Hitting the Sauce

So here was my Friday night:

• Worked late.


• Went to dinner with husband at local Italian hotspot.


• Wore favorite (and expensive) Boho dress and cropped denim jacket combo. Rockin.


• Had pasta with best organic marinara sauce ever. Fabulous.


• Paid $11 for a $3 glass of wine.


• Watched as waiter cleared our table before he proceeded to dump the entire plate of remaining food and marinara sauce all over floor, which included a spattering of it on favorite boho dress. Good thing I liked the sauce so much since I was now wearing it.


• Manager and 3 other waiters came over and had things cleaned up in less than 2 minutes, except for my dress, of course.


• Manager kindly comps the entire meal, knowing that the dress will be headed to the dry cleaners in an ambulance ASAP.


• We tipped the waiter anyway. He was a nice guy, and it was an accident.
  

Hey, it happens. We'll go back. The food was fabulous and cheap. It cost us the equivalent of a dry cleaning bill. :)

Amateur Hour

My apologies to the rest of the planet for having elected a total amateur to office...but I didn't vote for him. I was on to him early.

We're only 6 weeks into it, and it's already become a total embarrassment.

According to newspaper articles, he just insulted the British Prime Minister by totally playing down his recent visit because Obama is 'tired' and 'overwhelmed'; he didn't realize the job would be this hard; he underestimated the volume of work that would be crossing his desk; he needs a cigarette; he's not getting enough sleep at night, and on and on and on. He says he just didn't realize what a big deal it wast to host Gordon Brown, wasn't aware of the protocol, doesn't see the US &UK as having a special relationship and can't figure out why the PM's office is making such a big deal about this.

And it gets even worse -- Mr Brown brought some specially selected gifts, including a pen holder made from the wood of a warship that helped stamp out the slave trade - a sister ship of the vessel from which timbers were taken to build Mr Obama's Oval Office desk. Obama's gift in return? A collection of Hollywood film DVDs that could have been bought from any department store.

I simply cringe for all of us.

And this is the guy who's going to 'make amends' and 'regain US stature' in the world. Right.

Amateur.

My apologies now and in advance for whatever else he does because he's inexperienced, overwhelmed and not qualified for the job. It's going to be the longest 4 years on record, and I, for one, am embarrassed.

Money, Justice & the Media

As a part-time Floridian, I have been watching the most horrendous tragedy unfold in the newspapers there over the past couple of weeks.

Fort Lauderdale, Fl - 2:00am-ish in the morning. A white Porsche endeavors to race another car that revved at it at a stoplight. In 30 seconds and a blurr, it results in the Porsche cracking up, crashing up on to the sidewalk and killing two British tourists who were on their way back to their hotel. Subsequently, the damaged Porsche took off into the night and was abandoned a few miles away. The other car, unidentified, was never seen again.

When the police found the abandoned Porsche, they identified the owner of the car as a rich kid from Chicago who has a record a mile long of drug use, high speed car chases, street racing expensive cars, injuring people (including a cop), and seemingly never having to really answer for any of it. In all the trouble he'd been in, it appears the worst punishment he'd received was probation and a court order to complete a drug treatment program. In fact, he was still on probation from his last 'incident' but the court let him go live in Florida, so he could 'take care' of his parents' oceanfront properties there (like a property management company wasn't already doing that).

Let's see -- one minute you're behind bars in Chicago and being charged with a crime. The next minute you're living oceanfront in Florida and driving your white Porsche around the Ft. Lauderdale nightlife. How does that happen? That's easy -- daddy can afford to hire the best and most expensive lawyers, and he surely did. Oh, and who knows how connected they all are into the Chicago political scene -- it's a quagmire of muck and money. They may own a judge or two there.

But here's the kicker -- the police identified the abandoned car's owner, but when they finally found him, he claimed he wasn't driving the car. Even though he was seen leaving night clubs, driving around in it earlier all by himself, apparently, he's wise enough to the system to just say 'it wasn't me', and now the police have to prove it.

So two innocent people lie dead; two wives have lost a husband; two sets of children (including a new baby) have lost a father. And once again, daddy has hired the best and most expensive lawyers, and the owner of the white Porsche says 'prove it'.

And now, we watch the investigation. I only hope the national media picks this up, as I think it might be the only way some form of justice is going to take root. My fear is that without the media spotlight on it, money and influence will trump truth and justice. Chicago and Florida are two of the most corrupt places in the country, and I can't imagine that excludes the law enforcement there. So I really want someone in the press to take up this story and follow it closely so that all of us can see what's really going on here.

I feel so bad for the innocent families. They are the ultimate victims of money and justice. Had this guy been given the proper jail time previously, he wouldn't even have been in Florida, and two families would still be in tact. What a tragedy for all of us.

No Spring in My Step

Ugh! We change the clocks tonight....an hour forward. Time to spring ahead.

I hate it when we mess with the clock. Although I'm happy to see an extra hour of daylight in the evenings, I hate going through the transition of effectively having to get up an hour earlier to do it.

I've been in sunny California most of the week, in the Pacific time zone, already two hours behind the Central time zone, and it's messed up my sleeping, eating, waking up, etc. And here comes another hour change to deal with. Ugh.

Yet another sign of getting old.

Up in Arms

While I do think Michelle Obama is an attractive woman, I truly do not see her as a fashion icon in the realm of Jackie Kennedy, and I find it laughable that some in the press are trying to sell that notion to the public. Paleez.

While she generally looks okay, I couldn't help but think this look was fairly inappropriate for her first official appearance as First Lady in the First Lady's Box in front of Congress for official State business.

She arrived in bare arms in February (brrrrr) and while everyone else seemed to be dressed for a business occasion, she seemed ready for a social occasion. It was a bit unseasonal, bordering on unprofessional and almost to the level of being distracting. Even the small girl next to her had her arms covered. And Jill Biden (to the right) figured it out.

What was Michelle thinking? Does she not have people to advise her on these things? Does she not know it's 30 degrees outside? Did she not get the memo on the dress code? She could have very simply tossed on a jacket over this, and it would have been suitable for the occasion.

It's occurred to me that Obama continues to act like he's still on the campaign trail (somebody needs to tell him he won the election, and he can stop touring the country with campaign-type speeches). Looks like someone needs to clue in Michelle, as well.

Oscar Prediction: A Real Yawner

For those of you who've been reading my blog for a while, you may recall how much I look forward to Oscar night -- watching it as an 'event' every year at my house. My husband and I pile up on the sofa with a bottle of chardonnay and some fresh stone crabs and proceed to critique any and every one who waltzes across the red carpet. A seriously trivial and unimportant activity, but fun for us, nevertheless.


You may also recall that for the past 2-3 years, I've been livid about a notorious brother-in-law who somehow happens to traipse across 15 states and pop into our home for five hours a year, ALWAYS on Oscar Sunday and ALWAYS in time to ruin our Oscar watching plans. And I have to smile and hold my tongue and miss everything. AARGHHH!!!!


And this year? (Drum roll, please.....)


Finally, finally, finally....no visit from the brother-in-law to deal with. No ruined Oscar evening. Friends are coming over, stone crabs are on ice, chardonnay is in the wine cooler. Woo hoo!!


But oddly, I'm not that excited, about the show anyway. I've grown so jaded about Hollywood, its political views, its out-of-touch state with the rest of us, the attitudes, the excesses, the skewed moral compass, the void of real talent....it's getting difficult to even want to watch the over-indulged brats do anything, especially hand each other awards.


Sooooo.....I think I'm going to crack open the chardonnay early, enjoy the company, ogle the dresses and not watch it all that closely. I've actually made it to ZERO of the movies that are nominated....and I'm reading that it's likely to be one of the most boring Oscars ever. Looks like the highlight of my evening will be the stone crabs. Yum!

Love at First Sighting

I'm originally from Texas (still have a townhouse in downtown Dallas), but I've lived in or had a second home in South Florida for years now. In Florida, I live about a half a mile from the Intracoastal waterway, with another half mile to the oceanfront.

I walk or jog this trek for exercise a few days a week when I'm here. Beautiful, refreshing route past the marina and down to the ocean. And after all these years of going to and from, back and forth over that Intracoastal Waterway bridge, today I finally saw them for the very first time -- manatees!

I looked down from the bridge today, and there were 3 manatees surfacing. Breathtaking! They were like giant ghosts in the water, quiet behemoths as gentle as they were large. One was considerably smaller than the other two, so perhaps it was a family, out for a Sunday swim and up to the surface of the water, because it was such a warm, beautiful, sunny day out today.

What a sudden, breathtaking view of nature, there and gone in a flash. Fabulous.

Dog Doo and LIKES you, too...

Opening scene: children's playground

Little boy finds little girl playing by herself and proceeds to push her to the ground and tell her she's made of dog doo. Little girl goes crying to her mother, who explains that the reason this little boy did this to her is because he LIKES her.

Enough said.

That's the opening scene of "He's Just Not That Into You", and it could not set the tone better for why relationships with men can be so confusing, from the very outset.

Good flick, chick flick...and my husband always enjoys those with me. I think he thinks he's getting some sort of double secret female insight by attending a chick flick, and so be it. He's secure enough to go, and I like that.

Film was cute. Let me just say I'm glad I'm not in the dating world anymore. What a nightmare.

That Tickles!

I Googled myself...and here's what came back. People with my name are:

• On Linked In (me)
• On Facebook (not me)
• On Classmates (not me)
• A Greenhouse Grower (not me)
• A campaign contributor (me)
• Manager of Veterinary Services (not me)
• A Trivia winner (not me)
• A violator on the West Virginia Board of Physical Therapy (not me)
• A CRM specialist (not me)

Clearly, other people with my name lead a more interesting life than I do.

25 Things About Me

1. I'm 5'10 and have been this tall since I was 15. Needless to say, I wasn't asked to dance much (or ever) in high school. I don't think you ever forget those things.

2. I don't necessarily think I'm smarter than other people, but I am probably mentally quicker. I've come to believe this based on several experiences, one of which is that I consistently laugh well before the rest of the audience at a movie. Or maybe I'm just consistenly hanging out in 'slow' crowds.

3. In my mind's eye, I see myself as a bit of a loner. I always have been. It's been my tendency (good or bad) to have one best friend and lots of 'acquaintances'. For the last 15 years, my best friend has been my husband, and I like it that way.

4. I'm a bit of a worry wart, and I don't know why. I wish I could be more happy-go-lucky, but it's not really me.

5. I am a spiritual person. I don't agree that one can't be highly intelligent and also believe in God. The fact is that I'm smart enough to realize that all of this couldn't possibly be here by accident, and I don't understand people who don't get that.

6. When I was five years old, I found almost all the eggs at my kindergarten Easter egg hunt. My teacher then put me in the middle of the circle of children and proceeded to hand out my eggs to the other kids who didn't have any because they were too shy or unfocused to look for them. While I didn't mind the sharing aspect, it was at this point in my life that I knew I could never believe in Socialism. I had worked hard for those eggs, and now they were being taken from me and given to kids who had not. It was an early lesson in unfairness that I never forgot.

7. I believe that people get taller but they don't necessarily grow up. Especially men.

8. As a child, I played non-stop with dolls...baby dolls, Barbie dolls, dolls of every kind. But as an adult, I've never really had any interest in children. Never really wanted any, never felt I was missing something by not having them. I suppose I will regret that decision someday, or at least that's what they tell me. I'm still waiting for it to hit. Right now, the angst for children remains limited to major holidays, where it seems like it might be fun to be surrounded by a large family. Having that angst limited to 1 or 2 days a year hardly seems justification for the lifelong commitment of being a parent.

9. I've always been healthy, but for some reason, I don't think I will live a long life. Actually, I'm not sure I want to. Rather than overstay my visit here, I'd rather go early and leave 'em wanting more.

10. I don't value 'things'. I thought I did earlier in life; now I just see it all as clutter.

11. The best thing that ever happened to me is being born to my parents. The worst thing that ever happened to me is something I won't talk about here because I am still dealing with it and trying to get through it.

12. I found my first grey hair when I was 25. I promptly plucked it out and put it in an envelope and filed it away. I wanted to remember it. I don't know why; there have been plenty since then.

13. I probably look okay for my age. I've not put on weight (even since high school), and since I can keep the greys at bay with hair color, probably my worst aging issues so far are the lines gathering steam around my eyes. I'm not a big fan of plastic surgery, but I may have to break down and have that addressed someday (if that's possible). I'm really trying to hold out for someone to invent the miracle cream of creams to take care of that, instead. On the other hand, I may just blow it all off and grow old gracefully. After all, does it really matter?

14. I am often probably too polite. Some people just need to be brought down a notch, but I am rarely one to do that.

15. I'm not a jewelry girl. I never have been. Growing up, I had a best friend who collected charms for a charm bracelet. She would get a new charm for each birthday, at Christmas, at other giftings. She was always so excited about that, and I never understood why. I still don't. Jewelry is just expensive clutter. It's pretty to look at, but I don't really want it. Unless it's a canary diamond, and then I get chillbumps all over.

16. Growing up, I had an older sister who was fairly busty by the time she was 16. Following on, I couldn't wait for my boobs to come in. And I'm still waiting. They never showed up. :)

17. I don't have a good relationship with my sister or her daughter, but I have a good relationship with my brother and always have.

18. I hate my thighs.

19. I love traditional values in life and culture, but I prefer that other people maintain them and carry them out. That way, I don't have to and society is none the worse for it. It gives me all the freedom without the guilt. An example of this is having children -- I love it when someone has 3 or 4 -- that way, my not having any doesn't have an impact on society. It all evened out.

20. As a child, I always drew pictures of people with a single flower growing out of their head. I don't know why.

21. I can't sing at all. At church, I only mouth along to the words.

22. I used to constantly be late. One day, I turned that all around and am now never late. I don't know how that happened.

23. I love french fries, but I avoid them as often as possible. (see #18 above)

24. My religious upbringing does not teach reincarnation, but I can't help but think that might be a possibility. Would only seem fair to get more than one shot at it all. I also tend to think that there is only one God; some of us call him God, others Allah, still others Buddha. As a Christian, that's not really consistent with standard beliefs, but I wonder if God simply presented himself to different peoples in different ways because He knew we would all relate to him differently. A distinct possibility, I think.

25. I'm thankful for having lived a pretty good life so far.