Fa La Latte...

Compliments of my awesome girl: Full-time art student, part-time barista.

My Empty Nest.

You know, when my daughter left for college, I was going to buy a pool table for her bedroom and I thought there'd be a party every night. My husband and I have been married for only five years so we're practically newlyweds. So, I've actually been excited about this time because I thought we'd get to spend some time together, just us, like you did when you were first married, before children, before four teenagers :-).

But now that I've actually packed my girl off to college and she is settled in and happy (fingers crossed), I'm dealing with a serious case of Empty Nest Syndrome. So if you see me walking my puppy down the street in a stroller with a baby bonnet on, please call the authorities.

Anyway, I'm back but I'll likely be posting much less. I've missed y'all, though. Hope you had a great summer.

Impossible.

It's not possible that you are graduating from high school today. I know they say time flies but this is ridiculous.

It was only 5 minutes ago that you were walking through the house with my belts wrapped around your diaper doing your Jack Benny impression (even though you had no idea who Jack Benny was) and swinging on your tree swing in the backyard with wild, happy abandon. I could swear just the other day you "married" Eddie Garza and had your Harriet the Spy birthday party in the playhouse. It seems so recent that I can touch you dressed up as a sunflower for Halloween. Can it really be that long since we were the Gilmore Girls looking for our new adventures?

And now I am excited for your new adventures. I will miss you as a constant source of entertainment for me but it's time for you to fly. So let's kiss high school goodbye and move onto the good stuff.

Happy travels, darlin' pie. xoxo

One Groovy Flashback.

My daughter brought me home a present yesterday: an old Partridge Family album. Yes, an album!! (She has a record player because they're cool again, apparently.)

So, for some humpday fun, let's take a trip in the wayback machine:



And for the kids, here's the version on my daughter's iPod by Less than Jake:



If you want to know the truth, I wanted to be Laurie more than I loved David Cassidy.

My Girl.

Finally. A video of my girl's band, The Shine, that you can actually see. Here they are performing "Rock 'n Roll" by Lou Reed and their own song "Going Nowhere" at a benefit talent show for Habitat for Humanity. Give 'em some stars, people.

Rock on, kid.

Thank God It's Friday with an Apostrophe.

I see this misused on otherwise brilliant blogs all the time. I'd like to offer quick help to resolve the burning question: It's or its?

It's = It is (or it has). Every single time.

Its = Possessive. Every single time.

If you can't decide which to use, just remember it's is a contraction and it's= it is (or it has as in "it's been raining"). If that's not it, it's its. Got it?

Now, it's (it is) time for a little Friday entertainment from my favorite band, The Shine (my girl is its drummer), performing its original song, "Going Nowhere."

UPDATE: New song (poor picture quality due to low lighting at venue) but still a good song.

It's About Damn* Time America Had a President Who Can Dance.

*Love* them.

Other Top Photos and Moments of the Day:

When you can sing like that, you can wear whatever damn hat you want.

Adorable.

I want to be in the sanctuary for this guy's Sunday sermon.

Just in case you missed my girl's band.

What an awesome day:

Regardless what you thought of him, it's a club only 44 guys got in.

And how cute are they?

Sleep tight, kids.

*toned down for the kids

The London New Years Day Parade.

My girl and her awesome marching band. xoxo

Thanks to bjorn2007aug for uploading it!

I Am Going to Miss My Daughter So Much...

when she goes to college.

She walks into my bedroom this morning where she spies her new "Rolling Stone" magazine.

"Mmmm...Brad Pitt," she says as she walks over to grab it.


"Ewww...crustache."

Maybe you had to be there. I find her mucho hilarious. By the way, props to her for my holiday header.

The Most Awesome News Ever.

I am so excited I am going to bust!!

I just got home from a meeting at my daughter's high school about their upcoming trip to London to march in (actually, to not just march in but to lead) the New Year's Day parade for the Queen, when it was announced that they are (drumroll, please):

MARCHING IN THE INAUGURATION PARADE!!

How unbelievably incredible is that? I am so proud I can't stand it.

P.S. Stay tuned for Beach Week, beginning later today. I'll be featuring a different shop from Rehoboth Beach every day.

Monday Morning Halftime Entertainment.

Okay, so the beach started off well enough. I ran into a fellow blogger which I will go into later in the week and had a lovely day with my hubby. Lovely day included a little shopping, lounging on the beach in 75 degree weather!! in November!! followed by a leisurely dinner at one of our staples, The Cultured Pearl:

Not my actual dinner but a representative photo from Kaszeta's flickr

Dinner included one rather large, very tasty Saketini and one little carafe of Saki. Sounds innocent enough, right? Fast forward several hours and several vodka and tonics later to my sweet ass belting out "Sweet Caroline" at The Purple Parrot. I had the College-Freshman-Worthy hangover yesterday to prove how much fun I had closing the bar. No posting or commenting. I could hardly speak, let alone spell and, frankly, am not feeling that great today. I will not go into the post I wrote and almost posted at 2 a.m. Saturday night/Sunday morning revealing my new tried-and-true technique to persuade male McCain voters (of which there was exactly one in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware) to vote for O. by rubbing their nipples chests and saying in a sultry voice, "Come on, baby. You know you want to vote for Obama." And something about the promise of nightly sex (with his wife) and improved gas mileage. Yes, my husband was there and he thought it was hilarious. I think Obama may get that guy's vote. Oh, and I learned all about trannies and drag queens and the hierarchies involved in such and whatnot and I am sure to share that with you in a future post when I am hypnotized back into remembering the actual conversation.

But for now, for your viewing pleasure, my daughter's kick-ass high school marching band. She is a squad leader on the drumline for this peripatetic, rock-star, student-lead band. They will be traveling to London to lead the New Year's Day parade this holiday season. They have played in parades in Rome, Ireland, London (six times), the Rose Bowl and other Bowl games and parades. It's been a very cool experience for the 260 or so members of the band (including band fronts). And since it's her senior year, Friday was their Homecoming game and last home game ever. I will very much miss this Friday night activity next year (as it clearly keeps me out of trouble).

Here's a short video clip focusing on the drumline doing its awesome thing.



I wanted to get in the twirlers with their batons on fire (fire at halftime is always a crowd pleaser) so you have to look to see the drummers tossing their sticks, etc.