Not quite the birthday I had planned......

Well, as I lasted posted, I was heading to Shreveport for Cathy's wedding... well, I never left Frisco. I had some, uh, well... gastrointestinal issues that were not going to let me take a 3 hour car ride if you know what I mean. And it seemed to get worse rather than better as the day went on..... sooooo...... I stayed home. (Ed.'s note: I'm really upset that I didn't go - I wanted to see Accelerated Tax and if they really have armadillo groom cakes at Louisiana weddings, now I'll never know!!! :::pout:::)

I spent my birthday alone, in my pj's, watching bad TV, napping, and being sick in the bathroom. I talked to no one and did nothing. Isn't that sad? C'mon, you know it is!

Finally about 8 PM, I was hungry, so I ate and watched movies (American Pie, Coyote Ugly). I was feeling a little down in the dumps and rather sorry for myself. You know the pity party thing and how it works.......

When the delivery guy brings me some food, I see a Fed Ex package from Angie in Florida. I open it up - they are napkins that says SLUTS (Southern Ladies Up To Something)! Is that not hysterical? I mean, Angie's been a SLUT(S) for as long as I've known her.... hahahaha Thanks for the great gift and great laugh, Ang - I love you!

Late last night, I talked to my friend John, who helped me put in all in perspective and made me laugh! Thanks, John!! :)

It's hard to stay in the pity party mode when you have friends like Angie and John to make you laugh and quit feeling sorry for yourself.

Well, the good news is.... only 364 more days until I have to do this day again.... I will plan ahead better for it!!

Maybe I should change my blog to "38 and Proud!" Hmmmm..... have to think about that......

Happy Birthday to Me!!

So, this is 38? I've been 38 for approximately 9 hours and I have to tell you that I'm not that impressed. For some reason, I've been a little depressed about my birthday. Oh, well..... I'll get over it!!

Thanks to all of you for the e-mails, cards, and gifts. I appreciate and love them all!!

And to my dear friend Melissa, who also shares this day with me, Happy Birthday to you! You have a few years before you hit 38, so enjoy the time!!

And a special b-day shout out to John Elway, Kathy Bates, John Cusack and Mel Brooks, who also share this b-day. What an eclectic group of people to celebrate with!!

I'm leaving for Shreveport to go to Cathy's wedding and to see Accelerated Tax.... I'll blog about that and the rest of my pilgrimmage when I return!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

My Pilgrimmage.... sorry it took so long!! And it's only Part One!!

I've been home several days now and just haven't had time to blog about my pilgrimmage. I got back late Sunday afternoon and have been going nonstop...... And many of you have been asking me where it is..... I'm so excited that someone besides me enjoys reading about my screwed up life...... woo hoo!! (insert crazy Glore Psychiatric Hospital lunatic laugh here!!)

So here it is.........

My new flight is at 6:25 AM on Friday morning. I get up and get to the airport and get settled on the plane. I sit next to a young man who is going to Chicago for a basketball camp. The flight is fine until I get up to get off the plane....... there is gum all over my capris!! Apparently there was gum under the seat handle and it got all over me..... great!! My karma is so bipolar lately!!

Sigh Sister Betty picks me up and we stop at the hotel so I can change and grab some breakfast. Then by 9 AM we are off to Atchison. I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. We get there and I love it!! It's really a quaint little town on the banks of the Missouri River. It's right on the border, you cross over the Amelia Earhart bridge and you are there!
We go to the old train depot, which is now the Chamber of Commerce. We meet a lovely lady who answers a ton of our questions. We decide to come back for the trolley tour at 11, so we have like an hour or so to look around. We get in the car and go find Mt. St. Scholastica, the school where my aunt and my mother went. Half of it was torn down and it was sad. The parts that were there were pretty.

We then head over and find the house I lived in after I was born. Betty shows me the hospital in which I was born. I'm confused.... where are the "MW was here" plaques? I mean, c'mon..... aren't I one of the most beloved natives of Atchison? Besides Amelia Earhart, who was also born in Atchison? What other great people have come from Atchison besides me and Amelia? Betcha can't name any........

We find St. Benedict's, now called Benedictine since the two schools merged in 1973. We go and see gorgeous views of the Missouri River and we go to the St. Benedict's Abbey, where my parents were married in November 1969 (and I was born a record 7 months later - see, I was always gifted - even as a fetus!!)

I'm taking it in, clicking pictures like a crazy lady.... I can tell my aunt is taken back to the late 60's when she went to school here. Of course, we found the Sonic and got a dose of crack ice - Atchison has all the amenities of any modern town.

We take the trolley tour and see some of the same things, but also some other things. We then go have lunch at a cute little shop called The Parker House. It's located on a little mall that used to be full of shops but now is pretty deserted. The town has shrunk from 25K to about 10K - see when I lived there, it was much bigger. When I moved, some of the appeal was lost! (Ed.'s note: Could I be more full of myself?)

One must have souvenirs from a trip, particularly when you go on a pilgrimmage to the land of your birth. This is no exception. I bought an Atchison magnet, which I proudly display on my fridge with the other magnets from my other travels. I also bought an Amelia Earhart pin to put on my bulletin board - she is my sister!! And I also bought a book from the old Feeney Library at Mt. St. Scholastica.... actually it was in an antique shop - it's a book from 1950 about elementary education - I thought that was a cool souvenir!

Of course, Sigh Sisters enjoy a good visit to the local Walmart, and Atchison was no exception. But I have to admit, the Walmart there sucked. Nothing good. I didn't buy a thing - that's saying something!

We leave Atchison at 2 PM and I'm a little sad as we cross the bridge back into Missouri. I know that I will probably never go there again, but I'm glad I went and saw it. I know it's weird and silly, but it was important to me and that's all that really matters......

We decide to head to St. Joseph (aka St. Jo MO) to check out the Glore Psychiatric Museum and the Pony Express Museum. It's only like 20 minutes to get there, so why not? When will I ever get to St. Joseph again?

The Glore Psychiatric Museum was scary. It was interesting, but scary. They had all of the mannequins that looked like they were strung out on antipsychotic drugs, which added to the bizarreness of the place.

My favorite thing was the TV set full of notes. Some lunatic (they were called lunatic asylums back in the day, I'm not being ugly) wrote notes and stuck them in the back of the TV thinking he could communicate with.... well, hell I don't know who. It was pretty freaky.

After we left the Glore-ious musuem, we went to the Pony Express Museum. Because it was close to closing, we got to tour it for free. And it was really neat! I learned that Atchison was considered for the headquarters as well. I won't bore you with all of the details, but suffice that it was worth the price of admission (aka free!!).

We drove back to KC MO and ate KC BBQ at the Smokehouse. I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would, I think I'm a sucker for Texas BBQ. And to keep our Walmart streak alive, we visited the KC Walmart. I bought some cute denim flip flop capris.... SCORE!! Two Walmarts in two states in one day..... that has to be some kind of record!!

We get back to the hotel and get ready for bed. I've been up since 2:45 AM, so I'm tired - plus, we packed a lot into our day. I go potty and flush - the toilet overflows all over the bathroom! (and I only went tinkle... seriously!!) $*%(#(^Y%#!!!! So we have to pack up our crap and move to another room. But they gave us a 30% discount for our stay, so that wasn't too bad.

You know what - this is going to have a be a two parter.... I'm pooped!! And I haven't even told you about the hair museum, the shuttlecocks, and Union Station........

Pilgrimmage back on.....

Well, after 45 minutes on hold..... (my cell phone minutes gotta love that!)..... I've been rescheduled, but I don't leave until tomorrow!! At 6:25 AM.... which means I have to be at the airport by 5:25 AM... which means I have to be at the car drop off place by 4:55 AM.... which means I have to leave my house by 4:25 AM.... which means I'll have to get up about 3:30 AM.... NyQuil coma tonight anyone?

It's back on.... I just hope that we get to see everything that we want to see since we are losing an afternoon and an evening.....

Karma is rebounding!!

Pilgrimmage..... delayed? cancelled?

My flight to KC this morning was cancelled because of bad weather. No more flights to KC today... I can fly to Chicago, but they can't guarantee a flight to KC. I've been on hold for like 25 minutes..... this is crap!!

Karma is not good for this trip.... how dare the weather and American Airlines f*** with my pilgrimmage!!!!!

The Pilgrimmage

Okay, for those of you that know me.... I'm sure you can agree with me when I say that I have my own unique personality. I think I can be serious and hard working and all of that, but then I can be kinda unpredictable at times too.

I was born in Atchison, Kansas. Where? Huh? Atchison is a little sleepy town in northeastern Kansas. My parents were going to college there (Dad at St. Benedict's and Mom at Mount St. Scholastica - isn't that a mouthful?) Now because I subscribe to the belief that a baby is made when there is so much love that it creates a whole other person, let's just fast forward to my parents' wedding in November '69. I was there too, if you catch my drift. And then the birth on June 28, 1970. (When I was little, I thought that was the day the world began. If you were older than me, you were just born that way on June 28th. Can you say "egocentric?")

I spent my first formative year in Atchison. Then my parents graduated college and we moved back to St. Louis, where my dad grew up. I don't remember Atchison. I've never been back.

In the early 90's, my best friend Jennifer and I wanted to take a road trip to Kansas. She was born in Leavenworth, another popular Kansas hot spot. Both sets of parents told us that we'd be disappointed, to not go, it would be a waste of time. So we went to Las Vegas instead.

As I turn 40 (Ed's. note: Yes, I know it's in two years, but I've always been advanced for my age! Just go with it, it sounds better this way!), I'd like to see the land of my birth. I want to be one with Atchison. I need to complete me (sorry, Jerry Maguire!).

So, my original plan was to rent a car and drive from Dallas through Oklahoma, then hit Kansas. Then I was going to go on through Nebraska and end up in South Dakota. I was going to be armed with my book "1000 Places to See Before You Die." I was gonna take like a week to do and see everything, then head home. Unfortunately, my job hasn't really left me the time this summer like I'd want...... soooooooo......

Marthalocity is heading to Kansas City, Missouri (KC MO) today. Fellow Sigh Sister Betty will pick me up and we will go on the pilgrimmage tomorrow, June 20th. Did I mention that Atchison is the birthplace of Amelia Earheart? I feel like I'm in good company.....

Now, no Marthalocity trip is complete without random things to do and this trip is no exception.... check these out:

1. Leila's Hair Museum - the only one of its kind in the world. Jewelry, art and other artifacts made from human hair. And we wonder why it's the only one of its kind in the world? While this kinda creeps me out, I'll admit, I'm intrigued. I'm hoping that there is a gift shop and I can purchase a family "hair-loom." hahahahaha (that took me almost 15 minutes to come up with..... work with me here, people!!) {Independence, MO}


2. Pony Express Museum - now this satisfies my inner nerd. Who wouldn't want to see the history of the Pony Express in this interactive museum? I remember teaching my 2nd graders about the Pony Express..... I'm excited!! {St. Joseph, MO}


3. Glore Psychiatric Museum - I'm sure it will be Glore-ious!! The history of psychiatry from a guy who worked for the Missouri Dept. of Mental Health or something like that. This ties in with our hotel in DC that was a former psych hospital. Besides with my family's history, some of our people could be showcased in this museum. Or maybe I could go ahead and reserve my spot?


4. Walmart - Betty & I love a good Walmart (aka the Mothership). I hope there is one in Kansas as I'm trying to visit a Walmart in each of the 50 states. (So far, I've got Texas, Florida, Arkansas and Missouri..... I know you are impressed!!) Okay, really, I'm not.... that's too cheesy for even me!! {Atchison, KS}

I return on Sunday afternoon and I'll be back to post, complete with pictures and stories.

I'm going to Kansas City.... Kansas City here I come!!

Stomp

Tuesday night, I saw Stomp at the Dallas Summer Musicals. I liked it.

(Isn't that a pathetic post? I've been really down in the dumps the last couple of days and that's just the best I can do. I can't always have my witty wordsmithing ways on, ya know!!)

The Big 3-8 Celebration Begins.......

So I'm at work on Tuesday and I get an e-mail from my sister, Sarah, that lets me know we have tickets to New Kids on the Block in October!! And it's my b-day present!!

Now, before you judge, this is awesome! I continue my streak of random concert-going, which is fun! Also, our tickets are in Section 111 of the American Airlines Center - the same section where I saw Van Halen in April. If you remember my post, you'll remember I talked about how great the seats were - Sarah got us tickets even a little bit farther down!! Our view will be awesome!

I realize that I'm on the older end of the NKOTB fan spectrum, but I was a closet fan. I was able to enjoy the music (while acting bored) because my sister and her friends were in all of the hype.

Here's their new video for "Summertime":


Can anyone guess who my favorite New Kid was?
Jordan? NO. (Overalls and high-pitched voices are turn offs for me.)
Danny? NO. (Back in the day, he was b-fugly..... now, he's better, but not cute enough.)
Joey? NO. (Ummm... he was like 12 and I was like 19.... that's just gross!!)
Jonathan? NO. (One, he's too quiet, and two, he was Sarah's fav.)

So who does that leave?

DONNIE!! I mean, he was the ultimate 1992 bad boy. His shredded jeans, piercings, and ability to set hotel rooms on fire were all attractive qualities back in the day. I knew he had that special something. I mean, he was the only one to go on and do something else after NKOTB (The Sixth Sense, anyone?)

So where will I be on October 19th? Hangin' tough, baby!!!

The Drowsy Chaperone kept me awake!! :)

Night Five at the Dallas Summer Musicals..... I loved it!! This was such a cute musical with great singing and dancing. Georgette from the Mary Tyler Moore was also in it (she was reprising her role from the Broadway show).

The audience loved it - lots of laughter and clapping. Roland and Sylvia loved it! The gay commentary guys loved it! I loved it!! It was so much fun - I'd go see it again in heartbeat!!



Next up... Stomp! next Tuesday...

Why the nerdy book list?

I'm sure that some of you are wondering - why does she have a list of books on the sidebar of her blog? And why does she want to read 50?

Well.... long story short, I like to read and post at the Frisco Online website - I need to blog about that sometime when I have time to tell you all what I really think. Anyway, there was a thread about good books and people were passing titles around. So some girl and I decide that we are going to read 50 books this year. 50 books?? Like I don't have enough on my plate??

So as we enter into June (and the halfway point of this year), here's the damage so far:

January: 2 books
February: 2 books
March: 5 books (Spring Break helped with this one)
April: 2 books
May: 1 book
June: 1 book finished, 2nd book started

So if I'm doing my math correctly, that's 13 books, right? Which means I need to read 37 more to make my goal? Which basically means 6 books a month? 6 books? Maybe for June and July, but after that - who knows?!?!?!

Maybe the bet should have been for pages - a couple of my books had 500+ pages.... that should count as two.....

Oh, well.... stay posted for the nerdiness count.... anyone want to take bets?

School's Out for Summer!!!

So today marks the end of an era... and the beginning of a new chapter. But before the chapter begins, we have summer!!!

This has been an interesting year, one in which there has been much personal and professional growth. I'm a better person for it!!

Here's to Summer 2008!

Bachelor Marathon on VH1

This is just not even good news for me....... Sunday was Alex Michel (he is gay, I swear to God).... yesterday was Aaron Burghe (I just think he's as cute as can be)..... today is Trista as the Bachelorette (get me a barf bag).... and tomorrow is Andrew Firestone (I know my sister is excited!).....

I watched these the first time around, why would I want to watch them again????

I don't know, but I am.....

God help me, I even wanted to Tivo some of it, but I didn't......

I think Bachelor Bob is tomorrow.... I loved him on the Bachelorette, but hated him as the Bachelor........

A Message from Sticky the Duct Tape Dork

So this morning, I'm ready to go to work... it's the last week of school and I'm ready to get this over with - I need some summer! I start to pull out into traffic and I hear my car making a noise.... Great - I've got car issues..... of course, I think of the worst case scenario.... it's the axle.... this is gonna cost me some serious money! I call my friend Caren and ask her to meet me at Firestone and I go and drop my car off.

I get to school and I get busy - there is a lot to do this time of year! I start working and then I get a call from Tommy at Firestone.

Tommy: "We've located the source of the sound your car is making."

Me: "Is it bad?"

Tommy: "It's some duct tape. We've removed it, at no cost to you."

Me: (silence for a minute) "Omigod, I'm such a dumbass!?!? Are you serious?? How embarrassing - I'm the girl that makes other girls look bad at the car repair shop!"

Tommy: "Ma'am, it's not the most unusual thing that has happened to us. But while we were checking, we noticed that you need a new air filter and your brakes are shady."

Me: (embarrassed) "Go ahead and do what you need to do - thank you!!"

Tommy: "No problem, ma'am. We'll call you when your car is ready."

I hang up the phone and hang my head in shame. Well, at least I got pity brakes and a pity air filter.

Caren (who now calls me "Sticky") took me back to Firestone during her planning so I can pick up the car. I walk in, thinking that they will all be laughing hysterically at me. They give me the total and I hand them my credit card.

Declined.

Declined? I paid the balance off and haven't used it - how can it be declined? I'm sure these people think I'm a real idiot now.

I call the credit card company, only to find out that they've put a fraud alert hold on my card. Someone's been visiting websites and shops and using my card!! So I get these fake charges off of my card, close that account, open a new account, and pay for my pity parts. I can barely look Tommy and his buddies in the eye.......

Well, I have a new credit card number, new brakes, a new air filter, and the reputation for being the dumbest chick at the Firestone today.

Lucky me!

Sex and the City - it was incredible!!

I can't believe it's taken me a couple of days to post my feelings about Sex and the City - The Movie!! We went on Friday night at 7:15. I had purchased tickets online on Wednesday for the show. Before we went to grab a quick drink, I ran up to get the tickets at 5:30 - there were already people lined up for it!

So Cathy, Danyielle and I went and had a drink, then we headed up to the line at about 6:20. Our other friends met us there and we waited for 30 minutes in line.... and it wasn't air conditioned... and there were lots of females there... it was HOT!! I was quite impressed by the 5 men who made a valiant effort to see this movie with their women..... or maybe they were all the Stanfords to their Carries?? Who knows..... but coming to this movie would have been the same as me showing up at the premiere of "Girls Gone Wild" or something like that!! :)

So then they let us in and we rush to get great seats... which we did! The theatre filled up in under 10 minutes!! We took turns getting snacks and going potty so that we wouldn't have to miss a minute! At 7:15, right before they ran the trailers, one of the employees tried to get all of our attention..... we weren't listening at all!! Once the movie started, everyone started clapping and screaming.......

The last thing I remember is that it was 7:15 and that girl talking.... the next thing I remember is that it's OVER.... it was a 2+ hour movie, but it seemed like it lasted for 15 minutes.....

It did NOT disappoint!! It was so good..... Danyielle (our emotional friend) cried a few times..... Kim (my fellow stoic) and I loved it, but we weren't moved to tears!

I promise you that I will see it in the theatres again at least one more time... and as soon as it's on DVD, I will buy it!!

GO SEE IT!! YOU'LL BE GLAD THAT YOU DID!