a-MAIZE-ing

this weekend Randy took me to a corn maze at STONY HILL FARMS - it was soooooooooo much fun. As you can see, since there is a major election coming up next month - they carved VOTE '08, an elephant & a donkey into the corn maze

when we got there, it was about 5pm...so there was plenty of daylight
Randy even climbed the 8 ft bridge to get a good look of where were should be heading (this view is the back 1/4 of the maze)
good thing, cuz by 6:30 - it was DARK!
like.......REALLY DARK!
but with our flashlights & our maps - we made it out (we actaully did the maze twice...the first time it took us an hour cuz it was still daylight. The second time it took us over two hours cuz we kept getting lost in the dark)

happy birthday...to ME!

Last weekend was amazing - my parents, Randy & Sherri threw me a surprise b-day party one week before the actual date. The way they got me there was that they sent me an invite to Linda's surprise 60th b-day party...which was the same rouse as my bridal shower. And just as before - I bought a really nice gift for the person I thought I was going to their party!

As you can see - the theme is Mardi Gras....and the cake was AMAZING (one layer of white chocolate raspberry mousse & the other layer was a mocha mousse)
and so were the decorations - here is amie & me
sherri had every glass inscribed with "HURRICANE MICHELLE" - how cool is that?!?!?
barbara, irene, me & joanne - check out the banner that randy had made up for me behind us
my hubby is amazing...btwn the surprise & the decorations - hands down this was THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Ugh.....UGGS!

This pic was taken over a week ago on my way home from work. Granted it was a few days after the official first day of Autumn...so it is fine to switch from capri's to long pants....but UGGS!

Are you kidding me?Someone needs to put a policy in place that if you are so un-tan that you make an albino look sunburned - maybe you shouldn't be wearing your UGGS in 78 degree weather with your shorts!

What the heck is going on with NYC fashion!?!?!?

Happy Birthday Barbara

DEAR BAR-BY,

LOVE, MICHY

Sesame Street "C is for COOKIE"

I know there are a lot of pervy sesame street skits out there on youtube...and truthfully I was gonna post one that cracked me up, but then I saw this & started singing along. I also realized how good some of their skits were way back when

oh screw it - here is the pervy one......do NOT open this in front of any kids!

The Magic Garden

Here is a perfect little 4 minute summary of my FAVOURITE show from back in the 1970's:

I loved when Carol & Paula said "...and hi to michelle..."

The Electric Company

HEY YOU GUUUUUUUUUUUUYS!
If you can't sing along to this, then you weren't a child watching PBS (which was channel 13 for me) btwn 1971-1977

and YES....you did recognize from the opening credits: Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno & Mel Brooks. Little piece of trivia: Gene Wilder was the voice of "LETTERMAN".

3-2-1.....CONTACT!

did ANYONE watching this while it was on PBS realize it was a science show? I didnt, I was already in junior high & I just thought it was cool!

Electra Woman & Dyna Girl

ok, so it didn't have any educational value....but in 1976 when sherri & I were both grammar school kids, this show had EVERYTHING young girls could ask for.

It was the only time that the 2 of us were quiet for a solid 30 minutes!

DMB @ MSG - Stand Up for a Cure

So I waited until 24 hrs before to decide I wanted to go to last night's show (truthfully, I thought the concert was in OCT, so I had more time). Any decent seat was actually $255, so I was happy when a WH'r told me he'd sell me his extra for $79. I did save on all the fees...but I can tell you that row L in section 341 is prob THE WORST SEAT IN THE ARENA. I think the 400 level seats were better.

So what is wrong with the seat?

Well how much time do you have?

First off.....there are only 2 rows behind me, so that tells you how seriously in nosebleed land I was. Top that off with a down slanted overhang from the 400 level which covered rows D-N, so the acoustics are horrible. Sounds like you are in a cave. All that was still do-able to me cuz seriously, the show was 100% sold out. People really wanted to be here & so did I.

Unfortunately, I've grown out of love of 21 year old boys who feel the need to smoke & drink so much that they cant stand up, and then continue to smoke & drink even more. By the second song - the entire row in front of me had whipped off the shirts from their hairless bodies & were doing this stupid a$$ skinheaded mosh dancing with their beer mugs so that everyone in the row in front & behind them got to wear their beer. Then came the puking & the falling ontop of each other since they couldnt stand. And this was just the boys. What about the girls? Ughhhhh - there is so much "I LOVE YOU DAVE" I can take when its screamed 500 + 1 times during in each song. Did I mention that acousticly I was in a cave...so their pitchy-ness was inflated tenfold?

After 5 or 6 songs I was ready to throw in the towel & walk out of my first dave show.

In fact - I did just that....sort of!

I walked down 2 escalator flights & then decided I should probably stop off at the bathroom first. Well - BAMMMM, the music took over me & I walked back into the arena. Walked straight down the first aisle I saw (which turned out to be section 96) and that was where I ended up dancing for the next 90 minutes.

Had the best time EVER!

Oh....here is a cool thing. There was this young indian guy on the aisle who after a few songs asked me if Dave always plays such long songs. I looked at him confused & said "hahahaha - what is this, your first show?" And he said "YES". HOLY CRAP - I was hanging with a DMB virgin! How cool is that? I remember my first DMB experience (and that was like 15 yrs ago), so I was really happy for him.

I did miss the opening act, which was Ingrid Michaelson. You can catch a glimpse of her singing with Dave below to SPOON. I was told she was pretty good & even closed her set with a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". I wasnt there, so I'm not sure - but I bet she added a small dedication to LeRoi.

Here is the set list:

*Don’t Drink the Water

*Proudest Monkey

*Satellite

*So Damn Lucky

*Corn Bread

*Burning Down The House (crazy fun version of the Talking Heads song...click on title to watch a great version)

*Spoon (click to see video w/Ingrid Michaelson). I've been told the first time Dave did this song he dueted with Alanis Morrisette, which must have been AMAZING!

*Stay Or Leave

*Eh Hee

*Water Into Wine

*#41

*Louisiana Bayou

*Sledgehammer (I'm sorry...I never liked this song and even w/Dave singing it...ehhhhh)

*Crash Into Me

*Two Step

*Anyone Seen The Bridge

*Too Much Intro

*Ants Marching

Encore:

*Too Much

*All Along The Watchtower *

mocha & chewie CAN get along!

Sometimes I forget that just 2 years ago Mocha was behind a baby gate 24hrs a day in my bedroom. Now she has the run of the house (even has mutiple beds...one upstairs & one downstairs). Here are my observant pets watching a jogger go by. Obviously Mocha is too impatient to wait for her own quality picture window time....so she scoots Chewie over.

Do Cougar's need trendy cells?

ok, i know i b*tch a lot about what goes on my express bus...but I spend approx 6.5 hrs a week sitting on that cylinder going back & forth from manhattan 5 days a week, so I get a bit stir crazy. I've also begun to get a bit bolder with taking pictures. I'm waiting for someone to turn to me & say "why did you just take a picture of me?". I wouldnt have an answer, but so far - no confrontation.

Here is my latest annoyance...the chatty russian cougar who cant sit still.

Nothing wrong with being stylish, but at age 65....animal prints are just a bit much. Oh, if you havent noticed - she's carrying a silver juicy couture bag. Great even up to age 40...but...ummmm, nevermind. Now I'm just being nitpicky. Ok, so the part that has been driving me nutso is the chit-chatting & then texting that never stops the entire ride. I need to add that to my unwritten "DO NOT DO ON THE EXPRESS BUS" list. In the 35 minute ride i feel TYPE TEXT, SEND, LAUGH, RECEIVE TEXT, LAUGH, DIAL & SPEAK (in russian...oiy!) AND THEN ITS STARTS OVER AS SHE GOES BACK TO TYPING TEXT AGAIN! Each time she puts the phone in this jingly embossed cell phone case that looks like she picked it up for $2.99 at Claires Boutique and then back in her bag...so each time she's still for a sec, I start to fall asleep (which is something that I can do LIKE THAT on the bus) and then I feel her fiddling in her bag for the case & then she removes the phone...well, you get the picture. On friday she was sitting across from me instead of next to me & I could just FEEL HER MOVEMENTS!!!

Lianna & Zoey

Amaryah & Alex are so proud to welcome home their two beautiful little girls:
Lianna & Zoey born on Aug 11th

Something tells me that these girls are going to be "daddy's little princesses"!

MD, DC & Monuments...OH MY!

Had an awesome mini-vacation this past 4 days down in maryland visiting Amie (looooooove your dress!) On Saturday night on our way back from a wine tasting party in DC, we drove past some historical sites. Being the fact that I haven't visited our nation's capitol since junior year of high school, when we were driving over the Potamic River I said, "hey lets get a bit closer so I can see some sites."

Here is what you get when you slow down to 25 mph & stick your camera phone out the window:

ok.....WAAAAAAAY in the back is the Lincoln Memorial & in front of that is the Korean War Veterans Statues
and here you can guess what I'm shooting at - true it's not the best picture out there of the Washington Monument, but I can tell you that it caused the most giggles by a bunch of mature professional ladies (btw: 2 are lawyers & 1 is an accountant...there has got to be a joke in that by itself!)

Oh, speaking of jokes - yesterday I went to brunch at the Orig Pancake House & overhead a couple egging on their 12 mth old baby to say his first word.
Was it "M A M A"?

nope.
Was it "D A D A"?

nope again.
It was "O B A M A".
I was speachless.

...here is what I look like in Amie's convertible. Kinda reminds me of a female version of Cousin It :)

R.I.P - LeRoi Moore

I am very saddened by the passing of LeRoi Moore, yesterday Aug 19th (due to complications from an ATV accident in June). He was an intregal part of one of the most amazing bands ever assembled. His sax music touched my heart and it's sad to know that future DMB concerts will never be the same.

R.I.P. LeRoi

Click on this video for a beautiful tribute to the song "#34"

At last night's show (in LA at the Staples Ctr), Dave told a story about when he first met Leroi at a bar. "Leroi had had too much to drink and was leaning up against the counter near the stage, and proceeded to play the most beautiful version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow I had heard in my life." He said, "that's when I fell in love with him, and I'm still in love and always will be."

Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbanco

Last weekend I saw another AMAZING Cirque Du Soleil show - Saltimbanco. Ironically, this traveling show was the very first one that I've been trying to catch for close to 12 years. When I was traveling around Europe with Sherri back in 1996, we kept being a city behind & never caught their show.

Let me tell you - it was SOOOOOOOOOOO worth the wait (tho the city of Newark robbed us on parking since you cant park on the street...every lot within walking distance to the Prudential Ctr was btw $25-$35 instead of it's normal $10)

Here's some reviews of my past shows:

Quidam - my first show held down at Battery Park City summer of '98 held in a tent. I went with Sherri & Irene for Sherri's b-day...and I came "THIS" close to making a u-turn at the Battery Tunnel entrance!

Allegria - during Jazzfest 2000 I roadtriped from New Orleans to Biloxi, MO - this show kicked a$$ !!!!!
Dralion - at Liberty State Park with EVERYONE in 2001. It was "ok", but it didnt have the same effect as the first two shows cuz all the performers were not in makeup-costume
La Nouba - in Dowtown DisneyWorld 2002. This was Randy & Derek's first experience to Cirque du Soliel & I think Derek was sold with all the skateboarding & bike tricks (after all - it was during his 7th grade spring break). I was happy cuz the performers were back in makeup!
Wintuk - at MSG this past winter '07...ok if you're under the age of 10...but turned me off so much I was almost ready to never buy a tix to another Cirque show again

'nother IceCream - Cherry Chip

mmmmmmmmmmmm - last night I made my version of Cherry Garcia. I found the plumpest cherries in Kings & then Hershey's dark chocolate broken into chunks for the chips.

YUMMMM-O

Its not too late to buy an ice cream machine & make some yourself - I promise you that you won't be dissapointed!

John Butler Trio

last night I decided to join Shannon & check out the John Butler Trio....THREE THUMBS UP!!!! The opening band was Tristan Prettyman - I listened to her on napster earlier that day. Ehhhhhh - but it didnt matter cuz by the time I got to Roseland, JBT just started.

Headlining was G-Love & Special Sauce , so I also listened to them on napster earlier that day....I thought they sounded kind of like Jason Mraz (which i LVOE). Nope, it was too harmonica hillbilly for our group, so by 10pm - we split.

Ice Cream Machines are AWESOME

If you have never made your own ice cream....you're missing out! This summer I finally bought my own ice cream machine and it was the BEST investment I've ever made. Sure I've made a few goofs in the beginning (like NO WHERE in the instructions does it say to add the ingrediants SLOWLY WHILE the machine is moving....I can tell you if you add them BEFORE you turn on the machine everything will freeze to the sides & within 10 min the machine will go bump...bump....bump...STOP!)

Here are pics of my favs so far:

Hawaiian Delight (coconut ice cream w/macadamia nuts, toasted coconut & pinapple mixed in)

Butter Pecan....sinful!
Choc Chip Mint (what are the chips? Crushed Andes candies!)

Damn Ugly Funky Hair

Have people stopped looking in mirrors? As I've gotten older, I haven't lost one drop of vanity...have you? I still check myself out when walking along a glass building...just like everyone else does. What happened to hubbies around the world saying stuff like "are you REALLY going out like THAT?" I may not be the biggest fashionista out there, but I also dont walk cross town with damn ugly funky hair either!

Can someone give this lady a "WTF were you thinking" prize!

George Michael - MSG

Last night I was at THE BEST concert so far this summer season.....George Michael's return to MSG after 17 years! I rate this just a smidgen below Duran Duran's orig 5 member reunion back in 2003 at THE RITZ. For those of you that understand this comparison...last night's show was THAT AMAZING! I could not get over his voice...if I didnt know better I would think he was still a 25 y/o lipsinker. Yes, it was that perfect!

luckily, I bought a tix off of craigslist last minute...and was able to get an amazing seat for 1/2 the orig price. If I sat in the seats for what I actually paid - I'd be up in the 400's (but after last night's show - I'd get a nose bleed for George!)
from the second he walked out on stage - the crowd went nuts!
what was really great was that his stage extended about 35 rows into the audience, so even though I was across the garden - I saw crystal clear!

the crowd WENT INSANE when he put on the sexy cop uniform for "OUTSIDE"!

ok...so I've been told I'm a bit tone deaf - and yup - I now completly agree....but I've waited a very long time to hear EVERYTHING SHE WANTS live...and as you can hear - so has the rest of NYC!

Here is the set list for the THREE HOUR show:

• Waiting
• Fast Love/I'm Your Man
• Father Figure
• Hard Day
• Everything She Wants
• One More Try
• Different Corner
• Easier Affair
• Too Funky
• Star People
• Faith
• Spinning The Wheel
• Feeling Good
• Roxanne (yes, a POLICE cover!)
• Kissing A Fool
• Amazing
• Flawless
• Outside

encore

• Different Corner
• Careless Whisper
• Freedom 90 / Freedom Reprise

Staten Island vs. New Jersey

oh no they di-int!

(hand snap)

basically, the mayor of Belmar, NJ called Staten Island a town of "...Guidos who are always tanned to the color of coconut shells, and easily identified by their plumage: Armani Exchange on the males and satin shirts & skirts on the catfighting females...". OOOOOOHHHHH...don't make me choose - cuz I still got some guidette left in me to kick some jeresy shore butt!

click HERE to read the full article

Ken Pringle has NO CLUE what he's talking about...we'll find another kicka$$ beach to party at, won't we bimstas!

(???) MICHELMOBA for PRESIDENT (???)

Mamma Mia, The Happening & Get Smart

So, this has become the summer of seeing movies either opening night or as close to it as possible. This past Monday (July 14th) I went with Sherri to see a premier screening of Mamma Mia. My reaction? It was "ok...but too cheesy". Yes, even for me...and let me tell you - I LOVED, LVOED, LEVOD the play....I stood up and sung & danced during the encore just like everyone else (and even sung under my breath during the play), but the camp just didn't translate well to the screen. Even for this chick flick lover who adores ABBA!
A few weeks ago I went with Irene opening night to see THE HAPPENING. Unfor, I'll never get back those 2hrs back in my life. Not sure what the heck was going on, cuz I don't think Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschnal or John Leguizamo are bad actors...but in this movie - sorry, but they just were.
In fact - the movie suxed SOOOOOOO bad....when we walked out theater #1, we walked down the hall & right into theater #2 who was just beginning a showing of:
... now this movie had me in stitches from the opening monologue. Ironically, I was never a huge fan of the 1965 Get Smart ....but Steve Carrell is hysterical in this version of GET SMART!

All Stars On The Move...

Check out the swag each ALL STAR gets....and this line up was along 40th Street from 6th Ave all the way up to Madison Ave!!!!

they are all Chevy Silverado's

Birdhouse Attack!

early this spring I put up a birdhouse in my backyard & it has attracted some really cools birds - red robins, bluebirds, etc. For the last week, I noticed every morning my birdhouse was leaning at a 45 degree angle & couldnt figure out why.

I finally nabbed the culprit red handed!

PUNK!

REM at MSG last night

what can I say...this is def going to be my summer of concerts - I've already been to Dave Matthews & Duran Duran & I still have George Michael and Billy Joel to go :)

I've always had a crush on michael stipe going back to my college days (which is AGES ago)....and last night when they played "Whats the Frequency, Kenneth?" - it came back. Oh boy, did it! The way he slivers across the stage, I got chills!

Here is the set list from the show:

• Living Well is the Best Revenge
• These Days
• What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
• Bad Day
• Drive
• Hollow Man
• Ignoreland
• Man-Sized Wreath
• Leaving New York (I never heard this song before - very cool!)
• Disturbance at the Heron House
• Houston
• Electrolite
• (Don't Go Back To) Rockville - sung by Mike Mills
• Driver 8
• Harborcoat
• One I Love
• Until The Day is Done
• Let Me In
• Horse To Water
• Pretty Persuasion
• Orange Crush
• I'm Gonna DJ

encores:

• Supernatural Superserious
• Losing My Religion
• Begin The Begin
• Fall On Me
• Man on the Moon (I had to leave mid song cuz I would have missed my bus home if I didnt...that was the QUICKEST walk down the MSG stairs ever!)

Todd is a Little Musician

I just have THE MOST TALENTED nephew, ever!

just look at him - a pro bongo player at 16 mths!
and is now teaching Derek a thing or two!

Amaryah's baby shower

Not sure which was bigger - the hat, or her belly (and did I mention she is having TWINS???)

Carmella, Amaryah, me & Lorena

FLoWerS!

for no reason randy brought these home for me tonight!

~awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww~

DMB - Camden

Another great addition to my summer concert series...took a 1/2 day off & drove down with Shannon down to Camden. I think what made this show awesome was that Dave seems to really be enjoying his jam with Tim. From the first beat of the DREAMING TREE opener I could feel that Dave really has his groove grinding into gear (like that illeration?). Another cool thing is that Tim Reynolds is now a permanent guitar fixture in the band & some of the covers that they are playing really are awesome...like Pink Floyd's MONEY and Neil Young's HEY HEY MY MY.

Set List:

• Dreaming Tree
• Gravedigger
• Grey Street
• The Maker
• So Damn Lucky
• One Sweet World
• Jimi Thing
• Crash Into Me
• Money
• #41
• Sister
• Everyday
• Corn Bread
• Louisiana Bayou
• You Might Die Trying

encore:

• Hey Hey My My
• Tripping Billies