tubie blair

Perfect Gentleman

2005-09-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

SO, its been a long week or so since I have been back in town. Ups (Coldplay concert), downs (Jags losing), and everything in between. Mostly Ty and I have been at each others throat and that sucks and leaves me with nothing to write about. I am a loyal fan of the saying " if you can't say anything nice..." you know the rest. But today, I decided that: if you can't say anything nice, just bring up something else. So I decided to take a few minutes to spotlight the other 2 Thomas P's in my life. TP III, my father in law, and TP V, my son. Lets start with my son TJ, which stands for Ty Jr. ..Ty (my husband) actually is a nickname for Thomas P IV, and it comes from the first letter of Thomas and the last letter of his last name (which starts with a P). So, since it gets really confusing if there are 3 Toms alive, you have to be creative after a certain number if you want to keep the family name kickin'. I just learned all this in the last 2 years. Hence the name Ty was created, and then Ty Jr, which doesn't really even make any sense, since his name is still Thomas, but whatever. I wanted his name to be Frankie anyway. Thats his middle name, Franklin. Isn't Frankie cute? He looks like a Frankie and sometimes when no one is around, I call him that. Shhh...don't tell. I know I am wired. Oh- and my parents call him A.J. because they think he looks more like me and thats where the A comes in. Poor kid will have an identity crisis when he is 3. Anyway, our favorite little prince and I spent all weekend cleaning out the attic and my office and his nursery and when it was all over, TJ donated 3 huge boxes of clothes and toys and diapers and the like to the Red Cross. The kid has a bigger wardrobe than Jessica Simpson, I promise you that. So I kept my favorite little cuites, and the rest I washed, folded, set with matching socks and little matching caps and lay them lovingly in boxes. Holy crap there was so much, I swear our house is 100 lbs lighter now. He really wanted to help the survivors in some way. What an angel. Today we went to watch the Jag game at our favorite little Italian restaurant and it was closed except to friends and family. So, here is the part where I brag about my son. All day we heard over and over again:
1) He has the most beautiful blue eyes!!
2) He is so happy all the time!!
3) He is the most mild mannered, sweet, good tempered, happiest, smiliest...etc...baby ever!!
I know...I mean Thank You! He had the time of is life, and then passed out in my arms while we were watching Sports Center waiting for them to say how the Jags were ROBBED by the refs today. It was the sweetest thing ever.
ok, so TP III- my father in law. What a man. He, like TJ, is the sweetest, happiest , most generous, smartest, and good tempered man. He has a heart of gold and likes to share everything with everyone. Aside from being many local business owners (one being a very famous and public local business) and on all of the city boards and all of the big things that go on around here, and in America, he is a volunteer, a campaigner, and an amazing grandfather. I consider him one of my closest male friends. He works very hard for this city and he deserves all of the positive recognition he gets, and I continue to be very proud of him. I hope I am not crossing the line by quoting him a few things here, because he has some good ones. And I can't help it.
1) ..on taking the shortcut through the not so good part of town "I don't like to go that way. I think the hood lives in there"
2)..on the Vans Warped Tour in Jax "I saw that concert on the news. Everyone in the crowd was pushing each other in some sort of aggressive circle dance"
3)..on flying the friendly sky's "Why fly commercial?"
4) ..my personal favorite "Anything my daughter in law says is right"
I love him, and V.
and IV too. He is 97% perfect. Maybe I need to stop focusing on the 3% and enjoy the majority. And he should do the same ♥

Troubled in Paradise

2005-09-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

I am writing this pool side from our hotel in Mexico right now. They bring you laptops and ipods and stuff here. Its crazy. There is actually little you can't do here, they pretty much offer everything there is to offer, including, but not limited to a sunglasses cleaning by hand at your pool chair a few times a day. What they cannot provide, however, is a mental escape for me and my husband for what is going on down south right now. This tragedy is so heartbraking, and I can barely turn on the TV or pick up a paper without crying and can barely enjoy the gorgeous view I have right now without feeling guilty. We have 2 close friends from NO, we visit them every May and go to Jazz Fest with them. Actually they were supposed to be on this trip with us right now. We believe they are in Thailand right now, but we have no way to get ahold of them and are very worried. We are keeping them and all of their friends we have gotten to know over the last 5 years of Jazz Fest in our hearts and prayers this week and have to believe they are all OK right now. American will get through this, changed forever, but we will get through all of this. Please give to the American Red Cross if you have the means. They have already received over a million in private donations. Everything helps.
We are having a very nice time here. Mexico is my favorite country, the people are all warm and friendly, the food is incredible, I speak the languagge (ha ha - I can fake it when I am drunk) and I love the Mexican architecture and soul. I know you want to know, so here is the list of celebs we have seen: Debra Messing, Queen Latifah, Estrella Ward, and a pro-cyclist who rides with Lance Armstrong. Its the life, it really is. I wish all of you could be here with me, but more than anything I wish I was somewhere helping someone instead. Ty and I were wondering why we are alwyas in paradise when something horrible happens, We had just gotten to Hawaii and woke up to Sept 11th . It makes it hard to enjoy.
We are doing our best :)
peace

En espanol por favor...

2005-08-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say adios for a few days while I am in Mexico. I figured out how to stop people from leaving comment spam too. Maybe I will check in from Cabos. We are off for the airport.
Tenga una gran semana, y piense en mi cuanda usted bebe un margarita!
Adios amigos!
Tubie :)
ps- I bought the new death cab for cutie CD that came out this morning for the trip. Its so good already. And I finally broke down and bought American Idiot. I promised someone I would give it a listen to or 2. I don't know why I can't get into Green Day, but I liked Dookie, so its only fair of me to try it.
I will let you know.

Gifts and Curses

2005-08-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

wow- am I really getting solicited on here? I think I had 5 comments on my last blog and only one of them was from someone who wasn't trying to sell me hearing aids or some electric handicap scooter. Wait, am I supposed to be getting some kind of hint here? Granted, I am actually going deaf I think, but thats for me to worry about in 10 years from now. Seriously, have yall ever had someone leave comments about how to make money on the internet or selling something? I just can't handle it.
ok- so yes, I actually got my "in" to Diddy's party. Ha- the punch line there is that there is this hurricane and so I rescheduled the trip for Sat. I thought it would be a mess down there and the way they had it coming, it was going to be a mad storm tonight. I actually think now that everything will be fine tonight and he will probably still have his party tonight and I won't be there now. Have I told you how much I hate hurricanes? I had, like actually HAD TJ during one, then when he was 2 weeks old, we had to evacuate and lost power for 5 days for Ivan. Thats fun. And then my first trip away from him (a month later), I get stuck in Atlanta and can't get home. Which was sorta OK because Incubus, Chris Webber, and some reality show cast- was stuck in our same hotel with us and we all hung at the hotel bar all night and made the best of it. I think Lisa and I tormented Brandon from Incubus until he was walking around shirtless, and I think maybe Chris Webber and his entourage took us to dinner. HOWEVER, I was so sad because I missed TJ. And I hate hurricanes. And poor Panama City and the panhadel, they get so worked, bless their hearts. I feel so bad when this stuff happens. Mother Nature doesn't fuck around. I hope she gives them a break this time.
The Jags didn't look too good last night, but it was good to see some old friends at the game.
TJ's 1 yr old appointment with Dr. Horn went really well yesterday. He is growing - slowly and steadily. He got some horrible shots (vaccines) and was so upset, but is cute as ever today. And in a great mood. He forgave us.
AND you're not going to believe it, they are pouring the marcite in the pool bottom as I type this, and they are going to start filling it up tonight. I had a Come To Jesus (I guess you call it) with one of the guys and I think it worked. I was sure any and all screaming and 'you sucks' would always fall on deaf ears, but hey, here they are and I am not complaining anymore today.
I am leaving in the morning for Miami, have a great weekend :)
peace

(Don't fear) The Reaper

2005-08-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

I am finally recovered from TJ's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza. The house is clean, the cake is gone, and the grandparents have gone back to Texas. Both parties were a smash, the backstage Zoo trip to meet Raffie was fun, but hot..(Raffie is the baby giraffe that Ty and I adopted, and actually named, at the Jacksonville Zoo charity auction in honor of our son TJ )here is an article about her )...AND of course the fashion show was life changing. TJ is a born model, naturally. And then Monday my trainer told me that if I wanted to kick it into high gear right before Mexico, I should do a 14 day crash South Beach Diet, while doing 45 mins of cardio everyday (sundays I rest) and continuing with weights 3 days a week. um.....wow....so I said I would do it. And then he took off to Vegas. This is my 6th day. This is a very strict diet, no alcohol, no sugar, no carbs...whatsoever...none at all... its harsh. I can sort of do the alcohol part- I did that for 10 months, although its rough. But the carbs are more of a convenience thing than a necessity, so thats hard, but I guess I like sugar more than I thought... I caved with cookies twice. And a beer Saturday night. There was a Jaguar game on TV...

ANYWAY!!!!! SIX FEET UNDER last night!!!
Oh my my....it was my favorite show maybe of all times, (although 90210 is always where my heart will lie)...it ended last night. I was nervous for the ending.I had one of those sick feelings in my stomach all day... I haven't felt so strongly about a show ending in a long time, although I watched my friends tragically go through it with Friends and Sex in the City. They were devastated and now I know how they felt. I was sobbing. Uncontrollably. Sobbing. At a TV show. Its OK if you never want to read anything I write again, I understand. Who cries at this? Me. I do. The Fishers were as much a part of my family as Donna, David, Brenda and Dylan were. Note: Kelly Taylor was NEVER in my family or considered a friend after she stole Dylan (slut). But, as Claire drove away to move to NYC last night, my tears went from bad, to worse, to hysterically laughing as they showed the inevitable demise of the each family member and how they would all die. It was so morbidly beautiful and perfect. I thought it was the best finale I had ever seen. HBO has not let me down yet. It was an incredible ending to an incredible show. If you don't know the show, we can still be friends. It was written and directed by the extraordinary Alan Ball (American Beauty) and Kathy Bates directs(Misery). And if you have not seen even one episode of this show, I suggest you buy (rent) season one and start from HERE. Its amazing. A personal request from yours truly, Tubie Blair. I wouldn't steer you wrong. You can handle it. Don't be nervous. Or at the very least check out the SOUNDTRACK. Its amazing.
...and on a last note, I have someone working on tix for P. Diddy's Welcome Party for the VMA's next weekend in South Beach, its being held at The Mansion. It will probably not happen, but it never hurts to try. The Today Show had this thing last summer called "Live For Today" where you could write into their website and say one thing you have always wanted to do, or something you wanted to do before you die...mine was: to be invited to one of Diddy's parties.
I am sure my invite got lost in the mail.
The fucking pool guys probably took it. Yes, thats right, they are still working on my pool. Working might not be the right word.
Yes, I know the summer is almost over. Thank you.

This Year's Love...

2005-08-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here are the other three favorite songs, sorry it has taken me so long. Remember, I have this baby, he takes a lot of time...I can't pull myself away from him right niw, especially since it is his BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!!

4)Ender Will Save Us All – Dashboard Confessional
I truly believe that Chris Carrabba somehow got into my head and took the words right out of my mouth when he wrote this song. Have you ever listened to a song and said-“I couldn’t have said it better myself”- this is that song for me. It is exactly how I feel about someone, and while things have changed a little between he and I since this song fisrt took over my car stereo and my head, I would still sing every single word to him, in my imagination of course. I would though, right to his face, if I ever had the opportunity. This may be the one song that I might just cry if I heard it live. – (sidebar: he does not play this song live).

5)Used to Love Her – Guns N Roses
You know I had to give Axl a shout in this list. Again, no real meaning in here to search for, but its just so much f’n fun to listen to. I remember driving around in my old suburban with this tape on, Lies Lies Lies, and we would scream out every single word to this song and mean it. So much fun.I am listening to it right now, and it is my most favorite song of today. It was a close one between it and Rocket Queen though. The bass on that one gets me. Duff McKagan. Mmmmmm….

6) I can’t decide. Somewhere between American Pie- Don McLean, Color Blind – Counting Crows, She Talks to Angels - Black Crows, Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd, Karma Police – Radiohead,, Peace, Love and Understanding – Elvis Costello, and um…Ignition (Remix) – R. Kelly…somewhere in there is the 6th favorite song. I can’t decide.
♥

Tomorrow, today- 8/11, is TJ’s First birthday. Here are pictures of his most memorable year yet. I can’t believe its been a year. Holy smokes, it has gone by fast recently. I can’t believe a year ago, I was in the hospital having a baby! That part did not go by quickly at all. Neither did the first three months. But, we are having a big party this weekend, and there will be lots of family, friends, cake and giraffes. You can send all your birthday wishes for TJ to me, I will relay them to him, I promise.
Good nite ☺

trouble sleeping...

2005-08-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

For the last three nights in a row, I have woken up around 2 and not been able to go back to sleep. So I heard that instead of laying there, you are supposed to get up and do something to take your mind off it, and then try again 30 mins later. So I thought it would be a good time to start on my list of my six favorite songs.
The minute Indigo gently” nudged me into this, not an easy task, the very first song that came to my head, randomly, was:

Santa Monica by Everclear.
I have always considered this one of my most favorite songs, the way it starts makes me turn up the volume every single time. It reminds me of when I made a huge life decision. I left small town-mountain life, which I had become extremely accustomed to for 6 years. I left all of my friends, sold my skis, packed up whatever fit in my Explorer and drove across the country. I moved to the beaches of Florida, following a guy I had met in math class. 10 years later, we just celebrated our 5 year anniversary and next week is the our son's first birthday. This song will always remind me of the summer I made that wise decision, to ...live beside the ocean, leave the fire behind... etc.

Over The Hills and Far Away- Led Zeppelin
Although its hard to pick a favorite Zeppelin song, this one makes me the happiest and makes me feel all warm inside, like a little kid. … I love the acoustical beginning, and then it builds up a little and then WHAM it just starts rocking. I love the rolling bass line, the drums...you can''t help but turn it up as loud as it goes and everyone always sings the words at the top of their lungs...but... its also a great driving song when you are all alone... or, for that matter, when you are in highschool with all your girlfriends, smoking pot in your dads car and giggling at everything, and trying to explain, quite philisophically, what this means: Mellow is the man who knows what he''s been missing, many many men can'’t see the open road.…

Jane Says - Janes Addiction
Word on the street is that this is a true story, there really was a Jane, addicted to heroine, lived in some heroine den, with her shitty boyfriend Sergio and like 10 other people who all treated her like she was a joke. Poor Jane, I really can picture this girls life when I hear this song. And there is something about the simple beauty of this song, I guess I can appreciate that Perry paints this picture of this girls life so simply and matter-of-factly- , you don'‘t have to read between the lines or look for meanings or symbolism. Its just all there,for us to picture Jane and her wig and her endless dreams about Sapin and promises to quit tomorrow. Poor Jane, good luck, babe...we do love your song though.…
Well, there's three. I have to finish the rest tomorrow, its almost 6 in the AM, and I guess this is when I force myself to sleep until 8 when Tj wakes up.
...to be continued...
Good nite...

All is Full of Love

2005-07-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

OK- Right down to business and I apologize for anyone reading this who doesn't know what I am talking about here, its mostly an update for friends, but that might include you, so here is the business portion for today, and then we can get to the fun. I promise. First off we saw a great doctor (for TJ) this week and one I finally liked. Although his diagnosis was basically the same, he told me that "terms" and "labels" were really not that important and if I really wanted him to diagnose TJ with something he could tell me what it was so that we could stop wondering what was wrong. BUT- his general view was that TJ was going to be just fine and he would be up and cruising in no time, regardless of what is going on now. His prediction was that it wouldn't have a lifelong effect and that everything that we are doing with, and for him, will eventually even everything out. I guess having a label or a term for something doesn't really change the fact that it exists, and the most important thing about it is just to know that things do exist, with or without medical descriptions. Sometimes medical terms make something bigger then they really are and I think that may be the case here. That is the feeling I had when I left the Dr's office Thursday. I told him I didn't need to know. Being mindful of TJ and the present and what is happening is really enough for me. Not what "it" is called. ... I know what it is, I am pretty sure I even know what the term is. I don't, however, know how to spell it and I sure as hell am not looking it up on the internet and upsetting myself, or any of yall, before bed. So, I really liked that. It made me feel comfortable, which I haven't been for a while. And we appreciate more than you will ever know, everyone's prayers and thoughts and help and everything this summer. The main point here is that we feel very sure that TJ will be playing T Ball with the best of them before long. This is not life threatening and we feel confident that it is not disabilitating, and this doctor was both comforting and reassuring. And with that being said, I feel like we got some good news again this week, and that makes it 4 out of 5 scary dr's appts that have ended with good news, and I am celebrating, and here's how: I am sending TJs picture to the Child Magazine cover contest tomorrow, he'll totally win. Here are some recent pictures, I can't pick one. Which one do you think is the cutest? Its like a poll. I need your votes. It will be the perfect addition to his ever growing portfolio, which already includes at a mere 11 months:
-the starring role as the Baby Jesus (in a city wide and televised annual Christmas thingy)
-live national TV (behind Al Roker on the Today Show)
-runway model in a fashion show (for his favorite store Kyds)
He's already almost more famous than me, which is tough...remember the Bob Hope commercial thing Shannon? yes you do..

...and we are finally winding down after a great weekend in Chicago at Lollapalooza, it was a trillion degrees and the music was amazing. My favorite acts were of course Dashboard Confessional, I don't even have to go there, because you already know..
the Arcade Fire, wow what a live band, they were amazing. I was really proud of one of the guys I went with, named Sean. After I had been talking them up something fierce all weekend, he stayed back from G Love to watch and see for himself. It had nothing to do with the VIP area we were in, including the private viewing platform, the open bar, the airconditioned bathrooms and the brushetta being passed on silver platters- he would've had to leave all this to see G Love, but that's NOT why he stayed, honestly...he stayed to see something new and original and amazing- Perry Ferrell took the words right out of my mouth when he introduced them with something like that- and he was blown away, as was I. He loved them. He even bought the shirt.
The group favorite was The Killers. I know, they are so trendy or whatever,and they "stole" all their material blah blah blah but I think they are so much fun to listen to and we had so much fun watching them. I am a huge fan. Huge.
I also saw The Pixies, Weezer, Primus, they were all really good. Weezer was OK, I am not a huge fan of the new, but I LOVE the old, so that was really fun live. Pixies remind me of college...Billy Idol was of course awesome. Death Cab was really good, and I was really really excited to see them, but it was hard to hear them from where I was standing b/c Widespread was playing at the same time on a bigger stage and, well, they were louder. I would've really liked to have seen Spoon and VHS or Beta and The Dandy Warhols, and I didn't, nor do I remember why I didn't, everything happened so fast...but next time...
Tiffany and I got pictures with most of our favorite bands, we really added a huge appendage to The Wall of Fame time. It might have to be a Room of Fame before too long. I am proud of us...
Unfortunately, there are 2 pictures I missed taking, and they would've been really great additions to The Wall. One was an old friend (with whom I already have a few), and the other is a new friend that it was very cool to meet and have a beer with during Death Cab. I have rain checks on these photos with both you guys...so don't forget. I don't let people off easy.
Soooo...I was tooling around with the *new mac* and I made this thing so yall could see my pictures from the trip. Its my first time, so bear with me...and the slide show looks the best while listening to "Cold Wind" by the Arcade Fire, I tried to put it in there too, but I got nervous. See if you can handle it yourself... Here they are
We are in town for a MONTH!!!! And it feels SOOOO GOOD!
-peace, love and MY OWN BED...

Here Comes the Sun

2005-07-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

Ok so maybe I over reacted about the T-shirt. You know how girls are. I survived and haven't given it much thought since. Side note: I certainly never threatened to fire her, or even consider something so ridiculous. I would never be so petty, believe me. She is almost as much of a part of my family as I am.
A lot has happened since my last post, most importantly, we had TJ's MRI- poor little guy, he is only 11 months old- he was under anesthesia for 3 hours! He had a little hospital gown and a little ID bracelet and a little IV and everything. I was holding back tears everytime I saw him. But he was a trooper and the great news is it came back 100% normal. He has a healthy brain and spine. So on to more tests of course, but what a relief.
I just got back from New York City and spent some time with a few friends. An old friend in particular, who never ceases to amaze me, renew me and make me feel like the person I really am on the inside.. everytime we catch up. There aren't enough people like this in the world, but in the same sense, if there were, we wouldn't appreciate these souls and their brightness and sincerity as much as we do now. I think if you meet one person like this in your lifetime, you are extremely fortunate and you need to do everything in your power to hold on to them. No matter what it takes. Easy to say now I guess. Thank you, you know who you are.
And- I took my baby to the TOday Show, yes, we got up at 5:30 and trucked down to Rockefeller Center with our sign and everything and Al Roker did a weather report right in front of me and we all went crazy. I had just put TJ down in his stroller and he had just fallen asleep and Al walks up...so I rip him out and start to jostle him around until he is nice and pissed at me and, well you know live TV, you had better be ready because it goes fast. I waved him around and bounced him right in the camera and as soon as the camera was off, Al was gone and my cell phone rang. And so did Lindsay's (my nanny) and then everyone around us started searching their pockets and purses b/c all their cell's were ringing and everyone in America had just seen us on TV. My shirt was bright blue and it says Play Nice really big in white, so no one could miss it. IT was so cool. Elvis Costello is playing next Friday there, I would have been there at 4 in the morning if it were that day.
I promise to write more tomorrow or maybe Thursday. Friday we leave for Lollapalooza. We finally got the VIP passes we had been searching for. We will be the" Princesses of Lollapalooza"- this quote is from the radio station manager who gave them to us. He is single and we (me and Tiffany) have to meet him out for drinks to schmooz him. How slime, huh? Makes me want to take a shower.
ciao

Check Yes or No

2005-06-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

OK- so if you read this. please leave me a YES or NO to the following question in my comments.
Am I being a baby?
I have to know, because I am not yet over this yet. And I am an only child and a tad spoiled so I leave it up to you.
This is what's bothering me:
Anyone who knows me knows that I have been beside myself waiting for the Iron & Wine concert that was coming up and I have been talking about it for months. I bought 3 tickets and invited a friend who is a semi-fan but more just wanted to go with me. And then...one of my BEST friends happened to come in town that week to stay with me last minute and I offered her my other ticket. For whatever reason, which I am not going to mention on here, the 2 girls can't go together. SO- my alliance lies with my best friend who was staying with me so I decided not to go instead of ditching her on a Friday night while I went to a concert with the other girl. Got it so far? Recap- I am being nice and offering to not go to my concert featuring an amazing band, pocketing $50 of unused tix, just to make everyone happy and to make it easy. I was so heartbroken, I was telling my nanny all week how bummed I was but I had to do the right thing, and I was so sad. SO- the girl I UN-vited, wasn't all that upset, she actually offered to baby sit. But, my nanny, out of nowhere, after listening to me talk about this band and concert for months, all of a sudden wants my tickets. I really didn't think she was a fan, in fact I think I recall her asking me their name a few times. I told her I was going to hold on to them - JUST IN CASE- we ended up out that night and we decided to go, yadda yadda. Sidebar: my nanny is 26 and fun and also becoming a friend of mine. OK- with that being said, she shows up at my house Saturday morning wearing a f-ing Iron & Wine t-shirt! She said the concert was SO amazing and SO awesome. And she proceeds to tell me this story about how they went to buy a shirt and no one was there and these guys tried to steal shirts so her boyfriend got behind the counter and started selling merch for the band and collecting all their money for them. And then the merch guy comes back after being in the bathroom for 45 mins (constipated? right.) and thanks him sooo much blah blah- and I was like "that's so sweet of your boyfriend. That's a great story. I hope they gave you that shirt!" She said "Yeah they did!...and they gave Billy (boyfriend) one and then I got one for Jamie (the girl who babysat), and one for my mom and sister..." and I don't remember the rest because I blacked out picturing everyone I knew that DIDN"T EVEN GO to the show circling around me wearing all these cool (and free, mind you) Iron & Wine t-shirts. Where the F was mine?!? I am not trying to be a baby, but I swear we do so much for this girl. In fact, just to justify my temper tantrum, here is a short list of nice things I can think of that we have done for her in the last few months. Brand new tires for her car. Free range of our pick-up truck and warehouse for her boyfriend, cookies and deserts when we go to dinner, suite tickets to the Green Day concert for her and her boyfriend, flowers when her ducks got massacred, I even bring her flowers and the centerpieces from the events we go to when we are late coming home. Not to mention trips to the Bahamas, the Keys, New York City, maybe Costa Rica next month, AND her own paid vacations, and even paid weeks when we don't use her,and did I mention that my son is only 10 months old? He isn't even walking yet ...AND... I got her freaking backstage, and actually ON STAGE, during Jack Johnson when we took her to Jazz Fest in New Orleans because she said it was her favorite band ever. I gave her my freaking pass so she could go back there while I waited outside holding her bags. Hello? I have friends begging me for our nanny position, trust me. Its a great gig. Would it have killed her to pick me up a free shirt when she got 3 others for her family and friends who didn't go? She knew how much I wanted to go, and it was random enough that she went. I left when she told me that without saying anything else really. I had to leave right then. And she and her friend pranced around in their new shirts at my house all weekend. My face was so red, it probably is right now thinking about it. AARARAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!! I really can't believe it. I am really pissed. And for that matter, I can't believe how pissed I am. I am getting mad right now...And there is nothing I can do except realize ONCE AGAIN that I am the one who got screwed after trying to be nice and that people aren't really as considerate as you would like them to be, and if you expect them to be, you set yourself up for disappointment. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned here, maybe it is: don't be disappointed with someone else's actions, because in general, they probably aren't as nice, smart, charming ....or as good looking as you. ♥ ya, *kiss kiss*
PS- I really like my nanny, she is the best ever, it doesn't change the fact that we are so fortunate to have her in our lives and that our son TJ loves her and she loves him I would be suicidal if she ever left because she does such a great job.
This too shall pass.

SO, do you think I am being a baby? yes or no

What's The Matter Here?

2005-06-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, some things are getting at me today...I had enough on my mind to put things in someone else's shopping cart this morning at the grocery store...I started loading it up with baby food, no shit. So here they are:
1) I had the most uncomfortable dinner last night. With an old friend (guy) and his recent fiance who I had never met before. It was just the three of us. He acted like he would rather be anywhere else than at that dinner the whole time. There were so many uncomfortable silences, but she was as nice as can be and we had a great time. I talked to her more than him. It made me kind of sad. I know he is stressed out. I was ready for the check before our apps got there. MAYBE- just maybe- there is some sexual tension between us (?) and it made him uncomfortable to be around both of us. We never hooked up or even really came close, not too close anyway, but we DID meet at a bar before I was married and have remained friends, (ie: I sold him a house, we get drunk together occasionally)...Who knows. Its probably not that? But it made me sad. And I asked him after dinner and he said nothing was wrong...So I don't know, I am searching for something....
2)My nanny's ducks were mutilated. Yes, my nanny has 2 pet ducks, actually ducklings, Charlie and Chaffee -(easy now, she is from Kentucky) and she is the sweetest most caring girl in the world (hence the job) but the pet ducks...she didn't deserve to find them in pieces, bills and bones everywhere last night. She is so upset. She thinks raccoons did it. It was the most tragic thing ever. I sent her flowers, she was crying almost all day. I feel really bad for her. They loved her so much and followed her around her yard. I have pictures, but am not cool enough yet to put them on here...Sorry...Stay tuned.
3)They screwed up the scheduling for my sons MRI Friday. I called to get instructions for the big day Friday and they said (probably while filing her nails and thumbing through US Weekly) "oh, something must have gotten messed up. We don't have him scheduled correctly, we will call you back to reschedule." Hello? This is not a freaking hair appointment!!!!!! I was so upset, AND (it gets worse) they tried to reschedule me for 2 MONTHS from now. What kind of MRI needs to be done in 2 months? NONE. I could go on here for hours...so I put up a big fit. The last thing I want to do is piss anyone off at the children's neurology clinic, but seriously folks. I can NOT get sleep until these tests are done and if they find something wrong in 2 months that we could've been working to fix for the last 2 months because of some dumb ass scheduler named Tracey, I don't know... I am not responsible for what I will do...its now scheduled for July 14th.
This must be why they have blogs, I feel better getting some of that off my chest, that and the COLD beer I am enjoying right now during TJ's nap.
peace

once more with feeling

2005-06-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

My last post got all erased because I got all excited that I figured out how to do the thing where you put a web site in your post for whatever you are talking about. I was trying it and I got all nervous and then the whole thing was gone. I think it started off with a paragraph about how I am getting more and more worried about my son TJ- who is 10 minths old. We are taking him for a CAT Scan Friday, and they have to put him comletely under anesthesia, poor little guy. More than anything, I hate not being to explain what is going on to him. But, sometimes I think its better that way, kids get scared (but not as scared as their parents). We will know more by next Thursday after the DR.'s review all the images, and they keep saying that "probably its nothing" but we are doing some checking because something is causing all of this business. So maybe its a trauma from birth- we had kind of a long one- we will see. I am trying not to get worried until there is a reason to, and hopefully there isn't one. It will be a long week for me, and I will probably get little sleep.
And then I think I moved onto something lighter, like a brief discussion of Six Feet Under (which I finally watched last night on Tivo), the show was really good, but my previous discussion isn't really worth repeating as much as THIS is-
speaking of Entourage (we were speaking of it, trust me)
I have a friend who lives that, and I always get these crazy stories about how he and his boss/best friend end up at these crazy parties in LA and who he hooks up with, and then I read about it a week later online or in mags (read: remember Britney and Fred Durst?)- well, this weekend, at Lindsay Lohn's house, there was another hookup with one of the same people, but this time with Jessica Alba - hint: it wasn't Britney...- I feel like I just did a blind item on Page Six- Shannon, aren't you proud? oh yeah, I havent' told you my blog site yet :) ha ha, you will find it
AND...
today I started my weights, triathalon training, eating better and drining less thingy- just for 4 weeks- just in time for NYC.
I think you have to be skinny to stay here here

Ramble On....

2005-06-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry to ALL you faithful readers that I haven't posted anything on here in over a week. I know you are all on pins and needles, waiting to hear what exciting things are going on in my life. My son started crawling, and if I had more than 10 mins of free time everyday, I would figure out how to put pictures on here so I could show yall, cuz he's SO cute. We just got back from Texas visiting my parents. TJ and I flew out there together. Nothing is more anxiety ridden than a new mother's first flight with their baby- all of the crap you have to take, you wouldn't believe. If you ever see a mom in the airport, you could offer to help. I met some nice helpful people. But I bought him his own seat (if you have the means for this, I highly recommend it) and I planned our flights around his bottle/nap times, and everything worked really well. And, last night, when I got off the plane, my two friends were waiting with huge signs for me and "Prince TJ", glitter, sparkles, jaguar print fabrics and the like. It was the coolest thing ever. It made my week :)
Texas was really fun, my parents love seeing the babe, and I love the sleeping in. Highlight- we (my best friend Shannon and I) had dinner at the Nobu they just opened in Dallas 3 days before. I think I had to promise my soul to someone down below to get a reservation. They are tight, and strict, and near impossible to crack, but if you know me, you know I just can't take no for an answer (thank you Tiffany Goddard)...so we got a limo and the works and went out to Dallas for an amazing dinner. The thing with that place is that its so cool, you almost forget that you are there for 4 hours and that some of your food hasn't even come out yet, and then you are drunk and you don't want it.
I love it. I ♥ it. Jamie said that might make a heart...does it?
and we picked up her friend Trent and his uncle and saw a Led Zeppelin cover band at this TCU bar and all went back to my hotel room and played with my ipod.
Here are the things Trent should remember from that nigh, and some lessons for all to take note ont:
Uncle is the new Chong
Clear is the new True That
Bright Eyes is the new band he kept forgetting the name of but kept asking about
and when you say something is "bananas" it will always make me want to spell it for you immediately
oh...and THIS is a blog...
thanks for a great night you two- I had a blast.
going to go feed TJ now...if I can find him, lil' scooter...

Texas on my MInd

2005-06-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

I am really excited- someone read my blog and used it for reference. Thanks! That was pretty cool. Its so new to me, so new that I don't even know how to do most of the cool stuff, but I am working on it- in all my free time.. ha ha. I just got to Tallahassee today to see my best friend Kerri and TJ's (my son's) best friend Ryker who will be a whole ONE on Saturday. I can't believe how fast a year has gone by. I remember the day I went to the hosiptal when Kerri was having her C-section and a few short minutes later, she was holding a baby, still with her lip gloss on- and looking beautiful. Its amazing- a year goes by and how far we have come. The year before that, Kerri and I celebratred our 30th birthdays together, we had a huge birthday party, 80's costume party- I was Madonna, my husband Ty was John Mack-en-row, Kerri was Risky Business and her husband Paul was Loverboy...she was pregnant, but no one knew it besides me and my husband and of course her husband. It was one of the best nights of my life. We had such a blast!!! Little did I know how much things were about to change. A year later, on my birthday, exactly a year later, she and her husband and their 4 month old baby moved to Talahassee, leaving me and my husband and our 2 month old baby by ourselves. I had a hard time telling her how sad it made me that she left, and I still feel bad that I had such a hard time. It devastated me that my best friend was leaving, and our babies, who were 9 1/2 weeks apart, born in the same room at the same hospital, and best friends forever, were going to be apart. It killed me. We made a pact: we would visit each other every other month. THis is my first trip to Talahassee, it was in Oct. that she moved. I feel bad. Its been awesome so far. Tonight we went to Caberbet Cafe, some guy pulled down his pants 4 times to show off a bruise, and a girl got spit at in her face. "Bruiser" actually turned out to be a pretty nice guy, well versed in music taste and had actually heard of a Texas singer-songwriter that I hadn't heard of. I give him props. Shout out to you Bruiser if you ever find this blog!!
peace

I've got nothing to do today but smile.....

2005-05-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

5 years ago today I got married. Wow. Its been a quick 5 years.And an amazing time. We are still as much in love today as the day we got married, and if he wasn't napping right now behind me, I would give him a big smack on the lips- We are in Washington DC celebrating, spa, dinners, champagne, some tourist stuff, you know the drill. We have had an amazing time so far. We went to dinner at Capitol Grille Wed night, with Lee and Holly- HI LEE - congrats on finding the blog, I had faith in you, and THANK YOU for the Veuve!!!!- and Thursday we did a very quick White House tour. It was cool, but of course, all the stuff you really want to see they would never let you near. The Prez was in the house, which is pretty goose-bumpy in its self. Tonight, we are doing a night time monument tour, with a limo, more champagne, and Ma-moo- our driver and my security guard for the weekend. Ma-moo is this huge Egyptian guy who looks like a body guard, and he walks me around everywhere to protect me. Last night, 2 different people asked if he was my security or my body guard or something. I said yes.
OK- SO LAST NIGHT- I know you want to know-----
it was life changing.
Ma-moo drove us to this hole in the wall club in this random part of town, and we saw Bright Eyes. First off, Digital Ash sounded amazing live. It was way more intense than the CD. Conner is dramatic, he may not know it, but he is. He may know it. He, shockingly, only had one quick stab at Bush, and it not even worth repeating cuz it was boring and short (or maybe I don't remember it). He only played songs from Digital Ash, I think he even played the entire album. Maybe one song I didn't recognize. He had 9 people on stage with him playing instruments and these flashing pictures on the screen, it was hypnotic. It really was. I was amazed. Afterwards, I made my poor, tired but very sweet and very patient husband sit on the street corner with me while I stalked the tour bus. I never saw him walk out. Ma-moo got wind that I was trying to meet the band, and he goes and knocks on the bus door and talks to all the security and comes flying back to our limo and announces "I know where they are" So he whisks us away to some bar and says that they are inside. He escorts me in and walks me around, trying to find someone who is in charge- this is when the body guard rumors started, as you can imagine- to make a long story short, which if you know me, I'll give you the long version- TRUST ME- I found Conner. After a few drinks I made my way over and we had a chat. We had three different chats. One involved some pictures being taken, one involved some one on one couch time, and then I remembered something I really wanted to tell him- so I went BACK over, and here's how it went:
me: Hey, you know I have something that I want to tell you about before I leave
Conner: OK- *big swig of beer while still making eye contact*
me: So...To be honest, I am kind of a new fan. I jumped on board after I read this really amazing article about you in Rolling Stone.
Conner: that's cool. I'll have to thank the writer. (smart ass)
me: Well, actually, what got me to read it was the title of the article- It was called The Only Living Boy in New York. Which is such an awesome song. So I read the article, really just because of the name. It was life changing. I went out and bought all your CDs the next day- and now I am here, first show tonight, it was so amazing- all the way from Florida....
Conner: Really? That's really cool. Thanks. *Big swig still with the intense eye contact *
Conner: that's a long drive.
me: Um...They have planes now...*
Conner: *laughs* no, that's really cool. Um...Paul Simon...That song...Yeah? *nodding at me*
me: YES! I love that song. Its....
Conner: *cuts me off by starting to sing the song to me*
me: *dying on the inside, mouth hanging wide open*, I touched his arm and said "You can continue that for as long as you want"
So he did- and right where he left off for another big eye-contact beer swig, I picked up with my favorite line in the song and sang it to him:
"I can get all the news I need from the weather report" - and he gave me this cocked smile and said- "I can, you know" and I said, "Yeah, that's kinda what I get from you. And that's why I like you. And your music. And that song reminds me of you." now."
He gave me this huge grin and these wild eyes and said "Wow...Thank you. That's really cool" and gave me this 'cool' nod. So I said "We just bonded, didn't we?" and he grabbed my arm and said "Yeah, I think we did"
so I turned to Ty and I said "OK, I guess we can go now."
I touched Conner's shoulder and winked and said Good Night, he said it was great to meet you, as we walked by on our way out, and we told the Ashton Kutcher guy from The Faint good night too, and it was SO FREAKING COOL I still am freaking out and reliving it in my head.

I'm Too Sexy For My House

2005-05-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Why is it that everytime I watch America's Next Top Model I walk around my house like I am on a runway for the rest of the day?

Three

2005-05-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

My husband did three amazing things this weekend. And I have to give him shout outs for all 3.
1)He did a triathalon. His first one. Swim in the ocean 1/4 mile, bike 12.5 mi and run a 5K. He trained so hard and finished in 1:15. 12th place in the beginner division. I was so proud I cried. It was amazing, AND he wore little bike shorts the whole time. He said he wouldn't, but he did. He wore tights. He said as he was running towards the ocean, he noticed there was a nice long board wave (note: if you live here, you know there are rarely waves) and surely he was thinking to himself, WTF am I doing in tights wearing this dumn swim cap and goggles, when there are the first nice waves in months?
2)He confessed his love for Bright Eyes to me. Which is a good thing. I am taking him to the concert next Thursday in DC. He has only heard his most recent CD, the folkie one, and I have played it over and over again, due to my own obsession. He told me last night that he loved it. ANd it wasn't just the wine talkin' . He started asking me about Conner and their old CD's and all these questions. I really believe it was all genuine. I was nervous about him (Conner) being such a loud mouth and Ty being such a republican and us going to DC for our first show... ( I know, right?) I thought they might clash, which makes me nervous. You must understand. Ty and I have different taste in music. So, I am proud of the guy. His horizons are opening right in front of me and its fun to watch. I hope that Conner gives an amazing show, it will be my first time seeing them as well, and I want it to blow both of our minds.
3)He proved something I was thinking about to be true. I read something last week that said that you can get through your frustration and anger of other people by imagining that everyone around you is enlightened except yourself. Meaning: when someone pisses you off, since you can't change the way people treat you, just the way it effects you, basically imagine that they are "enlightened" by the buddha, mindful of the present and trying to teach you something. So, when Ty and I were driving home from dinner and we got in a little tiff because of directions, he, without necesarily meaning to, taught me to trust my instincts, and that its OK to make a mistake because I learned how to get home that night from that restaurant. And that teaches me to be patient and the whole time we were bickering, I thought of this thing I had read and made it work for me and I felt so much better. I was very grateful to him for proving it to be true.

Marchin' on Washington

2005-05-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

OK- I think I have moved almost everything over from the PC to the mac. 3 weeks later. What a process. It just takes me a long time because I have a baby and I travel more than the president. Speaking of..I leave tomorrow for DC> Last night on our "spiderwalk" (taking TJ in his stroller around our neighborhood and trying to spot the biggest banana spider- not quite season yet) Ty and I both looked at each other and said "Do we want to go to DC?" its so random. WE are going there for our 5th anniversary. We have lots of fun plans and VIP tours and spa stuff and dinners and such, and YES the BRight Eyes show I have been talking about non stop for weeks- but its JUST so random I wouldn't be suprised if we blew off on Friday for NYC.
Ill let you know. Stranger things have happened: Yukipa almost beat Timecula in the 92 women's basketball playoffs-
We made reservations to go to NYC this summer, me and the babe. I am going to have his debut at the 60 Thompson private roof top bar on Friday afternoon. I have so many people I want to see, so I will make them all come to me. Its gonna be interesting. I need to write all those people and make sure they are going to be there.
PS- I think I am getting strep throat. This should make for an amazing anniversary trip..to DC....random...

Brunette is the new Blonde

2005-05-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

I died my hair brown today, really dark brown. Like Rachel Bilson brown, I heart her. She is so freakin hot. AND - I almost have all my music transfered over from my PC to my new mac. What a pain in the ass, but its all coming over and safely. I wanted to try one of those bootleg programs the guy from the mac store spilled about, but I got nervous. The music is more important. We can all take - I mean make- time for that. Safety=quality time. I have a few comments about the finales of some shows this week, I will get to them tomorrow. Now its just sleep... Its been a few nights... We went to a charity fundraiser for pediatrics hospice tonight, spotlighting Costa Rica. It was so moving. I am glad we were on the board, we raised so much money, and I will sleep great tonight. I should. Countdown until Bright Eyes in DC, and my 5 year anniversary...

This is the First Day of My Life

2005-05-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'll start this whole blog thing by telling anyone who wants to listen what a pain in the ass it is to build a pool! Don't do it. No matter how big your back yard is or how much your Christmas bonus was or how many kids you have or how tan you want to be next summer. Don't do it. I would rather have someone throw darts at my face.
On a lighter note, I was holding off starting this blog thing until we finished our week last week. We received some great and comforting news about our 9 month old son and now I feel free to talk about and think about other things. Like the pool fiasco. And the fact that my husband dropped my ipod off a second story balcony yesterday, splitting it into 4 pieces. So I got a new one, and I am going to hook it up to my new Mac that I am typing on right now. Tomorrow, my computer dude is coming over. Hes nice. Macs are cool. Do I like them better? Not yet. I am still getting used to it.
that's it for a first entry. Still working on the rhythm around here.