B-DAY MADNESS!!!

Here is just a small sampling of the splendid b-day loot I received, including my cherished "cake with a typo", and EXcluding all the equally splendid cards, e-cards, and general well-wishes I received today via the Interwebs and in person. (My apologies if your gift/card/confection is not pictured here, but, y'know, that'd be kinda *REDONK*. BWAHAAHAHHAHA!)

I have a wonderfully awesome bunch of family and peeps, making this b-day super-fabu! THANKS, EVERYBODY!!!

Wicked!

On Sunday evening, the family indulged me with an early-birthday treat: we went to see Wicked at the Pantages! I know so many people who've seen this show (again and again and again), I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. And did I ever find out! It is fantastic! A inventive take on the pre-Wizard-of-Oz years, the show is beautifully staged, wonderfully cast, and just alot of fun.

I swear, I would go see *anything* at the Pantages. That is one beautiful theatre.

The Boy has a new blog!

He would love if you would visit it, and make a comment if you're so inclined.

He promises to keep this one up, and not abandon it like he did his previous 4 blogs. ;-)

This one features video-game reviews and related news!

http://www.videogamz.blogspot.com/

Pre-b-day Dinner With My Boys

What can I say?! I like to stretch out my b-day festivities as loooooong as possible. So altho the actual date is the 30th, we're starting now! After kicking around several restaurant ideas, we settled on CPK (California Pizza Kitchen). It was a delightful meal, and I'm looking forward to several more as Tuesday approacheth! I had a lovely salad which did not photograph particularly well but which was covered in bacon, avocado, and ranch dressing -- 3 of my favorite things!

Next on the festivities agenda: the musical Wicked, performing tomorrow evening at the lovely Pantages Theatre in beautiful Hollywood, California!

Last chance, Greg.

This is it, MadDog. Your last chance this season to PASS Clemens on the all-time list.

As always, I'll be pullin' for ya!

You'll always be #1 on MY all-time list. :: sniff ::

p.s. Gentle Readers: Guess what zany, baseball-lovin' family of 3 will be at the Dodger playoff game on October 4?! Send *CUBS* juju, cuz that's who we're hoping the opponent will be.

Obamania!!!

Can I just say how much I *loves* me my new Obama sticker?! (Thank you, Donna, my precious little mensch.)

L'chaim!

Shalom!

And coming up soon: L'shana tova!

(Oy...)

Liz Logelin Memorial 5K

I was delighted today to be among the many people in the world walking in honor of the lovely Elizabeth Logelin, the late wife of my friend Matt. If you have a Flickr account, I think you can check out the photos from all around the globe!

Thanks to my hubby for providing such awesome photo documentation of the morning. Thanks also to Roman & Christa for joining us; to Donna for dog & child wrangling; and to my beautiful little boy for wearing that shirt, which he HATED. LOL! Hey, pink was the color of the day!

Go, Cubs, Go!

C'mon boys! Let's do it! Let's clinch this thing today!!!

From Brit-Pop Idol to TV Star!

So I'm sure some of y'all are familiar with the brilliant and hysterical Ricky Gervais, who originated the role of the obnoxious boss on the original "The Office". He was co-creator and star of the show on the BBC. He also did another show called "Extras" which might even be funnier than "The Office"...

What you may NOT know about Ricky is that before he was a TV star, he was... A BRIT-POP IDOL! He was in a band called 'Seona Dancing' in the '80s. Maybe you can tell that from the look he sports in these pix! And check out the song below, via YouTube! It's actually pretty terrific.

Bands I've Seen Live

A blogger-buddy o'mine posted recently about the bands he'd seen live.

I would now like to copy him.

Here, now, are the bands/musicians I've had the privilege of seeing live.

Styx; Barry Manilow; Journey; Pat Benatar; Genesis; Rush; Loverboy; Golden Earring; Gogo's; Temptations; Peter, Paul & Mary; Paul McCartney; Jonathan Richman; Linda Rondstadt; Fleeetwood Mac; Stevie Nicks; Joe Walsh; Dan Fogelberg; KISS; Triumph; Ricky Nelson; INXS; Queen; Billy Squier; Madonna; Level 42; John Denver; Billy Bragg; Kenny Loggins; Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy; Elvis Costello; Elton John; John Wesley Harding; James Taylor; Steve Miller Band; Don Henley; Dougie MacLean; Natalie MacMaster; Lloyd Cole; Glen Campbell; Matthew Sweet; Susannah Hoffs; Donald Fagen; Big Bad Voodoo Daddy; Royal Crown Revue; Pink Martini; Toto; Bebel Gilberto; Brian Setzer.

If you accompanied me to some concert not mentioned here, please post a reminder! :-)

R.I.P., Richard Wright

I was a big fan of this fella's work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wright_(musician)

I wonder how many obits will say, "We'll see you on the dark side of the moon..."

Holy Mother of Spa Treatments!

My poor husband is traveling on business for the next few days. His company is forcing him to stay here, at this hell-hole in Arizona. Sweet Jesus, HAVE THEY NO MERCY!?!? The poor man! How much can he be expected to endure?!?!


:: shakes head in utter disbelief ::

Galacticruise!

Oh, MAN! How rad is this?! Your dream vacation with your favorite TV stars, like Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff! Oh wait -- no, I'm sorry, this is for fans of the ORIGINAL Battlestar, soooo... Yeah, you'll pretty much be lucky if you meed Dirk Benedict. Still! What the heck!

These specialty cruises are such a great idea. I understand there's one just for Pink Floyd fans! Pretty ingenious.

Knebworth Festival '76

Wow, here's a nutty concert lineup for ya: Lynyrd Skynyrd (look -- they misspelled it on the poster), the Stones, 10cc and Todd "Is God" Rundgren.

I dunno... I don't think that would've worked for me. Todd and 10cc, sure, but I could do without the 2 headliners. All 4 bands on the same bill??? Blech.

Just IMHO, people!

Zeke? Any comments???

Mormons for Obama

Check this out! I love this! I love that there *is* such a group... and they have T-SHIRTS!

Good for you, Mormon liberals. Blaze that trail!!!

I think we are gonna need ALL the help we can get...

Greg Attempts To Break My Heart Right In Half

Yup, so he stuck at win 354.

This guy is killin' me, I'm tellin' ya.

I dunno now much more of this I can take.

He looks like HE doesn't know how much more HE can take...

Maddux looks for win #355

Don't worry, Greg! I'm *sure* you'll get a win tonight! It's the PADRES, for Chrissakes!!!

:: crossing fingers/legs/toes ::

Attn: Bloggers & Matt Logelin Fans!

My lovely husband created these widgets for use on your blogs! If all goes according to plan, the HTML code shown here, when pasted into your blog in the appropriate area, will create a widget leading your readers to the Garden of Awesome/I Can't Believe You Bought A F#$%^ Robot T-shirt Shop.

If you have trouble, let me know, and I will try to find another way to get the code to you. (It's hard to put code on a page that wants to interpret it rather than display it. At least, it *looked* hard while I watched my husband trying to do it.)

If you have no idea who Matt Logelin is, then you don't want the widget!

	<a href="http://gardenofawesome.spreadshirt.com/us/US/Shop/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/mrquizzical/robot1.jpg" border="0" alt="Buy a Robot Shirt"></a>
	<a href="http://gardenofawesome.spreadshirt.com/us/US/Shop/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/mrquizzical/awesome.jpg" border="0" alt="Buy an Awesome Shirt"></a>

Saturday @ Grandma's Pool

A summertime visit to Grandma's would not be complete without a refreshing dip in the lovely pool!

The huntress... and her prey.

Kelsey ate one of my Williams-Sonoma kitchen towels yesterday.

It never knew what hit it.

New Skechers!

Y'all know how I *loves* me some new kix! I got these Skechers from Skechers.com for super-cheap, plus free shipping! Pretty spiffy, huh.

The Great Tony Curtis

With all due respect to Mr. Curtis . . .

Doesn't he currently kinda resemble the Love Child of Dr. Evil & Erich Von Stroheim???

I'm just sayin'.