I Think I Have to Do This

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Is anyone else watching Save Me on NBC?  If you aren't, might I be so bold as to issue a stern, "Well, (hand on hip, finger pointing right in your face),YOU SHOULD BE!"  Yes, yes, yes, I know...Anne Heche had her crazy moment, in public, unfortunately.  Let's cut her some slack.  I've had many a crazy moment and thank GOD for my relative anonymity.  Listen, I am sure some nights my looks have give Lindsay Lohan's a run for their money, messy hair, weeping mascara, broken heel, lipstick askew...but I get to hid behind the veil of NON FAME!  Thank God those days were FAAAAR before camera phones.  Oh wait...or maybe one was two weekends ago?  I digress, forgive Anne Heche her weird ability to speak in alien tongues like Nell and WATCH THIS SHOW!  In a strange twist of irony...it is all about second chances through God, and God alone.  

Very quickly....Anne's character, "Beth," chokes on a midnight, post partying, sandwich and is saved by God.  Now, she receives messages from "He/She" (she always says the voice is gender neutral) and she simply can not ignore He/She.  She is often implored to share the messages out loud and chaos ensues.  God's plans rarely match up to ours so I imagine chaos would inevitably ensue.  The nice thing about TV is that it gets wrapped up in 30 minutes (WITH commercials!) and God's message, however confusing it might be, is delivered to us and you walk away feeling like you, TOO, should be more of a Good Samaritan.  

When He/She speaks to Beth, beautiful harpy bells signal THE MESSAGE and she tries very, very hard to say, "No, I can't tell them that right now.  Please, leave me alone.  Ouch, you are speaking too loudly, FINE...I will do it."  And then she does it and she seems crazy.  Only her family and friends tolerate her and the messages and each one of them is becoming the better for it.  

I've been ignoring the "harpy bells" for a long, long, long time, now.  You've probably noticed.  My blog posts are surface...important and fun...but not nearly coming close to sharing what has been on my mind and in my heart, as of late.  

I fear my thoughts are still a bit of a jumbled up mess...but I am going to attempt to place them into cogent statements in the next few posts.  Or maybe I am just saying that to put off, ONE MORE DAY, sharing what might be so deeply personal I get funny sideways glances from my family and friends?

Today I leave you with this thought: 

"Peace needs to be sexy again."

-Jean Houston

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Bunheads

I have purposefully remained "mum" on the topic of Amy Sherman Palladino's new program, Bunheads.

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Anyone who is remotely acquainted with me knows my deep, deep, deep love of Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman Palladino's first creation.  As you can imagine I was ecstatic to learn the news she would be creating a new television program.  When I learned it would center around a ballet studio, dance, a thirty something-ish woman and four young teenage dancers...I nearly did a pirouette into a full on back flip!  Two of my favorite things....BALLET AND AMY SHERMAN PALLADINO!!!! (Or ASP as she is known to those "in the know.")

Anyone who also knows me and has dared enter into a Gilmore Girls discussion with me also knows that I beg you to reserve judgment until at LEAST Season 1, Episode 5.  It takes a while for a show to get it's groove and for one to "get" ASP's fast paced, pop-culture rich humor and vision.   So...I've given the show it's due diligence.  Today I watched the 6th episode and in the final scene...I was official "on board."  (More of that later.)

I have to admit, mixed into the ecstasy was a good amount of skepticism.  How could ASP possibly top my favorite program of all time?  The thing is...she can't.  Nor should she try.  Bunheads is a fresh program, unique to itself and it is unfair to compare apples to oranges.  Right?

As it turns out it is more like comparing Granny Smith apples to Red Delicious apples...no, Golden Delicious apples.  Same fruit, same color, slightly different taste.  

Don't get me wrong...I REALLY like the show.  There is just SO MUCH CROSS OVER I feel like I have hardly stepped out of Star's Hollow and into Paradise.  Most of the time I half expect to find Lorelai and Rory daring each other to show up for Strip Tease Dance Class, a recent addition to the slate of classes offered by Fanny Flowers (Kelly Bishop, aka Emily Gilmore) at her dance studio.

Granted, I would imagine .00000000001% of the population has seen every season, every episode of Gimore Girls as many times as I have, but I find that ASP is recycling some of her material.  It's still funny, still relevant, but still the same.  Michelle's (Sutton Foster) character might as well be called Lorelai 2.0.  They both go a mile a minute, have sassy mouths and even sassier attitudes and both stand in stark, toddler tantrum-like contrast to Kelly Bishop (who re-appears in Bunheads...but as the mother "in law" this time.)

Both shows take place in small, idyllic towns sprinkled with quirky characters functioning in wacky ways.  MANY of them were regulars on Gilmore Girls.  Some of them even have the same names as other characters on Gilmore Girls. (The name "Truly" seems a favorite with ASP.)  Furthermore, she has brought back THE GENIUS Sam Phillips to provide the rich musical backdrop that is so subtle and haunting you almost wish that when you walk the streets she isn't somewhere, following behind you, offering the soundtrack of your own life.

Here is where Bunheads is fresh.  The choreography is amazing....absolutely stunning and innovative.  The young ladies who play the dancers are beautifully, classically trained and they move with ease and grace I am rarely treated to save for The Nutcracker at Christmas time.  The depiction of young women 100% committed to dancing is relevant and, more importantly, REAL.  The ballet company archetypes are all represented: the girl who really wants it but her body wasn't made for it, the girls whose body is made for it but can't get excited over ballet anymore and the few that just enjoy it all the way through high school and may never seriously revisit it again (that would be me).  It's all there.  

I was 95% sold when one of the performances (Episode 2) was set to "Picture in a Frame" by Tom Waits.  I was 100% sold today (Episode 6) when the final scene was a literal interpretive performance relevant to her character set to "Istanbul" by They Might Be Giants.  In both performances, absolutely no words were required.  I adore that ASP was innovative enough, no, BRAVE ENOUGH to pull that off, ON TELEVISION, no less!  Bring on an artistic vestige of the past and the upper crust and make it real and relevant to the demographic frequenting ABC Family...one of the best channels on television today.

Overall...I am pleased with Bunheads...and like I said, it feels like a new, fresh extension of my old, tried and true, favorite show!  Mad finger crossing that this one sticks!

Best Friends Forever

God knows I need to laugh!  And The Universe sent BACK Best Friends Forever last night...not once...but TWICE!  Yes friends, now that I have empty weekends and way too much time to think, it was like He heard me, He heard my question..."Where in the heck did Best Friends Forever go?  That was a great show catering to my EXACT demographic.  What?  Thirty-something BFF's don't bring in ratings unless they are dripping in diamonds, laden in hair extensions and hurling mean accusations at each other?"  

(Full disclosure:  That last statement is haughty and filled with hubris.  Yes, I too have fallen victim to The Real Housewives Guilty Pleasure Syndrome.  In my defense, it is only Orange County and New Jersey....)

BOOM!  Friday night, two weeks, to the day, post-apocalyptic breakdown (okay...that might be a squeak of an over-embellishment) I was granted permission to laugh!

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This fast paced exchange was delivered with such elegant female humor...they really believed this to be true...of course they did!  That was the best part.  I had not laughed this hard in weeks!  I LOVE this show.  Of course....the second episode was the season finale.  Booooo!  I sure hope this one gets considered to be picked up again.

Lennon: It was so good to see Ken.  I felt like I was in my 20's again.

Jessica: Europe in the late 90's...that was just a magical time.

Lennon: And what it was for me, really, was that I first felt like a real woman.

Jessica: Well, we were.

Lennon: I mean men were noticing.

Jessica: Lennon, WE WERE WOMEN!

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Sadly, I closed the back cover last night.  I read the last forty pages...one setting at a time.  I did not want this magical journey to end.  I didn't want to say good bye to the strong characters who kept a delicate circus alive.

It is a rare sentiment, indeed, for a book to grab me in such a manner.  This book will live in my heart forever.

And a debut novel!  Well done, Miss Morgenstern.  I can not wait for your next endeavor of enchanting magic and mystery to touch paper....

In Honor of Mad Men

Tonight ushers in the third season of Mad Men on AMC. I have waited for this day since...well...the end of the second season. Let me be clear. NOTHING, NO SHOW can replace Gilmore Girls as number ONE in my heart. However, Mad Men comes very, very, very close.

On the Mad Men web site you can create, or rather re-create, yourself in a Mad Men-esque sort of manner. Below is a cartoon rendering of the character I would be if I were a member of the cast. Granted....my hair is NOT that red....or even red at all. But in my Mad Men world it is. Notice the filthy martini in my hand! Now I do not advocate smoking, under any circumstance (any longer), but a cigarette was de rigueur and I simply could not pass it up as an accessory. In this case...and this case only...zeitgeist trumps the Surgeon General's warning.

Ahhhhh...if only I walked around with a red bee-hive, scarf, form fitting sixties dress, "Break It To Me Gently" playing in my background with a fresh martini in hand!

Have a wonderful week, friends! I know MOST of you are heading back to work tomorrow. Here's to another good school year......

Window Shopping with Ros Russell and Ava Gardner

Tomorrow is Election Day! I will be busy assisting at headquarters with whatever task needs to be attended to. Probably making sure keys don't get locked in cars, cell phones don't go missing, computers don't grow feet and walk away, chargers don't get lost, lists get completed, names get remembered, etc. (That was funny!) I will have numerous photos to post on Monday. I am hopeful for a victory. This has been such an amazing experience for me. I wish I would have known how much fun campaigning could be. I would have gotten involved much sooner.

I have several daily celebrations today. First of all I would like to celebrate my dear friend Ciara on her birthday. Ciara and I have been friends since my sophomore year of college. She was a year behind me. I met her standing around a keg at the Kappa Alpha house! (Not hard to imagine since I was always there and there were always kegs!) We became friends and by January she had become my “diamond” or little sister in Alpha Delta Pi. We formed a very close friendship over the next three years and we have been close ever since. Ciara lives in Austin with her husband Ryan and her precious daughter Ella James. Ryan and Ciara have always been so gracious in allowing me to spend A LOT of time in their home. They hosted me EVERY SINGLE time I was in Austin attending Pilates weekend classes and logging over 500 practical hours to complete my comprehensive Pilates program! They have also always provided me a soft place to land during difficult times. Their house is truly a place of respite and comfort for me. (I sleep BETTER in their home than I sleep anywhere else!) I will forever appreciate their kindness and support (and great bedding) and I can not wait for my next visit! Happy Birthday Ciara. Your friendship means so much to me. You are the person I turn to when I need to hear “what I need to hear!” You have always been a source of strength for me. You have shown me unconditional love and acceptance. I am so blessed to have you in my life and to be a part of your life! I love you, friend.

I would also like to celebrate my shopping day with Mom and Grandma Olga. We began our day of leisure with lunch at Neiman Marcus. That is always such a lovely treat. Grandma enjoyed a pepper steak sandwich with a Pepsi! We then took her shopping for pants and tops at New York and Company. She also found three pair of comfortable shoes at Easy Spirit. In fact, she walked out of the store wearing her new scoots! After all that shopping she was ready to sit in the shade and have some banana nut ice cream. Needless to say she was ready for a nap by day’s end. We spent over 6 hours at La Cantera Mall. I was exhausted and I am 50 years her junior!

Grandma really fought us on the purchase of shoes. She said there was no need to purchase shoes for an 84 year old woman. She insisted we should, instead, purchase shoes for ourselves! Interesting how she found not one, not two, BUT THREE pair of shoes.

My grandmother is absolutely adorable. I love her so much. My earliest memories of my grandmother consist of her singing “Skip to my Lou” for hours while my cousins and I literally skipped around in a circle. She would care for me everyday after kindergarten. She would have lunch prepared for me and she and I would watch Search for Tomorrow together while my little cousin Marisa (who was a baby) would take a nap in her crib. My grandmother has this amazing gift. I am not quite sure how to explain it other than to compare it to the parable of Loaves and Fishes. My grandmother can take a small amount of food and when she is done preparing it you would swear she could feed an army. She loves to start her mornings praying in the backyard, singing to Jesus and feeding the birds. She once told me God has never denied her a request so if there was anything I really needed all I had to do was ask her. My grandmother loves to make people happy and meet all their needs…as she perceives them. For instance, if she thinks my cousin Marisa is in need of a new sauce pan she will take the sauce pan from my house that she figures I no longer need and give it to Marisa. Very often we have to call each other if something has gone missing. After a few phone calls the item usually turns up. My grandmother can also be very, very, very sassy! I think this is my favorite quality of hers. She has a wonderful sense of humor but do NOT upset her and do NOT slight anyone of her family members. She has never been known for keeping her opinions to herself. It’s rather entertaining to see her get worked up. She’s such a tiny little lady but she sure can pack a big punch. As far as grandmothers go….I think I’ve got one of the best ones out there! I am so thankful I have had the opportunity to get to know her as an adult. And I am also thankful she has had the opportunity to see me grow into a woman. I love you grandma and Happy Mother’s Day. (One of you please show this to her! Thanks....)
I am lovin' Bridget's Sexiest Beaches on the Travel Channel! I have been lovin' Bridget since the first episode of The Girl's Next Door. Bridget has now joined the Travel Channel line up and is globe trotting in search of the world's sexiest and most beautiful beaches. The hour long show, hosted by Bridget Marquardt, highlights various beaches and local customs, attractions, cuisines, etc. Ever the happy bubble girl, Bridget brings her unique brand of cheeriness, joy and friendly, laid-back nature to the show. (Image from http://www.forum.zomgstuff.net/ .)

You can't help but smile while watching this show. Not only does Bridget transport you to some of the world's most famous beaches she does so with a sort of tongue in cheek sense of humor. She is able to laugh at herself and can often be seen falling down on rocks and slipping in slimy ponds. She is also up for adventure. Clearly she is an adrenaline junkie and it is fun to watch her attempt the things I would never consider taking part in like diving with sharks, para-sailing (well...I might consider that), flying through the air in various contraptions, etc.

My favorite episode is Croatia. I had NO idea! I mean....honestly....my geographical skills are poor, at best. I don't think I even knew Croatia had a coastline. (Embarrassing admission!) Not only was the water beautiful, the cities, villages and islands she visited are full of history and extraordinary character. I can not wait to make this trip! (I am hoping it might be my honeymoon destination! The romance factor seemed incredibly high! And if I never get married I will take myself there! Anyone want to come along?)

I am lovin' this dress Bridget wore on the episode. I can't seem to access the website...sad for me! (Images from http://www.travelchannel.com/.)

Above is a photo of Bridget and Sarah Underwood on a boat ride along the Croatian coast. (Image from http://www.pantylinepress.com/ .)

If you have not caught any of the first run episodes I am certain the Travel Channel is airing previously broadcast episodes. Take an hour out of your day, lay down, and imagine yourself with an exotic drink in hand, smelling the ocean, listening to the crashing waves and feeling the sun dancing on your skin! Yummy magic!

Lorelai and Rory are sitting in Lorelai's Jeep avoiding a very important and difficult conversation.

Lorelai: We're having a bike race. A bike race through town. First one ever. Taylor is really excited. Maybe Sheryl Crow will come.

(Image from http://www.flourishministry.com/.)

Goodnight, friends. One last reminder...if you haven't voted...tomorrow is your day!

A New Format!

I really don't know what day it is! I have been confused all day. I took the morning off and I LOVED IT! I slept in...just a tad. I wore my favorite dress and favorite boots (always makes a lady walk a little taller, a little lighter!) I took tacos to the campaign headquarters. After that I spent some time with an old friend. She has been a guiding force in my life since I graduated from college. We had a wonderful discussion about where I am at in my life and how I might move forward with courage and silence the little voices (not real ones) that sometimes take over called "fear of failure" and "fear of rejection!" She is a lovely woman whom I admire and respect greatly! You know who you are. It was wonderful to see you again and I look forward to our visits in the future. I am so grateful that you have been a part of my adult life.

Last night I attended another mayoral forum at The Dominion. It was hosted by their Homeowners Association. My oldest and dearest friend recently moved into that neighborhood. "Crystal" and I convinced her to come to the forum and ask a question that is of great importance to her. She bravely raised her hand and asked the candidates where they stood with regards to animal control and animal cruelty. I think this questions hits close to home for everyone as most of us have grown up with very special pets in our life. I am certain after she delivers Baby Gianna in June she will be working hard to volunteer her efforts in the fight against animal cruelty, better animal care services, animal care education and mobile spay and neuter units. In our entire lives (we have been friends since we were 3) I have never known her to NOT get what she wants. She achieves whatever she sets out to do. This is her passion and I encourage her to follow it! Below is a picture we took immediately following the forum. We have come such a long way........

Amber (the brilliant) has created some new graphics for me so that it will be easier for the reader to "fast forward" to the section they want. (I am not kidding myself...only Vegas Val is reading the Gilmore Girls tribute so now you all have a heads up when it is coming and you can skip it!) I hope you like the graphics and that they work well with the design of the blog!

Today's celebration is my garden. Well to be honest the word "garden" suggests order or purposeful disorder, correct? There is nothing of the sort going on in my backyard. In fact, I have ignored all plant life back there for some time. And it has not rained much in San Antonio. So it is safe to say the plants grow in spite of me! Yesterday afternoon I came home and decided, "Enough!" The plants were in need of some serious tender loving care and since a professional gardner is only slightly out of the budget (insert sarcasm here) it was up to me. It was a gorgeous Texas spring day and a nice opportunity for the kitties to come out and play. I took pictures of these two beautiful flowers that have bloomed with no help from me. In fact....I am NOT deserving of these gorgeous flowers. I have certainly neglected them. But I thought it was amazing that despite the sad, sad, sad nature of the back patio beauty can still thrive! (It's an easy metaphor for life. Corny, I know. But I felt the need to draw the obvious parallel. Indulge me.)

Right now I am lovin' "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." It is laugh out loud, raunchily (is that a word) hilarious! I am at the beginning of season 2 and I look forward to the insanely sociopathic, compassion-less antics of each of these characters. Their moral repugnance completely works! Perhaps this show is like the alter ego of all of us? The things we wish we could do and say or think about doing and saying but social norms and the good voices in our heads prevent us from behaving in such and infantile and base manner. Still....they make me laugh!

Lorelai: Oh, I can't stop drinking the coffee. I stop drinking the coffee I stop doing the standing and walking and the word putting into sentence doing.

Luke: I'll make you some coffee.

As always...it's late and I am sleepy. I am looking forward to gettin' under the covers and visiting with my four friends from South Philly!

Goodnight friends.....