"How's It Going, Sporto?"

I try my hardest to strive for balance in my life. Engaging in physical activity is one of those components that I believe helps to even out the scales of my life. However, this weekend, sport took the crazy upper hand.

Relay for Life was Friday evening through Saturday morning. We had tons of fun again this year and the weather was considerably better than last year (in 2006 it rained on and off through out the night). The only heavy rain took place early on and the rest of the duration of time spent outside of Tri-C was pretty smooth sailin. We were all startin to get a little slap happy by those early morning hours (esp. me) but boxing up pancakes and sausage at 4:45 in the a.m. will do that to ya.

Sunday morning was the Hall of Fame Race in Canton. Some did the 5 mile and a few tackled the 2 mile. It was my first time doing it and I admit that I enjoyed it. The course was scenic and well marked for milage. The hills were a bit challenging but the crowd support at the end was great. The best part was the brunch that the guys made for us back at their house. : )

When I got back home I headed out again to add on for my long run. I knew if I did not get back on the road ASAP, I would most likely crash on the sofa and look for every excuse in the book not to get my milage in. It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be but I was a bit spent by the end from the lack of sleep this weekend. Later Sunday afternoon I met up with Lynn, Lisa, Michelle and Alicia to watch them show off their mad tennis skills. I only subed in a few minutes but it was enough time for me to realize that we all need a healthy dosage of lessons from a pro. Oh well, at least we all had fun!

Hope you super stars had a spiffy one!

A Little Boogie For Your Thursday...

Because lets face it, we all got a little bit of "the touch" going on. Dirk just has oddles of it...

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm.....

Why was Anderson Cooper in my dream last night? And no, it was not like that! Whoever can provide the best explanation gets a cookie!

Things I Need To Wrestle

~ I need to get my hairs cut sometime soon. Got some serious split end action going on that needs to be addressed.

~ Going with the previous point, need to get highlights. I long for the days of lifeguarding sun blonde but those days, as well
as my dark tan, are long gone.

~ Need to get my packing on. No, I am so not headed for the "deluxe apartment in the sky" but I am going to boogie on over to a two
bedroom pad. Got some stuff in the process of being packaged but I need to kick it up a notch.

~ Need to find a replacement for my fav. pair of jeans. Holes in the bum and holes near other descrete areas translates to
retirement for my pair of comfy A.E. jeans. Got a 15% off coupon that expires at the end of this month so I guess I should
give a looky. However, I know that it's gonna be hard to replace my old denim friend. Sigh.. We shall see.

7 Random Confessions. Why 7? 7 Goes To Heaven.

1.) I like folk that originally resided in Ireland. I gets da Irish & da Irish seems to gets me. Could there possibly be other countries that I am missing out on deeper meaning with? I fear I need to dust off my globe and work on starting connections. Hello..... New Zealand? Or maybe I am just running out of people in the US of A that want to touch me. Whatever, I'll roll with it.

2.) Nothing has more energy in such a confined body mass than a two month old kitten. Holy shit. The world, or more like my one bedroom apartment, is his ultimate playground.

3.) I love Strawberry Milkshake Whoppers. They are better than winning ten bucks on a one dollar instant lotto scratch off ticket while sipping on a tall glass of Tang. Awe that's the good stuff, baby.

4.) I am still trying to put into a series of meaningful thought patterns why I was so let down by the film Evening. I was close to pee my pants excited to see it and felt hardcore robbed leaving the multiplex. Was it due to the weak story line, not up to par performance by Danes or lack in general of strong female characters? The ideas are still knocking around the penthouse suite and eventually I will unravel this lack luster mystery.

5.) Glenn Beck rocks my world. I wish I knew him personally because even though we could not go out for drinks (he is a recovering alcoh.) I would still buy him a seltzer with a twist of lime and just listen to him make commentary on everything from the threat in Middle East to Paris Hilton.

6.) My cat plays catch, but he also feverishly chases his tail in circles for 10 min spurts. He sports traits similar to his mom that high on her literary soap box 10 mins after defending her thesis, with honors, mind you, slams her right shoulder into a parking sign.

7.) I busted out my L Word season 1 on Sunday when I was grading grammar tests. The tests proved that fragments are a constant bitch for some students; The L Word proved that Shane has the best game in L.A. She scores more than the Clippers and Lakers combined. I want to be her or at least have her teach me just a little bit.

Rollin With The Puppy....

My friends have been on a new pet kick recently. Rox & Neil got a pup named Reggie, Lynn & Bob have added Stewie's bro, O'Malley and most recently, Michelle & Jeremy brought Zada to Brooklyn.

I got the pleasure of taking Zada out on Friday while Michelle and Jeremy were detained at work. The Z girl and me had a blast attempting to play frisbee in the backyard and walking down the block. My favorite event was seeing her "try" to drink water outside out of her dish (which I later learned from Michelle that she considers it to be more of a toy). She likes to stick her paws completely in the water dish and try to swim. It was a very funny site to witness. Word on the street is that mom and dad are going to hook her up with a kiddie pool soon to do some water play. Because as we all know, swimming is what labs do the best!

It's Friday So Get Your Hula Hoop Out And Celebrate!

Look, Andrea is doing it so you all should! Also, while your at it, celebrate the good news of the week too!

~ John got a teaching job in Euclid! Rock Star!

~ Looks like Jenn is closing on her new house! Bravo for the homestead!

~ I signed a better than anticipated teaching contract at school!
Yeah for job security!

~ I saw Tammy's new condo! Get down with your bad self!

~ It's Jill's b-day today! 28 is the new 21!

~ Not news for this week, but fairly recent, Alicia got a raise! Raise the roof!!

~ Julie is leaving Key. Hooray for new horizons!

~ Big Bri & Teresa are having twin sons! Disco for bouncing baby boys!

Anyone else got good news? Spill the beans!!!

Because You Need Some Sunny On A Monday

The Best Show Ever, Hands Down...

Cute Kittens On The Prowl....

Taken from O'Malley & Stewie's play date last week.


Bob and the boys


I think this was taken just before they started attacking

Some Random Photos For Backyard BBQ 2007!

Sorry readers of my blog (probably the whole 3 of you out there). The skating picts just won't post. Tried it 2 different ways and I am bummed. Looks like you will all have to use your imaginations with the gray boxes that showed up in the post from a few weeks ago. I was not very graceful or awe inspiring but my bum did stay off the ice.

As for good news, my Mets have a two game lead in the East over Atlanta at mid-season. Yeah, baby! Me likey that news! Also, my fav. team in the American league is nippin at the heals of the Motor City Kitties. My brother Jimbo maintains an excellent Tribe webpage. Check it out when you get a chance. Even got mentioned in S.I.

http://www.tribewatch.com/


"Let's Go Mets!!"

Happy Backyard BBQ Eve

Tomm night is the 5th annual backyard bbq (7/7/07, how is that for luck?) & needless to say, I am so flippin excited! I know, I am a nerd. But if being pumped about getting the chance to get drunk and hang with my family/friends around a bonfire with lots of yummy foods is a crime then lock me up and throw away that rusty brass key.

Okay, in sticking with the theme of my fav. holiday, here are a few things I know will happen and that I would like to happen at the bbq:

WILL MOST LIKELY GO DOWN:

~ I will get drunk

~ I will break out my brother's guitar and attempt to sing and play the "Backyard BBQ" song and people might laugh at first but will then want to lock me in the poddle covered wallpapered bathroom to "chill out".

~ I will need to change my shirt at least once because like a 4 year old, I spilled crap on the front of me. It happens just about every year even though I try to be cautious when eating and drinking.

~ My mom will badger my ass about putting out the stuff for smores at least 4, dare I say 5 times. In turn, I will probably yell back attempting to use drunken logic.

~ I will unknowingly and quite consistently raise my voice as I attempt to speak. This will, once again, be the result of the alcohol intake.


THINK WOULD BE COOL IF IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED:

~ My friend Lisa has earned a black belt in karate. I thought (and still think) this was so cool when I found out. I have told her that I want her to show me some moves. I strongly believe that I will fuck em all up but maybe I can at least get a B+ for effort.

~ We did not get the GIANT jumpy inflatable castle because 7/7/07 is such a popular date and they were rented out as Jim discovered this week. Enlight of this, I would think it would be spectacular if Jesus or an inflatable castle fairy were to set one up in my bro's backyard in the middle of the night.

~ I somehow became less tone deaf in 24 hours so I could sing not only the backyard bbq song but also some Ronstadt, Jewel and Carly Simon.

Until later, gator!


Roxy enjoying a hot dog at the 3rd shin-dig. Rox, please still be my friend for posting this on my blog! Come on, this picture rocks and you know it!!!

What Words Mean The Most To You?

This summer term (or late spring semester as my school oddly likes to title it) I get the pleasure of teaching an oral presentations class (yes, just the fancy, shmancy name for a "speech class"). I must say that I have enjoyed it so far. However, give me a few more semesters of teaching it and i am sure that I will be moaning and groaning just like a majority of teachers do. However, for the time being the class is new and shinny to me. This leads me feel inspired and energenic in the classroom. But with sticking to the theme I mentioned prior, give me some time at it and I might become as bland as a talking brand flake. Or worse, a mumbling Grape Nut. God, those things are the worst.

Anywho, for a recent speech topic I had my class speak about the best piece of advice that they had ever received. I wanted them to cover what the advice specifically was, where and when they heard it and how it directly applies to them.

So, what do all of you consider to be the best piece of advice you ever recieved?

Check It Out

I heart the Gouchers and you will too after viewing one of their Nike episodes. They both made the USA team (Kara in the 10,000 & Adam in the 5,000). They have both endured so much crap due to various injuries. The hard earned traits of will power and determination are powerful beasts I tell ya.

Slide, Slide Slipity Slide...

For the past few years, my peeps have had the tradition of letting the b-day gal choose what she wants to do on her special day. We may have outgrown the Super Soaker parties at the park and backyard icecream cake festivities but even though our tastes have matured to an extent, we still have a blast hanging out and celebrating b-days.

Alicia decided to change it up a bit this year for her 28th shin dig. Instead of hitting up Shooters, she instead opted to go with ice skating and Mexican food/a bar. Alicia, who has been skating since she was an itty bitty kido and through out college has some sweet moves on the ice. So bitchen in fact that two young teeny boppers were in awe and inquired her for an autograph. They were star struck. They even asked me if i was her friend as I was very slowly trying to cover some of the rink very close to the wall. I felt pretty cool because I was with the superstar. Rock on. I told her next time I could also double as a security guard if the fans get buck out of control.


Alicia & a dweeb skating


John & the dweeb doing ice dancing