Enchantment

So I settled in yesterday to actually watch Stars On Ice. It used to be a tradition for me. It used to be videotaped & rewatched until the tape died. It used to be something that I traveled up to Lake Placid, NY over Thanksgiving weekend to see the opening show each year.

Used to be.

It was the greatest thing, hands down, on ice every year. Then it tanked a bit. I realized how absolutely phenomenal the cast had been & how amazing the pair, dancers & group numbers were- once they kind of sucked. I took it for granted as normal until it became mediocre & then I missed the previous awesomeness.

I used to see the show twice. Years on end I saw it in Lake Placid & then somewhere in PA. I think the last time I went was 2002, maybe.

So yesterday I sat & watched, deflated by the fact that even the television broadcast has been sliced. It used to be 2 hours & now a two hour show with 14 skaters gets an hour of time not counting commercials.

So I watched, kid & dog both on my lap. Micheal Weiss...ick. Todd Eldredge...ick. Ina & Zimmerman...GOOD!...Chinese pair...GOOD!...behind the scenes footage of group numbers that I'll just so want to see...eh maybe...concept- Live And In Color!...ok I guess. The idea is that tv is nothing compared to being in the rink & seeing the speed, feeling the wind even up high as skaters fly past...yeah that does work & it's true. Live is nothing like tv. I really had no expectations at all. I watched to see if maybe I'd want to go & see it live in March.

I definetly do. If for nothing else, then to see this:



I kind of remember liking Sasha Cohen a long time ago. She is clearly the selling point this year, even for someone like me that usually sleeps thru ladies skating. This was amazing. She's basically a ballerina in slippers being carried all over the ice by three pair skaters. The lifts are just amazing and I have to shoot it. Amazing stuff & I'm really thrilled to find it. I love when I have no expectations for something & then end up surprised & excited by it!

Heaven...

Heaven...





...is spending a quiet morning watching VH1 Classic's Metal Mania :) Hairbandpalooza.

So we took a quick jaunt to the park & I need to make a mental note. If it feels like 50 degrees it's actually only 45 & if you factor in the wind it'll feel like no more than 40- so bring yo coat! Don't you love when signs are posted, things that should be common sense but obviously aren't?
You know as well as I do that that one is there because some asshat climbed onto the edge & tumbled 35 feet down right? Otherwise, there'd be no need for the sign!

Or this one:




Really? Freshly painted brand new wood plus rain/sleet/snow/ice equals a hazard??

Better hang a sign.

Even B knows these things, I hope. This was taken not long after arriving at the park which occured not long after she let Lucy out the front door. Oh that was just bad. The puppy was nearly crushed by two freakin cars & I swear all that saved her was B's hysteria & my running after her yelling.

Aww aren't they all sweet?? Wait a minute, isn't that Maya climbing on the tree?




Emmy & I

Miss B's first time "on the big stage". She is to the left (or as she would say, next by to) the boy in the striped shirt. I LOVE the end where she smacks poor Caden in the head :)

Enjoy. We sure did!

The To-Don't List

The kids are going to stay at my parents tonite. Let me explain the real concept, my mother WANTS them to stay over but Kiki will actually do all the hands on attentive stuff. Seriously. Now, my mother & I haven't spoken a word since August so in order for this visit to even happen my sister has to be the go between. Sad no? They live 3 blocks away & because of God we need a third party to set up time with her grandkids. Anywho... my mother truly believes that she is all knowing & any one (especially one of her daughters) that challenges her ideas is just looked down upon. I mean, way far down. So last night my sister who is at my house no less than 4 days a week gave mom the rundown on what to get for the kids to eat. well, this was offensive because mom has fed children since the stone ages since long before MY kids were ever even a thought & therefore she "knows" what kids eat. I could say well I live with 3 so I know what kids eat too except that any parent with a few kids will tell you thats a crock. There are standard stereotypical kid foods but all kids are different with their weird prefrences & such. So anyway, my mother rattled off the kids OLD food likes because they do change just like adults & then quietly realized she should listen to someone that actually is involved in their lives actively rather than making a monthly appearance.

Out of this visit stemmed a to-don't list. Grammie wants the girls over but:

-she wasn't sure if she'd make it to the store today so my sister should do that.

-wants to spend time with them but ASSumed they'll go to bed around heh) 7pm

-wants to make them breakfast but isn't getting up early

-might be gone in the morning so my sister was already alerted to the fact that she'd be on duty

-isn't going outside with them & chasing them around the yard

I'm sure there's more but, wow. That really is enough isn't it? Is it really so hard to put aside your own personal prefrences for 12 hours to not only cater to your grandkids, but to make it fun??

On a good note, I've been uploading a Christmas concert video of B to You Tube for hours today. It's almost done so it'll be up here later :)

Appetite For Nostalgia

Ya know how when you think back to adolescence there are a few pivital years that jump out? The few that just stick in your head as best years ever for whatever reason? I had a few of those years. 1987 was a big one. That was the year that I turned 16 & 16 equalled freedom. My dad gave me a month to find a job after I turned 16 (You know, back when he not only encouraged, but insisted his kids work & be productive individuals). I had 2 jobs in about 2 weeks. 2 that left me working probably 6 days a week by choice. It got me away from the at home bible thumping & around other, normal kids. If my mom had her way I'd never have been home schooled & I swear the only reason that I wasn't was because my mother didn't want to actually have to, you know, teach me.

Back then I was kind of an undercover headbanger because it was certainly not something that could be out in the open in our house. I use to buy cassette tapes (gasp!) weekly, basically replacing the ones she'd find & toss out. If the cover art was questionable it was gone. If the dudes had long hair & make up it was gone. If there was red & black it was gone because those were the colors of debasing music (Huh?? really, who dreamed up this shit that i was supposed to both believe & embrace??)/. I remember buying several copies of Skid Rows Youth Gone Wild & Guns N Roses Appetite For Destruction...holy shit I think I bought 5 of them!
Five.

Guns N Roses broke out that year & they were just massive. Welcome To The Jungle was my favorite video ever up until that point & everyone around me in the "real" world was obsessed with them. They came to play in April of that year at a local racetrack because back then that's where everyone played. No arena. No amphitheatre. The racetrack was the biggest venue from here to Philly or NY. My mother thought I was working that night & I was most definetly not. I was at the concert with 3 friends. G N R opened for Aerosmith & we actually left halfway thru Aerosmith's set to be home in time to keep up the illusion of working. It was pouring & the whole place was mud. All of us left with one shoe because the mud was so deep it was devouring sneakers all over. Still, best first show ever.
Covering my ass was easier than I expected too. I went to the fast food place that I was working at, got cleaned up, put on the day before's wreaking uniform & waited for my dad to pick me up. Piece of cake.

Why am I even going here today? A Christmas gift. J dug really deep & gave me two GNR concert shirts from Appetite. It showed that he actually paid attention & it was painful for him to shell out ANY cash on ANYTHING GNR related! I know it hurt.

Be back tomorrow. In the meantime, welcome to the best Guns N Roses video ever:







">

test

..