ll get another record player and bring them all out of storage…..

I have the benefit show tomorrow night, and then I’m seeing a play on Sunday afternoon. Very fun. I’ll try and write at some point to fill you all in on how the show went.

Have a great long weekend…and if you don’t have Monday off…have a great ‘regular’ weekend!!!

xoxo

100th Post

Wow....this my 100th post.

How very exciting. As someone who owns several 'Journals' each containing MAYBE 2 entries, this is a major achievement. Apparently sharing my deepest, darkest thoughts with the rest of the word is incentive enough to keep me writing.

That certainly say a lot about me, doesn't it!??!? :-)

It is REALLY cold out….and it’s apparently going to get colder. Yikes.
Not only that, but we’re supposed to be getting some snow today. Not a lot, (1-2 inches) but enough to be irritating…especially because of those people who haven’t the first clue as to how to drive in the snow. Seriously, apparently the sight of a single snowflake sends them into a panic and they lose their ability to drive. It’s insane.
I’m not at all worried about the snow….I’m guessing that by the time I get out of here tonight it will all be a memory.

Speaking of tonight, I’m very excited because it my one free night this week. I had a softball meeting on Tuesday, and rehearsals on Monday, Wednesday and tomorrow night. I’m not at all complaining about having rehearsal, because the show is this Saturday and as you can imagine; we need all the rehearsal we can get. Not that it’s in terrible shape (although, based on last night - a number or two could be considered terrible) but there’s always room for improvement! The important thing is that I’m having fun and I’ve met some really great, EXTREMELY talented people. There are a couple of women in the show who can sing their faces off…they have the kind of voices that I can listen to all day long.
It’s delightful.

Anyway, it’s Thursday and that means it’s……..LAYOFF DAY!!!!! Yahoo!!!
Gross.
I’m going to keep everything crossed that me and all my ‘friends’ are still here at the end of the day.
However, as I’ve said before – everything happens for a reason. There’s no sense in getting all worked up about things that are completely out of your control.
My plan is to just keep on working until someone tells me otherwise!

Oh – I’m currently reading ‘A Prayer For Owen Meany’ by John Irving and it’s so good. I think they based the movie ‘Simon Birch’ on this book, but I’m not sure. I haven’t seen the movie and I’m purposely avoiding any information about it, so I don’t find anything out that I don’t want to know.
So if you have any comments about the book or the movie, please keep them ‘spoiler free’….I’d greatly appreciate it.

And because I’m totally bored, here are a few random pictures for your Thursday enjoyment……
xoxo

This is me with my friend Melissa (we've been friends for a LONG time). This was taken in the summer of 2002, right before a performance of 'Bye Bye Birdie'. I was playing Albert and she was playing Mrs. MacAfee. We had a GREAT time doing the show, and I really like this picture of us.

These are our parakeets Junior (blue) and Buddy (green) - I think I may have posted this one before, but I came across it this morning and wanted to post it again. They both died 2 years ago, Junior in July and Buddy almost exactly one month later. Even though they were 'only' birds....I was a complete wreck when they died.

This is one of my favorites, and I'll probably get yelled at for posting it, but it'll be worth it. Yes, that's Jim in the middle. Not only do his sister and mother look fantastic, but please note his parted-in-the-middle FEATHERED hair and those AMAZING two-toned jeans. And can we talk about the full-on Vegas showgirl bevel?!?!? Amazing.

Excuse me......Excuse me!!!!!

Before I begin, let me give you a little background…..I work in an office which is located directly above a mall. Because of this, the most convenient ‘coffee option’ is to go to the au bon pain located downstairs, within the mall itself.
That being said, when I went downstairs to get my coffee this morning I was stuck behind some dim-wit who has apparently never made her own cup of coffee. The way they have it set up is fairly standard – and really, it’s not all that complicated. There are about 5 urns of coffee sitting on the counter, followed by a little section to the right of the urns, where one can add cream, sugar, etc..etc… I totally understand that figuring out what kind coffee you want can be confusing, especially if it’s somewhere you haven’t been before. In order to make things easier, au bon pain places a large sign on the wall above the coffee station which lists all the types of coffee, as well as a short description of how each one ‘tastes’. Again, I understand the need to read all of these because you could end up with a super strong cup of coffee, when you actually wanted something milder (I’m a Morning Blend person, myself…with skim milk and Equal).
However….did this land-mass-with-a-perm (thank you, Judy Tenuta) really need to stand directly in front of ALL the urns while she read the descriptions?!?!? Seriously…she stood smack dab in the middle, blocking all the urns.

Once I realized what she was doing, I politely said ‘Excuse me’ in hopes that she’d move her fat ass to one side so that I (or one of the 4 other people lined up behind her) could have access to the coffee. Well, she didn’t move an inch, at which point I realized that she had headphones on and she wasn’t simply ignoring me. As I moved to step around her, she went for the Morning Blend (damn it!) and found that urn to be completely empty (don’t get me started on THAT!). She then stepped slightly to the left, filled her cup with the Café Roast, and got the hell out of the way.
Because I was already slightly annoyed, I was in no mood to stand around and wait for the guy to bring out a new urn of Morning Blend so I too, decided on the Café Roast.
Thankfully there was no line at the register and I was able to pay for my coffee and make a swift exit.

I did notice that the very same ‘coffee blocker’ had moved on and was now blocking the rest of the world from viewing the rows and rows of baked goods.
I must be nice to have the world revolve around you. Good grief.

On a lighter note, Jim decided that he’d had enough with our new computer (and all of its issues) so he brought it back to Best Buy. I don’t know the specifics, but I do know that they tried to tell him that he couldn’t bring it back and he - calmly, I’m sure :-) - explained to them that this was his SECOND trip to the store with it and he wouldn’t be leaving the store unless it was with a new computer. (I added that last part)
What I do know is that when I got home late last night, there was a brand new computer sitting in our office…..and it’s even better than the one I originally received.
Thank you dear....

Happy Wednesday....and don't let the 'coffee blockers' in your life get you down!!!

Quick reminder: My birthday is quickly approaching...you only have 28 shopping days until the 11th!!!!

I'd like one of these (the Snuggie, not the couch)....in maroon please.

I love the religious cult look.

Like Father, Like Son?

Scooter got into trouble at doggie daycare yesterday and was put into 'time out'.

When Jim went to go pick him up after work, he was informed that Scooter and a bunch of his daycare friends were all put into time out for 'humping'.

I don't know the specific details, but I do know that the staff found the entire thing quite funny. In addition to the humping charge, they also said that his 'thing' wouldn't go back to it's normal state and they actually thought they may have to call the vet about it. Whether or not that's true, I have no idea....but the whole thing is pretty funny.

Eventually 'things' calmed down, so they were all released and allowed to continue their regular play-time...but with a little bit more attention being paid to them than usual, I would imagine.

Evidently they were REALLY excited to see each other after being separated over the weekend!

Rehearsal was fun last night...we learned some more music and staged another number. Wednesday is our next rehearsal. We're blocking the last few numbers and then running the big production numbers 'off-book' (without looking at the words ).

I'm sure it'll be a complete disaster, but that's to be expected. That's the best way to figure out what you know by heart and what needs to be reviewed...it's slightly painful, but ultimately, it's the best way to go.

Work has slowed down considerably this week, so I'm able to catch up on some stuff I've been putting off. It's not fun, but it needs to be done.

Tonight I have a softball meeting. It's the first 'Executive Committee' meeting that I've attended in about 3 years. Yikes....wish me luck!!!

Have a great Tuesday...don't forget to watch American Idol tonight!!!

I won't be home to watch it, and since I'm living in the dark ages (no TIVO or DVR)

so I'll have to experience it through all of you.... :-)

Part of it All

What a weekend it was!!!

Could it have gone by faster?!?! I think not.

Friday night I stayed late at work and went right to my first rehearsal for the benefit (‘Heart and Music’ is the name of it, by the way). We staged 3 of the ensemble numbers and it was quite fun. Yes, it’s a lot to remember, and it’s a little scary, but I have confidence that it will be great. I met a lot of new people and everyone seems to be talented and more than prepared to get this thing done!!! Yay!
Saturday morning, I woke up and headed back into Cambridge for another rehearsal. We started off the day with learning ‘Nine People’s Favorite Thing’ and it was AMAZING!!! Now, you all know that I’m a H-U-G-E fan of [title of show] so I was very excited to learn the song. Halfway through learning it, I was getting a little misty thinking about the whole thing. I don’t know how to explain it, but it was so cool. The fact that I was standing in a random theatre in Massachusetts, learning THEIR music was awesome.

It’s just like they say in one of the other musical numbers from the show (called ‘Part of it All’) where they talk about being recognized members of the NY theatre/Broadway ‘scene’:

“A part of ducking out before the show’s finale

to get to the opening night at Tavern On the Green.

A part of my sheet music on sale in Shubert Alley

and a trendy photo shoot for a homo magazine.

All our gay skills

Filling playbills

We’ll be part of it all…”

Anyway…learning the song was a blast, and it sounded pretty great when all was said and done. (If I may say so myself.)
Once we learned that song, we moved on and learned a bunch of other music.

We wrapped things up around 2:15 or so, which was nice. I headed home and met up with Jim at his sister’s house to join a birthday party (for his other sister) already in progress.

After inhaling some lunch (I hadn’t eaten all day) followed by cake and ice cream….Yum-o….we headed home.
Our walkway was a sheet of ice, so while Jim ran to the grocery store, I grabbed the ‘edger’ from the shed and chipped away at the skating rink that was running from our door to the driveway. Needless to say, I was sweating and sore after about ½ hour of manual labor. Nice.

The good news is, our walkway was clear and safe to walk on once again.
We had a few friends over that we hadn’t seen since October (yikes!!) and spent the night catching up, having a few drinks, and playing Wii….it was very fun. After they left, Jim and I stayed up to watch Saturday Night Live. I actually thought it was a pretty decent show. Neil Patrick Harris was hosting (I like him a lot and think he‘s dreamy) so that certainly helped.

Not only that, but I think that Kristin Wiig is a riot. A couple of the regulars are TERRIBLE…but I think that most weeks the show is pretty funny.

Sunday morning we woke up to MORE snow (good God, I’m sick of it already and it’s only the beginning of January!!) and had to shovel the driveway.
Jim started the shoveling and did the majority of it, but his shoulder was bothering him ¾ of the way through, so I finished it for him.
Let me just say this….
A gravel driveway may look nice, and it may fit the ‘country’ feel of your home, but it is one of the MOST impractical things that you could have in New England.
With every snow storm, I grow to hate it more and more. As it is, I don’t particularly enjoy shoveling, but I don’t despise it as much as some people. The problem is, with a gravel driveway, you can’t use a snow blower - which is fine. As I previously stated, shoveling may not be my idea of a good time, but I’ve been doing it all my life…it’s just one of those things that comes with the territory. What makes me insane is, with a gravel driveway, you can’t just go out and shovel. You have to be super careful about HOW you shovel, or else you end up digging up a foot of dirt and gravel as you go along. It’s infuriating and annoying.
That’s why ‘paving the driveway’ has been moved to the top of the ‘Home Improvements for 2009’ list. At least in my mind it’s at the top.

Anyway….we finally ended up finishing and I headed into Boston for a softball meeting. The meeting went VERY well, and didn’t take up the entire day, which was nice.
I got home and waited for Jim to get back from where he was (more on that later).
Once he got home, we had a quick dinner, went grocery shopping, and then retired to the couch for the evening in preparation for the long week ahead…

I have rehearsal tonight, so I’m sure I’ll have something THRILLING to talk about tomorrow.

PS – if you’re wondering what’s going on with ‘The Sweater’ – he’s no longer here, and hasn’t been since I got back on January 2nd. I remain confident that wherever he is, he continues to wear his sweater with pride.

Here are some pics of Jim and I with the [title of show] cast from when we saw the show on Broadway......I posted them here before, but I'm re-posting them...so there.

Reading is FUNdamental

Since I’ve been reading so much lately, I’ve decided to throw together a list of the books I’ve recently read….I’ll say within the last couple of years or so.
I know that I started my renewed interest in reading when I decided to re-read the entire Tales of the City series in anticipation of the newest book being published, and that was in June of 2007...so that's when this all began.

I didn’t read them in this order, but since I put the list together mostly from memory, they’re grouped by author.
The ones in bold are the ones I REALLY liked and would highly recommend.
Feel free to make comments, make recommendation, ask questions, etc…..

This is mostly for my own benefit, but I thought it could possibly spark a conversation or two; or at the very least inspire folks to read something!!!

Have a great weekend…..xoxo

The Complete Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Complete Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand.
The Beach by Alex Garland
The Tesseract by Alex Garland
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
102 minutes by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Disney War by James Stewart
the curious incident of the dog in the night time by Mark Haddon
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
Rant by Chuck Palahniuk
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The Lost World by Michael Crichton
Prey by Michael Crichton
And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts
Faggots by Larry Kramer
How I Paid for College by Marc Acito
Attack of the Theatre People by Marc Acito
The Q Guide to Broadway by Seth Rudetsky
Broadway Nights: A Romp of Life, Love, and Musical Theatre by Seth Rudetsky
A Year With The Producers by Jeffry Denman
Marley and Me by John Grogan
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle
A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

A Couple of 'Firsts'

History is being made....not only is this the first ever blog post made from my brand new computer, but you're witnessing the first video to be posted on my blog.....

YAY!!!!!

This was taken during the big snowstorm we had on Dec. 20, 2008. Jim was outside shoveling and I was doing stuff around the house (this is when I had my HORRIBLE cold) when the phone rang. I answered it, had a brief conversation with someone (my sister maybe?) and then this happened....

Faster than a speeding bullet...

I finally logged onto the new computer last night (thanks Jim!) and I ended up having to FORCE myself to go to bed last night.
Not only did I have a million emails to read (which took forever to get through) but this computer is so fast, I wanted to stay on line forever!
Pages loaded with lightening speed, videos played with ease, etc...etc... it was awesome.

I'm sure you've all heard about it, but I have to mention it on here, because I can't stop laughing about it. It was all over the news this morning, and it was brought to my attention as I was leaving work last night.

I'm referring to the poor guy that ended up dangling from the ski lift completely naked.

This is the story, for those of you who haven't heard....

Southern exposure: Man left dangling trouserless and upside down after Vail ski lift mishap

A skier at Colorado's luxury Vail ski resort was left suffering from a double case of exposure after a freak accident left him dangling upside down and pantless from a ski lift.
The man - who has not been identified - boarded the high speed lift in Vail's Blue Sky basin last Friday morning with a child.
But unfortunately, according to reports, it appeared the chairlift's fold-down seat was not in the correct lowered-down position - causing the man to partially fall through the resulting gap as he attempted to board the lift.
He was prevented from plummeting to the ground below by his right ski, which became jammed in the ascending lift.
Whether he will be grateful for that fact or not remains to be seen.
With his boot remaining securely in its binding, his pants appeared to have also been caught in the lift as he fell - leaving him utterly exposed.
The many tourists in the crowded ski resort promptly whipped out their cameras.
He was stuck in the undignified position for about 15 minutes before Vail personnel were able to back the lift up and rescue him, according to The Smoking Gun website.











I hope this guy has a good sense of humor....I'm sure it I were in his shoes (or skis) I'd be horrified at first, but I'm sure I'd warm up to the attention. :-)


Just this morning I was walking with a co-worker back from getting coffee and walked directly into one of those 'Caution Wet Floor' signs that they put up in malls and almost fell on my face.
I was chatting away and clearly didn't see it, but ended up kicking it across the floor to the delight of a group of about 5 people walking towards me. One of them was kind enough to pick it up and reposition it while I stood there in hysterics.


If you can't laugh at yourself.......


Happy Hump Day!!!

Positive thoughts....positive thoughts....

I’m going to try my best to maintain a healthy and positive attitude, even though I want to run screaming from my desk.

There are a couple of things making me crazy right now….work is one of them.
I have no problem with being busy, in fact, I'm sure that many of you would agree with me. When you’re busy, the day goes by faster, right? Excellent.
What makes me crazy is the fact that I’m dealing with people who have no idea what we actually do. They think that certain things ‘magically’ happen, when in reality, there’s a lot that needs to be done in order to achieve the result they’re looking for.
I don’t need to get into the boring details, but let me just say that leaving my house at 6am and getting home at 8pm is NOT COOL.

In addition to the fact that I’ve been getting home late (which totally cuts into my ‘quality time’ with my husband and dog) is the fact that I feel like I’ve gained a ton of weight over the past couple of months.
I know that I haven’t actually gained THAT much and I know it’s because of all the junk I’ve allowed myself to eat over the holidays, but it’s still irritating. I’ve noticed that my pants aren’t fitting the way they should. You know how it is, right? You can immediately tell that ‘something ain’t right’ when you make an attempt to button your slacks (yes, I said slacks) in the morning and there’s suddenly effort involved. No biggie....I'm getting myself back on track and I'm completely confident that I'll shed the excess weight in time for bikini season.

OK - that’s enough negativity!!!

A really cool thing (and extremely positive!) that‘s going on in my life is that I was asked to be a part of a ‘One Night Only’ benefit performance for Metro Stage Company, which is a local theatre company in Boston. It’s especially exciting because it’s a group that I’ve never worked with before and they asked me to be a part of the benefit completely out of the blue. I’ve met the two guys that run the theatre and they’ve seen me perform, but I’ve never had the chance to work with either of them before.
It’s all VERY exciting.
Looking at the cast they’ve assembled and the songs they’ve chosen, I must say that it is going to be a kick-ass evening! I’m especially excited because one of the numbers they put me in is ‘Nine People’s Favorite Thing’ from the musical [title of show]. My ultra dedicated blog readers are well aware of the fact that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the musical [title of show]. The fact that I’m going to be able to do a number from the show is sooooo exciting. The other numbers I’m in are great as well, but I’m thrilled that they asked me to do that one. YAY!!!

OK – I started writing this about 3 ½ hours ago, and have been writing bits and pieces when I have a free second. Time to get a move on.....

Have a great day, and as Elle would say “Keep it positive….” (yes, I LOVE “Legally Blonde: The Musical” – deal with it)

Happy New Year!!!

I know, I know....I can't believe it either, no blog entries since Christmas Eve?!?!?
Unforgivable.

Here's the scoop. I was on vacation up until last Friday, and never got to blog from home. First of all, my computer at home is a mess, and even though Jim bought me a brand new one for Christmas (YAY!!!!), there's something wrong with it, and we need to do some 'fixing' before that one is up and running. Clearly, I have no idea what's happening.
Needless to say, I've been 'computerless' at home. I haven't even logged onto facebook since Christmas Eve.....CRAZY.
Also, work has been so incredibly busy, and will be insane for a while I fear.
I haven't even had time to sneak in an entry while at work...which I'm doing at this very moment. No one else is in yet....so I'm keeping it super brief. Shhhh....

The holidays were great....I got a lot of great stuff and Jim loved his gifts...his 'big gift' was a Wii game system, which we've been playing non-stop. I also got him Wii fit, which will be an entire post unto itself....trust me. It's insane.
New Year's Eve was a great night...we were at a beautiful wedding, with a lot of very fun people...I was so happy to be there with so many great folks....most excellent.

On the 30th, we had a very windy day which caused a HUGE branch to fall from one of our trees, knocking down several other branches on the tree next to it. In the end, our backyard looks like a disaster area and a couple of sections of the fence around the pool are completely crushed. Thankfully, the pool itself seems to be OK, but now we have to get some estimates and begin the whole 'claims' process with our insurance company....gross.

There are pictures of everything I've mentioned, and as soon as the brand new, super-duper computer is up and running at home, I can share them. :-)

I wanted to at least write SOMETHING so that you all knew I was thinking about you and missed you like crazy while I was away!!!!

Kisses!!!
John