I needed a good time and I got one!

Picture it. Boston, February 27th, 2010. Seven hot chicks out looking for a good time.

We started out at the apartment of one of our good friends. She had a nice bunch of snacks set out for us to munch on before our night began in the city. My friends really are top notch hostesses all the way. They open their homes all the time and make us feel so welcome and loved and this trip was no exception. We arrived around 4 0'clock and couldn't wait to get ready! We had a night of dancing and entertainment planned and I for one really needed to relax and unwind. I was really excited to go out and tear the town up.

We ordered pizza for dinner and the 7 of us began the process of dressing and getting made up. Me being so low maintenance, it took me about 10 minutes. I put on my cowboy boots, jeans, a button-up shirt and one of my signature hats. I still don't know how to apply make-up so I went out plane faced as always. I love the quote from "The Mirror Has Two Faces" when Barbra Streisand was confronted about her lack of make-up. She said "What's the point? I would still look like me only in color" and that seems pretty logical and economical from where I sit. A real money and time saver for me so I live by it. We drove into the city and went to a place called Jacques. Now this is a place that I could learn a few things about make-up. It is home to a cabaret with talented drag queens and it provided us with smiles that didn't quit the entire time. My friends and I are a big bunch of goof balls and we ham it up everywhere we go and tonight we were out and true to form. We had a great time and took some priceless photos and made memories that at least myself and the one other sober one of the group will remember and share with our less then lucid pals for years to come.

After the show at Jacques was over, one friend had to go home but there were two more meeting us at The Roxy for some dancing. After a few mishaps, we settled in happily and danced and laughed the night away. My girls really know how to cut a rug! I don't know how they do what they do in the shoes they wear, they defy the laws of physics, logic and gravity! I go for comfort over style and knowing that a few of the ladies may tip back a few, and it is winter in New England I thought it best to be in practical footwear. My instincts were dead on.

The walk back to the parking garage was confused and cold and worked my upper body strength. We were heckled by boys who passed by but any lady worth anything knows to expect that and knows how to handle herself in that situation and the 7 remaining did just that every wobbly step of the way. We finally found the correct garage and our transportation for the evening and hopped in for the ride home. We already began reminiscing and laughed the whole way back with a few threats of peeing and lots of shivering and complaining about sore tootsies. Some of these poor girls really had barkin' dogs after all that dancing and walking around aimlessly about the city of Boston.

We got back to the apartment and blew up air mattresses and dug in to chow down on the leftover pizza and chips and things. We just laughed and repeated funny quotes that spilled from my friend's pie holes throughout the evening that will only be inside jokes and "You shoulda been there!" kind of stories forevermore. We changed into PJ's and slipped off into sweet slumber.

We all awoke this morning and slowly gained momentum. We picked up, packed up, dressed and hugged each other and prepared to bid each other farewell until the next adventure we embark on together. I've said it before and I'll say it again, my friends are the BEST and they can always pull me from a slump. If ever I want to learn the art of make-up application, I will turn to them over the ladies at Jaques. I really trust my friends with my physical and emotional well being without a doubt. Jacques gals are glamourous but my gals are beautiful both inside and out and am truly blessed to love and be loved by them. Thanks again for being my trusted bitches. I love you all forever, and the Jaques gang hold a special, sick place in my heart as well. *Wink

I'm Hooked on Billboards!

Today my dad was holding his 4 month old niece, and remarking about how she was getting talkative, nosey and figuring out how her hands worked and things. He began reminiscing, telling my "aunt/cousin" stories about when I was younger. I have always been a big fan of games and one of my favorites was Memory. He claims that even when I was younger I wasn't one of those kids who would cheat like my 3 year nephew does at Candy Land. I'm not sure it's cheating, really. He is mainly focused on getting the cards with the characters on them. Whether it moves him ahead or behind isn't that important to him. I, on the other hand, really tried to win and a lot times I would beat him even when he was trying. He didn't have to throw the game to save my feelings. I could handle it myself. I did however have to get the bunny match or I would cry.

He went on to tell about how he started a game with me when we were in the car to learn my letters. We would try to find letters on billboards and license plates we passed by. This made me learn how to read a little early. It was a tad inconvenient when my grandmother wanted to hide things from me. He remembers her doing the thing where you spell out a secret to disguise something from the youngins. My dad could see the gears turning in my brain. When I figured it out, the lightbulb came on and I told her, "You can't fool me, gram. I know what you are talking about!"

To teach me to count, he would let me count his coins in his pockets every night and if I didn't mess up I could have them all to put in my piggy bank. If I did mess up he would put them up in a dish on his dresser and I didn't cash in that day. He told the story before about one night when he was downstairs watching T.V on the couch after work. He noticed the pitter- patter of my little mischievous feet. He could hear that I was going from my room into theirs and back again repeatedly. He began to put two and two together and hollered up to me asking what I was up to. I didn't want to be found out so answered with the typical kid answer of "NOTHING!" He knew that almost certainly always means "SOMETHING!" I had been going into his change dish and robbing him of his loot one coin at a time and scampering my treasure back to my room and dropping it straight into my piggy bank like a squirrel stacking nuts for the winter.

I guess I was a precocious child as my aunt Carol has told me. She tells me I even had an unusual number of teeth early as well as my other abilities and thought that was remarkable. The fascination probably has far less to do with me being an exceptional child and more to do with the fact that I was the first niece and grandchild born in the family so people took more notice of things then they do when the 6th grandchild is developing amidst the older 5 making a ruckus and running amuck. I certainly don't think myself a genius by any stretch of the imagination.

It does make me wonder though... do we really want to buy things like "Hooked on Phonics" or "Your Baby Can Read"? Kids these days already seem far smarter then the generation before them with all the technology at their fingertips. It's to the point where parents can't help their children do their homework past the 4th grade. I mean, we have a game show on T.V entitled "Are You Smarter Then A 5th Grader?" and I haven't seen many winners yet. If back then I had the idea to rob my dad of his jingle because I was so smart from our little game of "Hooked on Billboards", just think the heist that a preschooler could pull off these days with things like "Baby Einstein" to get them started even earlier! We are breading a generation of brilliant criminals starting before they can wipe themselves so we had better stay on our toes.

Dedicated to Uncle Andy.

This entry will be a serious one. Our family suffered a terrible loss Wednesday morning, February 10, 2010. The last few days have been the hardest of my life. My Uncle passed away in a car accident at the young age of 38 on his way to work on 95 that morning. This tragedy has hit our family so hard and so deep. I am very proud to be part of this family despite all of my teasing in the past. Everyone rushed together that day and we have all been so focused on the pain my grandparents are suffering through the loss of their son and making this process as smooth for them as we can.

If you knew Uncle Andy, you knew he would do anything for anyone. Chances are, if you lived in or around Westerly you would find that if you didn't know him directly, it wouldn't be hard to find someone in your life that was touched by him at some point. What brought him immense joy in life was helping the people he knew and cared for and he took great pride in being a hard worker.

Andy was a very unique soul indeed and had an unmistakable laugh. He had diabetes since he was 2 and had other health issues but you would never know. If asked how he was, he always answered with a huge smile on his face saying something like, "Never better!" without fail. He joked constantly and loved animals and cutting wood. He was someone who truly cared for others above himself. A man who was easily pleased most by making those around him happy.

As painful as the loss for me is, seeing how much it is hurting my family, primarily my grandma and grandpa is agony. It absolutely rips my heart out every time one of them breaks down. It will be a long time to heal but together we will get through and I can only hope we don't forget what Andrew stood for and his passion for loving others. I need to remind myself that sweating the small stuff is a waste of energy and holding a grudge is a waste of time. We never know how much time we have and every minute and everyone in our lives is a gift we should cherish. Andy left a legacy behind of love and laughter and I pray my family and I can make him proud and carry that on in his honor.

I'm so sorry you are gone but I am confident we will see you again some day. Until then, keep them laughing in Heaven, Uncle Andy. You are so loved and missed by so many and I was blessed to be one of the people you loved and watched over in your short but full lifetime.