Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

Right now I have about a dozen teenagers in my backyard.

Only one of them belongs to me...the rest just think they do.

One of them brought firecrackers...

yes, firecrackers.

I think that is against the law.

Not having them...just shooting them off. Which is what they are doing.

I have told them that if I hear one more go off I will banish them from my property.

Seriously...

So since I am up and making sure that none of them help themselves to my wine or Stoli vodka I thought I would blog about...nothing...but whatever...I'm blogging.

So I will tell you about my weekend. The teenagers being here is a fitting end to it...

Because it was a very good weekend...minus the dozen teenagers and the firecrackers.

So Friday was the first of a two-part celebration of my sister-wife GOTTESS' birthday. We call each other sister-wife because we share GOTT...she's married to him but I'm the "work wife" so there ya go.

So GOTTESS is celebrating the anniversary of her 25th birthday. I won't tell you what anniversary but in any case it is a very fun number and she looks at least 10 years younger than her driver's license shows. GOTTESS is HOT!

So she decides that we need a rock star weekend. So she buys tickets to the Katy Perry concert for her and 5 friends.

And she rents us the Rock Star Suite at the Hotel ZaZa.

OMG

OMG

OMG

We lived and partied like rock stars.

I picked her up to go to the hotel. We both were toting food and wine.

She had been informed by the hotel that outside food and beverages were not welcome at the hotel.

The suite has a full kitchen...

So Lucy has some 'splainin to do as to why there is a kitchen (with a Sub Zero fridge/freezer, cooktop, dishwasher and oven) but no food...

We decided to take our chances and brought in our own snackage.

So we get to the hotel and go up to the suite...OMG...

Here are a few more photos...they don't do it justice...

Suffice it to say that I don't think Elton John would complain.

It was awesome...study, living room, dining room, kitchen (use that useless set of appliances that you can't use), 2 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.

And a view of downtown that was breathtaking.

And a whole lotta chandeliers....

We squealed like 12 year old girls who had just gotten on an elevator with Justin Bieber...

First order of business...put up the food and put on our suits so we can head to the pool.

SuSu (one of GOTTESS' besties) joined us and we headed down to the pool for some adult beverages and some sun.

(We interrupt this blog for a brief special report...for the last 2 minutes Ke$ha Barbie's car alarm has gone off and any second now I expect the police at my door...between that and firecrackers I'm sure my neighbors hate me...I'm banishing the teenagers).

So back to GOTTESS' celebration...

GOTT joins us...he is our chauffeur for the night...I think we confused every other guest at the pool because we all kept calling him our husband. Our own little version of "Big Love"...

After a few tasty mojitos (I recommend the "blue" version with blackberries and blueberries muddled with the mint) we went upstairs and ate and did the best version of a rush job "let's look hot" that we could...

Here is a photo of me...not very good...sadly does not show the fabulous sparkly shoes I wore (that really killed my feet) or my crazy blue nail polish...I haven't asked the other girls if it is ok to post their photos so you just get me...it was windy...my hair was "meh"...dress rocked tho....

So the world's handsomest and best chauffeur (GOTT) drove us to the concert and was very very very happy he wasn't going with us.

We grabbed a drink and headed to our seats to catch the opening act...

which was...

terrible

I think one of the girls described the girl (her name was Robyn...I pray she isn't your dear friend...please know I'm sure she is very nice but she was not worthy of Katy Perry) as sounding like a cat screaming...or in heat...or both...

or maybe that is just my description...

I tried to block it...suffice it to say I will not be downloading any of her songs.

Thankfully I had enough "adult beverages" in me that I survived it...but just barely.

Finally Katy hit the stage and she totally rocked. She was great.

She was very cute and entertaining and her entire stage looked like a "Candyland" gameboard.

She made about 15 costume changes during one song (Hot & Cold)...I still don't know how she did the last one---glitter cannons went off in front of her and suddenly she was in a new dress.

AS a costume person this totally intrigued me...

So the show was great and once it was over...well, when you have 6 women who have just spent 2 hours looking at a stage full of candy we only had one thing on our minds...

The CRAVE CUPCAKES that were waiting at the suite.

So GOTT shows up to whisk us back to the suite and the cupcakes did a disappearing act.

We were joined there by a few more friends and we stayed up late playing some games and having a grand time.

At 1:30 I decided that I wanted to sleep in my own bed so since I had stopped drinking and was sober and not too tired I drove home and enjoyed my Temperpedic mattress and slept well.

Saturday I ran some errands...

And then I had my little adventure with the pool boys.

If you read my Facebook Status you know what happened...but for those of you in blogland I will repeat:

So topless sunbathing is NOT a good idea. I was laying out, getting my tan nice and even and took off my top. No one was home and no one was coming home. The pool people come on Thurday (so I thought) and it is usually a woman (so I thought) so I thought I was safe.

WRONG

WRONG

WRONG

I had my headphones in and the music was a bit loud. I closed my eyes to enjoy the sun and somewhere between a Manchester Orchestra and Joss Stone song I open my eyes to discover I am not alone.

Yes, the pool boys had arrived.

And they were boys....or at least closer to Ke$ha Barbie's age than mine.

I calmly put my top back on and tried not to die of utter mortification.

I hope they enjoyed the show.

It would have been a better show had I already let Dr. Bonnie Baldwin work her magic so instead they got...well, they got what they got...

So to get over that little lesson in humiliation I decided I better do something to improve my mood so I went and had a great time having a pedicure in the company of AngelAmy and we cooked us a fine dinner on the grill and had a grand time.

Today I got up and went to JayVee's spin and express weights class and was joined by Trainer Girl.

After lunch with JayVee we (me and Trainer Girl) hit the pool and then cooked us up some shrimp on the barbie and settled in to enjoy our show---True Blood. Great show tonight except that we did not have enough shirtless men...if you haven't watched that show it is totally worth getting HBO just to see the men.

And so now I have teenagers making too much noise in my backyard and I'm just trying to not go crazy.

I've got to get up tomorrow and face Dimples and tell him the damage I did...

Oh, and one more thing...

On Saturday I bought a gun...

but that's a whole other story...and blog...

Inspiration Song....well what else could it be? I saw the Katy Perry concert on Friday night so it HAD to be "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)...great song, great show, she's a great little entertainer...

Bye Darlings...party like a rock star any time you can...but don't sunbathe topless unless you are sure the pool boys aren't going to show up...

Hey Laura

Hello Darlings...

I have been a lazy blogger again...and I WILL get back to the stuff you usually visit here for very soon...but today I want to honor a friend...a very special woman who lost her battle to cancer but will forever be a winner as a mom to those of us who knew her.

Her name was Laura...

And she was, without a doubt, one of the sweetest and most special woman I have ever had the pleasure to know.

We lost her on July 4.

When I first learned of her passing I thought "how tragic that it happened on a holiday".

But the priest who headed her funeral service opened my eyes to just how perfect that day was.

He called it (I can't remember his exact words so I am paraphrasing her) her day of freedom...freedom from the cancer that had held her back.

She declared her independence that day...how very very perfect.

Now that being said, it kills me that she passed. Because in a perfect world she would still be here mothering her children, loving her husband, and sharing her beautiful laugh with those of us that loved her.

She had the most beautiful blue eyes...and so do her children. So I know when I look into their eyes, I am seeing her eyes...

And she had a devastating smile...it totally lit up her face and it would light up the darkest of rooms and lift the saddest of spirits when you saw it. I mean when she smiled...she SMILED! I loved her smile...and I will miss it...along with her laugh.

I didn't know her as well as I would have liked to...her son was in Ke$ha Barbie's class so I knew her as a fellow mom but I instantly loved her. Her illness never stood in the way of her being a friend to anyone who was happy to call her one.

I know her sons quite well. I'm particularly close to her oldest 2 boys.

They are...amazing...just like her...

I don't usually use names but I'm gonna here...cause I don't want to be too cute when I am honoring someone who was so special.

Joey (as I call him...but he's grown up and is "Joseph" now...but he will always be my Joey) is one of my favorite kids...ever...

That child owns my heart...and all he has to do it look at me with his big blue eyes and I am happy...because I see his mama there...but I also see the amazing boy he is. That child never fails to lend me a hand...or give me a great big hug when I need one. I love to watch him wrestle...he is the sweetest boy but on that wrestling mat he is the fiercest of competitors. I took a lot of photos of him wrestling (and playing lacrosse) so that Laura could see how amazing he was...she was often not feeling well enough to watch him so I was her eyes...and I was happy to be the loving mother arms to hug him after he did well. I have promised to continue to be his "mama by the mat" as he goes through high school. It will make me a nervous wreck (wrestling always does) but I will do it for her...and for him because when you have just basically gone to war in hand-to-hand combat with another boy it is nice to have a mom to come off the mat and hug who will tell you that you are awesome.

And I will...because he is...he is awesome.

I love that child as much as I can love a child who is not my own...and I will claim his as mine anytime he lets me...

And then there is Sweet Sam...I have always referred to him as Sweet Sam. He has grown up to be the most gorgeous of men...and I do mean gorgeous. I told him he should model the other day. He has those amazing blue eyes too. He is a truly incredible young man. I almost can't find the words to describe him...and he is as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outside...just like his siblings.

I told Sam that I knew he was in a difficult position...he is the oldest. He will feel great responsibility to help take care of his family. But he will also be a senior in high school---a year his mother very much wanted to share with him. A very special year of his life. So I told him to let us (his mother's friends) share the burden and help his dad...and for him to enjoy his senior year. He is such a fine young man that I know that even though we are all around he will still more than step up to help and care for his younger siblings. But I also pray that he finds plenty of time to enjoy all that being a senior in high school brings. And I will be there for him as much as he needs me. I can never be or replace his mom....but I can be a special friend that cheers him on as he moves towards adulthood.

And I love him like he is my own...because he is a great and awesome young man.

And then there's Max...gotta love that Max-man! He makes me laugh...he makes me smile. He is a "mini-me" of his dad and he is adorable. I can't wait to see him turn out as amazing as his brothers. He has a sweet spirit to him but enough silly little boy still left in him that when I see him I see fun...

And then there's Amelia. I don't know her....she hasn't been at my son's school but this coming year she will be a student. I plan to get to know her as well as her brothers...because there is no way in the world she isn't as special as they are...

Laura was an incredible mom. If I could be half the mom she was I will be amazing...she was amazing to the power of 10. She was always someone I looked up to for her "mothering abilities"...she was one of those moms that you couldn't help but say "wow...I wish I was that good with my kids".

She tried to help and prepare her family for the day they would be without her. What incredible strength and love that must have taken...but she had it...she had it...

She never complained...I never heard her say one word of pity or feeling sorry for herself...and she never asked for help...and she always was one to ask about YOU instead of telling you about herself.

The last time I saw her she raved on and on about how good I looked and how proud she was of me...and all I could think about was even though she was sick and even though I had lost all this weight I would never be the beauty she was...because that kind of beauty doesn't come from a jar, or a needle, or a serum bottle, or an exercise machine. That kind of beauty comes from the soul...

She was a beautiful soul...

And I, and all that knew and loved her, will miss that beautiful soul....

Vaya con Dios, Laura...

You will forever be loved...and the legacy that is your children is as fine a legacy as anyone could ever have.


Inspiration Song: "Hey Laura" by Christopher Cross...

Bye Darlings...I need to dry some tears now...and if you knew Laura, send up a prayer of thanksgiving for her and a prayer for her family...and if you didn't know her---well, you missed out....she was amazing...

Super Trouper

Wow...I have really not blogged in quite a while...guess I haven't had much to say...or complain about...or share...and I have been a bit busy...

So The Cutest Boy in the World (TCBITW) came back from camp.

I sent a boy to camp...

and I returned with a teenager!

He grew over 1/2 an inch and lost 7 pounds.

At his camp the parents are allowed on the camp grounds about an hour and half before they "release" the boys from the cabins. The call it "the charge from the cabins" because they play a bugle blowing and the boys all run out from their respective cabins into the arms of their most-anxious and very happy parents.

I see a tall blonds boy running towards me and it took a few seconds to realize it was TCBITW.

He looked so big and grown-up to me...I could hardly believe it was my son!

I was overjoyed to see him...and he had a marvelous time at camp.

I sat through the awards ceremony. I would say I suffered through it because I sat in the sun the whole time with smoke from the fire they light to burn brands into boards blowing at me (I would explain that but it is too long and boring to do so, so let's just say there is smoke...).

My son received some honors...he was a "rough rider" (one of the best 8 riders in camp...his grandfather up in heaven is still beaming I am sure) and he was a leader for his group.

It came time for the 2 big awards.

I"m sure he was one of the boys they considered but he was not chosen...2 other boys were.

I am sure he was a little disappointed so on the way to the car when it was all over I asked him:

"So, what do you think about the boys who won?"

His answer: "they totally deserved it...more than me...I'm happy for them and glad they got it".

And that, my dear readers, is why my son is awesome...

And why, in my book, he more than won those awards.

Because to realize that someone ELSE was more deserving than you are for something is a might big lesson...and he learned it...at camp.

I learned a lot of lessons at camp the same way.

My sister won "Honor Camper" before I ever did...and there were a lot of awards I didn't win...so I had to learn to lose with grace...and I did, thanks to my camp director Julie and the counselors and my friends.

Lessons learned...lessons learned...

I'm a bit tired tonight but I wanted to check in with you and let you know that all is well with me...I've just been busy with my children and my friends and my life...which isn't a bad thing.

Tomorrow I will try and write a "real blog"...I want to share some things about a friend I lost but lessons I learned from her...and then I will get back to the business of making you laugh and sharing my stupid and silly self with you all...

Inspiration song: "Super Trouper" by ABBA...because my son is a trouper...and he is super...

Bye Darlings...when you aren't looking, your children are growing up on you...