A Jumble Of Thoughts And Things Like Hunks And Cheer

~ Have you ever started to read a book only to get about 100 pages into it when you realize that you've already read it before? I had started reading Nora Robert's River's End with that feeling for quite a bit of the book. Last night I couldn't take anymore, I put it down. I know I read it before and the book just isn't good enough to warrant reading it again.

Now I just feel guilty because I didn't finish it.

~ I'm still pondering putting up my tree this weekend. I'm also still worried about the kitten knocking it down. Like any small child, this kitten is curious about everything and I usually put all my favorite ornaments on it.

~ I'm jealous of everyone that's been getting snow. We were told that we were going to get snow over the holiday and we got zilch! Right now I wouldn't mind being snowed in. In fact, I would love to be snowed it. Forever.

~ I bought another Christmas present online last night! Yay! Who needs malls when you can shop on the computer?

~ I need to find a way to destress. I mean really destress. Music isn't helping. Nothing is helping and I'm such a bundle of nerves that I'm making myself sick.

~ Hump Day Hunks!! Cos I need them badly!




These are screen shots from the Moodies appearance on Solid Gold way back when.

~ Christmas Cheer!

Elton John - Step Into Christmas

Spreading Christmas Cheer

Spreading the Christmas Cheer has never been harder. Last night I spent nearly 3 hours trying to burn one CD.

One!

I used my Roxio program and made a few coasters.

Getting fed up with that program, I switched to Nero. I made one coaster there and then finally got the damn disc to burn.

That being done, I rejoiced. I have the first Christmas mix CD burned, and as soon as I get to Walmart to buy supplies, I can start burning the ones I need to mail out.

But wait, all is not that easy. I can't make the damn CD art. Neither of the programs I used wanted to import the tracklisting. Which means tonight I'm going to have to type in all 22 songs by hand. If I have some sanity left, well kudos to me.

Somehow I doubt there will be any sanity left afterward, especially if I end up doing this by hand, which will mean a prettier CD label in the long run. Assuming my software will let me make the damn thing.

Grrrrr

But now for a different kind of Christmas Cheer!

Elvis Costello w/the Cheiftains - St Stephen's Day Murders

Your Holiday Weekend Might've Sucked If:

~ Your sister lost her car keys in the city which is 25 miles from where you live and you have to trace your path through the city only to "NOT" find them. You end up calling AAA to get the car open. Thankfully there is a spare key in the car, only it's a poorly made spare and it takes over 15 minutes to get it to start the car!

~ Your heels are bruised from the walk through the city because you wore a dressy pair of Aerosoles thinking you weren't going to walk a marathon.

~ You spent more of your weekend worrying about your job than relaxing.

~ You planned on buying a Hard Rock Cafe shirt for your brother for Christmas, but when you got there, there wasn't a damn one that you liked that was in your budget.

~ You tried burning the first Chrismtas Mix CD only to have your computer produce a coaster.

~ You were so stressed out by the events of the day that you couldn't even watch one of your favorite shows.

~ You spent 2 of your 4 days off on the phone with an old friend hoping she could take your mind off the stuff that was bothering you. (It didn't work)

~ Your pretty damn sure you aren't going to go to Curves today because you aren't sure your feet have recovered from the marathon walk around Pittsburgh.

Christmas Cheer
Because life can't be all bad less than a month from Christmas

XTC - Thanks For Christmas

Random 10 - Let Me Out Of Pittsburgh Style

I didn't think I was ever going to see my home again. My sister lost her car keys in the city. A wonderful afternoon of panic and mayhem. Thankfully we got inside and there was an extra key in the car.

We listened to Sur La Mer the whole way to the city

The Moody Blues - I Know You're Out There Somewhere
The Moody Blues - Here Comes The Weekend
The Moody Blues - Breaking Point
The Moody Blues - Miracle

Not to mention I was working on the Christmas Mix the last two days. It's almost ready to burn! Yay!

Steve Winwood - Christmas Is Now Drawing Near At Hand
Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine (Will someone please get this song out of my head)
Dean Martin - It's A Marshmallow World
Michael Ball - When A Child Is Born

And now two random songs from the weekend, because I was stressed and need to hear something different

Oingo Boingo - Out of Control
Justin Hayward - God Only Knows

And my picture is from Pittsburgh again. If you want any of these songs, just let me know and I'll upload.

Christmas Cheer

Today's song is by 2/3 of Wilson Phillips. You remember them? That band that drove you nuts in the 90's with songs like Release Me and You're In Love. Yeah, this song is by the 2/3 that are Wilsons.

The song?

Hey Santa!

It's too cheesy not to share!

Four Days Go By So Fast

I can't believe it's Sunday already. Where have my last 4 days gone? Do things go by more quickly when you don't want to go back to something? Obviously. I know today is going to fly by so fast that I won't know what happened to the hours.

When you wait for something it seems like the time just drags right on by. I remember the whole month of October never seemed to want to end, and then my Moody concert came and went so quickly that I didn't know what hit me.

I guess that's how it goes for holidays. You wait for the time off and when it gets here those precious hours just fly by and you're left with nothing but a few fleeting memories or worse yet, nothing, just the passing of the hours.

I'm going to Pittsburgh today, which means my day will go by at light speed. But at least I'll get some pretty pictures of the city and more pictures of the lights. That's a small consolation when I have to be awake early tomorrow to go to a job that scares the hell out of me.

At least I'll have something to show for my 4 days off or maybe I'll just wish I had spent this last day at home. I don't know, but what I do know is tomorrow is back to the grind.

Where's my zoloft?

Happy Cat!

Ooogie is such a happy kitten. I just had to share his cuteness with everyone. This little kitty is the love of my life right now. He's so full of orneryness and love.

Saturday Randomness

~ I've had 3 days of PJ Days and I still don't feel alot better. This cold that isn't sure if it wants to come on full force is really annoying. One day I feel great, the next day I feel like crap.

~ The weather in my neck of the woods is even more annoying than my cold. The last two days have been frigid. The forcast for Monday? 60 degrees! WTF!

~ The Winter Flower Show at Phipps started yesterday and I'm off to see it along with PPG Place again tomorrow. My camera didn't work hard enough last Sunday.

~ I'm almost finished reading Kate Collins' Mums The Word and I have no idea what book I'm going to read next. The problem here lies in having more books than any human should have, along with people who pass more along. I should open my own library.

~ I've got almost all the Christmas music I need for the CD cards. I really wish my Davy Jones CD would get here this week, but I'm doubting it. So I guess he'll just have to be on next years mix.

~ Speaking of Christmas CDs. The other day I caved in and bought this at the Amazon Marketplace.



~ And now for the Christmas Cheer.

Holly Cole - Christmas Blues

Christmas Cheer

I've decided I'm going to post one Christmas song a day, until Christmas to give you all a bit of cheer to get you through to the next holiday. I have quite a collection to pick from, so expect to see some varied songs in the coming days.

Paul Young - What Christmas Means To Me

This song appeared on one of the A Very Special Christmas CDs. All of the discs have some wonderful songs on them and proceeds benefit the Special Olympics. So everyone should own at least one of these great albums.

For more information on all the albums click here and then go buy one!

Top 5 On Friday

Keeping the Thanksgiving spirit alive over at Music Memoirs.

"Top 5 musical things that you are thankful for"

1. Justin Hayward



But I'm not thankful for the hideous shirts he seems to enjoy wearing to shows.

2. John Lodge



These two men I'm very very thankful for. Their music has enriched my life so much over the years, and though they've come and gone from my favorites a few times, they will always have a place in my heart. And this is the song that started it for me.

Your Wildest Dreams

3. Elvis Costello



I don't remember whether it was his duet with Paul McCartney or the first single from his Spike CD that made him a favorite of mine. He did a disappearing act for awhile, but like all my musical loves, he came back with a vengence.

Elvis Costello - Veronica

Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney - You Want Her Too

4. Danny Elfman



I was introduced to Oingo Boingo towards the end of their careers. The first albums I bought were Best O' Boingo and Dark At The End Of The Tunnel. The song that sucked me in was on both albums.

Oingo Boingo - Skin

5. The Beatles/The Monkees





These two bands go hand in hand in my life. From the time I was 5 I was going to marry Davy Jones. I'm still waiting for that proposal. And I think that in the course of my life I've harbored crushes on every member of the Beatles.

These bands were the ones that started my love for music. And I'm thankful I had the opportunity to know and love their music and in the case of the Monkees that funny as hell tv show that made my childhood such fun.

The Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday
The Beatles - I Should Have Known Better

A Day Of Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

At the rate my life has been going lately I know I've been prompted to say more than once "What do I have to be thankful for?"

It's hard to see what's good in your life when things aren't going quite the way they should be. I'll be the first to admit that.

But there is a lot that I am thankful for

~ My family that helps me through the thick and thin.

~ The music that keeps me sane. (I don't think I have to tell you which bands I'm most thankful for)

~ My wonderful pets that bring me such joy.

~ All my friends, on the internet and otherwise, that listen to or read my ramblings.

~ A well stocked library of books to read when I need to escape.

~ My Easy Share camera that provides me with tangible memories.

~ All the wonderful experiences I've had this year in my travels in my state and in NJ and OH. It's been quite an eventful year.



And likely this will be me later this afternoon.

Random Musings From A Sick Mind

Take that title as you see fit....

~ When the Hump Day Hunks come early and they don't make you feel better, you know the week is going poorly.

~ 2 Tylenol PMs will knock you out. God bless that drug company. I slept from about 8:30 last night to almost 5:30 this morning straight through. I still however feel like crap.

~ I'm beginning to think I made a wrong decision in changing jobs, even though I needed a full time position desperately. I'm just not getting it, or I think I am and then something goes terribly wrong.

~ Only one of my 2 CDs has come from Half.com. Thankfully the one that came first was the one I really wanted, but oh how I hate waiting for things.

~ And while I'm waiting, my brother's T-shirt from Margaritaville hasn't arrived yet. But this one has an excuse, it's coming from the New Orleans store.

~ I need my hump day hunks again...

It's Official, I'm Sick

Besides sick in the head, which you already know. I've finally decided to succumb to the sore throat that I was starting to get this morning. It probably didn't help that I took a mile long walk instead of eating lunch, but I don't really care.

I need to have at least 20 minutes out of the office. If there was a way I could go out for lunch and have enough time to actually eat it, I would.

I knew the cold was coming when my Curves workout, which I've been neglecting lately seemed a bit strenous today. And sure, I may not be going everyday as I had before, but I'm by no means out of shape. Right now I feel like I've been hit by a bus, and I'm really tired. Not a good thing, considering I was in bed at 10. So I had 7.5 hours sleep.

I think I've got a date with Advil Cold & Sinus or at the very least Tylenol PM. And this is so going to be one of those dates where I fall into bed with whatever lucky medication comes for me.

Hump Day A Day Early

Since I'm off Thursday and Friday of this week my over the hump day comes early this week. And it can't come a day too soon. I seriously need this week to be over as soon as it possibly can, which will be tomorrow around 5.

My brain is fried.

I think I'm starting to get a cold.

All of this couldn't come at a worse time.

Maybe I'm worrying for nothing again, but I can't help but feel like I'm treading water and am starting to sink. And only last week, I really thought I was starting to get the hang of things in my life.

So it may be a day early...but I'm bringing out my hunks to help me get over the hump today.

My Head Is Going To Explode

Today was the day from hell. Work was atrocious. It started out good and got progressively worse until it spiraled completely out of control.

Right now I've got the headache to end all headaches and I don't usually get headaches.

As soon as I can get the few little things that I've started this evening finished, I'm going straight to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I swear I keep saying that and it never happens.

I think the only thing that's keeping me going is the fact that there are only 2 more days in this week. And those 4 days that I'm off? I'm going to go into a comatose state.

I don't think I've ever needed time off as much as I do now.

Time off and some Advil....

Ok, and a warm bed.....

And maybe these guys in the bed....

Just Another Maniac Monday

I always feel let down on Mondays. The weekend disappointed me by not lasting longer. I think that's why I hate having lots to do over those 2 very short days, but at the same time I hate not having anything to either, if that makes any sense at all.

The good thing is this is a three day work week for me and I'm going to take those 4 days that I'm off and make them PJ days. I've done a lot in the past month or so and I really think I need the time to settle down a bit. Even though I know I need to make at least 2 more trips to Pittsburgh before the holiday as well as one trip to the Waterfront. (And likely 2 of those trips will come in the same week)

I've just about finished the Christmas mix and I'm trying to figure out the best way to email it to the few of you that requested them, because I was uploading something much smaller this weekend for someone and You Send It was being a bitch. So that will be something else to add to my to do list.

My to do list is getting longer and longer, probably a direct result of having a lot of stuff to do over the weekend. But I will get to it, even if it means losing my sanity for a small period of time. Wait? I have sanity?

Random 10 - Christmas Spirit Edition

Once again I wrap up my weekend care of the meme at Music Memoirs.

The Eagles - Hotel California
Barenaked Ladies - It's All Been Done
The Bee Gees - Night Fever

These 3 songs were playing at Joe's Crab Shack

Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine

This song has been stuck in my head all damn weekend!

George Harrison - Fish On The Sand
Robin Zander - Tell It To The World
Justin Hayward - On The Road
John Lodge - Summer Breeze

These were on the mix I've been playing in my car lately.

Elton John - Daniel

This was on Cold Case this weekend. It's one of my favorite Elton John songs.

The Moody Blues - Don't Need A Reindeer

The best Christmas song EVER!!

Feeling The Spirit

Today is my big sister's b-day, go shout at her here, and we're going carousing in the big city of Pittsburgh.

Yup. We're off for a day of debauchery.

Cough.

Cough.

Cough.

And if you believe that, well, I have some beach front property in North Dakota I would love to sell you for a nice price.

Actually we're going to Pittsburgh to take in the sites of the city that is all ready for Christmas. Lots of pictures will be taken, fun will be had and carousing will be done. I highly doubt any debauchery will occur though. And that's quite a shame.

But I think by the time we return home tonight we'll definitely be feeling the spirit..or spirits...or something like that!

A Night At The Mall

Tonight's trip to the mall was just about useless. I have some of my smaller gifts taken care of online today.

My oldest nephew is getting a CD care of BMG. (Plus I had a 55% off/no shipping sale)
I bought some great stuff from Yves Rocher (My favorite cosmetic mail order company) for my sister and my brother's wife
My brother's b-day gift is coming via Margaritaville New Orleans.

Most everything else is going to be mail order and a trip to the Hard Rock in Pittsburgh.

I guess that's a good thing, because I was unimpressed by everything I found at the mall today. The clothes were bleh to say the least. Nothing jumped out at me, which stinks, because I don't have a Christmas outfit. It took me over an hour to find one pair of size 4 jeans, because I still don't have enough jeans for work.

I'm just glad I'm not going to have to make many more trips there before Christmas, because if I can't find anything that I want, I don't know how in the hell I'm going to find stuff for other people!

Oh and the FYI store didn't even have their Christmas CDs out, and if they did, they were so well hidden, you couldn't find them. Grrrr.

35 Days Til Christmas

Oh my God! Where are these holidays coming from? I have a few presents bought, which is a good thing, but I have no idea how I'm going to put up 2 trees this year, do shopping and still find time for the fun things that go with the season.

I usually have a smaller artifical tree in my room. This tree is my own and it has all my favorite ornaments on it, including the Moody Blues December ornament that I was given by a very kind fellow fan at my first Moodies concert. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, because of this little black and white kitten that's come charging into my life. He's just the type of kitten to climb the tree. He's so sweet and so ornery.

I only have 3 paychecks til the holiday too.

I think I'm going to start to panic now. Plus both my siblings have birthdays before the holiday, and wait, it gets better, my mother's birthday is December 7th. Why did everyone have to be born in these two months?

Definitely time to panic. I think I need to go to the mall now.

I Went On A CD Shopping Binge

I've gone and bought several holiday CDs this past week. I'm really getting in the mood for Christmas. So what better way to get in the spirit than by filling the house with holiday music.

Like these



I've always loved Heart and I heard the song How Beautiful last year, so I had to snatch up a copy of this disc.



I ordered this one this week, out of curiousity mostly. I love Shawn Colvin, so I figureed this album can't be too bad. In a few weeks I'll know for sure what I think.



I love Rockapella. I've used several of their Christmas songs on past CD card mixes. I finally found this disc for a good price.



Ok, I bought this one just so I could have Elvis Costello's St. Stephen's Day Murders on CD. I'm weird that way.

Sadly this hasn't even put a small dent in the list of CDs that I want, but I am going to have a wonderfully musical holiday.

Top 5 On Friday

It's time for Music Memoirs Friday meme.

Top 5 "Forgotten" Artists. (You know those bands that are still around but when you mention them people ask you if they are still recording or alive)

1. The Moody Blues



Each time I mention I like them to people that aren't fans I get the, "Are they still alive" bit, which is damn annoying, since they have had 2 albums of new material in the last 7 years (Not including the Amazing Caves soundtrack)

2. Glass Tiger

This guys may not still be recording, but hey, they were on Hit Me Baby One More Time and they were touring Canada for a few years. Also Alan Frew has done 2 fantastic solo albums. These guys are still around and still sounding good!

Oh and here's a link to Alan's website as proof he still lives. He's still cute too.

3. Erasure



This picture was taken for their last album, Nightbird. That album was released in January. Andy Bell just had a solo album released a month or so ago. They are still around and in good form!

4. Three Dog Night

I don't think they are still recording, but they still are on the touring circuit. I missed out on seeing them last year and I was kinda depressed. I always wanted to here Joy To The World live.

C'mon everyone...sing "Jeremiah was a bullfrog!"

5. Cyndi Lauper



Just to let you know, she has a new album called The Body Acoustic.

Listening To The Stars

My horoscope yesterday told me that I needed to step away from things and just relax. I tried for a few minutes, but I couldn't shut off the computer, not that I had anything pressing to do while I was on here, it's just my connection with the world sometimes, and cold and boring as it was last night I just wasn't in the mood to curl up with a book.

The funny part of this, is I know that I need this time. The damn horoscope is right. I need a day where I don't worry about things I have no control over and even the things I do have control over. I need to sit back and enjoy and not think. But that's always been a problem for me. I'm always thinking and worrying. I'm the original worry wart.

I really think I might be able to do this on Saturday. My brother is coming home. We're celebrating Thanksgiving with him and part of his family this weekend. His family is so extended these days and in all directions that it's easier this way.

So maybe this weekend with family around I'll be able to take it easy and just enjoy the time I have.

Mind you my horoscope today tells me I should go out and party...I wish the stars would make up their minds and then realize that this is still a work night!

That Christmas Mix

OK, I'm trying to get most of the songs in order. It's going to be quite an ecclectic bunch of songs this year. I've got several different genres represented.

Here's what's appearing so far. I haven't finalized it yet. I'll probably do that over the weekend, as well as getting the artwork together that I want to use. I may end up doing 2 this year, because I'd love to use some of the songs from the Davy Jones Christmas CD, but I want to get the discs out so that everyone on my list gets to enjoy the music in time.

BTW, if you want one, shoot me an email or leave a comment. If I can't make you the CD, I can send you the songs.

Keri Noble - This Christmastime
Rob Thomas - New York Christmas
Judith Owen - Christmas With The Devil
Grey Eye Glances - Little Drummer Boy
The Monkees - White Christmas
Diana Krall - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Pet Shop Boys - It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas
Everything But The Girl - 25th December
Rockapella - You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch
Annie Haslam - We Three Kings
The Moody Blues - When A Child Is Born
Elaine Paige - Father Christmas Eyes
Michael Buble - My Grown Up Chistmas Wish
Sixpence None The Richer - It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Mary Fahl - A Coventry Carol
Micky Dolenz - O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine

Hunks On Parade

What would hump day be without the hunks? Nothing I tell you! It would be quite boring. After all, we need these guys to help us get over the hump. They help with the "If I can get through today there's only 2 more days until the weekend" feelings.





Those last two hunks have made me exceptionally happy, because I got to go out to Wal-Mart last night and buy this...



Because we all know those hunks don't have enough of my money. I don't know when I'm going to get around to listening to it, but it least has the setlist that I love, along with Forever Autumn.

I really missed Talking Out Of Turn this tour.

~sniffle~

Of all the songs, Lodgey could have axed, why this one?

Oh yeah, it brings me joy, and we can't have that.

I'm going to drool on my hunks now.

English Tea For An English Sunset

Something about the new Paul McCartney song and this Moody Blues song really make me smile.

The songs seem to share a similar view of the english people, and I suppose they should, considering both artists are english.

I hadn't heard the McCartney tune until yesterday, as I've been ignoring Chaos and Creation for a bit. It fast became a favorite of mine. It's classic McCartney. If you listen to this song, you can see that the man that wrote Eleanor Rigby still has it in him, which is good to know.

The damn record companies need to grasp the concept that though these rockers are older, they still can write good songs. Just because they aren't 20 or 30 something and airbrushed, doesn't mean what they write isn't worth listening to.

Damn it, it's the other way around most of the time.

English Sunset is off of Strange Times which most of you know is one of my very favorite Moody Blues albums. It's also one of the songs I miss the most in the setlist. Sure it had been played for years, but I really think that album shouldn't be ignored in the setlist...

But anyway....Because these songs are both excellent...

Paul McCartney - English Tea

The Moody Blues - English Sunset

More tea, vicar?

Itunes Is A Big Ole Pain

In the quest to have 2 Christmas songs by one of my favorite bands I was forced to use Itunes again.

Have I mentioned how much I hate itunes? I hate anything that has to do with itunes including ipods. I mock them at any chance I get? Why? Because I think they are the most overrated, overpriced mp3 player on the market. But that's neither here nor there. I'm ranting about itunes right now.

Why do I hate buying music there?

Simple.

I buy two songs by Grey Eye Glances and I can only play them in the itunes software that I never use, and I'm going to have to burn them to a CD so that I can convert them into mp3 format.

GRRRRR!

I've only ever used itunes once before and that was to buy Bernie Barlow's Down By The Sea mp3 earlier this year. I prefer to buy CDs as opposed to downloads. It's that tangibility factor again. If I could have bought a CD with Bernie's song on it I would have.

As for Grey Eye Glances, I don't think the CD that the songs were on is in print, or it might have been an online only thing, so I had to buy them this way. One of the songs is on an EP, but right now, it's easier to just spend 2 dollars to get the 2 songs rather than 15 for the CD.

But oh the aggravation I'm going to have to go through to use those two songs.

BTW, if I haven't mentioned it before, Grey Eye Glances are a wonderful band and everyone should listen to them. Just not through itunes, cos that just takes away some of the beauty of the music.

Oh How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning

My mother used to sing this an awful lot as I was growing up. Off key of course. And now I find myself singing it just as off key, when I have to drag my butt out of bed at this ungodly hour.

If the sun isn't up, I shouldn't be either. That's the way I see things. Not that I have anything against darkness. Darkness is fine, up until about 2 a.m.

My belief is that from 2 a.m. until at least 9 a.m. people should be in bed, give or take a few hours if you need more than 7 hours sleep. Me, I can't remember when I last got more then 7. I think death might be the only way to get more than 7. Even when I try to get to bed early, my body wakes me up after 7. That's so totally wrong. And then if I try to get myself to bed early, something always happens and I end up awake longer.

I realize that I'm a night person. I always will be, no matter what time I may have to start work. I may long to be in bed snoring at 9:30 but when 5:30 comes around, I'll still want to stay nestled under the covers. Morning's are evil and they should be banned. Now give me my pillow and blanket and let me go back to bed.

Random 10 - Weird Weekend Music

This weekend was dominated by strangeness while dining.

George Harrison - Crackerbox Palace
Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me Let Me Know
Tony Orlando and Dawn - Knock Three Times
The Moody Blues - Question

All of these songs were playing at Wheeling Island and a few more too frightening to mention....

The Monkees - I Wanna Be Free
The Monkees - Let's Dance On
The Monkees - I'm A Believer

I forced my sister to bring over a Monkees VHS to satisfy my desire to watch the guys over and over again.

Cyndi Lauper - Like A Cat
Grey Eye Glances - Snow
Oingo Boingo - Skin

And these were some of the songs that I heard on mix CDs and my winamp this weekend.

And now for the picture...



One of the decorations at Wheeling Island. I'll post the rest at my photoblog later. And if you want to play too, just go to Music Memoirs for more details.

A Weekend Of Bad Service

My sister and I went out to dinner Friday and Saturday night. I don't think either of us has ever experienced service as bad as this in two consecutive nights.

The first night we went to the Pepperwood Grille in Greensburg. I have been dying to go here, since it opened.



This place is absolutely gorgeous inside. The atmosphere reminds me a bit of a jazz club, only without the jazz. I really expected to hear Diana Krall or Madeline Peyroux crooning while we ate, but they seemed to play the Blues, which is not one of my favorite musical genres.

We ordered a cheese and fruit appetizer which was so filling that along with a salad, we weren't very hungry when our dinners actually made it to us. Which seemed like forever.

Debby's linguini with clam sauce wasn't to her liking, but I got Pumpkin Tortellini with a marscapone cheese sauce. It's sweet for a dinner entree, but oh was it good. It would have been better had we not had the appetizer. Note to self, after dieting for almost a year, it's hard to eat really big meals.



But it was good. It would have been better if the service weren't so darn slow! God, was it slow. Snails move faster than the wait staff was moving there on Friday night.

And speaking of slow. We went carousing at Wheeling last night. The line was so long for the Island Buffet that we had to forsake any thoughts of chocolate fountain and the create your own pasta station. It would have taken us 2 hours to get inside. Instead we opted for the Breezeway Cafe outside of the gaming area.

The food there was excellent, but again, if the service got any slower, I might not be typing this. I'd probably still be freezing at the restaurant. Thankfully the Chicken Parmigan was wonderful so I won't complain, even though it took an hour and a half to eat. Crikey! It's not fair to cut in on my gaming time. But I won't go there, because that's another rant altogether. Again, at least the food was yummy.

I Took The Name Of The Hayward In Vain

And therefore I must repent.

OK, perhaps I should explain further, before I'm condemned to bedlam. (again)

We were having dinner at the Breezeway Cafe at Wheeling Island, and we were discussing the Moody Blues.

Who would have thought that would have been a dinner conversation topic, right?

Well I was making some good natured ribbings on a certain blonde man's demeanor, when all of a sudden I noticed the music in the background.

I stopped for a minute, completely taken aback by what I was hearing. Then it was gone.

Like all music at this casino, it sort of fades in and out over the whir or the slot machines. But I was sure I had heard something and that something was Justin Hayward, or more to the point, the high falsetto of John Lodge singing the "ahhhhs" of Question.

Eventually the music became more prominent and I knew that they were playing "Question." It certainly freaked me out, because even though I've heard the Moodies played at Wheeling before, I've only heard Nights In White Satin.

My sister and I joked that it was the Divine One, reminding me not to speak ill of him lest I be punished.



I'll just offer up a prayer that he forgives me for picking fun at him.

Yeah, right. Still the song couldn't have been playing at a more appropriate time, and it gave us both a giggle.

Looky At What I Bought!

I made the rounds of all my favorite bands webpages last night. Did some grumbling at one or two of them. Muttered a few choice words about my favorite band's goings on and then promptly went to see Davy Jones' webpage.

Davy Jones of the Monkees (for those of you that don't know or remember) was probably my first celebrity crush. At five, when all the other little girls were crushing on the latest pop sensation, I was in love with Davy Jones.

Well I was in the mood to find a few more tracks for my Christmas mix. So I have to say I was a little more than elated when I clicked on his page and found this



He's finally gotten around to rereleasing the album of Christmas tunes! I've wanted this CD for the last 2 years now and finally, I'm going to own a copy. Of course, I won't get it until the first week of December, but woot! I'm getting my Davy Jones Christmas CD!!

All This Useless Beauty

It's been awhile since I listened to this Elvis Costello song, but tonight my winamp threw it out at me. It's always been a favorite of mine but I go through spurts in what I listen to and well, that album and song haven't been on my list of things that I have to listen to.

But something about this song has always made me wonder. Is beauty really useless? I could argue both sides, but truth be told, I'd be more likely to say that beauty isn't useless. After all, if something brings you joy, then it serves a useful purpose, right?

So now, because it's on my mind....some useful, or useless beauty...that's for you to decide.

Top 5 On Friday

It's meme time, and after the weird/nasty week I've had, that's about all I'm up to. If you like the meme, go play along at Music Memoirs! Cos it's nice to see new faces playing the memes.

Top 5 "Number" songs. (Songs with numbers or first, second, third...etc or any other number related words)

The Wallflowers - Three Marlenas
(I've always loved this song for some reason)

The Beatles - Two Of Us

Duran Duran - First Impression

Elvis Costello - Twenty Five To Twelve

Def Leppard - Two Steps Behind

Enjoy the music, they'll be available for 7 days.

Lights Out

Last night around 8 o'clock the power went out. We were having storms, but they didn't seem bad enough to warrant more then the usual flicker of power, which happens every so often if a real strong storm comes around.

But last night was weird. Why shouldn't it be, anyway? Everything in my life has been weird for the last couple of weeks.

So here we are, sent into total blackness at 8 o'clock. I was in the middle of posting something here, so I was in a panic that something nasty might have happened to my computer. That's the last thing I'd need right now. Thankfully when the power was restored, sometime around 1 a.m., everything was working properly.

And yes, I did say the power was restored around 1 a.m.

Let me tell you, I was getting nervous after an hour without light. It was comforting to see that police were patroling the town, because most of my little hamlet of Charleroi on Mon was without light. We were happy when cars drove by, because they illuminated the room better than the candles we had lit, and of course, we didn't have a flash light worth turning on.

So much for that girl scout motto of being prepared, because we sure as hell weren't. After all, I can't even remember the last time we had a power outage worth mentioning.

By 10 p.m. when the lights still hadn't come on, I decided I was going to go to bed. I wasn't holding out much hope for a good night's sleep, because I wake up at 5 and my only alarm was my cell phone, which I've never used for an alarm. Thankfully, I heard the movement about the house when the power was restored, so I set all the alarms, checked my computer and went back to bed for the last 4.5 hours.

It wasn't a fun night. I didn't get to do anything I wanted to do and reading by candlelight is something I wouldn't recommend. And if I'm whining like this for a few mere hours without power, lordy, my heart really goes out to the hurricane victims that were without power for weeks.

Hunky Hump Day Hunks

Try saying that 5 times fast! I'm so glad it's Wednesday. The week's half over. Ok, not yet, but when I get home from work it will be, and for that I'm eternally happy. I always feel better on the weekends.

And the only way to get to the weekend is to bring on the hunks.






Ha ha! I mixed up the hunks today, but it looks like all the pretty ones have made it to the hump day hunkathon, so I can start my day now.

A Day In The Life

Today was one of those days that is good, bad and ugly all rolled into one. I found out at work today that through the end of the year I'll be working the later morning shift, which isn't really late, it's 8:30 - 5. I'll also have to learn the other CSR's job in 6 weeks, because she's scheduled for her vacation then. That kind of leaves me feeling a bit woozy, but I'll get through it I'm sure.

I had really been used to the 7:30 shift, which I was doing every other week. But oh well, I'm not complaining. (At least not too much).

Unfortunately today was also one of the most boring days in the last few weeks. I had very little shipping to do in the afternoon and my training wasn't much this morning because of circumstances beyond my control and the other CSR's control. Boredom and I don't get along too well, at least not at work. At home I can deal with boredom. There's always a book or the internet. Work is a totally different story. I have to dig up the busy work to keep from going insane and sometimes that doesn't even help.

As for the good? Well I've almost forgotten what it was. I think it might be the free pizza we're going to have for lunch tomorrow, care of one of the shipping companies that are stopping by to convince us to use them more often.

But really the good is discovering a few things I can do in the next month, as well as some things I can plan for next year. See I've decided, I'm going to go away as much as I can, while I can. I don't care at this point. I went far too long without trips. I'm not going to live like that anymore. I want to see the world around me, even if it's just the world outside my damn window.

The Festival of Lights has started at Oglebay Park, and I think I might convince my sister that we have to go shortly. After Thanksgiving we'll have to make 2 trips to Pittsburgh to the Winter Flower Show. One time we'll go on a Sunday afternoon and one time we'll go for the Candlelight Evenings. I'm still debating on getting tickets for Phantom of the Opera in January, but I hate to commit to something when I don't know what the weather is going to be like.

But maybe there are a few things to look forward to in the coming months. They might not be Moody Blues related...(damn and blast) but they are worth getting excited about, and that's definitely a good thing. Right?

Take Me Back Tuesday -- The Holidays Are Coming

3 songs that have a holiday in the title or are about a particular holiday

Elvis Costello - TKO (Boxing Day)
ABBA - Happy New Year
Barenaked Ladies - Hanukkah O Hanukkah

2 songs you listen to when you need to de-stress from thinking about the holidays
Boingo - Insanity
Justin Hayward - I'm Sorry

1 song you'd like to give your fellow memers as a gift for the holidays.
The Moody Blues - Don't Need A Reindeer
Justin thinks he doesn't need a reindeer, but he doesn't know how wrong he is!!!