A trip down memory lane...

I decided to take a little trip down memory lane this afternoon. I don't think I've been to St. Edward since I finished the 8th grade back in 1993. Not much has changed. The playground looks so much smaller now, but everything else looks just like I remember it. The buildings have been renovated, I think there was a fire or some kind of water damage some years after I left.

 "Be your best!"

Since it was just down the road, I decided to stop by Father Ryan as well. I know I haven't set foot on campus since my 10 year high school reunion in 2007. Sadly, I'm going to miss my 15th as I'll be in Hawaii. Then again, I did tell everyone to "take a good look", as I probably wouldn't attend another reunion. But now, I kind of wish I'd be in state for it.

A few things have changed over the past 14 years. We added an on campus football field. I didn't have a chance to drive back there this afternoon, since there was some construction going on with the Field House. I've lost count as to how many Field Houses we have now. But, we do have a free standing library and drama center. The campus looks nice, real nice. There are times when I miss the high school days. I miss the minimal responsibility and I even miss the uniforms. I never had a problem with school uniforms. It made getting ready in the morning so much easier & since we could wear just about any shoe in the world, I lived in my Dr. Martens boots.

With our state of the art, 2,376-seat stadium, it's no wonder the Titan's worked out here during the lockout and why it hosts the ACC schools for the Music City Bowl workouts.

What do you get for the people who seem to have everything?

You do what I did...have an artistic friend draw a portrait of your dog. No really, I did that. I never know what to get my mom & step-dad for Christmas. You name it, they have it. But the one thing they can never get enough of...anything with Bristol's face on it.

I don't know that Keith will ever be satisfied with his finished products, but I adore the drawing and I know my parents will too. Now, the only problem I have is, who to give it to? I honestly think I'll give it to my mom because I have another project in mine for my step-dad for his birthday, in July. That should give Keith plenty of time to finish it and be proud of his work.

A few weeks ago, Keith finally started a website for his art. I may be partial because he is my friend and all, but I think the kid's got talent. He's suppose to make t-shirts with some of his artwork on it and I even got the OK from Pete for him to hang some pieces in his coffee shop downtown. He'll sign his pieces, ilRokery, take a look at what he's posted so far. See something you like, let me know!

THE HOBBIT Trailer

The nerd in me is going bananas....

What happened to 2011?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way, but what in the heck happened to 2011?! I thought 2010 was jam packed, but I feel like I haven't stopped traveling this year.

Starting in March, I think I've taken about eight "vacations". Some of them were quick weekend trips to Nashville or Orlando, but all of them helped recharge the batteries and realize how blessed I am to have such an amazing circle of family and friends.

Speaking of friends, 2011 was a year of total re-connection. Friendships I thought would never see the light of day were back with a vengeance. And friendships I never thought would exist, came out of no where.

2012, it's going to be hard to top 2011, but I can't wait to see where this next year will take me...buckle up and enjoy the ride!

I'll Be There - The Jackson 5

Michael Jackson the Immortal World Tour - the review

While in Vegas, I ventured to Cirque du Soleil's: Michael Jackson, the Immortal World Tour. Now, the only other Cirque show I've seen is The Beatles: LOVE. Obviously, you can't compare one to the other, but the MJ show left me in tears.

It's hard to explain the show without photos, but the "story" centered around his lack of childhood. Many of his songs were haunting and the dancers were off the chain.

My favorite was the dancer with 1 leg. He was so inspiring. He was in a lot of dance numbers and the crowd went nuts every time he took center stage.

The show ran about 2 hours and left me wanting more. There were a few things that I didn't like. The "Thriller", "Beat It" and "Bad" sequences were way too short. For "Thriller" I was hoping they'd have Michael dancing in the background.

And I didn't really like how they combined "Beat It" and "Bad". But I loved the "Smooth Criminal" sequence. I was starting to get antsy toward the end. I was worried they weren't going to do "Billie Jean". But they did that I loved the outfits. They were like old school Adidas track suits. But when the lights went off, the trims and sneakers lit up.

I started to cry right before the encore. The main curtain dropped and they projected a young, Jackson 5 Michael. He was singing "I'll be There". I kept hoping that he would pop up on stage at any given moment.

All I have to say is, if you're a Michael Jackson or Cirque fan. This is a must see show. Don't worry if you can't make it to Vegas by the end of the year. The tour will travel the country in 2012 and then take up permanent residence at the Mandalay Bay in 2013.

All I Want For Christmas is You

14

That's how many days I'm actually working this month. I'm not quite sure what happened to November or how we're a month away from 2012.

The last 2 years have been filled with lots of adventure, headache, heartbreak & growth. I wouldn't change a thing. Guess I better finish out 2011 in style...

Christmas in Dixie

One of my favorites...Kenny Chesney & Alabama...

Michael Jackson the Immortal World Tour - Official Trailer - Cirque du S...

Since I missed him in life....I had to see this....

This Cirque show will travel the world, but it's going to run in Las Vegas for the month of December. I'm going to miss opening weekend, so I guess the second weekend will have to do.

Time for a little dim sum

I'm still shocked we made it to Chinatown for 11AM dim sum the day after the wedding. I'm pretty sure Guinn & I didn't make it back to the hotel till after 2:30AM. Special thanks to the cleaning lady who knocked on our door a little after 9AM, freaked us out and got us moving.

I'm so glad she did, or else we would have missed a feast! There was one item that I had to have, Cha Siu Bao (pork buns). I'm pretty sure I would have stabbed someone's eye out with my chopstick if they got in the way.

We headed to Jing Fong for the dim sum. This is a great way to try new and different dishes. The carts are filled with small servings and you just take the dishes you want. Granted, there was a small language barrier, but we had Karen. Even though she did tell me I ate a bacon wrapped pigeon.

I could pick out the important words like, "pork", "shrimp" and "bacon".

The bacon wrapped pigeon story is one I'll never forget. This was one of the last dishes we tried, but it makes for a fitting end. A cart came around and I could smell the bacon and all the server said to me was "bacon". I didn't care what the bacon was wrapped around. It was deep fried for goodness sakes, how could it be bad?

There were 4 bacon wrapped balls. I took one, Guinn, Duane and Russell took the others. I took a bite and thought it was pretty good. The boys waited while Karen tried to figure out what was wrapped in the middle. As I'm still chewing, I see Karen's expression change. The next thing I hear is her say, "Don't worry about it." The boys put their bacon down and I finally swallow.

I asked Karen what I just ate and her response, "pigeon". I have to be honest it was a pretty tasty bird, then we found out the truth....it was pork.

Cha Siu Bao

Heaven in a bun

Not bacon wrapped pigeon, but pork

Black Friday, 2011

I can't remember when I started shopping on "Black Friday". Seems like I've been doing it forever. It's like a tradition, just like Thanksgiving turkey. I probably don't need anything I buy on Black Friday, but I can't stand sitting on the sidelines.

I say I don't "need" anything, because I shop all year long. I hate waiting for Christmas to give people gifts. I guess it's a character flaw, lack of patience.

This year I only planned to go to Target for two reasons, #1, it's close to my house and #2 I really wanted new Rachael Ray orange cookware. Do I cook? No, not really, but now that I like my tools, maybe I'll give it a whirl.

Mom and I rolled up to Target at about 12:03 AM. The parking lot was packed and we could still see a line wrapped around the store. But it was the most organized chaos I had ever seen. They let us in about 30 at a time, and everyone moved at a good pace. I headed over to kitchen section and found my boxes on one of the end caps. Uh, there were only 3 in the entire store. I grabbed the 1st one and a dude grabbed the second. Did I mention I had a $50.00 gift card burning a hole in my pocket? Black Friday success!

Since we were already up, we decided to head over to Cool Springs Galleria to see if we could find any decent deals. Victoria's Secret did not have the things I wanted and the line/check-out at Express was HORRIBLE.

Here's my beef with Black Friday shopping. If you're going to go out at midnight, please have a specific game plan and stick to it. For example, these are normally the people wanted to get the big screen TVs or other electronic items. This is not the time for you to browse and get in my way.

As I mentioned before, I shop all year round. I generally know what each store has in stock and what the "normal" prices are. If I shop for clothes on Black Friday, I don't buy it unless it's on sale and I have a coupon. Hence, I know what I want before I even go into the store.

And to the retail stores, please do your best to have your fastest check out clerks or a better system to get the people in and out quickly. You're losing money if we have to wait too long. I know we spent more time waiting to pay than actually shopping.

Here are my Black Friday grades:

Target: A+, the most efficient store of the night

Victoria's Secret, at Cool Springs: B-, your store was way too hot and you did not have what I wanted in stock

Express, at Cool Springs: C-/D+, your set-up was not conducive for the crowds and your check out clerks/system was horrible. The clerks were too slow and should have used a "buddy system" to ring up & take those anti-theft thingys off the clothes and bag them up.

Macy's, at Cool Springs: C, not enough registers open and clerks almost as slow as the one's at Express.

Let's get this party started

Following the ceremony, we had a mini cocktail hour, while they flipped the space. There were several trays of finger foods, not to mention a pasta station. The mushroom caps were to die for, but I ate them before I could take a photo. But that little shrip on the chip was pretty tasty. But the funniest part was then the waiter came around with the mini sliders. I'm pretty sure I attacked him, and the table followed suit. Yup, I'm pretty sure we cleaned the tray.

I was very happy with my mini slider

Dinner is served

Shots, Round 1

Hello chocolate covered strawberries

The red velvet & cheesecake were to DIE for

Shots, Round 2

Not sure how we're all still standing

They Do!!

Anne & David chose the perfect venue for their wedding, Battery Park Gardens. I mean, I could see the Statue of Liberty from my seat! The wedding was small & intimate, but filled with lots of family, friends, love and laughter. I wouldn't have missed this for anything in the world. So glad we all got to be a part of their special day.


Daddy & Anne

Mr & Mrs Tsang

On the 6

Day 3: The Big Day - It started bright and early with a brunch at Balthazar Restaurant, followed by a quick trip to the salon to get our nails did, then we had to pick up Anne's wedding dress. We had about a 6 hour window. Could it be done? Of course!

Speaking of 6, did I mention we had to ride the 6 Train to the salon? I had "Jenny from the Block" running through my head all morning.

I had a really good idea for a wedding gift. I asked my friend Keith to draw something where the "11's" were represented by structures found in Tennessee, NYC and London. Time got away from him and he wasn't able to complete the project, but I did get him to work a little magic on the card.

I'm partial to the Sunsphere

Pre-wedding brunch with the girls

Bellini's & a Bloody Mary

What a beautiful bride to be

Having a little fun, on the 6

This was waiting for us at the venue

Perfect for the wedding cards

Who needs a guest book, when you have Guest Libs

Love the place cards

How beautiful

Hoping I didn't shoot someone's eye out

Success & Cheers!!

She was already glowing

I hear Dave has 2 wedding bands, in case 1 goes MIA

On tap: the Wedding & Reception

Drink a little drink

As Day 2, turned into Night 2, we put on our "fancy" clothes and headed out to Open Door Gastropub. The Bride & Groom to Be had an area reserved for friends and family to visit and catch up. I typically don't "dress up" when I got out. If I can't roll into a place with a blue jean skirt, tank top & slippers, I don't need to be there. But thanks to Rachel & the Limited, I ended up with the perfect outfit.

Karen, Anne (the Bride), Mary Ellen & Me

Since I started with chocolate martini's, I knew I had to get something in my stomach...because I hate feeling like crap & we had a lot to do the next day...like the wedding!

I probably could have ordered 1 of everything on the menu, but I saw the magic word "bacon" and I was hooked. I love bacon and anything wrapped in bacon (stay tuned funny story about this in an upcoming post).  

Wings, anyone? I think Karen ordered these.

I think these were bleu cheese fries

My bacon & mushroom mac & cheese

I had to sample everything on the table

Anne's baby brother, Gene

The happy couple...we have another "Dave", oy!

I typically don't drink on a school night, but when you're celebrating an upcoming wedding, you have to take one for the team. I had no idea how late it was till I saw the time stamps on the photos. But it was worth every second & yes, I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep.

Aside from not drinking on a school night, I also don't do shots. Well, let me clarify, I don't do shots a lot...just when there's a lot of peer pressure. I'm never going to let a drink go to waste.

I was sad the bar didn't have any Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, but it was probably a blessing in disguise, I needed to function the next day.



When in doubt, shoot tequila

I had my bag on my shoulder because I was walking out the door

But I had to have a shot with Dave too

I think this was the honey whiskey

Cheers!!

Up next, Day 3: the Wedding Day