Monday Meanderings

Happy Monday, everyone! Boy, I didn't mean to take the entire weekend off from blogging, but you know how it is when you get wrapped up in a project -- sometimes it's just hard to tear yourself away.

At least that's how it is for me. I have a HORRIBLE time starting something creative, coming up with the idea, you know (as evidenced by my plea on here a few days ago), but once I have it and I actually start working, it's like I'm compelled to keep at it until it's finished. I can't stand to do anything else! So, consequently, there may be more days in the next couple of weeks when I don't blog. It's not an official bloggy break, just a heads-up that if you don't see me, it's because I'm working furiously, surrounded by photos and scraps of paper and embellishments.

And THANK YOU to those who sent me ideas about what I could give my friend for her 60th birthday next month. Tina at Golden Goodness emailed me several terrific ideas, one of which I very nearly went with... thanks, Tina! I'm going to file those away for some other birthday, as I find myself in a pickle for ideas frequently. In the end, it was an idea from an Anonymous commenter who lit the light bulb over my head. She suggested --

Don't know if you have time enough, but I have seen mini scrapbooks that started with A-Z with a scripture not necessary beginning with the letter but capitalized that letter even if it is in the middle of the word. Each page has a different letter and scripture.

That in and of itself is a fantastic idea, though I ended up tweeking it. I AM doing an A-Z scrapbook, but it's of qualities about my friend that I admire.... Ambitious, Brave, Cheerful, etc. Of course, X-Y-Z are proving to be a real bugger bear. Over the weekend I did E, F, G, I, L, N, and W. Today's A, K, and T at least. ;)

~~~

I'm missing my sweet Thomas today. He and his parents and much of his mommy's family are at a beach in Florida, having a fine time. We weren't too sure how Thomas would take to the beach, because week before last, they thought they'd getting him used to sand by filling up the sandbox he got for his first birthday and putting him in it. Oy. I only saw two photos from the experience, but that was all this aunt's heart could handle. Poor little Thomas looked like he was being tortured by just having his feet in the sand. And in one photo, he was leaning over on his Nana's chest, clutching her shirt in his hand and crying like his little heart was broken. :-(

Standing him on the beach for the first time produced similar results, but after that, his parents started taking his pack-and-play down there so he could be with everyone and not have to touch the evil sand. After that, the photos showed a happy surfer dude in some rockin' sunglasses. ;)

~~~

Hey, the trailer for The X-Files: I Want to Believe is now up for viewing! Looks nice and creepy. :) But is it just me or is David Duchovny really showing his age? He looks positively doughy. As a friend of my suggested, maybe Mulder's been sitting around being a house husband and eating cheese doodles too long. ;)

If you're up past the late news tonight, my pretend boyfriend Clay Aiken will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I'd imagine he'll perform his first single, "On My Way Here," off the new album. So make Fresh Girl happy and watch! ;)



Technorati Tags: Clay Aiken, scrapbooks, scrapbooking, On My Way Here, Tonight Show, Xfiles, X-Files, I Want to Believe, Movie trailer, promo, X Files, David Duchovny, Mulder, Scully, Gillian Anderson

Clay Aiken at Benihana

What do you get when you combine Clay Aiken + Mo Rocca + Japanese chefs throwing knives and food around?

FUNNY!





Technorati Tags: Clay Aiken, Benihana, Japanese restaurant, Mo Rocca, Clay Aiken video

Friday's Feast #190

Appetizer

When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?

Of course! What good Southerner doesn't? ;)

Soup

Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?

We have hardwood floors in every room except the bathrooms (ceramic tile), the kitchen (vinyl tiles), and the front foyer (marble).

Salad

Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.

Snide Simon says stupid stuff. (That would be Simon Cowell to whom I'm referring. ;)

Main Course

Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?

My second cousin was adopted and he and his wife in turn adopted a baby boy.

Dessert

Name 2 blue things.

The walls of my bedroom and the wrapping paper on my mom's Mother's Day present. :)


Keep eating at these tables!




Technorati Tags: Simon Cowell, Friday's Feast, American Idol, meme

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi!

I give up. I have wrestled with this dilemma for a couple of months now, and I've run out of time to wait for a brilliant idea to come to mind on its own, so I'm appealing for suggestions. Lots and lots of suggestions. Tell your friends I need help! ;)

The problem is this... June 3 is the birthday of a good friend, someone very important to me. And not only is it her birthday, it's a significant birthday -- her 60th. I'm sure you can guess my problem. I'm stuck in a big way as to what to give her. She's not an easy person to buy for in that she travels all over the world on a regular basis and has the means to buy whatever she wants or needs. There's very little I could afford or find that she probably doesn't already have in her house.

The obvious answer to that is a gift that's more sentimental and/or creative. There again, I'm stuck for what it should be. It doesn't help that I gave her LAST year the most special gift I've been able to come up with -- a journal in which I had written every memory I had of the time I've known her. I *think* she loved it. At any rate, she said it made her cry and isn't that what we're shooting for with things like that? ;)

I thought of giving her sixty things -- sixty of one thing or even several. Obviously they'd have to be inexpensive and small, but I'm not entirely sure what anyone needs sixty of. As we don't live in the same city and I won't be seeing her any time soon, that I know of, baking her a cake or cupcakes is out.

So, help a girl out here! Give me your best suggestions. What's the best gift you've given someone or have received? Something that was special to you, whether it cost a lot of money or not.



Technorati Tags: gifts, presents, birthday present, gift-giving, gift suggestions, gift ideas

CONTEST: Win a $100 Target gift card!

Blogged-in is hosting a great giveaway during the month of May, at the end of which they'll give away a $100 Target gift card! And who among us can't use that? ;) To find out how to have a chance (or several) to win, click the graphic below.

Technorati Tags: blogged-in, contest, giveaway, Target

So, I guess you've noticed...

...but I'm back from my earlier bloggy break. ;) I know I haven't specifically said so, but I figured the frequent posting would be a good tip-off. It was a good break and I got a little caught up on life off-line...read a few books, did some baking and decorating, some shopping, and went on my little vacation to visit one of my best friends.

I did a Thursday Thirteen about the trip, but I thought I'd say further that it was really a wonderful time. It's funny -- my friend and I were talking about this after she brought me back home and had returned to Arkansas... we've known each other for eleven and a half years now. The time we've spent in each other's actual physical presence, however, has been mere moments in time. I bet if you added up the days, they'd be less than a month's worth. The last time we were together prior to this was on my birthday in late 2003. All that time apart, all that time over our friendship spent apart, and yet these five days together were like no time had passed at all. It was easy. It was familiar. We never wanted for anything to talk about, and if we were quiet, it's because we were comfortable being together and not talking. You know how there are people you know so well you don't need to be constantly running your mouth with them, always filling up the silences? That's how it was.

My friendship with K. is why I have very little patience for people who look aghast or amused when they discover the friend to whom I'm referring is one I met online...people who refer to her as my "online friend," almost as if they're calling her my "imaginary friend." She's not my online friend. She's my FRIEND. Our friendship is every bit as real, as deep, and as important as those I have with people who I met in school or at church.

In just a little over two months, she and two other friends I've known nearly as long will be joining me here for a little movie watchin' (X-Files 2, baby!!), Wii-playin', and Lush-shoppin'. Can't wait! :)

~~~

Mom and I were out running a few errands today (had to go pick up another copy of Clay Aiken's new CD, don't you know. ;)) and we stopped by the library. I was checking out the Popular releases shelf when I nearly squealed out loud -- Leif Enger, author of Peace Like a River, only one of my most favorite books of the last decade, FINALLY has a second novel out. This one is called So Brave, Young, and Handsome, and I'm anxious to crack the spine tonight and dive right in. If you haven't read Peace Like a River yet, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy from the bookstore or library. You won't be sorry, I promise.

~~~



Our potato has acquired itself a mate. ;)

~~~

I normally have pretty positive things to say about Amazon.com, but they've let me down this week. All day yesterday, I anticipated the arrival of On My Way Here, Clay's new CD. After all, I pre-ordered it the day it was available to do so -- March 5 -- just so I could have it on the day it was released. When it didn't come yesterday, I checked my account and it said I had ordered it this past MONDAY and it would arrive May 8. Ummm, no. But then this morning I got an email saying there was a problem and it wouldn't be delivered until May 14. This might have been when I blew a gasket. It's not that I was going to have to wait that long to hear the CD -- I'd downloaded it from iTunes after all -- but it's ridiculous for them to not have these CDs, these PRE-ORDERED CDs, ready to go out the day before the release date. Stock should not be a problem for pre-ordered CDs, since they should know exactly how many they need. It could be worse -- I know some people have been told they wouldn't get their pre-ordered CDs until even later this month.

Not cool, Amazon, not cool at all.

Clay was on Good Morning, America this morning, which I slept through, but in addition to the songs he performed on TV, he also performed what's quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks off the new album for the Internet audience.

Click here to see him perform Ashes. (Try and ignore an unusually screechy performance by his back-up singers. That's not what I expect from them and it isn't that way on the CD. Clay himself rocks this song.)




Technorati Tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, On My Way Here, new CD, new album, Ashes, Good Morning America, Ashes video, Arkansas, X-Files movie, I Want to Believe, Amazon.com, Leif Enger, Peace Like a River, fiction, novels, So Brave, Young, and Handsome

Clay Aiken's On My Way Here - album review

Clay Aiken's latest album and his first album of original songs in five years, On My Way Here, hit the shelves today. Amazon.com dropped the ball when it came to having it in my hands on the day of release, but thankfully iTunes has filled in the gap until I can get my hands on an actual CD.

For far too long Clay has been singing music chosen for him, according to someone else's idea of what sort of musical artist he is and all too often, they've tried to put him in a box that was too small for a voice as big and as versatile as his. With this new album, however, Clay's finally singing songs that come close to matching his talent. I've been listening to the entire album all day, and thus far I haven't found one song on it that I want to skip. When was the last time you were able to say that about any album these days? It's the first time I've been able to say it about any of Clay's albums, which is not to say those others were bad. Measure of a Man has several wonderful songs, like the title track, which never fails to move me, Perfect Day, an up-tempo number perfect for riding around in the summer with the top down, and I Survived You, a song Clay killed on in concert. Even A Thousand Different Ways, the covers album foisted on Clay and the fans by Clive Davis, was a perfect example of how Clay is able to take lemons and make lemonade. It wasn't the CD any of us wanted, but darn if Clay didn't take those covers and make them his own... even Bryan Adams' Everything I Do, which I ADORED, became more like I always thought it should sound under Jaymes Foster's production and Clay's vocals. Still, there were cuts off the album I just didn't care for, and though Clay could sing the phone book and make it sound good, I skipped them.

That's not going to be happening with this album. For one thing, each song's sound progresses into something different than the one before it. Any review that claims this is an album of ballads needs to be used to line the nearest bird cage, because it's obvious the reviewer either didn't listen to the CD before writing the review or he/she has an agenda. There are ballads, including the beautiful love song, Something about Us, which belongs playing over the end credits of a romantic film or as a first dance at someone's wedding. But there are also poppy-techno numbers like Falling and Ashes, a kickin' R&B flavored Everything I Don't Need, written by Grammy-award winning Kipper (Sting, Mary J. Blige), and mid-tempo numbers like the title track, written by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, that'll be stuck in your head after the first listen.

If you're a fan of Clay Aiken's, this album's a gimme, but if you're not...if all you know of him is that he was on American Idol a million years ago or maybe what you've read in a magazine or newspaper and you think you know what his music is like, think again. This one is different and it's worth an honest listen.

Brief rundown of individual song impressions:

On My Way Here: This is the first single off the album, and in interviews today, Clay clarified that he has no say in the choice of the first single. I was glad to hear that because Clay's a smart cookie, and I think he would have picked a different song. Not that's a bad one -- to the contrary, I love this song and have since the first time I heard it. It's got a good hook and it's easy to sing along to, and after the first listen of just a snippet, I still had it running through my mind hours later.

Ashes: I was crazy about this song when I heard the snippet at Amazon.com, and I expected it to be one of my favorites. Then I heard the whole song and it didn't mesh with what I'd expected based on the snippet...that took me aback a little. Subsequent listens have it shooting right back up the list. I imagine tearing down the road with it blaring from the car cd player. This is the song that has some of my favorite lyrics, too --

Looking back I can see
How the voice of reason
Kept reminding me
I was never good enough somehow
Try and remind me now

LOVE that last line.

Everything I Don't Need: Kipper wrote this one, and bless him for it! Lots of growls and R&B funk in this one. It's going to have the audience rocking in concert, I'm sure. Right now, subsequent to change with my mood or a shift in the wind, this is my favorite track on the album. I particularly like the chorus:

What would I want from you
'Cause I've tried so hard to get who you are
But there's no way I understand
what you do
The last of a dying breed
'Cause we've come this far
but it has to stop
You're everything, everything I
don't need.

Part of me likes to imagine he's talking to Clive Davis there. ;)

Something about Us: Someone on one of the message boards finally pinned down what this song reminds her of, and I quite agree -- it's reminiscent of Nat King Cole, particularly that gorgeous song Unforgettable. It's a delicate song, and Clay's voice is perfect for it...like a ribbon of honey that encircles you. Listening to it makes me wish I had someone besides the cat to dance with. ;)

The words on every poet's tongue
Every love song ever sung's
About us
It's about us
From Romeo and Juliet
To plays they haven't written yet
It's old and new
It's a classic tale of two
In a perfectly perfect love

Falling: Listening to the track samples at Amazon.com, this one was high on my list of favorites. It's fallen quite a ways, but as I said before, there's no song I'd want to skip on the album, so I do still like it, but it might be one of my least favorite. If you like techno pop though, this might be right up your alley. I DO love the chorus. Very catchy.

Where I Draw the Line: Been hurt before and afraid to be again? This is the song for you. I probably identify with this one the least, but I'm looking forward to Clay doing this one in concert --

Seems whenever I let
somebody get this close
I'm right back where
I got hurt the most
That's why, that's why
Around my heart is where
I draw the line

The Real Me: Oh goodness. This song slays me. Written by CCM artist Natalie Grant, the song was originally directed to God, and Clay says he still thinks of that as who the singer is addressing, but it's one of those great songs that can be interpreted in so many different ways. If you held a gun to my head, I might name this one as my favorite. It's beautiful, Clay sings it with such emotion and vulnerability. It's funny -- listening to the track sample, this is one I didn't think I'd like. Goes to show, you can't judge a song by a 30 second snippet.

But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from
within
Reveal me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
No need to hold back my frailty
'Cause you see the real me

Weight of the World: This song's going to require a few more listens before I formulate an opinion of it. Of all the songs, it's probably the least memorable, but it's good enough that I'm not anxious to jump ahead to the next one.

As Long as We're Here: I love this one, the chorus in particular --

As long as we're here
Alive on this Earth
I'm going to love you
For all that it's worth
And one of these days
We're going to understand why
Let's make the most of our time
As long as we're here

Sacrificial Love: This one breaks my heart. Clay once said he was the guy girls dated before they married their next boyfriend. That's pretty much what the song says, with a beautiful melody and honeyed vocals --

Are you only
Practicing until you find
the real thing
Taking up space
until you find yourself
that perfect face
Are you looking
Over my shoulder
Am I enough or just
Your sacrificial love

*sniffle*

Grace of God: LOVE this one! I'd be royally surprised if Clay Aiken ever put out an album on which there wasn't at least one song that spoke to his humanitarian and activist nature. As founder of The Bubel/Aiken Foundation and a UNICEF ambassador who has traveled the world raising funds for children in need in far-flung countries, Clay has to have been reminded over and over, that there but for the "grace of God" he'd go.

There's gotta be some rhyme or
reason why
We turn away and we close our eyes
Wish I could find some way that we
could justify
All of this suffering
There but for the grace of God go I

Lover All Alone: Penned by Clay himself, this song was a bonus download on iTunes when you bought A Thousand Different Ways. After hearing it, many fans were bewildered and angry that a song this beautiful would be left off the actual CD. I think now, most of us are glad it was. On My Way Here is an album worthy of this exquisite song. Clay's voice is joined by a haunting cello to create a sound that'll wring a tear out of a rock, and the lyrics of this song are the most complex and interesting of the entire album. And I'd say that whether Clay wrote it or not...just so happens that he did. He'll say he's no songwriter, but this song is proof otherwise.

And on my own
It's hard to tell my heart it'll be
alright
That this love it holds
Will one day find a home
As hard as love can be
It's harder still it seems
To be a lover all alone without love

I dare you to get to the end of this album and not start it over again. The more I listen, the more musical and vocal nuances I pick up. Clay, Kipper, and Jaymes Foster have turned out not just a great Clay Aiken album, his best yet, but a great album period. I thought I knew what to expect from Clay, but with this album he's revealed more of himself, and with the universality of so many of these songs, I think he'll be peeling back the layers of his listeners, too.

You can get a free listen to the entire CD here, and you can order your copy at iTunes, Amazon.com and Walmart.com.




Technorati Tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, On My Way Here, new album, OneRepublic, Natalie Grant, Ryan Tedder, Nat King Cole, wedding songs, love songs, ballads, album review, Kipper, Clive Davis, RCA

Sometimes a potato isn't just a potato

In case you can't tell, that's a potato in one of our for-when-company's-over glasses. My mom looked up yesterday afternoon, spotted the potato and said, "Well, we know N. has been here."

N. is my little brother's best friend and has been since they were in junior high. Back then there were three of them, my brother, N., and K. Those three were always together, playing basketball, playing video games, and more often than not, playing with matches (what is it about teenage boys that turns them into closet pyromaniacs?). We lost K. when he was just sixteen years old... a head-on collision that, mercifully, killed him instantly.

The three became two, and I think N. became even more valued by our family, and certainly by my brother, than before. He was a funny kid, a typical boy in that he never met a good fart joke that he didn't like, a slender bottomless pit. N. was frequently in our home, and for whatever reason, he started putting a potato, which was usually in a bin on the kitchen counter, in this wooden chicken that hung on the side of the cabinet. It was for holding mail or whatnot, with hooks for your keys. After a while, we came to expect that potato...he did it *every* time he came over. It's how we knew he'd been here.

Those boys grew up. One went to college and became a professor. One went to work and then got married, with the other as his best man, and became a father. After A. moved out, we naturally saw much less of N., but this past Saturday, my brother brought the baby over here, and N. joined him to help repair a gate that they'd put up a couple of years ago. N. is still the same slender bottomless pit as he's always been, but now he's looking to buy a house and is a world traveler.

It's been years since we found a potato out of place around here. The wooden chicken where he used to put them is long gone. I guess he had to get creative this time, and we didn't even notice for a full day after he'd been here. Spotting the potato in the glass brought quick laughter and then just as quickly, a flood of warmth that he'd remembered. 'Cause sometimes a potato isn't just a potato, but a connection.




Technorati Tags: potato, memories, friends, family

CONTEST: Win a SanDisk USB Flash Drive

Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom continue their awesome Mother's Day Giveaway with another great prize -- one of ten SanDisk USB Flash Drives. All the instructions can be found by clicking on that link.

As a part of entry into the contest, they'd like to know one of our favorite motherhood moments. When I read that, I immediately thought about the time my mom and I were at the grocery store, and she was looking for a carton of butter pecan ice cream (it's her favorite!). I was anywhere from sixteen to eighteen years old...you know, the age at which your parents can embarrass you simply by drawing breath? ;)

So, you'll understand why I wished the floor would open up and swallow me when my mom spotted the one carton of butter pecan in the freezer case. It was on the top shelf, waaaaaaaay in the back. I suppose a lot of people would have either gotten a store employee to get it for them or just, I don't know, chosen a different flavor! But not my mom...no, she climbed up on the edge of the bottom shelf, leaned way over where she could put her knee up on the second shelf and then her top half disappeared into the top of the freezer as she stretched to reach the prized ice cream.

I would imagine she emerged triumphant with her ice cream in her hand and looked around for me to celebrate with her, but I was already on the next aisle...too mortified to wait around for the results of her endeavor. ;)

Over twenty years have passed since then, and one thing I've learned is that the older you get, the less embarrassed you are about anything. Not too long ago, I wanted something that was on the top shelf and in the back of a freezer case. Mom didn't hike her leg and climb in to get it this time... arthritis and age keep her feet on the ground these days. Instead she fetched a stock boy and had him to it. As I watched him retrieve the item I wanted, I remembered my embarrassment over my mother's zeal for ice cream and the lengths she'd go to get it, and I looked over at her, standing with her hand pressed to a spine eaten up by arthritis, and I wished I could have a do-over. This time I'd stick around and give her a leg up into the freezer case and be there to celebrate as she lived out her favorite motto -- "Where there's a woman, there's a way."



Technorati Tags: motherhood, mother's day, 5minutesformom, sandisk, flash drive

CONTEST: Win a Custom Portrait!

Cindy at Still His Girl tipped me off to this great giveaway. Her pal Carrie at The Gremlin Wrangler is a wonderful artist, and she's giving away a custom pencil-drawn portrait to some lucky person! I can think of just the little person whose face I'd like her to draw if I were to be so blessed as to win. ;)

If you'd like a chance to win this great prize, hop on over to the prize page and read the instructions about how you can enter the contest.



Technorati Tags: contest, giveaway, prize, portrait, custom portrait

Buzz for Clay Aiken and On My Way Here

This Sunday night will mark Clay Aiken's final performance in "Monty Python's SPAMalot" on Broadway. By all accounts, his short four month run has been a hit with great reviews, sell-out performances, praise from his Broadway peers, and a record amount of money raised for Broadway Cares in the annual Easter Bonnet competition. "Monty Python's SPAMalot" came in second in the competition, raising $264,900, and I have no doubts but that the cast and crew of the show would point to Clay Aiken as a big reason why they were able to raise so much money. For two weeks, people lined up after the show to donate anywhere from $200 - $300, just for the privilege of having their photo taken with Clay. And I'm not talking about five or six people a night either. ;)

They even used Ebay to raise money, auctioning off several things --

Walk on role in Broadway's SPAMalot with Clay Aiken -- $4,725

Dinner with Clay Aiken and SPAMalot cast members -- $22,855

Clay Aiken's costume (part of it) from SPAMalot -- $11,105

Clay Aiken's costume (another part of it) from SPAMalot -- $5,755

Tickets to SPAMalot and Champagne toast with Clay Aiken -- $6,278.88

But when the curtain drops Sunday night, Clay will be moving on to the next big thing -- his exciting new album hitting stores just two days later on May 6. There are plenty of places to pick up On My Way Here --

-- Amazon.com has the album, and you can download the title track first single NOW.
-- If you order the album on Walmart.com, you get a bonus track (Check out the track samples there...my personal favorites so far are Ashes, Falling, Everything I Don't Need, The Real Me, and of course, Lover All Alone, written by Clay himself.)
-- Downloading the album from iTunes will also get you a bonus track, but different from the one at Walmart.
-- And if you buy the album at K-Mart, there's a promotional poster that comes with it.

Promotion has already begun for the album, and there's a great audio interview with ABC News with Clay talking about the thought that went into this album and about the songs on it. WELL worth the listen. Just click on that link and look to the top right of the page.

There've been a couple of print interviews I've loved, particularly this one from the San Francisco Chronicle --

Q: You look so different from how you looked five years ago. Have all the makeovers made you better?

A: I don't think the external stuff has changed me. I'm still about as self-confident as a skunk.

Q: That much?

A: Yeah. I think, in general, doing this job, I've changed in some ways. I'm a little more business savvy. I don't take crap as much as I used to.

Q: Why do so many people hate you?

A: I have no idea why they hate me, and I sure don't have any idea why they love me. I'm completely clueless all the way around. In some ways, I'm sure, to a lot of people I represent that dorky kid in high school and middle school that everybody thought was a loser. And now there are plenty of people in the world who are bitter because that dorky kid became successful and they did not. It's kind of threatening when that nerdy guy you've been making fun of for all those years has somehow become famous.

Q: You've obviously given this some thought.

A: I've been thinking about it for a long time.

Q: Does it make you sad?

A: Ah, I don't care. Whatever. I've been around people who are too cool for me for almost 30 years now. I don't know. I don't think I'm very threatening, but I do threaten the notion that you must be good-looking and athletic and cool in order to be successful. I kind of screwed that up for some people who thought they were going to fly by.

And from the Atlanta Journal Constitution -- Clay Aiken Interview.

There are lots of chances to catch Clay in the coming month.

• May 6 -- CD signing at the Virgin Megastore, NYC, 2 PM EDT
• May 7 -- Good Morning, America
• May 8 -- The View
  
• May 9 -- The Today Show, CW 11 Morning News, and ABC Nightline
• May 12 -- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• May 16 -- Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Rachel Ray Show
  
• May 20 -- The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson
  

And hey, do you have a mom who likes Clay Aiken, like mine does? ;) Then send her a Mother's Day greeting from Clay!




Technorati Tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Broadway Cares, SPAMalot, Monty Python, On My Way Here, Clay Aiken's new CD, The Real Me, Ashes, Falling, EverythingI Don't Need, Clay Aiken interview, Clay Aiken CD promotion, Mother's Day

Friday's Feast #189

Appetizer

What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child?

Scooby Doo, where are yoooooouuuu??? I loved that Great Dane.

Soup

Pretend you are about to get a new pet. Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it?

I've always wanted a lamb, which I suppose I would HAVE to name Lambchop. ;)

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

7. I like looking nice and going somewhere looking nice, but I don't want to be that way for very long. After a couple of hours, it's time to take off that bra. It's best if I do that at home. :-D

Main Course

What kind of music do you listen to while you drive?

I don't drive, but generally when I'm riding with my parents, I switch it OFF talk radio and onto a "lite" rock station.

Dessert

When was the last time you bought a clock? And in which room did you put it?

Goodness, I have no idea. It's been that long!


Check out more Friday's Feasts here.



Technorati Tags: meme, Friday's Feast

CONTEST: Motherhood in photograph

I know I've posted this photo before, if not as Fresh Girl, in my earlier incarnation, but it's one of my favorite pictures of my mom and me, so I couldn't resist using it for 5 Minutes for Mom's photo contest. This was taken the day my parents brought me home from the hospital. Mom had been a mother for all of four days. In the photo she's showing me off to my cousin.

In this photo, my mom had no idea of what lay ahead of her... She didn't know of the multiple times she'd sit in a waiting room, waiting for me to get out of one surgery or another. She didn't know she'd have to fight with insurance companies to get me a new brace or home health care. She didn't know she'd spend two months sleeping on a quilt on the floor of a hospital room. She didn't know how many times she'd follow behind a speeding ambulance. She didn't know she'd develop her muscles by carrying me around in a plaster cast from my chest to my toes. She didn't know I would travel abroad many times without her. She didn't know I would earn three college degrees, graduating with my second Masters with a 4.0. She didn't know I would learn a second language and spend several years teaching it to college students. She didn't know I would be creative like her, just in different ways.

On this day, in this photo, all she knew was that she had a little baby in her arms and like any other mother, she was eager to show me off.



Technorati Tags: contest, photography, 5minutesformom, 5 Minutes for Mom, photo, giveaway, Egg Beaters, mom, mother, motherhood

CONTEST: Win a Cuisinart Food Prep, plus Processor!

Lori over at My Wooden Spoon is beginning a THREE month long giveaway! Her first giveaway is an awesome Cuisinart Food Prep and processor. All the details about this great prize, including the features and how you can have several chances to win it can be found right here.



Technorati Tags: contest, giveaway, prize, cuisinart, My Wooden Spoon

Thursday Thirteen #42

Thirteen Things about My Vacation

1. I just got home today from spending the past five days with one of my best friends in fabulous Fort Smith, Arkansas.
2. Actually, Fort Smith itself isn't all that fabulous...it's great because my friend is there, and because my mom was born in that neck of the woods so I do have a few roots there.
3. We had boocoodles of fun just hanging out together.
4. I ate way too much, but I could have been worse, I guess.
5. This was my first meal --


White cheese, doused in pure grain alcohol and then set on fire!


A fabulous Greek salad.


Chocolate Butter Mess -- Vanilla ice cream, with peanut butter topping, with chocolate topping poured over the whole thing, and sprinkled with nuts. Heavenly!
6. I went to work with her one day, and on the sidewalk outside where she works, we found this. :(


Poor little birdie must have fallen out of the nest and went splat on the sidewalk.
7. My friend has three beautiful dogs, which we enjoyed playing with and having around. Two are German Shepherds, but my favorite is a Briard, which is a French Herding dog. This is Bonaparte --

8. We watched the entire first season of Friday Night Lights on DVD, as I'd only seen the second season. This show ROCKS! If you haven't seen it, rent the DVDS. I don't care if you don't like football. That won't matter. Trust me. :)
9. There were so many beautiful flowers in my friend's yard --




10. One day we went out to the farm where my friend keeps her horse, and I got to meet him and his barn mates --



11. The Wii got a major workout between the two of us. I only have the Sports package that came with the Wii so far, though a friend loaned me Super Mario Galaxy...I believe I have professed my love for it before. This weekend I got to play Rayman 2 (hilarious fun for a bunch of people!), Paper Mario (do not like one little bit), Lego Star Wars (better than Paper Mario, but not really my thing), and the best of all -- Dancing with the Stars. That game was SO MUCH FUN! It's hard and fast and when there are two of you "dancing" together, you're both in constant danger of wetting your pants. I will be getting this one as soon as I can.
12. We drove by a former brothel called "Miss Laura's," but which is now a visitor's center. (And not that kind of visitor's center. ;-D)
13. It was a great few days that only served to whet our appetites for the four days we're going to spend together with two other friends in July when we see The X-Files: I Want to Believe movie.


Hey! I'm entered in a photography contest at AreWeThereYetMom.com and it ends tonight (4/30) at 11:59 p.m. PST, and I sure would love your vote! Just go here and click on the circle next to my name -- Fresh Girl. Thank you! :)

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Technorati Tags: Ft. Smith, Smith, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Wii, Nintendo, Paper Mario, Dancing with the Stars, Rayman 2, Lego Star Wars, XFiles movie, X-Files, Briard, Greek salad, Chocolate Butter Mess, photos, Friday Night Lights