A Piece Of Big Apple PRIDE!

A Piece Of Big Apple PRIDE!

http://main.aol.com/2013/07/17/2013-mlb-all-star-game-la_n_3600996.html

*If you’re not a baseball fan, don’t read this. If you are, this is me, sharing my pride in Mariano Rivera, MVP of this year’s All-Star Game, which will be the final of his career. For those of you who don’t know, or those who live outside North America, Mariano is the ace of the New York Yankees bullpen. He has been our closer for 16 years of his 19 year career as a Yankee.

He is the epitome of humble, respectful, soft-spoken, and kind. As a New Yorker, and a born Yankees fan, I take great pride in the players that are “no laughs, no bullshit”. The ones that do their jobs, that don’t embarrass themselves, their team, their fans, or the city which they represent <cough, A-Rod, cough>. Mariano is that kind of player, the one that even opposing teams respect because they’re in awe of his abilities on the field, on a career that is damn near flawless in performance.

It was a great moment last night to see him respectfully applauded at Citi-Field amongst a, mostly, hometown crowd. Especially by his American League teammates and the opposing National League players. For his last All-Star Game to be in New York, for him to be the first closer to ever receive the MVP award at the All-Star Game, those are big things. This man is a future Hall of Famer for sure, and not only does he make me proud to be a New Yorker, he also reminds me that the American Dream of success and hard work is still alive and well.

I am SO proud of you Mo. I’ve watched you from day one and have always cheered you on and respected you. Last night made me emotional, knowing that you will retire at the end of this season. The team and baseball will not be the same without you. It will probably take someone the next 50 years to try to break all of the records you have worked so hard to achieve, rarely giving yourself the credit you so deserve. Believe me when I say that I will one day tell my children of your greatness, the same way my parents told me about Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, and a host of other greats that followed in their footsteps.

At the end of the season, win or lose, you will always be named among the greats. I am proud to have witnessed your career and will always smile whenever I see your face. I also promise to beat the crap out of anyone I ever see wearing the number 42. They’re not worthy!!*

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No One Plans On Being Sick

When I say that I was home for the past two days, sick and in bed, that’s not an exaggeration.

I was not sick, laying on the couch watching TV (Lets be serious, there’s nothing on. I have hundreds of channels, including movie channels and there is still nothing on. This doesn’t even shock me anymore, but it does aggravate me whenever I pay the bill.). I was not anywhere, except out like a light in bed, waking up only to take pain medicine & Valerin (It works for muscle aches & pains, back & neck spasms, as well as anxiety. Google it if you’re into homeopathic remedies, it works.) at the appropriate times. It’s so rare that I am feeling so bad that I will allow myself to go back to bed at 8:30 in the morning after a decent night’s sleep, but on the rare occasion that it happens, I’m not about to beat myself up over it. Shit happens, life happens, and no one plans on getting sick. No one plans on being in pain either.

Tuesday was the same as Monday, only round two came with a migraine from hell. Two rounds of medication, fluids, and no relief. I just took my third round of medication. With all that caffeine in my system, I am sure I will eventually bounce off the walls. I can’t have that much caffeine in my system without some negative side effects because I had to give up coffee and most caffeinated beverages years ago due to said migraines.

I slip up every now and then. I’ll be driving past Dunkin Donuts (or Starbucks) and need a fix. I prefer Dunkin Donuts because they’re one of the only places I can get blueberry coffee. I know it sounds weird to anyone that hasn’t had it, but I’m telling you it tastes like a blueberry muffin. Heaven. Plus, they’re not insulted when I ask for half caf, half decaf, not when I then go on a week long binge of iced coffee in a multitude of different flavors (Blueberry Vanilla, Vanilla Coconut, Raspberry Mocha, etc.). My soda crutch is Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper, but it takes me forever to drink a two liter bottle of it. By the time I am nearing the end of a bottle, it has to be spilled out. I try to be good and stick to Polar Seltzer (If you live in Bucks County and you know where they’re selling all the good flavors, please let me know because I am convinced I have to go home to MA and drive back with twelve cases!!), water, and green tea about 95% of the time. Again, I have slips, but they’re not huge and they don’t last long, so I’ve become very sensitive to caffeine. Sometimes it really helps my headaches, and sometimes it makes them worse. But I outright refuse to give up chocolate. A girl can live with a lot of things, even in this kind of pain, but she cannot go through life without chocolate. So, as long as it’s not going to kill me due to a serious allergy, my “hips don’t lie” because I’m a dark chocolate fiend.

So, where was I? Sick, in bed, pain, sleeping, migraine, caffeine, blah, blah, blah. It’s been a vile start to the week for me and I am hoping it gets better soon.

On the plus side, I was nominated for an award and I am going to acknowledge that as soon as my eyes can stare at the screen for more than a few minutes at a time without the required use of nausea medication (I’m a mess, I know!). I’m very humbled by this, and am now desperately searching for 10 additional people that I can nominate. I’ve already got 5, I think, and this particular award calls for 15. When I haven’t been blinded by pain, I’ve been searching blogs and I think I’ve come up with some really cool people to, hopefully, introduce some of you to. There are so many quality blogs on this site and I am in real awe of some of them. Each of them are doing something completely different from me, and for me to be intrigued enough to stick with anyone, their material has to be interesting, funny, or we’ve got to have some basic common interests (music, movies, books, a love of cooking, etc.). Just because I didn’t personally nominate someone doesn’t mean I think any less of them either.

I will be back with something solid as soon as I have one head, instead of two (I do think the back of my head is growing another one.  I’m not sure that will even be helpful!). I certainly wish a far better week for all of you.

Oh To Be This Musically Talented…

Oh To Be This Musically Talented…

Book Review

Book Review: Drinking and Tweeting (And Other Brandi Blunders) by Brandi Glanville with Leslie Bruce

Ten Stars

I pre-ordered this book months ago and was stoked to see it download to my Kindle Fire the morning of its release. I got into it right away and was literally finished in a few hours of not-so straight through reading, but believe me when I say nothing else has captured my attention and held it as long as this book has.

If you’re surprised by the rating of this book, don’t be. Brandi Glanville brings it! Honest, refreshing, direct, hilarious, sad, open, and REAL. This was an excellent first book for her. I hope she will write again, regardless of the subject matter, because she definitely has a lot to say, a style all her own, and she writes the same way she speaks, which I do as well, so it’s relatable and I respect her for it.

This book was not the shocking tell-all that all the tabloids will have you believe. Instead, it is a real, honest account of someone who loved her husband, family, and the life they had built together, only to find out that it was a lie, and that when the dog strays, he strays to someone with the same moral fiber. None whatsoever.

I remember when this entire thing broke through the tabloids several years ago and all I kept thinking was “He has this beautiful wife, two young kids, and he’s leaving her for someone who is married?!” I had been an avid fan of his when he was on Third Watch, but I agree with Brandi when she says he’ll never win any awards for his acting. Most of the characters he plays are pigs. Yeah, I’m not surprised either.

I think it is a real credit to her that she didn’t come right out and question whether or not he ever truly loved her. My guess is, this guy knows nothing about true love, but Brandi is an extremely loveable person in how she presents herself, by being real and owning her mistakes and her future. Don’t believe what you see on TV or read on-line, read this book and decide for yourself. I have read it twice since getting it. I laughed out loud, I shed a few tears, I related, I nodded my head in agreement, and believe me when I say I agreed with a lot. Not everything, but a lot of things.

Now raising her boys as a single Mom, it is clear this woman is truly devoted to these children, to raising good men, and to teaching them right from wrong in an honest way, without sugar-coating anything. I love that she speaks with them honestly about the things they come to her with, and that when they have questions, however big or small, she finds the right way to answer them. Like me, she comes from a place that says “Don’t bullshit your kids. Be honest with them, it’s better for them to hear it from you and be able to comprehend it.” I also feel she has done an amazing job protecting them from the shit storm her ex-husband and his horse, I mean “new wife” created.

I respect her honesty and candor in regard to depression, post-partum depression, anxiety, and getting yourself the help you need. They don’t come more real than Brandi Glanville, and for that I applaud her.

Maybe it’s because I too am a Scorpio with not much of a filter, but I think she is awesome. I loved this book and will read it again. This is definitely one of the BEST books of all the ‘Housewives’ that have released one.

Team Brandi, absolutely!! I am so proud of her for rising above the crap and coming out as the star she really is. Major, major kudos to her.

Experience The …

Experience The Mysterious

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”  ―Albert Einstein

Cheshire Cat Moon

To the west tonight, this is what the moon looks like. I’ve got a great view of it.

I’m Still In Love With This…

I’m Still In Love With This…

Enjoying The Journey

To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music the words make.” -Truman Capote

I find myself especially inspired to write and create at the moment. I’ve made a lot of progress over the last few weeks. I made a lot of changes to my original “first draft”. I’m probably on my 20^th version of the story which introduces readers to the world in which I have created, and it is not only supremely better, but it is now titled and moving more and more towards completion. This pleases me because it has helped advance the progress on books 2, 3, and 4 as well. All of which have received titles I am intent on keeping, and as the story progresses, I find myself more and more fascinated with the work I am doing. There are so many days when it hardly seems like I’m the writer. Whenever you read your own work a week or so after it’s written and you’‘re totally mesmerized by the story and where it is going, it means you’ve got talent. You have the ability to forget that you’re reading something you have created. When you can surprise yourself like that, you’ve got a gift. Don’t waste it.

I don’t know if all fiction writers do extensive research or not. I’ve had so many tell me “Oh, I just made that up.”, and it always annoys me, especially if it’s another language, a city or country they have never been to, or has anything to do with the paranormal or actual spells that a practicing witch might perform. I’m a perfectionist, and because I have always written facts and hardcore opinion, it goes against me to “make it up”.  I am naturally drawn to the more spiritual and less religious aspects of certain things, but because I do speak more than one language, I am constantly trying to make sure that the dialogue is perfect.

Other than a few remaining family members, I don’t know anyone else that speaks Yiddish. It’s almost a dead language, which is why I continue to use it daily, that way what I know won’t die with me. Just the occasional word has actually started rubbing off on my friends, which is both amusing and charming. I have my brother who also speaks it, as well as my last remaining Great-Aunt, and my Aunt. I am sure other family members still use it as well, but I have about as much use for them as I would a baby’s dirty diaper.  It’s a long story, in which I will spare you my personal drama. I’ll save that for my best friend, and a reputable therapist. <smirk, wink>

I’m good with languages, but there are a few I have real trouble with. Don’t ever be surprised if I screw up what little French I have managed to retain, because I still mix it up with Spanish and/or Italian. I understand some languages that I don’t speak, and sometimes when a person that speaks little to no English approaches me for directions or needs relatively minor information, my understanding of what they’re saying can become a problem when I forget basic greetings or that I know the language at all. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought “Why didn’t I just answer her in, insert language here?” It’s a total blonde brunette moment! Of course, my brother’s French is really good, but he also took it for many more years than I did and uses it constantly. Unfortunately, none of his vast knowledge is helping me on these books. I’ve been writing for over 20 years, the only things my brother has ever heard were two eulogies and an 11 page speech I gave at a memorial service. When your own brother comes up to you at a funeral and is in awe by what you have written, that is both saying something, as well as sad that he doesn’t take the time to read what I produce. We are as alike as we are different. Libras. Can’t live with them, and strangling them is apparently frowned upon.

As per usual, I digress…

I have actually been thinking quite a bit about the cover art of the first book for the first time ever. That’s something, because even though I have an artistic eye and I have a lot of creative ideas, I don’t usually go in that direction, but I like the little bit of artistic freedom it has afforded my mind. Allowing your ability to create and expand in a new direction is a positive, exciting thing.

So, as I return to book 2’s third chapter, I am reminded, once again, to write what I know, and not sweat the small stuff. Enjoy the journey.

Such A Beautiful Message

Such A Beautiful Message

I just heard this song for the first time yesterday, and I am so enamoured with it. Definitely downloading this one to my playlist! Hope you like it.

Who Says!

I love this song, and I have always thought Selena was such a beautiful girl. This song always makes me smile.