Ruby Tuesday #12

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On my one and only visit to The Big Apple, we had one day to sight see, so we took a two hour tour on a double-decker tour bus. Here's a shot of our drive through Chinatown.

Manic Monday - Rock

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Y'all know I'm a rock 'n roll girl at heart, but when I sing from the heart, I sing church music. Sorry if this is not to your liking, but you know what? Today I'm in an introverted, introspective kinda of mood.

Buzzing in My Head/EDITED TO ADD

Some random thoughts going through my mind and some various actions happening around me...

1. The heat has finally come in earnest. Well, sorta. We had a record-breaking 14 days of sub-100 degree days to start the month, the first time that has happened since 1913. Then it immediately soared to 105 for two days...before becoming cloudy with temps in the 90s again today. Don't get me wrong - I love the cooler temps, but my skin is really freaking out.
2. What is the deal with people not washing their hands after using the bathroom? Yuck. I had to follow a woman out of the ladies' room during a break in the music camp concert Friday night, and she hadn't washed her hands. And the door was one I had to pull to open. Thankfully, there was a towel dispenser right by the door.
3. I think I should have taken Travis and his lady Pam with me to my daughter's dance recital this past Saturday. He would not have had been playing on his Nintendo DS or reading the news on his Blackberry as certain male members of my family were doing to pass the time. And for them I paid $12 per ticket? The ten-year-old I can understand, but the 48 year-old should have known better. Dammit. I must admit, though, it was getting pretty annoying watching seemingly endless lyrical routines to mindless generic female ballads; I was much more entertained by the tap routines (and of course, my daughter's class which is a jazz/musical theater group). The hip hop groups were fun, and there was this one teen boy who danced a solo who blew me away. Wow. Talk about height and stretch on a Russian split.
   
4. As much as I love watching my daughter dance, I really swell with pride when I hear her sing. Damn, that girl has a voice, and her ear for music has really gotten tuned.
   
5. I love my now annual beach vacations to Coronado, but for next year, I'm thinking we need a change of scenery. Unfortunately, that probably means getting on an airplane, and you know how I feel about airplanes. Sigh. Still, I'm envious of my friend Laura's upcoming trip to San Francisco, and I would love to go to Seattle, too. Memphis is calling me (though sooner than next year), and Washington, DC too, but I must not forget that a trip to Ohio next June is probably a given since my parents-in-law will be celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. So many choices...
6. Trying to get my ten-year-old to do summer reading for his gifted class is like trying to get my 13-year-old to do the dishes. Both take a lot of cajoling, needling, wheedling, and whining. If only the books could be fashioned into a Wii game...
7. It's only mid-June, and we've already taken our one summer trip. Dammit.
8. A few weeks ago, I read an article about a teen in Maine who was denied his high school diploma because while crossing the stage to shake hand with the principal (or superintendent, I can't remember which), he took a bow and blew a kiss to his mother. When asked if he should to be given his diploma, the young man replied that he should because he had worked hard for it and deserved it. The principal/superintendent told him, no, he wasn't going to receive the diploma because he had broken the rules of conduct for graduation which stated that there would be no "fooling around" during the ceremony. Since when is showing love and gratitude TOWARDS ONE'S OWN MOTHER considered "fooling around?" Jackass school district. Would that my kid shows that much public affection toward me when they are 18.
9. Addition made Friday, June 25, 6:17 MST - so that makes three: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and now Whacko Jacko...er, Michael Jackson. That was quick.
   
10. Um....that's it. That's all I got. Whatchyou got?

Manic Monday - Pop

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I was given the idea of doing something with Pop Goes the Weasel for today's theme, which kinda threw me off, but then this video popped up in my inbox, courtesy of my hubby. I got a kick out of, so I thought I would share it with you.

I present to you, the world's shortest horror/slasher flick (the volume is really too soft to hear, but I don't think you'll need it to understand it):

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Please leave the link to your Manic Monday post in your comment, and I'll try to visit you.

Did You Know...

...that my "day job" is being a mom? Yeah, I kinda thought you did. So you can guess that the reason I haven't been around much is that Bonnie Lass has been hard at work at music camp the past two weeks, and last night was the concert. Today, she's dancing in two performances of her studio's recital. Monday she dives headlong into three weeks of basketball camp. And let's not forget to mention that Little Man has martial arts classes three nights a week, and I went back to singing at church (after THREE MONTHS OF NOT HAVING A VOICE!). Of course, I've been spending my days catching up on reading (gotta get ready for next month's cinematic release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, you know) and sleep, too. Blog writing and reading have been low on my list of priorities of late.

Anyway, this coming Monday's Manic Monday theme is "Pop," and I'm seeking ideas. Leave me a comment and let me know what comes to mind when you hear the word "Pop."

Have a great weekend; see you next week.

Later daze...

You Lookin' at Me?

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Yeah, well, he's not from South Philly or even Jersey, but since he's one of my long-time readers (in fact, one of my original readers!) (should I now say OLD? - *snigger, chuckle, snort, cough*), I thought I would take this time to wish a very special person a very happy and blessed Natal Anniversary.

Go ahead, you big galoot. Blow.


Now, click on his photo above (you know, the one with the Italian guy in the leather jacket), and send him good wishes. Tell him Guido and Bruno sent ya.

Ruby Tuesday - Gaslamp District, San Diego

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Manic Monday - Shower

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Freshly Showered

Showered in laughter

Showered with good wishes

Showered with blessings

Shower me in love and kisses

Shower me with hope

Happy 10th Birthday, My Darling Son

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 was my son's 10th birthday. *long heavy sigh*

Where have the years gone?

Finally, My Vacation Recap

I realize I've been negligent in getting my photos and videos up for sharing. It's not that it's been all that busy, but....well, life just gets in the way of blogging sometimes, you know?

Anyway, I mentioned that we experienced gray, cloudy, cool days. This in no way prevented us from enjoying the beach; in fact, we rather like it when the weather delivers days like this on beach visits. It makes for sitting at the beach for hours much more comfortable, and, therefore, enjoyable.

Every year we experience something a bit different. Our first year, we saw dolphins swimming just offshore. Last year, we visited Point Loma, and the "boys" explored the tide pools. This year we saw three submarines (a rare sight, I've been told); we saw the USS Ronald Reagan putting out to sea, and we walked (including me!) the eight block length of the historic Gaslamp District. We also rode on a pedicab from the ferry dock over to the Gaslamp District. We ate Mexican food, seafood, and used our suite's kitchen more often. We slept a lot, drove up the coast and saw La Jolla and the seals, and walked up and down the island more often. It was a fun, relaxing trip, and I was sorry when it was over. Luckily, we've been experiencing a bit of a cool snap here in the desert lately; today, temps should start climbing again.

I did manage to get more beach time this year, and when we weren't on the beach itself, we were near or on the water, including the ferry trip from Coronado to San Diego. We saw a competition among three lifeguards (not that exciting), and we observed a group of military personnel running on the beach (clothed this year, unfortunately). All in all, a great trip. Enjoy the photos and the video clips.

Manic Monday - Shine

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The sun did not shine much on our recent trip to California. In fact, it was not only chilly and breezy, it rained one day. On our last day of sight-seeing, we drove to La Jolla and found some seals "sunning" themselves on the beach.

Check, check...

I'm having internet problems (damn that Cox!), so not able to upload my photo albums or my videos. Just letting you know that I'm not ignoring you.

I did manage to get a couple of other photos uploaded (with requisite cussing and swearing) on my photo blog; no vacation photos, though; just "slice of life" shit.

Ruby Tuesday

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I swear, I won't tease you with vacation photos one by one, but I'm just too tired to write a vacation wrap-up post right now. I'm catching up on my blog reading, and I just finished downloading my photos to my computer.

This is a photo of my son, Little Man Warrior, on our first full day at the beach. Check out the destroyer in the back that just left port.

Manic Monday - Spice

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I'm back safely from my California vacation; the weather was very cool, cloudy and even rainy a couple of days. It was HEAVENLY for these desert dwellers!

We ate at several different restaurants near our hotel, and the meals were hit and miss. For our last dinner out, hubby and I decided to share an order of Pad Thai from an Asian bistro. It's been a long time since I had a meal as spicy as this one; it's flavor was pretty good, and the heat factor nearly rivaled that of my own mother's cooking!