Well it appears that Amy and I once again share a brain since we are both utilizing Jacksonian (Janet that is) phrases to describe each other. Before I get into this I have to share a memory I have of Amy from when were a mere 14 years old. Don't worry Amy I wont talk about the afternoons in your basement with our boyfriends, in the dark, listening to Dokken... :) When I was 14 I was dating my very first love, I thought I would marry him and we would have babies, ah the ignorance of youth. When we inevitably broke up, I put pen to paper and wrote a poem about the situation. I gave the poem to Amy and she set it to music to create a song well known by our little circle of friends, Never Again. After she has finished the music and sat and played it for us I was blown away by her talent but when she came to me the next day at school with a stack of papers I was perplexed. She wanted me to sign all this paperwork so that we could copy write our song. She had all the paperwork ready to go just waiting on my teenage Hancock. It was then I knew that some day in the not to distant future we would be seeing her name in lights.
Now that we have the mushy stuff out of the way please enjoy my recent Q&A with Amy Douglas:
1. What Time is it?
AD: IT’S TIME TO GET ILLLLLLLLLL
2. What are you wearing right now?
AD: Ripped up jeans, vintage Judas Priest tshirt, no shoes, no socks, Ray Ban Aviators. My feet are dirty. Aaaaaah
3. Five Words or less describe:
a. Your sound
AD: Soulful, Funky, Glammed Up, Versatile and Powerful
b. Your favorite music
AD: Led Zeppelin (counts as one....), Beatles, Coltrane, Elton, Queen
c. Your husband
AD: My soul-mate and rock.
d. Your favorite place
AD: London England at 3 AM
e. Yourself
AD: Working my butt off lately!
f. Your interviewer
AD: Is a truly kick-ass woman! (edit* Aw shucks!)
4. I’ve noticed to have been doing a lot of collaborative work lately. Is this a permanent part of the Amy D Experience or will you be focusing in on a specific project soon?
AD: I think there’s going to remain a healthy dose of both, and I really do love to collaborate, so it’s been a blessing. In addition to following up the 92 Eternal Project with it’s second single and doing more collaborations in the pipe with some very special artists from the UK, I have two original projects in the works, one called Discokaina (stay tuned) and one called BAMela. Discokaina is Latin Degenerately Filthy Disco Rock. BAMela is for all intents and purposes a modern funk supergroup with the amazing Freekbass (www.freekbass.com) and Tobe Donohue aka Tobotius who is the producer/engineer of Bootzilla Productions, which is Bootsy Collins’s studio and label. I think you’re gonna love both of these for different reasons. I’m also, beginning to write songs for my first solo album, which....is gonna hearken back to my roots. A piano, a voice.
5. Who was our Junior High Chorus Teacher? Your thoughts on that one should be orgasmic!
AD: She was Ms. Alt I think, something with an A? Am I right about that? She was blonde. And she was chirpy. Vanilla, and emotionally unstable like all chorus teachers are. :) Oh well. She did her best. Poor thing. She did not like me, I remember.
6. In your formative years, who did you look at as your most highly regarded musical icon? (You can tell the truth, it’s me, I know)
AD: LOL! You are certainly one of my most highly regarded musical peers!!! If only because you out of all our group were the only one listening to amazing music! Well, Nikki too, she loved The Doors and Public Enemy I remember, but you were a devoted across the board listener. You CARED about music. As for me, in my formative years my most highly regarded hero/heroes were Led Zeppelin, Donna Summer, The Beatles, Queen, Stevie Wonder and Elton John. But the funny thing is, when you collaborate in other genres, such as the way I’m working as of late, a rush of influences you never even thought might have existed in your mind suddenly comes bubbling to the surface.
7. You latest projects have that funky ethereal sound to them, but they are also screaming “Hot Tub Time Machine me back to 54!!”. You started as a Rock diva, shifting to a more Jazz-centric (I think I just made up a word right there) feel once you were at college. When did you decide to change gears in your musical career?
AD: Well the jazz thing in college was simple, there was no degree being offered in rock diva! LOL! I had really started getting jazz focused while we were still in high school together. Jazz was also a great part of the early years growing up because both my Dad and Grandparents loved jazz! So they had great recording (all of which I subsequently stole!) I still love jazz, and jazz definitely made me the MUSICIAN I am today. Having the language of that to use on sessions and in many situations has served me very well. As for the rest, it’s funny. I started doing rock and funk again after I left school, and now...here I am singing for some of the premier talents in the world of electro and alternative dance music, but I still love rock music deep in my core, and I would like to get BACK to doing more rock music, and combine it with this new dance music thing I’m doing. Ironically dance music, which I never really imagined myself doing, provides a freedom with writing music and singing that a lot of other genres, don’t allow for, so if anything it just became a way to do whatever I wanted. When you label yourself by any other genre, people don’t like to loosen their perceptions on what or who you are, and what you’re capable of. I think all modern recent music has dance flourishes, and DJ culture has so infiltrated mainstream music, that the genre expanded. Expansion is ultimately a very good thing when you really want to be able to stretch your wings and do whatever comes into your mind at any given moment. Dance music allows me to use rock chops, jazz chops, and all in between. I’m not sure I decided to willfully change directions, so much as these new avenues suddenly found me and I’ve been really enjoying this side of the funky music building. (*edit Amy was a staple at the Blue Note in Manhattan and sang with such legends as George Clinton and Illinois Jacquet)
8. What is the craziest thing you have eaten recently?
AD: Sea Cucumber! Texture was...hard to get around, but it wasn’t too bad!
9. The music is playing you off and you only have 5 seconds before the 2011 Grammy Awards go to commercial, what do you yell out?
AD: JIMMY PAGE, PLEASE CALL ME!
10. What is your strongest memory?
AD: My old rock band AETHOS opening up for the 420 Funk Mob in Ithaca New York. 420 are essentially the PFUNK All Stars performing predominantly the Funkadelic catalog as opposed to the Parliament one, and George Clinton himself was on board for the night. I got called up to sing Red Hot Mama and wound up staying onstage for most of the duration of the night. Before hitting the stage, I was asked upon the tour bus, and standing there soon as I walked on the bus was George. When he hit the stage that night and we got to sing together, it was a magic I’ll never forget.
11. If you woke up tomorrow with my level of musical ability, what new career would you embark on and why?
AD: I think I’d open the worlds most amazing vintage clothing store, be a stylist or maybe do something culinary. I’m actually working on a cocktail book, of original cocktails I’ve created!
12. This is less of a question and more of a “shout out” box for you. Who do you want to give props to?
AD: I wanna give props to YOU. You for moving into a life that completely suits you, that puts you at ease, and I’m thrilled that you are so happy. (edit* Well shit I may have gotten a little teary and back at ya sister!)
Well there you have it folks a thrilling 10 minutes with one of the most talented people I have ever had the pleasure of being up close with. She is also the same person who made me learn every word of Edge of Seventeen for a show at Don Hill's, but we wont talk about that!!!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
BOOBIES!!
Ok now that I got your attention, take a look and listen to this teaser for the song "Boobies" due out this summer.
Now take a listen to "Still Believe" from Supra1 (download the whole 8 track EP here.)
Ok here's another; this track is from 92 Eternal and is titled "The Feeling" you can purchase the EP here
Now what do all these tracks have in common? Is it the funky club beat or the seemingly super-natural pull that makes you feel like someone hooked your spine through your belly button and is compelling you to dance? Well maybe, but what resonates for me is the powerful voice of the singer on each of these tracks. That would be the uber powerful voice of Amy Douglas.
I have known Amy since we were 11 years old. We spent our teen years singing together in chorus. She up in the soprano tier and me hanging with the boys, as usual, on the tenor rise. It was always tons of fun and Amy has always been destined for stardom. I could spend an hour talking about all the times Amy and I ended up singing Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" at this shitty bar across the street from my job after waaaay too many Jaeger shots. Or I could pontificate on the time Amy dragged me nearly kicking and screaming into my only public performance at Don Hill's. Honestly, no one talks about Amy like, well, Amy. She is a pro a promotion and knows how to work her stuff to the max. She is a veteran of the NY music scene and a born professional. In her own words she is a "Diva vocalist. Bulldog Lover. Jimmy Page worshipper. And a big nerd."
You can see Amy with her band Koko Dozo below. Amy and Polarity 1 make up this dynamic duo that pump out tunes that make you feel like someone tucked you inside a capsule and blasted you off to Saturn only to crash land on some unknown planet in front of their hottest dance club. If you heard vocals and a beats like these pumping out the door, I dont care if the population of that planet is comprised of one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eaters, you'd still risk it and head inside to get down!
Maybe one day I will interview Miss Amy so she can finally acknowledge who her REAL influence was. So without further adieu, here is Koko Dozo performing their song "Boomchi" at Tubway in NYC. Boomchi, btw, was featured on Showtime series The L Word.
Now take a listen to "Still Believe" from Supra1 (download the whole 8 track EP here.)
Ok here's another; this track is from 92 Eternal and is titled "The Feeling" you can purchase the EP here
Now what do all these tracks have in common? Is it the funky club beat or the seemingly super-natural pull that makes you feel like someone hooked your spine through your belly button and is compelling you to dance? Well maybe, but what resonates for me is the powerful voice of the singer on each of these tracks. That would be the uber powerful voice of Amy Douglas.
I have known Amy since we were 11 years old. We spent our teen years singing together in chorus. She up in the soprano tier and me hanging with the boys, as usual, on the tenor rise. It was always tons of fun and Amy has always been destined for stardom. I could spend an hour talking about all the times Amy and I ended up singing Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" at this shitty bar across the street from my job after waaaay too many Jaeger shots. Or I could pontificate on the time Amy dragged me nearly kicking and screaming into my only public performance at Don Hill's. Honestly, no one talks about Amy like, well, Amy. She is a pro a promotion and knows how to work her stuff to the max. She is a veteran of the NY music scene and a born professional. In her own words she is a "Diva vocalist. Bulldog Lover. Jimmy Page worshipper. And a big nerd."
You can see Amy with her band Koko Dozo below. Amy and Polarity 1 make up this dynamic duo that pump out tunes that make you feel like someone tucked you inside a capsule and blasted you off to Saturn only to crash land on some unknown planet in front of their hottest dance club. If you heard vocals and a beats like these pumping out the door, I dont care if the population of that planet is comprised of one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eaters, you'd still risk it and head inside to get down!
Maybe one day I will interview Miss Amy so she can finally acknowledge who her REAL influence was. So without further adieu, here is Koko Dozo performing their song "Boomchi" at Tubway in NYC. Boomchi, btw, was featured on Showtime series The L Word.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
And Now For A Baby Cake That DOESN'T Horrify Me!
One of my coworkers down in our Oakland office has a super-natural talent for cake decorating. With no formal training in pastry arts, my Field IT Support Analyst A.G. has created some awesome cakes for friends and family. This is just one example of the fantastic and creative work she does in her spare time with her 15 year old son acting as her sous chef!
This cake is simply adorable and doesn't at all, feel like I am eating an autopsy! Gratz Miss A you did great!
The babybug on top gives me such a "SQUEE!!" feeling somewhere between the Hookah Smoking Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland and the Cabbage Patch Kid my mother got for me after nearly punching out another shopper in 1985!
This cake is just so adorable I could eat it up :)
Getting Excited, Feeling Let Down
I am in a place of limbo right now and I have to tell you it is driving me insane. I seriously feel like I am taking crazy pills. I am close enough to moving day to know I have to take it seriously. Its close enough that it finally feels real, yet it is still to far away for me to actually DO anything.
So I look at hotels, I look at apartments, I look at clothes but that's it. That's all i can do. I am so excited about this and even more so about trying to get pregnant that I keep wishing I would just sleep through the summer and wake up in 14 weeks ready to start trying for a baby and 35lbs lighter lol.
Ah to dream the impossible dream :)
So I look at hotels, I look at apartments, I look at clothes but that's it. That's all i can do. I am so excited about this and even more so about trying to get pregnant that I keep wishing I would just sleep through the summer and wake up in 14 weeks ready to start trying for a baby and 35lbs lighter lol.
Ah to dream the impossible dream :)
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
CakeWrecks.com
It's no secret to those who know me that Cake Wrecks is one of my all time favorite sites. They actually posted a cake that both my sister and I sent in from our brother Dick’s (as I don’t use names here Dick isn’t his name but he is, well, a dick so um, yeah) rehearsal luncheon. Well given the fact that the network I run on at work was created in 1990 and the systems are run by starving gerbils, sometimes her photo heavy page is just too much for my little machine to handle. So I miss a day here and there. Well today I was in luck and her page loaded for me and the following cake is what I saw when I scrolled down. All I can ask is why? Why do you insist on eating babies? When they look awful like so many do it doesn’t disturb me nearly as much as a well done one seems to.
So take a look at the pictures below courtesy of CakeWrecks.com. Be sure to check out their site. Jen and John’s commentary is much better than mine J
Baby Cake
Cute right?
Scroll down for the horror
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WHY OH WHY
OH THE HORROR!!!!
Monday, May 24, 2010
A Serious Case of the Blahs...
So I haven't been keeping up with my blog as much as I would like to. I think I am suffering from a serious case of malaise. I am not sad or depressed, but, I am not excited about anything right now either. I have been looking at all the things I have to get accomplished in time for our trip and it all just seems overwhelming.
Money is a big issue. Will we have it? Will the check for $10k come when we are expecting it to come? Will I have to ask my Dad to front me ONCE AGAIN? I usually disagreed with 99% of what came out of my exes drunk and always disgustingly racist mouth. But I feel i should quote him right now since this was the one thing I always agreed with.
Money does not buy you happiness. Money buys you the freedom to pursue whatever it is that makes you happy.
Right now the $7.50 in my pocket is buying me 3 days of coffee and for the moment that will have to do :)
Money is a big issue. Will we have it? Will the check for $10k come when we are expecting it to come? Will I have to ask my Dad to front me ONCE AGAIN? I usually disagreed with 99% of what came out of my exes drunk and always disgustingly racist mouth. But I feel i should quote him right now since this was the one thing I always agreed with.
Money does not buy you happiness. Money buys you the freedom to pursue whatever it is that makes you happy.
Right now the $7.50 in my pocket is buying me 3 days of coffee and for the moment that will have to do :)
Monday, May 17, 2010
R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio
In 1986 my BFF J introduced me to Metallica. I was a 14 year old girl who listened to mostly pop music at that time of my life. I liked Meatloaf, thanks Dad, and I loved, loved, loved Michael Jackson. I really wasn't interested in her "devil music" but she was my friend and I figured I would check it out. Now if any of my FB friends are stalking this blog they will know that after listening to Fade to Black, Disposable Heroes, and Master of Puppets about a million times each, something changed in me. I found a kindred in the dark lyrics and frenetic lead guitars.
As I got older I started going backwards in time to the origins of this music and while many people will debate this, Ronnie James Dio was the godfather. At the very least he was the cool uncle who could rock your socks off.
He invented the so-called heavy metal "devil horns" hand sign. If you hear him tell it, it was actually a sign of luck he got from his grandmother. He was lead singer for the band Rainbow. In 1975 Ritchie Blackmore had enough of Deep Purple, and probably Smoke on the Water because really who hasn't had enough of that, and formed his own band. Rainbow laid some great tracks with some wild medieval themes. Ritchie and Ronnie wrote the bulk of the album themselves. After some creative differences, read Ritchie was sort of a bitch, RJD left and moved on to Black Sabbath. During that time they released Heaven and Hell, a wildly successful album that help save Black Sabbath from fading into the oblivion. After his time with Sabbath, RJD formed his own band Dio and released Holy Diver, the title cut of which I have linked for you above.
Yesterday, after fighting a tremendous battle against stomach cancer, RJD passed away at 7:45 am EST. The loss to the music world is momentous and whether you are on the side of Sabbath + Dio or Sabbath + Ozzy, there is no denying that music today would not look the same if it weren't for Ronnie James Dio.
Rock in Peace Ronnie!
As I got older I started going backwards in time to the origins of this music and while many people will debate this, Ronnie James Dio was the godfather. At the very least he was the cool uncle who could rock your socks off.
He invented the so-called heavy metal "devil horns" hand sign. If you hear him tell it, it was actually a sign of luck he got from his grandmother. He was lead singer for the band Rainbow. In 1975 Ritchie Blackmore had enough of Deep Purple, and probably Smoke on the Water because really who hasn't had enough of that, and formed his own band. Rainbow laid some great tracks with some wild medieval themes. Ritchie and Ronnie wrote the bulk of the album themselves. After some creative differences, read Ritchie was sort of a bitch, RJD left and moved on to Black Sabbath. During that time they released Heaven and Hell, a wildly successful album that help save Black Sabbath from fading into the oblivion. After his time with Sabbath, RJD formed his own band Dio and released Holy Diver, the title cut of which I have linked for you above.
Yesterday, after fighting a tremendous battle against stomach cancer, RJD passed away at 7:45 am EST. The loss to the music world is momentous and whether you are on the side of Sabbath + Dio or Sabbath + Ozzy, there is no denying that music today would not look the same if it weren't for Ronnie James Dio.
Rock in Peace Ronnie!
Friday, May 14, 2010
More Change A Blowin' In The Wind
As of Monday, May 17th 2010, I will have been dieting for 3 solid weeks. In that time I changed my eating habits and reduced my caloric intake to somewhere around 1400 calories a day. While I have not changed my activity levels all too much, I was trying to follow the Medi Fast philosophy of achieving half my weight loss goal and then beginning the exercise, I am still moving around and doing things. In all this time you would think that I would have lost at least 3 or 4 pounds. But yet, the scale tells me I have lost nothing. In fact yesterday I was .4 pounds HEAVIER than I was 3 weeks ago.
I nearly decided to chuck it all and give up. Just accept the fact that the Cymbalta pounds are here to stay, go home and eat something nasty. I expressed that to my support system. My sister P and my BFF Pickle, both tried to encourage me to stay on track. They both sited examples of times when they were dieting and didn't lose anything for a few weeks and then BAM 10 pounds gone. It was sweet, and expected as they are the best cheerleaders anyone could ever ask for. But in the end it wasn't helping. I was hell bent on destruction and once I fix on something I am like the Terminator. Target acquired..... Target eliminated...
The more I thought about things the more I realized that really for the first time this weight loss was for me. Not to win the affection or attention of someone else, not to live up to someone else's standard of who I should be. D loves me no matter what. This much he has told me several times. No, this time it was really for me and for my future child. I am on the backside of 37, I have survived cervical cancer, I have adenomyosis and a tendency for ovarian cysts. All of these things are in my way to becoming a mother. Why would I let the one thing I can control be added to the list? I would conquer this weight by any means necessary.
Fibromyalgia is a funny thing. People think that because they have been diagnosed recently and Doctors have finally recognized the illness, that they understand it so much better than those of us who have been struggling with it for years. Truth is, until they find a virus or a gene that screams "I AM CAUSING THIS", fibromyalgia will still be a trash can diagnosis for many people. Especially with the advent of drugs that are designed to treat Fibromyalgia pain, more and more doctors will call widespread pain and fatigue fibro, prescribe something awful and move on. I would bet that of the people diagnosed each year with fibro, about half are actually clinically depressed and aren't getting the treatment they need because a Dr. decided it was fibro and didn't look for anything else. Another ten percent or better are people who have drug seeking behavior and complain about everything until someone coughs up the meds they want. Then there are the rest of us. Those of us that struggle with this thing day in and day out. I was diagnosed in 2000, shortly after the new year. In the last 10 years I have experienced widespread pain, severe fatigue, interrupted sleep, difficulty falling asleep, an apparently immunity to all sleep medications and pain medications, IBS, and RLS. The latter of which is getting very bad!
Whats the right way for me to get moving without pissing off the fibro ghouls that live in my body? Muscle lengthening like Pilate's or yoga on a comfortable surface, swimming and water aerobics. All of which should be done about 3 hours before bedtime. Enough time for the endorphins to wear off but not long enough to lose the benefit of tired muscles aiding in falling asleep and actually getting some REM time. None of that is possible for me right now. Let me tell you what happens when I exert myself. First let me give you non fibro folks an idea of what it feels like. Have you ever been in a car accident? One where you were belted in and suffered no real injury but had your whole body whipped around. How did you feel 2 days later? That's how I feel everyday. So when we decided to pull out some bushes and I got too into it a few weeks ago, I paid for my 35 minutes of exertion with amplified pain, the inability to make a fist with either hand and searing neck pain for about a week.
Exercise is awesome, but not for me, not yet. The additional weight just makes everything so much worse. I thought I could lose the Cymbalta pounds and then start to slowly work myself into some yoga or something. D and I promised each other that we would work out together every morning once we were in Sint Maarten and finish each day with a swim. I figured by then I would be ready. I had set myself a course of dieting that would have me losing 2.5 lbs a week for the first 8 weeks or so and then adding in the moderate exercise I would be able to maintain that for the next 20 weeks losing a grand total of weight that is more than most people would recommend for me, but provided me some breathing room for the inevitable gorging on food in NY that was to come :)
So here I am considering giving up and just fading into the oblivion of nonchalance when I made a decision. I will change to the low carb plan that has worked for me before. If in three more weeks there is still no change then I will consult a doctor to see if something more sinister is at work inside my body. Until then I will continue to fight. I will continue to press forward and try to get myself ready for the event of my life. Now I have a little more incentive. D and I have agreed to start trying to get pregnant in September. Only 4 months away, so I have a lot of work to do but I will look at the inspiration for my tattoo and will gather up my burnt out body and try for miraculous rebirth.
Wish me luck....
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Bull has gone cowboy?
Sent from my U.S. Cellular BlackBerry® smartphone
Crystal Bowersox
If you are like many Americans you really couldn't care less about American Idol. In the first few seasons my ex husband and I watched it religiously. After the "Silver Fox" season, we sort of lost interest. Now as I have said before I am a classic rock fan. There aren't any new artists that I particularly care for, at least there wasn't. Enter Crystal Bowersox a 24 year old single mother from BFE Ohio. She is Janis reborn, she has all the ability and talent to show the world what a real female singer/songwriter should be. Week after week Crystal puts forth amazing performances from the crumbs of the potential given to her by a retarded group of producers who think its funny to have judges tell the performers they need to be more modern and relevant yet give them theme weeks like Sinatra and At The Movies. I have been stalking Crystal on YouTube and have yet to see a performance that wasn't fantastic. When I heard she chose, "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins from Caddyshack this week, I just had to see it myself. Once again Crystal is amazing!!! So right here, right now I am going to start a campaign to get Crystal voted off American Idol.
Yes that's right, I said voted off the show. This girl is too original and has too much talent to be destroyed by the clone making Idol machine. I mean look at what they did to Kelly Clarkson. Horrible movies, over produced pop bullshit music and a ridiculous contrived "romance" with Krusty Jr. Where I live you see lots of young girls walking around with dreads and they make me sick. They are so desperate to be called a hippie and an individual yet they all look the same. Crystal is different, her look is organic and genuine. I mean how many hippie chicks do you think there are in BFE Ohio? People can say what they want about her teeth, her weight, her hair etc. None if means anything, even if it has proven something. It has proven that this generation of kids have grown up choosing style over talent.
If you look at some of my female musical heroes, none of them are winning any beauty pageants yet each one of them contained more talent in their little pinkies than all the Britneys, K$SHA (Sp? Who cares), Rhiannas of the last 15 years combined. Janis, Cass, Carly, Chrissy (ok she wasn't terrible looking), and even the grand diva herself Aretha weren't going to make the Maxim Hot 100 but their talent was so raw and pure who really cares?
So if you are looking for something new and old at the same time, check out Crystal's performance below. You listen to what that little girl did and you tell me that she doesnt deserve better than American Idol!
Go Crystal I hope you are voted out real soon so you can begin a genuine career playing the music you belong playing!
Yes that's right, I said voted off the show. This girl is too original and has too much talent to be destroyed by the clone making Idol machine. I mean look at what they did to Kelly Clarkson. Horrible movies, over produced pop bullshit music and a ridiculous contrived "romance" with Krusty Jr. Where I live you see lots of young girls walking around with dreads and they make me sick. They are so desperate to be called a hippie and an individual yet they all look the same. Crystal is different, her look is organic and genuine. I mean how many hippie chicks do you think there are in BFE Ohio? People can say what they want about her teeth, her weight, her hair etc. None if means anything, even if it has proven something. It has proven that this generation of kids have grown up choosing style over talent.
If you look at some of my female musical heroes, none of them are winning any beauty pageants yet each one of them contained more talent in their little pinkies than all the Britneys, K$SHA (Sp? Who cares), Rhiannas of the last 15 years combined. Janis, Cass, Carly, Chrissy (ok she wasn't terrible looking), and even the grand diva herself Aretha weren't going to make the Maxim Hot 100 but their talent was so raw and pure who really cares?
So if you are looking for something new and old at the same time, check out Crystal's performance below. You listen to what that little girl did and you tell me that she doesnt deserve better than American Idol!
Go Crystal I hope you are voted out real soon so you can begin a genuine career playing the music you belong playing!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
That's a lot of ground to cover!!!
There it is, all 3,623 miles of it. The course we are plotting across America. I have to wonder if we will be blazing forth like Lewis & Clark, or drudging forward on our own personal Trail of Tears. I’m part Cherokee and I will be travelling with my ever so loving, usually very amiable, sometimes very childish SO, D and our trusty little P.I.T.As (that’s Pains In The Ass for the rest of you) Scooter and Jeyenah, so we shall see who survives!! MWAH-HA-HA-HA!!
Start Date: October 9th 2010 5am
Finish Date: October 20th 2010 5pm
Start: Redwood Valley CA – This is where we have lived together since December of 2007
Finish: Holbrook NY - This is the home of the ‘rents. My mother the Queen of SXM and my father the Caribbean Brain
Competitors – Me 37 years old fibromyalgia combatant, certified bitcher and road warrior driver
D 27 years old hot boy deluxe, certified whiner and coiner of the phrase TMW (that’s Too Much Work but he finds saying all that to be, well, too much work)
The Complications - Scooter, a 2-year-old JackRat who is the king of all whiners and Jeyenah a Chihuahua Mix puppy who tends to puke in the car
The Itinerary –
Day One – Set out from Redwood Valley to Salt Lake City Utah
Day Two – Depart Salt Lake City en route to Littleton CO
Day Three – Spending the day in Littleton CO with my brother
Day Four – On the road to Moore, OK
Days Five and Six – Spending time in Moore, OK with my BFF Pickle and her new baby Gherkin!
Day Seven – Hittin’ the road once more this time heading off to Nashville, TN
Day Eight – NASHVILLE TN Y’ALL
Day Nine – We’re off to Philadelphia, PA
Days 10 and 11 – Philadelphia, PA freedom!!! D is a big history buff so Philly is going to be fun. We are going to put the dogs in a sweet pet hotel while we are there check them out http://www.familypetresort.com/ ! I am hoping we can afford to get them some spa treatments!!!
Day 12 – I’m on my wa-ay, I’m on my wa-ay-ay home sweet home!!!!! To the land of rude people, my crazy family, awesome bagels, sick pizza and amazing Chinese food!! I can't wait!
From coast to coast with 5 stops in between. Can we make it with our relationship intact? Will both the dogs survive the trip? Will we break the bank on gas? Will D’s gas break the windows? Who knows, but it is sure going to be fun to find out
Monday, May 10, 2010
My Weekend Pain
Got most of my tat done. I couldn't sit for the whole thing though. It just hurt too much. I was already pissed about the fact that I have apparently not lost a fucking pound in the last two weeks when I should be dumping weight. But I digress. Here is a picture of the mostly finished tat! Enjoy!
Sent from my U.S. Cellular BlackBerry® smartphone
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Hawaiian Pizza
I see you there all saucy and delicious, Your pineapple gleaming like little bits of gold nestled under a blanket of cheesy snow. I heard your delectable ham slices whispering in my ear on the ride home.
"Eat me" you whispered like so many romance novel lovers.
"Devour my saucy goodness, you know you want to", you tempted me with your luscious voice.
To you my doughy god of flavor I say "NO! My Michelina's Light stuffed rigatoni is waiting for me!" my brain compells me to say. But what's this? My stomach has joined the fray. "You have been neglecting me" it cries. "Us too" scream thousands of little taste buds. My body is locked in combat with itself. I need assistance, I need a lifeline. I call my sister......
"Tell me I dont need to eat Hawaiian Pizza!" I scream at her as she pick up the phone.
"No, you don't!" she tells me in her calming voice.
"Don't eat the pizza, take it home for the boys and let them have at it"
"But its a take and bake", I plead trying to get her on the side of my stomach "The smell will be too much for me, I shant survive"
"No", she says once again "you have your dinner, you dont need that pizza. Go home and blog. Just do it and leave the pizza be!"
"Ok" I say "I will leave it alone and blog"
So here I am, pizza singing to me like a chorus of tasty angels in another room and me sitting here in the game room at my computer blogging about how much I want it.
Fuck pizza, fuck you, you nasty, fattening, grease laden pie! I will smoke a cigarette and the thought of you will vanish from my mind. I'll be damned if I will bake that thing. D will have to figure it out, I may even remind him not to cook the cardboard, AGAIN.
I am strong.
I can beat you.
I dont want pizza!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I am a filthy liar. But I will not concede!!
Until tomorrow then......
"Eat me" you whispered like so many romance novel lovers.
"Devour my saucy goodness, you know you want to", you tempted me with your luscious voice.
To you my doughy god of flavor I say "NO! My Michelina's Light stuffed rigatoni is waiting for me!" my brain compells me to say. But what's this? My stomach has joined the fray. "You have been neglecting me" it cries. "Us too" scream thousands of little taste buds. My body is locked in combat with itself. I need assistance, I need a lifeline. I call my sister......
"Tell me I dont need to eat Hawaiian Pizza!" I scream at her as she pick up the phone.
"No, you don't!" she tells me in her calming voice.
"Don't eat the pizza, take it home for the boys and let them have at it"
"But its a take and bake", I plead trying to get her on the side of my stomach "The smell will be too much for me, I shant survive"
"No", she says once again "you have your dinner, you dont need that pizza. Go home and blog. Just do it and leave the pizza be!"
"Ok" I say "I will leave it alone and blog"
So here I am, pizza singing to me like a chorus of tasty angels in another room and me sitting here in the game room at my computer blogging about how much I want it.
Fuck pizza, fuck you, you nasty, fattening, grease laden pie! I will smoke a cigarette and the thought of you will vanish from my mind. I'll be damned if I will bake that thing. D will have to figure it out, I may even remind him not to cook the cardboard, AGAIN.
I am strong.
I can beat you.
I dont want pizza!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I am a filthy liar. But I will not concede!!
Until tomorrow then......
D & J
Sent from my U.S. Cellular BlackBerry® smartphone
Well test #2 complete since as you can see this was sent from my BlackBerry! This will be awesome for sending updates from the road as we travel from Northern California to NY in October.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
OMG I did it!
I am simply starving today. Don't ask me why. I have eaten most of what I should have. Here's a little factoid you may now have known about me. A few years back while living in Vegas I developed quite a nasty gambling habit. I wont bore you with the details, but this is not the first time I went for too much of a good thing. Hell the size of my ass could have told you that :)
Any who, when I left Vegas for NoCal I thought I had left those temptations far behind me. Boy was I wrong. Turns out there is a casino on our corner here in Redwood Valley. Get off at West Rd for my house AND Shodakai Casino.
Being tired, hungry, cranky and knowing D wouldn't be home for hours yet was looking to become the perfect storm of blowing off my self control and giving in to my baser instincts. I checked my bank account to see how much I could spend and where I could borrow from when I exceeded the initial amount I gave myself (which I ALWAYS do). Figured I could get away with $40 (which would have turned into a $100 and a delayed tattoo appointment this Saturday).
As I left work I decided to fight the urge. I went to the right instead of the left when pulling out onto State St. Forcing me to confront the fact that I needed milk and going to the market after an illicit gambling excursion would be most definitely out of the question. I couldn't bring myself to ask D to pick some up on the way home when he is working so late. So I went to USA to get some milk. I felt good about myself and even decided to reward myself with a $5 scratcher that I would never usually buy.
As I walked inside the store I heard a bell ring. Round 2 had begun. Here I am starving and feeling deprived and I am inside a junk food mecca. Hell this place even has Dunkin' Sticks!!! I grab my milk and begin to cruise the aisles. Picking up delicious things and looking at calorie counts, trying desperately to figure out where I am going to steal the calories from. Will I skip dinner all together for an ill advised treat? In the end the compulsion to buy something and shove it in my gob was nearly insurmountable. I wrenched myself away from the yummy 3 Musketeers and the decadent Dove bar with Peanut Butter and forced myself toward the refrigerator case. There I grabbed a Kraft string cheese. I thought of Isla Fisher in Confessions of a Shopaholic when I held it close to my chest and said to myself; "I will buy this, and this alone".
I left that store giving in to two addictions; food and gambling. As I got in the car and sought out a dime to scratch with, dimes are the best scratchers hands down, I realized that although I was still eating something at a time where I normally wouldn't, I was eating something that was planned for me at lunch which I neglected to consume. I also realized that while I was in fact, gambling, I was doing it on my own terms and not through the strings of my addiction puppet master.
I will fail again. It will happen, this I know. But dammit, today, today I conquered those fucking monkeys and if they know whats good for them they will move back into Chris Griffin's closet where they belong and leave me alone! After all, the best you can do it take it one day at a time. Just ask Bill W and all his buddies.
Any who, when I left Vegas for NoCal I thought I had left those temptations far behind me. Boy was I wrong. Turns out there is a casino on our corner here in Redwood Valley. Get off at West Rd for my house AND Shodakai Casino.
Being tired, hungry, cranky and knowing D wouldn't be home for hours yet was looking to become the perfect storm of blowing off my self control and giving in to my baser instincts. I checked my bank account to see how much I could spend and where I could borrow from when I exceeded the initial amount I gave myself (which I ALWAYS do). Figured I could get away with $40 (which would have turned into a $100 and a delayed tattoo appointment this Saturday).
As I left work I decided to fight the urge. I went to the right instead of the left when pulling out onto State St. Forcing me to confront the fact that I needed milk and going to the market after an illicit gambling excursion would be most definitely out of the question. I couldn't bring myself to ask D to pick some up on the way home when he is working so late. So I went to USA to get some milk. I felt good about myself and even decided to reward myself with a $5 scratcher that I would never usually buy.
As I walked inside the store I heard a bell ring. Round 2 had begun. Here I am starving and feeling deprived and I am inside a junk food mecca. Hell this place even has Dunkin' Sticks!!! I grab my milk and begin to cruise the aisles. Picking up delicious things and looking at calorie counts, trying desperately to figure out where I am going to steal the calories from. Will I skip dinner all together for an ill advised treat? In the end the compulsion to buy something and shove it in my gob was nearly insurmountable. I wrenched myself away from the yummy 3 Musketeers and the decadent Dove bar with Peanut Butter and forced myself toward the refrigerator case. There I grabbed a Kraft string cheese. I thought of Isla Fisher in Confessions of a Shopaholic when I held it close to my chest and said to myself; "I will buy this, and this alone".
I left that store giving in to two addictions; food and gambling. As I got in the car and sought out a dime to scratch with, dimes are the best scratchers hands down, I realized that although I was still eating something at a time where I normally wouldn't, I was eating something that was planned for me at lunch which I neglected to consume. I also realized that while I was in fact, gambling, I was doing it on my own terms and not through the strings of my addiction puppet master.
I will fail again. It will happen, this I know. But dammit, today, today I conquered those fucking monkeys and if they know whats good for them they will move back into Chris Griffin's closet where they belong and leave me alone! After all, the best you can do it take it one day at a time. Just ask Bill W and all his buddies.
Happy Birthday Scooter McLovin!
You are 2 years old today!!! May you have many more years of happy puppy sleep and play in front of you!!
Since the Allman Bros are one of my favorites and Jessica always reminded me of the Snoopy song, I will just leave this here in honor of Scoots!
A Musical Interlude!!
I am a big time music fan. Sadly there hasnt been anything new I have really enjoyed in about a decade. So here are some videos from some of my favorites:
Killer Queen - Queen 1974
Tuesday's Gone - Lynyrd Skynyrd Live 1976
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel Live 1984
Killer Queen - Queen 1974
Tuesday's Gone - Lynyrd Skynyrd Live 1976
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel Live 1984
Horrible Night!
So last night was awful! I didn't get to sleep until 2am. D's snoring was like a freight train running through the middle of my head. Actually as much as I hate "The Boss" I would have preferred to listen to him over that! How that man can sleep through all that is beyond me! I got some hard boiled eggs and string cheese for lunch. Revenge will be mine, oh yes it will be mine. I hope it feels like I am burning him with the car lighter lol.
I boycotted the supposedly uber healthy Special K w/Blueberries this morning. How dare it have the same calorie content per serving as delicious chocolate Cheerios? How dare they! So I am at work and eating my chocolate Cheerios with 2% milk and a half a banana. I could save so many calories if I could switch myself to skim but listen, milk shouldn't be blue! Being a child of the 80's and an adult with a sophomoric sense of humor, blue milk = Smurf spunk to me. Ew, just ew!
Having some trouble with Facebook and the business page but I am working on it and will be adding some share/like buttons to our website. I am sure I will get it worked out but its irritating to me that I don't have an answer already. Impatience will be my down fall!
OK its time to get ready for my pill parade. Right now I am taking a pro biotic, a prenatal pill, a cleanse pill, some other thing and a guarana pill. Check out this bundle of joy!
I boycotted the supposedly uber healthy Special K w/Blueberries this morning. How dare it have the same calorie content per serving as delicious chocolate Cheerios? How dare they! So I am at work and eating my chocolate Cheerios with 2% milk and a half a banana. I could save so many calories if I could switch myself to skim but listen, milk shouldn't be blue! Being a child of the 80's and an adult with a sophomoric sense of humor, blue milk = Smurf spunk to me. Ew, just ew!
Having some trouble with Facebook and the business page but I am working on it and will be adding some share/like buttons to our website. I am sure I will get it worked out but its irritating to me that I don't have an answer already. Impatience will be my down fall!
OK its time to get ready for my pill parade. Right now I am taking a pro biotic, a prenatal pill, a cleanse pill, some other thing and a guarana pill. Check out this bundle of joy!
So there you have it for this morning. I am tired as hell, eating chocolate cereal and gobbling a ton of pills that I can wash down with some awful coffee! Oh and I just found out the macro I wrote for my cut off list here at work, included people who made a payment! Awesome!
Happy Tuesday....
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
So it begins....
So after spending some time contemplating whether or not I am going to bare my soul here, I have decided that you will get me through my very own, rose colored filter. You see I am about to embark on a journey unlike any I have ever know before.
Before you can walk alongside me, I think I owe you a little background.
Age: 37
Height: 5' 5"
Weight: Too Much
Illness: Fibromyalgia (diagnosed in 2000)
Current Residence: Redwood Valley CA
Hometown: Long Island NY
Marriages: 1
Divorces: 1
Dogs: 2 (Scooter (2 y/o) my Jack Rat and Jeyenah (4 mos) my Chihuahua/Min-Pin mix)
Mode of transport: Gas sucking Envoy
Favorite Movie: Today it is Step Brothers
Favorite TV show: Family Guy
Favorite Book: Watchers by Dean Koontz
Favorite Book Series: Its a tie ...In Death by JD Robb & The Ender's Game series and all parallels
Well there you have it, me in a nutshell. So why the blog? Why now? Well I'll tell you.
I was very unhappy in my marriage. I made a mistake and married the wrong man. He isn't a bad person, just not the one for me. During that time I lost my "baby making" years, as it were. So when I met my current SO I was hesitant to get involved, worrying that his 10 years younger than I, age, would make a difference. Would he want kids? When? Would it be too late for me? But I loved him enough to throw caution to the wind and leave a good job market and move to the middle of the Redwoods. That was in December of 2007.
Flash Forward 2010:
Here I am in the woods and in love. In an effort to control the worsening symptoms of fibromyalgia I take the medication Cymbalta. It helps to put 30lbs on me in 5 weeks. If I wasn't depressed before, I am now. I have a job I hate with co-workers I love. We are broke, a lot. Something has to give.
What gives?
In the next 28 weeks I will be utilizing my favorite new site Live Strong to track my food intake. I am determined to lose this weight. For most that would be enough, but not for me. What else is planned? My SO and I are going to be moving to the beautiful island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten to work with my mother in her cell phone rental business!! We are also planning to start a family!! I will be updating my blog daily with thoughts about dieting, plans for our road trip across country and our move to the fabulous Caribbean!
Psst... if you are planning to visit SXM any time soon, may I recommend a fantastic cell phone rental company? Check us out at www.queenofsxm.com or our new Facebook page! Just look for Friendly Island Phone Rental.
I hope you like my blog and thanks for stopping by :)
Before you can walk alongside me, I think I owe you a little background.
Age: 37
Height: 5' 5"
Weight: Too Much
Illness: Fibromyalgia (diagnosed in 2000)
Current Residence: Redwood Valley CA
Hometown: Long Island NY
Marriages: 1
Divorces: 1
Dogs: 2 (Scooter (2 y/o) my Jack Rat and Jeyenah (4 mos) my Chihuahua/Min-Pin mix)
Mode of transport: Gas sucking Envoy
Favorite Movie: Today it is Step Brothers
Favorite TV show: Family Guy
Favorite Book: Watchers by Dean Koontz
Favorite Book Series: Its a tie ...In Death by JD Robb & The Ender's Game series and all parallels
Well there you have it, me in a nutshell. So why the blog? Why now? Well I'll tell you.
I was very unhappy in my marriage. I made a mistake and married the wrong man. He isn't a bad person, just not the one for me. During that time I lost my "baby making" years, as it were. So when I met my current SO I was hesitant to get involved, worrying that his 10 years younger than I, age, would make a difference. Would he want kids? When? Would it be too late for me? But I loved him enough to throw caution to the wind and leave a good job market and move to the middle of the Redwoods. That was in December of 2007.
Flash Forward 2010:
Here I am in the woods and in love. In an effort to control the worsening symptoms of fibromyalgia I take the medication Cymbalta. It helps to put 30lbs on me in 5 weeks. If I wasn't depressed before, I am now. I have a job I hate with co-workers I love. We are broke, a lot. Something has to give.
What gives?
In the next 28 weeks I will be utilizing my favorite new site Live Strong to track my food intake. I am determined to lose this weight. For most that would be enough, but not for me. What else is planned? My SO and I are going to be moving to the beautiful island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten to work with my mother in her cell phone rental business!! We are also planning to start a family!! I will be updating my blog daily with thoughts about dieting, plans for our road trip across country and our move to the fabulous Caribbean!
Psst... if you are planning to visit SXM any time soon, may I recommend a fantastic cell phone rental company? Check us out at www.queenofsxm.com or our new Facebook page! Just look for Friendly Island Phone Rental.
I hope you like my blog and thanks for stopping by :)
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