Alicia & John's Wedding!!!

Maybe It Is A Good Thing That I Just Have Pets To Torture Instead Of Kids...

Stewie says "Go Blue"!
MEOW!!!!!!

A Holla At Ya!

Tonight is the anual Halloween shin dig. I am pumped, as I always am, for this night. You gotta love anything that involves costumes, drinking and fun. Perfection! Well, I am gonna hustle my bootie back into the kitchen to wrap up baking. Catch you peeps lata!

Are You Gonna Dispute Me On A Friday?

I say he is one of the best actors of his generation. GQ also happens to agree with me in this month's issue. So, you want to rumble with me on a Friday and tell me that ain't so, peeps? Come on, I dare ya!


Ryan Gosling

Who are my boys that are going to bring home the bacon at the Men's Marathon Trials in New York on November 3, 2007?

Glad you asked, here is what I am tinkering with prediction wise....

1st: My blue collar work horse that was as sweet as pie while signing my poster at the Boston Expo in 2006...

Brian Sell


2nd: Steady and reliable adopted son who brought on the fury at Athens...

Meb Keflezighi


3rd: He is a youngen, but I think he has the goods. Oh yeah, I also dig his name.

Dathan Ritzenhein

Such Things That Excite The Running Nerd In Me...

Which, now lets be honest here, is a big part of yours truly...

Because It Is So Important To Remember & Think Of How Lucky You Were To Have Some Special People In Your Life...

Sitting here grading some essays this afternoon. The stack is composed of a mix of essays from my comp. classes. Some are of the descriptive nature -- "What would your dream house look like & why?" while the remainders deal with the process aspect -- "How can you and other students become a more effective student?". As my royal blue pen Pilot G -2 07 pen scribbles cautionary remarks pretaining to lack of transitions and fragments, I can't help but think of Kelly Lowe. I remember the insightful comments he used to make on his students' papers and I strive (even though I know I will never come as close as he was able to do with such ease) to ink my papers with the intent of providing a compass of improvement. I miss him a lot during times like this. It is important to remember the man and the lives that he touched in so many different ways.....

http://adeucefortheskycap.blogspot.com/

Because You Know You Watch It Or Are Tempting To Sneak A Peek...

October 23 - The L Word - Season 4. Mark it down, take note, form a mental list. I intend to purchase and then, if at all possible, avoid tearing open the shrink wrap until that upcoming weekend. Come join up for some appetizers and wine. You know you want to. You know you are just a bit intrigued. Trust me and all the other loyal fans, it's captivating, alluring and well, just plain hot in that sort of way that other shows really can't comprehend. Showtime does it better, baby.

Wow, I Really Did Not Know That When You Looked Up Horse's Ass In The Dictonary, There Was A Picture...

Something That I can Asure You Is NOT Bringin Sexy Back...

http://www.runphotos.com/browse.cfm?race_id=118&bib_number=2311

Runnin & Clubbing and Such....

This weekend was the Akron Marathon & Alicia's bachelotte party. Needless to say, Saturday was an action packed and fun day.

The race went pretty well. I was gunning for sub 4 hours since I heard Akron had multiple hills. Well, I learned first hand that the hills were not a myth. Even though the race was challenging, the scenery was great - through the trails, parts of the city, Stan Hywet Hall Garden.... The race ended on the Canal Park - Akron Aeros infield. Brian ran nifty for the marathon and Lisa kicked butt in the 1/2. I was also pumped that I spied Joanne at one of the relay check points and Liz in the stadium at the end. Getting a cold can of beer from a smiling Brian and Liz was a great way to conclude the race. The coolest thing had to be spotting the Bill Rodgers (4 time winner of the Boston & New York Marathons). I was able to chat with him for a few minutes (I did not want to be one of those annoying runner fans all up in his biz). I told him how he was one of my personal running heros and asking him for some advice for the next 25 or so miles. He was a super nice guy that I am so glad I had the chance to run into, literally!

Alicia's festivities later that night were a blast! It started with dinner and drinks at Mexican Village then we headed back to MaryAnn's pad to indulge a little more and have the bride of honor open her naughty gifts. After chillin for a bit, and me getting a litte crabby pants due to a slight combo of tiredness/soreness/upset stomach (which thankfully only last a wee bit) we headed to West 6th in donwton Cleveland. We managed to due our part to keep Alicia drunk as we danced like the fools we were. Dancing was not too bad due to the muscle relaxers I took. Everyone kept commenting how they could not believe I was out after running that morning. I was lucky because I did manage to sneak in a power nap and improv. ice bath in the afternoon so that helped alot. However, I still think the gold star goes to Jen who managed to walk the Freedom Trail and climb all those fucking steps to the top of the whatever monument that was after running Boston the previous day. Shit, I have no idea how she managed to tackle that one.

I feel pretty good today but just as expected, sore as hell! Trying to stretch and ice alot. Only have a few rub marks from my sports bra and shirt so that is good news. Well, enough of my chitter chatter. Hope you pop tarts had excellent weekends as well!

Keep On Truckin...

I am running in the Akron Marathon on Saturday morning. As a personal favor, please feel free to send any prayers/ positive thoughts/warm & fuzzies my way either tonight or early tomm. in the a.m. I heard this one is a bear with the hills (thanks Liz!) so I don't think I am going to bitch slap it by any stretch of the imagination. Oh well, we shall see!

What's Going On?

Hi friends, pals, lovers and everything in between. How are you? How is the hubby, the little woman and the kiddies doing? Good I hope. Sorry to be so distant recently. I could blame my absence on the start of the new semester with 8 classes in tow or me being a little on the road and a tad in the air, or the the fun festivities of Alicia & Johnny Boy's up and comin wedding, or the big Akron 26.2 finally up this weekend, but still I should have at least posted a half a line or two. Me naughty.

Chillin here grading some essays catchin a little show called The Family Guy. Otherwise know as the best f*cking show ever. Tonight is the Season Premier with a Star Wars theme. Love it so far because they have made shots out to one of my fav. films (Gia) and my dad & bro's obession (Dr. Who). Update, they just gave a zinger to the theme song from Tootsie. I love this sh*t a little more every Sunday.

Peace out cub scouts!

Thanks.....

For all of you that avoiding leaving smart ass Michigan comments on my last post. I know it was hard to fight that urge, but I am grateful that you did. Well, after Saturday maybe it is a good thing that I do not have The Big Ten Network because tvs are alot more expensive to replace than a small walkman after you chuck it in anger across your livingroom.

Reason Number, I Don't Know, 252,348 Why This Gal Needs To Gideeup & Get A Place Of Her Own....

Screw the bats setting up camp in my apartment, this gal needs to get some Direct T.V. The Big Ten Network is going to be showing most of the U of M games this season. That translates to me not being able to watch most of the none important, no conference, Michigan going to beat the holy crap out of em games that I used to be able to watch on ABC and ESPN 2. Damn it to hell! Because lets face, a fall Saturday afternoon without me watching the maize & blue charge the field ain't no fall Saturday afternoon!

GO BLUE!!!

It's a Hard Knock Life For Stew

"Hey, little Stewie here. Just taking a quick cat nap in my gay ass rainbow tunnel. I told my mom to take a break from her crap she learned from being 27 rant to let me diss my two cents. Besides, I believe that looking at a cute kitten provides more daily fulfillment than listening to my mom babble on and on. Gosh, she is such a freak. Well, at least she did start up with teaching once again so she has that semi productive thing going, for now. But lets face it, cracking jokes in front of a room of deer in head lights freshman that will laugh at just about anything due to fear of failure is not exactly breaking a sweat for The Man, now is it? Okay, enough of this psychoanalysis shit, I got some nappage to get back to. Later, yo."

What I Learnth From My 27th....

In sticking with the theme of me being maple sapish as usual when it comes to reflecting on instances in my life throughout a year at a particular marking point (per say the year end or a b-day), I have decided once again to bore you with my personal reflection points of this gal’s 27th year of skippin around town.

I am not going to do what people normally do and state that this past year was “the best” or “the worst” year of my life. Really I think that most, although people that have exceptionally stellar or catastrophic incidents occur during the course of a year do have a strong case, just use the generic labels of the best and worst because their brains are just too lazy to think back a few. Hell, I can get on board with this because I have been know to forget what I even had for lunch the day before. Okay, enough with this disclaimer shit…. Here is the rundown…. And just to make it a bit more digestable, I am going with one reflection per post. I promise, there will not be a super large number of them either...

-I learned that you can leave a job just as easily as it can leave you-

Although I did complain for various reasons about my job at the investment company and was actively on the prowl through the want ads, I still was sort of pissed when the company dissed me along with like 400 others due to the buy out. I guess this is business babe, but it did come as a sucker punch to the kisser. However, it also taught me to go out and persue what I really wanted - oh yeah, and it also showed me again how freaking lucky/blessed I am.

Hell Ya!!!

This hoe or ho banger turns 28 today! Word to your mother, father and all your brothers and sisters!

"Here We Go Brownies, Here We Go!!"

Okay, well they did not so much "go" until Quinn came in late in the 4th (which we missed, by the way) but I still had a blast at the Browns game last night. The Lions had a mightier roar but indulging in beer and nachos makes just about any situation an instant party.



Me, Andrea, Colleen & Gina getting our game faces/drinking faces on.


They were all sold out of hot dogs (well at least at the place we went to with the super long line). I know, WTF?? So Gina settled for the hot brawt instead.

"Hey Baby, It's Summer So Put On Those Shades & Hit The Pool."

I got the chance to venture out to Lisa's (my grad. school buddy) house in Medina to hit her pool with her cutie pie kiddies - Ayden & Evelyn. We swam, we ate lunch, we laughed --- we had a blast. Good times!








P.S. I was toying with making the subject line of this "You've Come A Long Way, Baby!" but I decided to hold off on the linkage to infants and cigarette smoking. Besides, the Lucky Strikes would've been a bit cooler in the cascading water opposed to the Virginia Slims.

Okay, The Rest of Bat Night...

My bro and dad, armed with a box, entered my room and closed the door. They were going to rumble while my mom and I stayed scared in the livingroom. My mom and I heard various noises as the bat flew in circles around my bed (great). After the fact, I heard that my dad tried to better the situation by attempting to throw random pieces of my clothing at the bat and rapidly ducking as the bat got close. My crafty brother was sly enough to trap the bat but the boys soon realized that the box the bat was confined in had handle holes. Yeap, you guess it, out flew the winged friend.

Eventually, they did trap it and release it. Thank goodness for dependable and brave family members that can help you out in the middle of the night! The next day, with still no contact from maintance, I went to the leasing office to do some serious bitchin. I understand that weird crap comes up in life (oh, I fogot to disclose that there was bat poo on my walls and bed too), but the the issue that really grinds me is that there was no follow up to the situation which I regarded as a pretty fucking high priority. They finally did come out as patch up the possible entry point for the bat that my bro detected. Hopefully I will be bat free in the future! Knock on wood...

Things Gone Batty Continued....

Sorry, I took a minor hiatus from my bat story. In fact, I think I told most of my regular blog readers (the whole 4.5 of em out there) verbally about the fiasco, but for closure sake, here is the skinny of my scary black winged night flyer...

So Stewie, the wonder kitten, tipped me off that something was up in my room. After I saw the wing, I had amazingly enough freaked out sense to close my bedroom door to confine the bat. I then grabbed my cell and when to the hallway to frantically call my mom with Stew in hand. Due to my tone, she intially asked. "Are you being attacked??!!" After I told her reason for my wigging out, she said to call the 24 maintance number. I thought this would be a quick solution, however, it was false advertisement since my anxiously placed call went straight to an answering maching. WTF?

This meant I had to send in the troops. AKA: those family members with more guts than me to battle the bat -- my bro & dad.

More to come tomm. sorry, got to hit the hay!

Rides, 20 Milers, BBQs & Flying Bats

Yes, all of these things are part of my weekend. Some parts were a little more terrifying than others.

On Friday I got the priveledge of going to Cedar Point with my bro for his company outting. The park was a bit crowded and it has been a while since I went to The Point around peak season. The longest wait we had was for the Maverick (about 1 1/2 hrs.) but it was waaaaaaaay worth it. That ride kicks your ass and does not even bother to ask for your name. Despite the matching arm bruises, the ride was fantastic.

My legs were aching pretty bad after Cedar Point but I still wanted to get my 20 miler in this weekend. I pulled a long run switchero this weekend because I did not want to do 20 duty on the weekend before my b-day. This girlie has got some plans to maximize fun next weekend and minimize the milage next weekend so that is why I swapped 12 for 20 on Saturday. The run was actually not too bad and I started to feel better as the run went on. I also got Lynn to buddy up with me for 8 of it. Later that night I got the reward of attend a good bbq at Alicia's parents' house (she was house sitting). The food was good and the big dogs all (labs, doodles and such) all played together smashingly.

When I got home on Saturday, I started reading on the couch because I was not sleepy yet. As I was reading, I started hearing werid stirs in the direction of my room. At first, I thought it was being caused by random kids in the hallway. However, as Stewie and I inched closer to my bedroom door, I saw a black wing fly by. It was a freakin bat! A black bat flying around in my bedroom!

More on this, I promise. Yes, the bat saga will continue in my next post.

Because Instead Of Grading Final Essays, Like I Should Be Doing, I Am Instead Going To Parade You With This Crap...

When I went to the vet last week so Stewie could receive his next round of "kitten" shots, Dr. Soma said that he was a "solid little guy". I think this is the polite way of stating that I might potentially have a soon to be fat cat on my hands. He is pretty hyper so he might be burning off some of that baby fat. But even if he does not, I can still be a chubby lover. Enlight of his situation though, I have adopted yet another name for the little dude. His most recent nicknames include "Beef Stew" or "Beefy Stewie". Feel free to address him as so when you come to visit. I think he is still a little too young to develop a complex about the name calling.

Hmmmmm.....

Beowulf is coming out soon. Dare I make peace with the literary masterpiece that haunted me during my senior year of high school? I think I still have that group video around here somewhere. Shit, that thing took waaaaay too many hours to make.

School Daze

Cleveland public school are now enforcing standard uniform wear for the elementary & high school kiddies. Now how the hell am I suppose to tell the difference between the nice, sweet private school brats and the tough drug pushin public school thugs?

Past the Half Way Point of 2007....

Okay, I know that the month of June was actually the half way spot of 2007, but I failed to Carpe Diem that shit and instead I am going to work this blog posting now. I guess I was too preoccupied with writing about issues such as:

Monkey Mayhem


corn roasting


me drunkenly strumming my guitar



my bitchen kitten




instead of covering this. Yeah, I got those priorities in order. Okay, nuff with the bull crap, here is some of the best junkage that has gone on around me in 2007 so far.

Best dvd rental: Half Nelson. Ryan Gosling earned an Oscar nom. for his role as an inner city elementary history teacher trying to kick a nasty drug habit while attempting to keep his students honest. I don't think he could've played it better/ more believable and he definitely showed why he blows all the other male twenty-something actors (Josh Hartnett, Ashton Kutcher just to name a two) out of the Hollywood waters.

Best In Cinema View: The Namesake. Few film experiences have blown my mind like this film did, and I did not even read the book yet. A perfect plot, character development and climatic rising made me develop a new found thirst for knowledge of India.

Best new song ruined by stupid Jay-Z doing his rap thing: Amy Winehouse's Rehab. I love the soul and jazz effect that resembles a tune that could be blaring in a 1940's jazz club in St. Louis. Why did rap have to wreck a version of this great grandparents' age slice of retro?

Best worst relationship break up line: "You're a pain in the ass during the week and a pain in the ass during the weekend.". I know, ouch! However, the girl this was said to is as sweet as pie and funny as all hell. We laugh about it, even months later. We also find humor in the fact that the guy that said it is a tool shed that is most likely not getting laid.

Best worst excuse: "The cocaine in my jeans was there because I borrowed the pants. The crack was not mine." Thanks Miss Lohan. I think we all needed a good laugh. For some reason I doubt she really buys into that Sisterhood of the traveling pants ideology, but hey, ya never know.

Best example of when to use the words "I am fucking freezing.": 2/17/07 For MaryAnn & Paul's wedding we took pictures outside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I think it was a brisk 19 degrees that day. Did I mention the Rock Hall is almost in lake Erie, and the bridesmaids had strapless dresses and sandals on? Oh, and the photographer Nazi had to get that "just right" picture. Burrr baby, burr!!

The best question that I can think of to ask a female singer: "Who hurt you so badly Miss Kelly Clarkson?" You seem like a nice girl; want me to kick his ass for you? Her tone, her lyrics, her hard as nails stare down all signal that you don't want to be the next fellow to break her heart. It's okay Kelly, you'll find him some day, but until that time, keep rockin & rollin.


Okay, there might be more to come with this because I had some fun with this post. Got to get back to administering the final exam, I noticed a few wandering eyes...

"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

I know, I Know......

You all have probably had just about enough of me posting the blog entries pretaining to my new feline. I know this because I would feel the same way if I kept seeing a blog pal of mine constantly commenting on their cute kitten, puppy, frog, hamster, two humped camel... etc....
Why can't I think of other matters of importance to touch upon such as: politics, the rising costs of college education, great summer book reads, The Hoff... Like I said, I know peeps. I know.
However, there is yet another issue I feel the need to "touch base on". Why do we come up with stupid sayings pretaining to our pets? I said that I was not going to repeat my mom's practice of doing so but that promise went out the balcony window. Here is just a lunch time portion serving of the odd things I have said to my cat (multiple & various times) through our brief pet/owner relationship...

After the kitty uses the litter box: "Stewie has stinky, stinky poopy!"
When I come through the door of my place: "Where is my tiny, tiny kitten?"

I know, I know, I need help. Any of you pet owners out there have any queer saying directed at your fur balls?

More Pictures of Stewie!

Okay, get your booties off the dance floor and come over to see my new kitten. He will most likely do one of the following things to you: purr, lick, chew or hiss. But trust me, they are all freakin adorable when he does it.




I think he wants to be a distance runner.



Scratchin that belly



Cat nappin


The Flying Cat! I wish he was Tunce The Driving Cat! Please tell me you remember that from SNL!!



Giving the sleepy stare down.

Kittie Picts..

Stewie & O'Malley Recreating Fight Club




Mary Ann Hangin With The Stew




This Is Such An "Is It Friday Yet?" Calendar Photo

Introducing Stewie

Because I think I needed a little "gonna love me unconditionally" action.

So I finally bit the bullet and got a kitten today. It worked out pretty well because Lynn's husand Bob's sister came upon two adorable kitties about 3 weeks back. Lynn and Bob kept one and I decided to take in the other. This way the bros can mingle for play dates when go out prancing on our runs. This little dude is cute and tough -- likes to pur and hiss. I decided to name name him Stewie. Yes, because of the Family Guy wise cracking baby.

My intitial observations are that Stewie enjoys napping, chewing on students' narrative essay, playing in bags and chasing his tail.

Uncle Jimbo took some good ones with his digital so I will post those soon.

The Best Reply To 4th of July Backyard BBQ Thus Far....

This was from my old manager Mary at MCD Invest. She cracks my shit up and really hit the nail on the head!

"Thanks for the invite. We have a family reunion that day. I will try to pop over but it may be later in the evening, probably about the time that you are polishing off the Jaigermister while strumming away to the ol campfire favorite 'No More I Love You's'"

You got that right, sister. Hands down.

Because I Think...

Kelly has already covered the back nine with Hunter Thompson on course that makes Pebble Beach look like a poorly kept mini-golf set up & was able to locate Falwell and give him a hearty bitch slap.

I know that my buddy Steve is taking a hiatus from the blog posting. Although he stated that he is done with blogging, I am begging him to reconsider. Take as as long of a break as you need to process all this fucked up and unfair shit. Some day I hope you come back to it because I need your funny and sacrastic commentary to brighten my days. And you sure as hell know, by far, that I am not the only one in cyber land that needs your crack. Because, well, free internet porn can only do so much for me.

Chatting with Steve about the funny Kelly memories was helpful last night. God, there are so many of them. In looking back, he was one of the funniest people I ever had the opportunity to know. Much of his humor was due to his brilliant mind that was able to serve up such whitty social commentary at the drop of a hat.

The best thing about it is that many who have a mind such as his opt to follow the path of "assholehood" or "dickhood" --- I guess also throwing in the made up slang of "vaginahood" would keep it gender equal but that word just does not have the same effect. For example, I have had many profs. over the years that have had, in my opinion, comparably great minds to that of Kelly Lowe but their arrogance laced and snobish attitudes (look how much smarter I am than everyone else in my circle of academia and lets not even get into how high I tower over you undergrads/grad losers.) left them as being more memorable as prinks instead of as high intellegent people. That is what made Kelly so different and better --- he was down to earth and approachable at any time.

That's all I have to say about that now. Off to work on another section of my teaching portfolio that is due this week. With that said, you know which teacher man's philosophy will be knockin around in my cranium.

Kelly, I Am Going To Miss You So Much.

I know right now, as I am composing this, that it is probably never going to end up turning out as well as I want it to. It is probably not going to cover half of what I want to discuss and be filled with many partially fullfilled thoughts: an assortment of multiple emotional fragments laced with typos. I realize that so much is going through my brain right now that I am in no frame of mind to even begin making a post about this but at the same time, I feel that I need to write. I sit here punching the keys on my IMAC in order to even attempt to..... Well, I am not even sure what my intentions are but all I do know is that I need to remember Kelly right now and what a great person he was.

Steve called me this evening with some horrible news. He told me that our friend and college advisor, Dr. Kelly Fisher Lowe had passed away this weekend. As soon as I heard, I just started sobbing uncontrollably. I was not as close to him as Steve was but it still hit me like a hard sucker punch to the stomach. I wanted to throw up and not in the metaphorical sense, but in the literal way. A man in his early 40s should not be gone. I still cannot make any sense of it, or even begin to imagine what his family is going through right now as I am writing this.

It is pretty weird because when my phone rang and lit up the name "Edgehouse" on the id, I got the gut feeling that something was just very wrong and bad. Usually Steve and I typically stay in playful contact via blog comments and creative texts. When I saw the number on my phone, I responded to the company that I was with that "this can't be good." I sort of just felt it in my gut. Instinct told me leave the crowded and noisey eatery and call Steve back in the car. When walking to the car, the tone of Steve's message on the vm just confirmed my suspicions. Whatever he had to tell me was going to hurt. I was going to hurt bad. I am glad I went to the parking lot and got in my car before talking to Steve because at least then only a few passer byers would see my crying uncontrollably and not a whole restaraunt of people. However, as best as I tried to regain my composure, I totally lost it once again when I rentered. But that's okay, to hell with what everybody in that place may have thought as they saw tears running down my face. They did not know what a great man Kelly was. And you know what, if I would have talked to them all for about 5 to 10 mins about him they would've wished they had gotten a chance to be touched by him in some way.

I have so many great memories of Kelly that like I said earlier, I know this post will not even start to cover half of the credit that he deserves for influencing my world. But hell, thinking about him, even though it is still making my eyes moisture up as we speak, does make me further appreciate how wonderful of a teacher and person he was.

Kelly was the first faculty member that I met at Mount Union. I met him, with Eve on his lap, at a Preview session during July 97. I spoke with him about the Writing major program and the upcoming writing classes that I was going to take come fall. I remember that he made me feel relaxed and confident about my choice of major. This was reassuring to me because like most incoming frosh, I was aprehensive about mostly everything. He also spoke with me briefly about the working in the writing center with him. He had confidence that I would be a good fit since I tested and "portfolioed" into the Honors College Writing Class. Wow, a teacher that put me at ease and had confidence in me..... I could tell that we were going to be more than advisor/student. I could tell that we were going to be friends.

Throughout my four years at Mount I took as many classes that I could with Kelly. Some of the favorites that I remember off hand were, Sport & American Culture, Creative Nonfiction and my Senior Culmin. Experience. In addittion, he was the best employer that I ever had the opportunity to work for when he was director of the Mount Union Writing Center. He let me be student director of the EH100I program the first year it was put into action. The experince that I had with that, working one-on-one with a select group of students througout the semester, left a postive engravement on my tutoring memories. The most fun I had with Kelly was when a group of us traveled to the National Writing Centers Association conference in Baltimore during my senior year in 2001. I fondly recall listening to Ben Folds 5 (when they went by that name) and Dennis Miller comedy cds on the way there. I also remember us feaverishly sculpting together our presentation on how the physical size of writing centers influences the learning habits/retention levels of students while we hovered around a table at a a retro 1950s style Dennys located a stone's throw away from our hotel. Our presentation actually ended up coming together quite neatly and we celebrated the day after at the big party wrap up celebration. Yes, nothing like a few hundred MLA skilled nerds bustin a move while drinkin a few imports. I got some great picts of the gang that night. It feels like it was just last week instead of almost 7 years ago.

Post college, I still kept my ties with Kelly. Even though I no longer had the option of listening in his class or swinigng by his office while he was listening to various cds, email made it possible to keep in touch. God bless the information super highway that allowed me still touch base with my fav. college prof even though he moved clear across the USA. Most students graduate and don't even think twice about their advisors as they jump out into their life after college. I knew that was not going to be the case with me and my mentor.

Kelly has helped me out in so many ways after ungrad. He not only assisted me with various grad school rec. letters but also with pedagogy advice at many different times during my teaching experience (as brief as it has been so far). I remember when I was planning the syllabus for my first college class, Kelly was the first person I called upon for adivice and he responded, as I naturally expected, with quick and insightful/very useful comments. I appreciated this because once again, like that first time that I met him in the summer of 1997, he put me at ease about my abilities and made me feel more confident about the challenges I had ahead of me going into new territory.

Kelly was the reason I wanted to become a college teacher. His personal style of teaching and desire to see students succeed captivated me both as one of his own students and as an apprentice eagerly attempting to learn the craft. I aspire to some day be half as successful as he was as an educator. He is also one of the main reasons why I continue to make the time, even though I tend to go in odd spurts, to write. Seeing the success he has had with numerous academic papers, the Alliance Hospital book and the Zappa novel encouraged me to continue in the craft. And even though I can't hold a flame to his style, I still have a passion for writing and aim for continuous growth and awareness, even though at times my level of overall improvement may be very minor.

I am so thankful that I had the chance, even though it was just for under ten years, to be influenced by Dr. Kelly Lowe. Kelly, you helped me in ways that you probably never even knew. I raise my glass to you and my heart fills with gratitude for everything you have assisted me with throughout my life. My deepest sympathy is with your family during this time.

Thanks K-Lowe. I love you.

The Haw And The Hem, The Yeah & The Booo Of It All...

THE BOO: Friday date night got sidetracked due to stomach flu or possible food posioning.
THE YEAH: Got to go to see "Knocked Up" with Alicia & Juan (John, I feel like making you Spanish today) and laugh my keester off.
THE YEAH: We are setting up a tee time alternative.
THE POSSIBLE BOO: Seeing how well skiing went as a date this past winter, this new spark might be short lived. However, I do not foresee myself getting tangled up in orange safety fencing so I might be in the clear. I have worked on chillin like a villian these past few monthes so finger crossed for smooth sailin (The Christopher Cross mellow version) and strokes. Also, I have promised myself never to challenge anyone to a 5K or 10 miler if I start sucking ass at a sport other than running. Well, I guess "promise" is a strong word so lets just go with "try real hard".


THE BOOO: Lots of paperwork and meetings this week at school.
THE POSSIBLE YEAH: If everything works out as I would like it to, I should be very happy camper for the upcoming fall semester.


THE YEAH: Alicia's bridesmaid dresses came in and they look rockin!
THE BOOO: Tried it on yesterday and it did not fit.
THE YEAH: Lost some poundage since getting fitted and I need two go two sizes smaller. I better keep running and watchin what I eat so Fatty McFatterson does not come creepin back.


THE YEAH: Got to have lots of fun Michelle bonding time this week (softball games, running and such..)
THE BOOO: She fucking hates me for making her sore from the track workout on Thursday. Michelle, don't forget, in a bout 2 weeks you should be kicking my ass once again. Just like the glory days of high school.


THE YEAH: Got to enjoy cranking the a.c. up full blast (free of my charge) and dine on parents' fridge foods as they were on their whirlwind Canada based gambling adventure.
THE BOOO: The dog was a piss ass night barker/cry baby and the new cat likes to attack toes while I slumber.
THE YEAH: For my minor efforts they rewarded me with bottles of Captain Morgan Parrot Bay & Absolut. God bless ya duty free shops.

Have a rockin weekend!!

Yet Another Thing To Make Me Excited For The Anual 4th Of July Backyard BBQ....

So this is what Jim is thinking about getting for the festivities. I know kittens, just the thought of it almost makes me tinkle too...

On Corn Detox

Well, another year down at the good olde Parma Rib & Rock. Although I was pretty beat today and my arms and back are quite sore, I managed to get in a fairly good run in between classes. Sweetness. So here are some random thoughts from my gig at the Jaycess corn booth these past few days. And of course, I made it in a numerical "Top (insert arbitary number) List".
Given in no particular order of importance....

1.) People wear some fucked up clothes to Rib Cookoffs. Alicia and I were having a contest to see what was the worst wardrobe choices of each day. Some of the top contendors were -- the lady with leathery tan skin sporting the mini tube top that showcases a belly button chain (yes, chain, not just a ring), the lady wearing a long, very warm looking bulky turtle neck sweater (it was in the 80 degree area that day), the woman who order corn wearing a shirt that barely covered her nipples and the dude sporting the Tim Duncan Spurs jersey. An honorable mention goes to the guy that Neil spotted having a bald mullet. Not sure of what else he was wearing but judging from the hair, the rest was probably not so Project Runway.

2.) Some guy came up to our booth to inquire who had the best ribs. After I responded that I did not eat ribs, he looked at me like I had lobsters on my face. Sorry dude, the ribs are not my bag.

3.) I heard enough country music to make my head spin over and over again. Plus our stand was almost on top of the stage. Double augh!


4.) I am not the best artifical wall climber around. I tried it once a few months ago on a date and the terrain was a bit more favorable. Alicia took a pict. This one was from near the top of my quest. It looks like a good angle, better than a different one that probably could have shown the top of a miget's head as he was walking by. Yeap, I got about that far off the ground.



5.) There is a heap load of greasy and heart burnish potential food at Rib & Rocks.

6.) Neil and Roxann further solidified my opinion that they are my fav. married couple. They were working hard at this event 24/7 and neither peeped a complaint. Only smiles and dutiful charity labor was their agenda.

7.) Riding an unsafe carnival ride with your two friends, Roxy & Alicia, is good fun. However, after some beers, icecream and the reality of not posessing the fearless stomach of a 10 year old can really fuck you up. Damn you, Monkey Mayhem ride!!!

8.) T-shirts with cheesy corn sayings rock the house.

9.) Discussions by the corn grill of Jim possibly renting a giant jumping inflatable for backyard bbq makes my mouth water more than buttered corn.

10.) My middle name could be "4th". I ran again in the Parma mayor's 5k race on Saturday morning. Once again, I believe to the best of my knowledge, for the 3rd year in a row, I took 4th place on the womens' side. No matter how well or how much like ass I run, 4th seems to be my destiny. I guess it is better than 5th but Pre was the only one in my book that could pull off a bitchin 4th place performance.

Lets Turn the Lights Down Low & Break Out That Hot Butter....

Yeap, that is the theme for my activities this weekend. No, you pervs! It is nothing like what you are thinking so get your minds out of gutter! Today was the start of the Parma Rib & Rock. One day down and 3 more to go. The members of the Jaycees and I will be working the corn on the cob booth at the event. We operate the booth as a way to raise funds for Relay for Life which our area is holding at the end of July.

So if you are bored this weekend, stop on by and give me a holla. We even have kickin shirts this year featuring corn on the front and different corn related sayings on the back. Mine says "Do I back you corny, baby?" I know, I heart it too.

Only I Really Could....

A conversation that I had last weekend with some friends prompted me to generate this post. Some are pretty basic and some are a little laced with oddity.

The Only I Really Could List....

^ Run a race an end up breaking, not a foot bone, but an elbow bone.

^ Spend 3 years of my career working at an investment company when my lowest grades have notoriously been in the subject of mathematics. Oh yeah, I have dyslexia as well.

^ Decide when Roxy and I were throwing a surprise b-day party for Alicia that using the "cover" that she was going to be attending a tuperwear party would be a believable excuse. Okay, I should have thought of the following things before telling her that: Who the hell still attends tupperwear parties after 1988 and why would her and her 26 year old friends be excited by the idea of it on a Saturday night??

^ Gain in the range of 12 lbs of fatty fattness while briefly dating a vegetarian. And bear in mind, this was a healthy, ate lots of veggies and fruits type vegetarian as well.

^ Be unable to find my own car keys, which have many random key chains making the set quite noticable from outter space, on my kitchen table yet be able to locate my friend in a sea of 40, 000 plus people during the constant movement of the 2003 Chicago Marathon.

^ Own and wear a circa 1989 Kraft Cheesasaurus Rex shirt (that you had to obtain by accumulating a freakishly high number of Proof of Purchases. I probably sacrificed an artery or two in the process) in 2001, wear it after track practice in the campus cafeteria and then glance across the tables to notice another student also wearing that exact shirt. Now that shit is more rare than winning the fucking lotto.



^ Be so acronym challenged that I actually thought, and then further stupidly mentioned to a friend, that the term T & A was actually DNA. Sidenote: This lingo mishap event, which first surfaced in a hotel pool in Hollywood Beach Florida in 2001 has over the years been the showcase of periodical taunting. Such classic rips at my blunder have included... "Look at her. She looks like a nice piece of DNA! (insert laughter from my college friend "AKA Jen" and eye roll from me).


^ This sort of goes with one I already touched upon but what the hell.... Injure/break/need stitches in different parts of my body, but all predominately on my left side.

^ Think that I could drunkenly chase down my car as it was being towed down Detroit Rd. in Lakewood. Yeah, like that a-hole that rigged it up was going to slow down for my stumbling ass. However, a few minutes later I thought it was great logic to call the parking attendant a "dumb fuck head" for calling for the tow. Yeah, like that was going to do any good or fix my current car impounding delema.

^ Suffer a life long defect from The Taco Bell.
The much needed 411 on this event: On my 21st b-day, we had a party at the house of JP, Prej and Booher. I remember being tanked and of course that prompted the great alcohol inspired idea that I needed some TB. After making a classic Taco Bell run (which it actually was a foot race), the drunkness caused me and one of my roomies to drop our fast food knock off Mexican goodness. Not seeing anything wrong with our logic, we laughed uncontrollably and plopped to the floor to enjoy. I must have slammed a little too hard because I cracked my shin. It hurt a bit at the time but the "Fire and Ice" shots masked the pain at the time (not so much the next morning though). To this day, I still have a mini indent in the center section of my left shin. Ask me nice and I might let you check it out.

Reductio Ad Absurdum Monday: Sometimes The Randomness Of Your Life Also Extends To The Junk You Find In The Books On Your Shelf

So tonight I took my Webster's Dictonary of Quotations with my to my oral presentations (yeah, try not to giggle at the name, that is the official course title) class. My pupils were suppose to write down a quote on a notecard for an in class activity tonight and I figured that at least one or two jokers would have a brain fart and forget, so I brought my back up source. Well, turns out that I was correct and as a student sheepishly came up to my desk to consult my big ye olde book of quotes, I did the random page leaf through with my finger tips to make sure that I did not have any odd and ends within the pages of my text. I am notorious B.I.G. for slidin paperish items in my books. Well, turns out that this book was no exception to my rule.

In the pages I found the following items: a dried out leaf (okay this item sort of makes sense to be in a book), a picture of me, Julie K, Shawna and Kimmy Pants at Jeff Geises wedding in, I think, 1999? a recipe out of a mag. for toffee ice cream dessert and last and the most random of all random things - another picture, this one of my college friend, Julie O, sitting in her dorm room, kissing a minature silhouette of Honest Abe Lincoln. Yeap, I got no answers either.....

Cross Is Boss

Fam & Friends at the Buckeye Local Schools 1 mile & 5K:
baby blue shirt - Cameron * speedy gal in white shirt - Katlyn * dork in hat - yours truly * Italian Pride - Mary Ann * trendy glasses - Roxy * best aunt in hat - Aunt Pat * little dude in green shirt - Quinn



Two things that I strongly believe in are the importance of family and running. So if there is an instance when both of those can be magically put into one force, you better believe that I am all about it! About a month ago my cousin's little son Cameron asked me to run in the first annual charity race for his school (Buckeye Schools in Medina) and of course I gave him a "yes" on the spot. I even got two of my friends to participate by walking in the event last night.

Although it was a little on the warm and humid side yesterday evening, the race was a blast! Another shocklng and pleasant surprise was that it was a true cross country race - through the woods, corn fields and all, using the junior high and high school course. There are not too many of those races around here (with the exception of Mastic Woods in Rocky River in August). Even though I was a little aprehensive going into the race considering that I have not done much speed work in recent months, I was quite pleased with my performance. I ended up chugging to a 22.59. Not too bad considering the weather, grass/slight inclines, lack of track workouts and any other addittional excuse that I forgot to throw in here. Also, I at last feel like I am getting some confidence back in the running area. It seems like over the past few months I have been a little softish regarding my mental running prowless. Not being able to run with my partner in crime, Jen and dealing with some other personal junk has probably contributed here and there. However, last night I really felt it comming together once again. I felt psyched up, ready to compete and a little more mentally stuborn then the recent norm. This is a good thing and I feel that I can hopefully stick with this approach in more workouts/races to come. : )