On the Receiving End.

Last night I caved. After days and weeks of prodding, I finally caved and my husband (tee hee, I still chuckle when I say it, although today is our two month anniversary! Yay for us!) and I opened our Christmas gifts to each other. He couldn't stand the wait any longer. Taking a cue from his Mom who can get just about anything a person could ever want with her admirable persistence and well-written letters... just ask the 6'5" signed Peyton Manning jersey currently hanging in our hallway... he got me an autographed 8 x 10 color photo of Mr. David Letterman! It's beautiful. I cried. I absolutely love it. They sent it directly to our house from the Ed Sullivan theatre in New York, no third party ebay handlers here! It went from Dave's desk to our mailbox. Well, directly to MD's work mailbox so that i didn't see it. Sneaky.

I love how creative he was and I love how well he knows me. But even more, I love how excited he was to give it to me, it's too cute and very special.


P.S. All the gifts that he got me were awesome but this was by far my fave!

Realizations suck.

At what age do you go from being able to ride roller coasters for hours at a time to not being able to dry your hair upside-down because you get lightheaded? I made a quick, sharp swerve in my car in the parking lot today and it made me dizzy. It's ridiculous. I don't get it. When did this happen? Why did it happen? I remember getting upset with my mom when I was younger because she would never ride the roller coasters at Cedar Point. Now I understand why.

More and more I'm realizing the effects of getting older. It's quite unpleasant.

Gag me with a croissant.

I really hate the smell of cigarette smoke. There's nothing like being in a meeting and sitting next to the guy who smells like he just bowled a few games over his lunch hour.

Good thoughts appreciated.

My dear friend Turtle Parade is taking a BIG career exam on Friday, so big that when she's done, I'll have to call her Dr. Turtle Parade. That's so amazing to me. It's tres cool. I wish her all the best, not that really she needs it cause she's super smart, but I hope she knows I'm thinking of her and that I am already in awe of her and her accomplishments. I'm rounding up good thoughts for her, for those of you reading, please join in the effort.


(S, I hope you don't mind that I wrote this. I can't help it, I'm excited for you.)

Call it nesting if you must.

I am all about cooking right now. In years past, I wasn't much of a cook. Or maybe I was, I just didn't know it seeing as I was cooking for one and that ain't fun. Thanksgiving morning I got up semi early, made myself some coffee, turned on the Macy's parade and baked my ass off. I was making pies and casseroles and dips and probably could have made more but I thought showing up at my aunt and uncle's house with 4 things was enough. I didn't want to be the Grinch Who Stole Thanksgiving Cooking from anyone.

I got to use my new baking and cookingware that I got for the wedding. It was so fun. And I think everything turned out well, although I was a little disappointed in my pumpkin pie. Seemed kinda gritty to me.

Now I'm trying to plan what to make for Christmas. It will be interesting because we are traveling to Chicago. I guess I could make stuff when I get there, but that seems weird? Not sure what I'll do.

Such a shame.

I feel bad for Thanksgiving. It's such an unassuming holiday. It's arguably the only holiday Hallmark, and by Hallmark I mean society, hasn't completely ripped the guts out of. It's nice. It's about family and food and thank you's. These are a few of my favorite things.

Now, I adore the Christmas season. So far, I'm not one of those Crazies who cries and complains about the malls or about the pressure of the holiday. But maybe that comes when you have kids, so that remains to be seen. I am still naive and appreciate the lights and the anticipation and the tree decorating and the cookie eating and the family gatherings and general merriment and my annual Christmas-song piano playing. But all in due time. After Thanksgiving only. That's just how I was raised.

I'd also like to know how we go from giving thanks one month to punching the lady who has the gift we want the next? A month ago we were so thankful for what we had. And now my grandma needs a police escort to her car for fear of being tackled for being lucky enough to grab the "gift of the year". I just don't get it.

I'm sorry that the giving of thanks only lasts one day. I'm sorry that it's seen as just a road block until we get to the "real" holiday. And I'm sorry that it's not appreciated for what it is. It's a shame.

I guess the Thanksgiving spirit hasn't hit some people yet

Last night, on my way home from the store, I saw the gas station closest to our house had gas for $2.99. "Whoopee!", I exclaimed with jubilant glee. (Then I smacked my forehead because I've been tricked by the gas people into thinking that's cheap. Wah, wah, wah.) I pull up to the pumps and it appears that everyone is taking advantage of the (not) cheap gas, so I have to wait. No biggie. So I'm sitting there patiently waiting my turn at Pump 4 when the previous customer pulls out. Perfect, I had picked the right pump! She pulls toward me, so I have to wait for her to leave. Meanwhile, some skank in a dirty, crappy truck pulls into MY spot from the other direction. She totally saw me too. I inched forward almost hitting her to prove my point. She still pretended not to see me. The nerve! I was honked.

But here's where the story gets good:

So the skank has my spot at the pump, which apparently also angered the person in the maroon Rendezvous next to them, who knew I was waiting and witnessed the whole robbery. The Rendezvous proceeds to roll down its window and yell at the skank for taking my spot. It was beautiful! They were sticking up for me! I couldn't quite hear the exchange but I could see the skank mouthing "I don't care". The Rendezvous was the next car to leave so I pulled into that pump. The skank yells to me, "Is there a problem?" and me wanting to be all tough but knowing that she looks very unpredictable just decides to say, "Yes, I was waiting" and left it at that. I don't need to show up at Thanksgiving dinner with a black eye. As I'm pumping my gas I look over my shoulder and see the maroon Rendezvous waiting at the exit, either to make sure everything was ok or to extend a bit of road rage on to the skank in the truck as they exited the parking lot. Either way, the maroon Rendezvous was like my guardian angel, looking out for the little guy. So I guess the Thanksgiving spirit is alive in some people. I pumped my gas and got back in my car and with as much anger and spite as I could muster, I rolled down my window and gave her the biggest bird my middle finger could produce. That time she saw me. That made me feel better.

Thank you dear maroon Rendezvous, I appreciate your support. I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving. I know on Thursday I will be thankful that there are people like you who truly care about justice.

So what brings you two here?

I really enjoy traveling. It's always great to get outside of our four walls and experience life on four wheels. This weekend our travels took us to Chicago. More specifically, not downtown Chicago, but a suburb of. Our mission for this trip was two-fold, get our dog back and introduce ourselves to our Wii. We ate a lot of GOOD food, even some that didn't have skin in it! And hung out with the always fabulous brothers- and sisters-in-law.

You people got a Wii? If so, have you subsequently canceled your gym memberships? Cause I tell you what, I'm gonna Box myself all the way to the Mrs. Strong America contest. Got children with sloth issues? Buy them this thing and force them to play for two hours a day. After a month, you won't even recognize them. Nervous about those inevitable superfluous holiday pounds? Throw away your Cindy Crawford workout tapes and pop in Wii tennis. Same workout, and less annoying!

I may live to regret this, but part of me enjoys family drama. Where I come from, there's no such thing. Maybe because we're not a large family, maybe because no one really shares too much of their lives with each other, maybe because we've got our problems and don't care about anyone elses, but in any event, we've been pretty drama free. A certain wedding shower excluded. But family drama, in small doses, interests me. I don't need to be involved, I just like being a voyeur.

It's that time of year where we are thankful for things. I'm thankful that I have so many things to be thankful for.

Hello! Because I'm not a poser.

I don't know if a lot of people are like me, but whenever it's time to go home from a vacation, I cry. When I was 13, my extended family and I went on a cruise. The last night we were there, I bawled. I told everyone that I just had a headache, I didn't want to admit that I was crying because I didn't want to go home. My parents knew better. This trip was no different. This was the ultimate vacation, our honeymoon. Who's not gonna cry when they are leaving Hawaii? Some things you just don't grow out of.

Some tear-worthy highlights:

• Helicopter ride over Mt. Kilhuea.
• Walking through the rain forests/waterfalls of Hilo.
• Snorkeling in the best snorkel spot in all of Hawaii, top 20 in the country.
• Getting within feet of a family of spinner dolphins, including a baby.
• Going to my first luau and discovering that my new career goal is to be a hula dancer. I was enthralled.
• Picnic on the coral beach.
• Eating the BEST steak I've ever had in my life. At Roy's.
• Eating the BEST pizza I've ever had in my life. (sorry MD) At the Kona Brewing Company.
• Drinking the BEST pina colada I've ever had in my life. At the Marriott hotel.
• Almost buying a timeshare.
• My first real massage. In our room.
• A sunset cruise with some really nice and funny people.
• Realizing that Hawaii is more than just palm trees and beaches.
• Flying first-class. Um, how do you go back to coach after that?
• The beach. On our last night.

And so many other memories that we will have forever. Together. I know everyone says they wish they could have a wedding every year, but I think I'd like to take a honeymoon every year. Not a vacation, but a honeymoon. To say that I loved it would be the understatement of the year.

MD, you're awesome traveling companion. I love you.

Quick note, then I'm off

The wedding was absolutely perfect. Not only because everything was beautiful, but because there wasn't one glitch in the whole day. The weather was awesome, the flowers were spectacular, all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen looked wonderful (and are wonderful), the location was everything that I hoped for and more. And my groom was [insert best adjective you can think of, I'll pick] incredible! I just love him. Everything came together so well and it was the definition of perfect.

I'm so thankful that there were no mini dramas to deal with. It's still crazy to me that we pulled it off so well. It was the wedding day I always dreamed of. Magical. I don't even know how to begin to thank my parents. They have been so loving, thoughtful and generous during this time and throughout my entire life. How on earth I got so lucky to have all of this, I will never know.

Perfect.

And to prolong the perfection a bit further, on Saturday we are off to the Big Island of Hawaii for our honeymoon! I can hardly stand it.

In case you hadn't heard...

I'M MARRIED!

No longer in the middle

The time here at work is winding down until I go on bridal leave. I will soon be leaving as an individual with an alliterated moniker and will return as one half of a 'squared' couple. It's an interesting feeling. I'm not having the "whoa, I'm losing my identity" crisis, but it's still kind of perplexing to know that I won't be who I've claimed to be for the last 29 years, 4 months and 5 days. I'm stepping into the phone booth of life, ripping off my shirt and emerging as a whole new being.

Well, MM, we've led a good life. We've gotten this far without much complaint. Sure, I wish you had had more confidence in yourself and sure I wish you hadn't made some of those decisions and mistakes. But look where it's gotten us. All of life's trials and tribulations have led us to the MD life. And I see a lot of promise over there. There's much more happiness to be found and things to be uncovered. It'll be a whole new world for us. I know we're ready.

One handed countdown

We can now count on one hand the number of days til the wedding! At this point, we are totally golden. Stuff is organized in piles and ready to go. All the details are pretty much complete. The one thing that's left won't take but a mere 30 minutes.

My biggest concern now is making sure that I take the time to remember all of this excitement. Before you know it, I'll be blogging about how great everything was. So I don't want anything else to enter my cranium before Saturday. So don't tell me anything between now and then that you want me to remember. Cause I'm not gonna. But don't worry, come October 21st, I'll totally remember what your license plate number is. I haven't completely lost it, sheesh.

p.s. I must thank the 'fiance for 5 more days' for being one of those helpful fiances and not the kind who just wants to "show up". We rocked and rolled on Sunday. Crossing things off the list, leaving nothing in our wake. Thank you!

Who am I?

We are 10 days out and I am surprisingly calm. Hopefully I'm not jynxing things by saying that. This is not normal for me. I am a worrier. I worry about things big and small. I worry about being worried.

But I'm not worried.

Since when am I not worried? I'm worried I don't know the answer to that. But it's nice to not be worried about the wedding. And it's awfully darn confusing.

I'm not sure who this person is, but I'm beginning to like her.

Some thoughts

• I think it's rude to tell someone they look good when they've lost weight. I feel it implies that they did not look good before. It seems like a backhanded compliment.

• I'm speaking generally here, but I think men are naturally more attractive than women. Women make themselves look good, men just are.

Mike, I'm thinking of you today. I know you can do it. Good luck!

It's official!

Well, almost. But more official than it was an hour ago. $40 CASH and a signed declaration that you weren't intoxicated and don't have syphillis will get you one marriage license. Woohoo!

You know who's really funny?

My grandma.

She is nearly 81 years old and is an absolute hoot. What's great about her is that she's not the wild and crazy grandma who is always doing kooky things, she is very into manners and doing the right thing yet she will bust out the funniest, most unexpected one-liners and have the whole family cracking up.

What's even more tickling are her recent purchases: A year ago, she bought a computer with virtually no knowledge of technology whatsoever. At the time of this post, she is still trying to master the double-click. There is nothing funnier than checking my yahoo mail and seeing a forwarded message from her because I know it took her at least 10 minutes to read the directions my Dad wrote down for her in order to send the email. She has also recently purchased a 46-inch flat screen tv, which I can only assume is so she can get a better view of the products on QVC. That, and she loves college football. I dare you to watch a high-intensity Buckeyes game with her and not get excited. You would think you were at the game, in the student section, with your face painted, by all of the hooting and hollering she does.

Five years ago she fought off a purse snatcher in the grocery store parking lot. He told her he had a gun and wanted her purse. Instead of getting scared and handing over her purse, she took her cart and pushed it as hard as she could at him and screamed at the top of her lungs. He ran and was caught the next day. She is the fiestiest 4'9" woman you'll ever meet. And she's healthy as a horse. A rarity indeed.

She's hilarious. And I love her.

Spelling B.

Last week, my co-worker and I were in a spelling bee. It was my third time participating. I just love it - I've always been a good speller and since there really isn't money to be made in Spelling, I have to settle for the yearly Bee to get my jollies. This year, however, was wrought with scandal. In the sixth round, the "pronouncer" misprounced our word. He was corrected by the judges but we had already made up our minds as to how we were going to spell the word. Thus, we were eliminated. But it was a proud showing for us (my personal best out of the 3 years!), leaving approximately 20 out of 32 teams in our wake.

For ever more, I will know how to spell "nihilism". Pronounced nigh-el-ism. NOT knee-el-ism. Ass.

This much fun is illegal.

This picture pretty much sums up my weekend. That's me. On a bull. A mechanical one of course. What a fantastic celebration! My family and friends are just amazing - I love you all! Thank you again for being a part of this ridiculousness!

Here we go.

Second shower and bachelorette party tomorrow night. This should be nothing short of fantastic. Tomorrow's shower is the more "fun" of the two and could not technically be counted as a shower. The BFF TP has gone above and beyond the white tablecloths, mints-at-every-table, debutante shower and is making it a more laid-back wine tasting with friends. Plus, there will be meatballs. I've already chalked it up as a success.

But I will admit, part of me is slightly worried about the bachelorette party. I'm harkening back to my 21st birthday celebration in which I got extremely sick and needed 2 days to recover. And now, being 29, something tells me that it would take at least two weeks to recover from a similar situation. The 'ole body just can't hang like it used to. And I've got me two wild and crazy (and incredibly awesome) soon-to-be-sisters-in-law who know how to show someone a good time. Hopefully I will escape unscathed and with intestines intact. Or at the least, only slightly bruised.

The Big Island.

I do not intend to make this blog all gushy, mushy and bridezilla-like, but like it's been suggested, this would be a good place to record the wedding happenings. So, in keeping with this idea... we purchased the tickets for our honeymoon last night! Two first-class (innumerable thank you's go out to my parents for that one) tickets to Hawaii are in the possession of our hotmail and yahoo accounts.

I cannot wait to see Hawaii! The water, the sand, the volcanos, the luaus, the real plumeria leis, the coffee, I can barely stand to think about it. It will be yet another item that I can cross off my list of things to do in life. It's amazing how many of those I've been able to do the last year and a half.

Two months.

60 days from today! I hear all the time how quickly these next 2 months will go and I don't care for that. I want to remember all of this, I don't want it to go by in a blur.

What do I have to do to get time to slow down?

Heroes.

When last we left the fantastic foursome, they were on their way to a lovely baseball game up north to celebrate the birth of the eldest member of the foursome...

Scene: We find the fantastic foursome in a less-than-desirable flat tire situation on a major thoroughfare at approximately 11:00 p.m. Location: unknown. But we think somewhere near an exit titled, #18.

Suddenly, the Bat Signal flared, the adrenaline kicked in and the Flying Fiance was off! He was dodging traffic, toting tires, rattling off the names of tools that he needed like a surgeon demanding a scalpel from the nurse, throwing around lugnuts and jackhammers or some such. All the while maintaining a certain sense of calmness that allowed my 'rents and I to remain unpaniced as well. It was impressive. I was proud.

Due to his unimaginable superhero strength, he was able to bend steel and we were unable to complete the task alone. We called for reinforcements and were escorted home in the back of the car in the back of a tow truck. Alas, all was not lost. Our hero was victorious.

This lesson to be learned here is this: Heroes don't get flustered, boys and girls. It is always best to stay calm. Getting upset and pissy does not make the situation disappear, it only begets more stress. For all. This is definitely something this viewer learned.

Until next time, friends...

tragic.

There will never again be a time where the following sentence won't be used in reference to an unfortunate incident in America...

"The Homeland Security Department said the collapse did not appear to be terrorism-related"

Morsels.

• Curses to family gatherings with all of their leftover tasty treats. If only I could exercise self restraint. If only I could exercise. Note: I can exercise, I just, I dunno, don’t.

• My goodness, Lohan. You're a bigger idiot than I gave you credit for.

• 29 is stupid. I already think of myself as 30. Let's just get it over with already.

• Thanks to the 56 incher, I am readdicted to Super Mario 3. It's the summer of 1990 all over again. I'm strategizing now in my cube in anticipation of playing after the work whistle blows. Be afraid little goombas, I'm gonna pulverize the smirk right off your pface.

• A little piece of advice I'd like to pass on to my offspring: Forget variety, meatballs and wine are the spice of life.
  

Everything is official.

Had my first of two wedding showers on Saturday. It was SO nice. Per usual, my Mom and Aunt D went above and beyond with the food and decor and extras. I am so thankful to them both. Seeing my family members and friends gathered together laughing and celebrating made everything official. It was the kick-off to the Unbridled Emotion Fest of 2007, an event which will likely continue for the next 3 months. Expect many a tear.

*My cousin actually made a cake for me like the one pictured over there. It's a Barbie with a cake around it. Hilarious. Update: Now pictured, the cake my cousin made.

What would you do?

Last night I was at a lovely charity event and met a very smart, nice little girl. We got to chatting and I asked her what grade she was going to be in and she said, "Fourth, I think". I asked why she only thought she was going into the fourth grade, why didn't she know for sure. (After I asked this I felt bad, what if she was repeating the third grade and I just made her feel worse? Oops.) And she said, "Well, I could be going into fifth grade, my parents haven't decided yet."

Thus she could be skipping a grade.

After she walked away, my friend and I went into "well, if that were my kid" mode, even though neither of us are parents, and gave our unsolicited opinions. But just to each other, of course.

My thoughts: I wouldn't do it. Yes, she should be challenged with school work. Yes, she should be all she can be. But at what price? I'm sure she's growing up fast, why make the process faster? What about when the older kids are "developing" and she's still just the 'little' girl? She'd probably have to lash out Catholic-school-girl style to get accepted. I think it's about more than just scholastics when it comes to skipping a grade, especially at that age. And a bigger question is, do parents sometimes do this selfishly so they can boast to their friends?

My verdict: I would leave her in the fourth grade and let her be valedictorian someday.

3 months from today!

Yay! I can't believe there is only 3 months left until our wedding! I have a feeling this is when stuff starts to get hairy. Although we are in a very good spot with everything, it just seems like all of the final details will have to happen at once. But I've got my game face on. I'm ready.

Shower #1 is tomorrow. I still can't believe it's a shower for me. Or us.

Mi casa, su casa.

Right now I am in the midst of trying to sell my house. Not a fun task. So my new realtor says to me that she knows a guy whose house burnt down. In unfortunate ironies, he is a firefighter. So he and his family need a place to stay while their house is being rebuilt. And she asked me if I would be willing to let them rent my house for a couple months.

After some thinking, I've decided that there are many more pros than cons to doing this. Obviously the chance to help someone who suffered through a sad ordeal is a major pro. This family lost everything in the fire and have nothing. They loved my house because it's close to where their house was and their son will be able to continue playing with his friends as normal. Hearing that made the decision somewhat easier.

The only real con is that it's weird to think of someone I don't know living in my house while I still own it and essentially using all my stuff. With all of the legal mumbo jumbo and insurance policies and such, everything should be just fine. But I can't help but think that something bad will happen and I'm a little scared. Which I hope is normal?

So sometime in the next couple of weeks, I will be a landlord. Ha!

Pinch Me.

Ok, so here is my Dave news...

First let me say, this post is dedicated to the Ticket Girl at the Ed Sullivan Theatre to whom I shall bestow my first born.

For reasons we will probably never figure out, Ticket Girl put a special sticker on our tickets giving the 4 of us audience upgraded seats. As it was later explained to us, this meant we would be receiving some of the best seats in the house! I was already excited, but this pretty much sent me over the edge. Not only was I going to be at the show, I was going to have prime seating. I would have been happy sitting in the far back corner in the back row. I didn't care, I was there.

So, after much hooting and hollering and jumping up and down, we returned to the theatre at the time we were told. After we got our audience prep and knew the run down of what was expected of us as "leaders" of the crowd, we filed into the theatre. Some of the people in this group knew people who work for CBS and they were told they were getting the best seats in the house - the balcony. Unobstructed view and a bathroom. (Those of us not in the balcony were not allowed to use the facilities once taping had started.)

The 4 of us walked in behind a lovely couple we had met and befriended in line. The 10-15 people in front of us were ushered to the seats on the right-hand side. Then the man in front of me was told he could go that way. Well, that way meant... the front row, center. Um yeah, the 4 of us were in the VERY FRONT ROW, an arm's length away from the stage. Upon realization of this, the woman in front of me and I started shreiking at the top of our lungs, OMG, OMG, OMG, WE'RE IN THE FRONT ROW! It was incredible, just pure raw emotional excitement. I had MD pinch me.

After we sat down the man from the lovely couple said to me, "Yeah, the balcony seats suck ass!" I agreed.

I had a perfect view of Dave during his monologue, the musical guests (the Smashing Pumpkins) and Will It Float. I could see the guests (Queen Latifah and some comedy writer guy) pretty well when they were seated and I could see the top of Dave's head. There really are a lot of cameras and cue card people walking around. But that's ok, I was as close as one could get. And I was thrilled.

Oh, if that wasn't enough, I know, how could it get better? I also caught the guitar pick from the bass player of the CBS Orchestra, who totally threw it right to me. So I even got a souvenir!

I don't think we could have had a better experience. Things were going our way. And I will remember that day and our trip fondly. It was perfect, perfect, perfect.

The show airs tonight (Friday) . You better believe we are DVRing the heck out of it! You all should watch for us. We'll be easy to spot right there in the FRONT!

I still can't believe this all happened, I can't believe we were there. It'll probably hit me when we watch it tonight.

-- The picture above is of our tickets to the show with the audience upgrade sticker! We weren't allowed to keep them, but we sure as hell could take pictures of them! Sadly no pictures were allowed to be taken inside the theatre, but we got plenty of them outside.

Ideas that I wish were mine:

• Target commercials


• The subway system in New York


• Sharpie markers


• Microsoft


• Nachos
  

What do you wish you had thought of?

New York, New York

To say that our trip to New York was amazing would be an understatement. It was downright perfect! For only being there for 2 full days, we were able to do and see so much. With the Yankees game and tour and David Letterman(!), that alone was a lot, but we were also able to visit Times Square and Ground Zero and we still had time to conquer the public transportation system, visiting 3 boroughs in 2 days.

New York City is a fantastic city. I could spend days just standing in Manhattan watching the people and soaking up the excitement. I'm sure you could spend a lifetime there and still never see everything that it offers. I am very much pining to return. I hope it's not another 11 more years before I go back.

*I have Dave news, but I am not blogging about it yet because I don't want to spoil the news in case some people read it before I can tell them. But trust me, it's good stuff. You'll want to come back and read about it.

Pack it up, pack it in.

So tomorrow we take off for NYC. We’re staying in the lovely (I hope?) borough of Queens. (I quite like the word ‘borough’.) We’ll be 4 crazy midwestern kids left to our own devices in the man-swallowing metropolis of New York. It’ll be nothing if not an adventure, all activities aside.

The last time I was in New York, it was 11 years ago. I went on a bus trip with some of my family. We saw Broadway shows, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and went to the top of the World Trade Center. Interesting. I wonder how much of it I will remember once we're there. If I had my Mom's keen sense of direction, I would remember exactly where everything is and how to get there. Alas, I do not have that talent. Not even kinda.

I'm excited for all of it. Everyone is. It should be a blast.

It's all about me...or 'i'

I'm amazed at how everything is so i, i, i. We're so self-involved. We have the iPod, the iTunes, the iPhone, the iEvery apple accessory.

And how long before i takes over the world? We'll soon have iCar, iDouble cheeseburgers, iPergo flooring and iMore.

It's time that we start focusing on u and less on ourselves.

(But iWouldn't mind having one of these. They seem cool. But there's a little too much iRed tape to deal with right now. )

P.S. Did you all hear that I'm going to the Late Show with David Letterman!?

OMG!

I have a major announcement to make. You're going to want to sit down for this one...

I AM GOING TO THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN!

It's true, this dream, 13 years in the making, has finally come to be! I just don't even know what to do with myself, excited doesn't even come close to explaining how I feel. I am a behemoth fan of Mr. Letterman and have always dreamt of seeing the show. And now, on July 9, I will get that opportunity. Wow.

And the best part of it, is that I will get to see the show with my wonderful fiance and my best friend! What could be greater than that?

Wow. Still trying to breathe.

On a side note -

anyone ever been to the Melting Pot? Is that the most fun you've ever had eating, or what?

It's not about being older

Another year has come and gone - but not without some excitement! - and I am officially one year older. (And one year away from being 30. Whoa.) It was a wonderful birthday celebration! I got to celebrate with some really dear friends and family and the ultimate thoughtful schemer, my fiance, who has once again surprised me.

29 is tricky. I shall blog my thoughts on this later, but for now I will thank all of those who called me, emailed me, texted me, thought of me and celebrated with me. I am beyond thankful for all of you and grateful for your wishes of well. June 15 is a day that I will always cherish because it reminds me of all of the wonderful people I have in my life and that truly warms my heart. That's what birthdays are all about and that is why I love them.

Wow. Fun. Cool.

Justin Verlander, the phenom pitcher for the De-troit Tigers, pitched a no-hitter last night against the Brewers! It was so fun to watch. I just so happened to be at my parents last night and my Dad had the game on. In the sixth inning he says, "I shouldn't say anything, but Verlander has a no-hitter going". Everyone knows that saying that usually jynxs things. But not last night! Even my good friend Turtle Parade, who is an Indians fan, was rooting for him. Fun stuff!

I love baseball.

Your what hurts?

My foot. It had glass in it. I (unknowingly) stepped on it. Then I walked around on it all night. Thank goodness for wine. It helped deaden the pain. I think the fiance got it all out. He was tres helpful. It still hurts.

Thelma and Louise.

Whew! I am no longer a fugitive of the law. My debt to society has been paid. I can roam freely (albeit slower) once again.

Thanks for coming with, Louise. I'll be sure that Brad Pitt doesn't turn you in for aiding and abedding (sp?) a criminal.

(and the audience is on its feet...)

LOST was so good last night I can't even stand it. It was so good that is has inspired me to post an entry again after 6 months. Now that's powerful.

What a terrific piece of television. Two hours was not long enough. I probably could have sat for another hour or two. This, my friends, is what they call a payoff episode. For all you naysayers out there, aren't you a little upset with yourselves for being non-believers half way through the season? I never gave up. I am admittedly often confused and believed that maybe I was the one who just didn't get it. But that idea has been demolished. No, no one has a friggen clue what is going on and that is the true beauty of this show. I accept that and will be the ultimate suspender of belief for the next 3 years if we continue to get episodes such as this.

Jack, Kate, Ben, Locke, Juliette, Sawyer, Jin, Hurley, dear sweet, bad-ass Sayid, et al, I cannot wait til we meet again in '08. Godspeed.