I can honestly say I’m in absolute disbelief! The loss of two enormous celebrities in one day. We all expected the loss of Farrah and knew she wasn’t doing well. But when I heard about Michael’s death I surely thought this was a joke. After several reports of him being “hospitalized” and then pronounced dead then he was in a coma, the final report came in that in fact Michael Jackson had passed away. I can’t say I was a huge fan of him but I did love his music. I think we would all agree that he had quite a troubled life. Will we ever know the truth about his relationships with children? probably not. His music went hand in hand with so many of my childhood memories. I’m sure we will learn alot about his life in the the days, weeks and months to come. This reminded of the night that I had to break the news that Princess Diana had passed away. I was about 19 and was working at a radio station overnights on the weekend. A girl that was working for our sister station came running over to my studio and told me that Princess Diana had died. I thought she was joking because Diana was someone who I thought I would see age well into her 80’s or 90’s with lots of grandchildren….that was not to be.
I don’t know how I feel about Michael, he definitely had issues and was dealing with alot of internal turmoil but hopefully now that the paparazzi is gone he can find that peace that I think he was in search of his whole life.

R.I.P

I just got home from the radio station and knowing that it will be in the 90’s today I wanted to get a cake made while it is cool and air conditoning isn’t needed. I’ve been trying to get this cake made for a week, but some how I lose track of time and before I know it I’m heading back to the station. So I came home gathered the cake mix, the mixer, measuring cups, eggs, oil, cake pans and finally the big bowl to mix it all into. Ummmm, hello? big bowl? Anyone see a big clear glass bowl? UGH!! The search begins…I have to dig through my two cupboards full of plastic food containers to get to my big bowl. Tupperware is falling towards me in a big heap…..those stupid plastic “disposable” containers that Glad or some other manufacturer has made…well those came falling out of every crevice as well! I’m finally so fed up…that here I am at 5:30 in the morning sifting through all of my plastic ware and throwing it all into plastic garbage bags. Well my cupboards are now empty (YEA) and I have two bags of plastic containers propped up in my dining room. I’m so tempted to throw all of it away but I need to hold on to a few things so chalk that one up on my list… “Must organize plastic containers and find matching lids and throw all of it away except for 5 items” CHECK!
Whoever invented that stuff needs to be shot! Alright well I have to go…one more minute and my cake is done! The garbage men are going to LOVE me this week! Have a great Wednesday! (I’ll save you a piece of cake!)

It’s a day I’ll always remember! The day I married my best friend in front of the most important people in our lives. I remember telling myself at the beginning of that week to soak in everything going on around me because these were the things that I would always remember, the good and the bad. We had our wedding back in my hometown in Western Pennsylvania. It was gorgeous week and quite hot. I know all of us were quite stressed since we had so much to do and having the wedding reception in my parents backyard made it even more stressful. Here’s my “I REMEMBER” list…
I remember…….the heat……everyone being snippy with each other because there was so much that had to be done….the lists of errands we had to run….being told on the phone that the tents had been set up and they looked beautiful…..trying to decide on what kind of wine to purchase and buying way too much…….renting a frozen drink machine and the bartender putting WAY too much alcohol in the drinks……picking up a keg of beer and almost losing the keg on the highway because someone didn’t close the tailgate to the truck tight enough……arguing with my soon-to-be husband because we were so hot, tired and stressed and taking it out on each other…….our caterer telling us that Tim Russert had passed away….enjoying lots of laughs with my mom and sister as we decorated the tents…..being sad that I would no longer share the same last name with my parents…..knowing how I was going to feel two extremely different emotions at the same time (sad and happy)…….trying not to cry when my dad walked me down the aisle during the rehearsal……waking up the morning of the wedding and realizing what a big day this was for so many people for so many reasons…….not being nervous, which kinda scared me…..sitting on my parents back porch watching it rain on my wedding day sitting in a t shirt and shorts with a veil in my hair…..watching my mom try not cry when I put my wedding gown on…….feel like my heart would pound out of chest when I walked in the church……..seeing my Dad get choked up and start to cry right before he walked me down the aisle….trying to walk down the aisle without tripping on my dress…..watching all my siblings cry……seeing my husband at the end of the aisle and he looked so nervous……watching our pastor sweat like crazy because it was so hot under the lights…..being surprised to see my husband choke up during his vows…..trying to shove his wedding band on his finger…..being announced as husband and wife for the very first time…..stopping to kiss my parents and thank them for all of their help…..arriving in a classic car at our reception…..having confetti shot into the air…..laughing through the first dance…..crying through the father/daughter dance……..laughing during the cake cutting….cheering during the dancing…….feeling exhausted as all of our close friends decided to do keg stands into the wee hours of the morning………enjoying our first moment of alone time as husband and wife…..changing out of clothes so we could head to the hotel….waking up the next day realizing how special our day was. Bill, thank you for such a wonderful and memorable first year and I look forward to spending the next 100 just like it with you! I love you!

How would you like to have a mom who is just like Martha Stewart? Well, welcome to my world! Yes, I have a mother who is not only a great cook, can whip up home remedies, fix a tear in your clothing on the spot BUT she can decorate and is just about the most creative person I know!! How the heck does a child of this woman live up to those kind of standards? It’s pretty much impossible. When you visit my parents house you are greeted with a big hug and a nice glass of her famous ice tea. But before you even get in the house you are greeted with beautiful landscaping that she has done herself …she’s not that kind of person that hires someone else to do it. When you get to their back porch, the part about being a decorator comes into play. Since my parents have tons of antiques you’ll always find them beautifully displayed around the house. When meal time arrives, don’t expect anything out of a box because everything is made by scratch. It is sooo good! Not only is the food good but the presentation makes you feel like you are at a four star restaurant. When my husband first met my parents he must have thought he hit the jackpot thinking I cook and decorate like my mother…..ummmmm NO. The reason I tell you all of this is because I have a friend of mine and her family coming to stay with us for the weekend. I’m now the host and I’m taking on the daunting task of producing an enjoyable weekend filled with fun, good food and a nice place to stay. How does my mother pull this off and make it look so effortless? I can’t cook, our spare bedroom is filled with tons of stuff, I haven’t the faintest clue how to decorate my home and the only landscaping we can pull off is hanging baskets and potted plants. Would ordering takeout and claiming it as my own be wrong? Between my husband and I we can make mac and cheese, hot dogs and Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches…….Thankfully a 4 year old is visiting…this just might work!

How was YOUR weekend? Fun? Busy? Burnt? Yep, me too! Friday is the start of my weekend since I’m off the air at 5am so I always have tons of things planned. This past Friday was no different. I decided to take on the whole day without an ounce of sleep…..BAD idea! I was scrambling to get stuff together for our garage sale. I had some big things that I really wanted to get rid of like two glass end tables, a cherry sofa table and a HUGE stuffed giraffe. Not to mention tons of little rinky dink stuff that just takes up room. So I was able to get the garage sale going and left an hour and a half into it in order to attend our Listener Lunch in Dublin. The lack of sleep was really dragging me down and didn’t know if I was up to the challenge of talking with hundreds of listeners. Once I got there it was like walking out on stage for me. I was automatically in a great mood and chatting with everyone, amazing! Wish I could pull that off all the time! As soon as the lunch was over it was a whole other story! I got in my “new” car and headed back home reassuring myself that my husband did not sell all of my items for a dollar. While I envision the different scenerios happening back home I’m also trying to close my moonroof while driving on 270. I get it shut and realize that I trapped half of my hair in the moonroof and can’t move! I can move just enough to hit the button to open it back up and get my hair back in the car. Good Grief! So as I’m swerving all over 270 (yes that was me) and trying to get my hair back in place, I run my fingers through my hair to find gobs of black grease all through it! Yuck! At this point I was doing alot of swearing but was also able to find the humor in the situation. To make a long story short, the garage sale went well on Friday and Saturday. Saturday after the garage sale we were supposed to go to the Memorial with the in-laws but we were too exhausted and hot to go. On Sunday we enjoyed a nice lunch out and we sat on the patio next to a very loud family. It wasn’t so much the loudness that bothered me it was the fact they let their daughter who was about 5 run around without clothes! Who on earth does that in public?  not to mention at a restaurant? I guess her sundress was bothering her so they told her to take it off and she sat there eating her lunch without anything on. I can understand doing this in the privacy of your own home but seriously? at a restaurant? There is alot more to this story but I’ll just let it go. Hopefully you were able to keep your clothes on this weekend! I did! And we are all thankful for that one!

Well I did it! I finally bit the bullet and bought a new car! In a prior post I discussed how I needed a new vehicle and my hesitation to let go of my baby. My old car was 13 years old and looking pretty shabby but it’s such a great car! But after an afternoon drive we found a car that we just couldn’t turn down. It’s exactly what my husband and I were looking for plus more! It is fully loaded and it was an unbelievable price! I had all intentions of holding on to my car and running it until the poor thing wouldn’t go anymore, but we both realized that being stuck in the winter time with a car that doesn’t work and trying to find a great deal may not be the best idea. So with a car and deal we couldn’t pass up it’s now ours! Even though the new car is really nice I still have these pangs of guilt that I just left my old car high and dry……Why must I get attached to everything?? I want to find a new home for the old car which we lovingly call “The Green Monster”. It’s such a good car that I want find someone else who can use it. When I first bought “The Green Monster” I stopped at Pep Boys for something  (the guys there were always so good to me)  and they came out to admire the shiny new SUV and one of the guys asked if I had put a dollar in the glove compartment. I had no clue what he was talking about and he said you have to put a dollar in the glove compartment for good luck. He then took a dollar out of his wallet and put it in my glove compartment and it’s been there ever since! First thing I did once I got the new car home was find that dollar bill and put it in the glove compartment. I just hope this car treats me as well as the old green monster did. It has some big tires to fill!