Garage Sale Season Is Officially OPEN!

Spring, in and of itself is perfectly lovely. The weather gets warm, we get nice afternoon rain showers which always seem to persuade me to take a nap, I get to work in the yard, and best of all, I can boot the boys outside and not have to listen to them fighting over the recliner! However, the best part about Spring is the fact that it is the beginning of Garage Sale Season.

This past weekend brought numerous neighborhood sales, which is really all I do-- more bang for your buck, so to speak. I'll admit, I got a bit lazy compared to my normal routine, and decided to pick Amanda up at 8:00, instead of my usual 7:00, and we decided to tackle Eric's mom's neighborhood sale. For one thing, this neighborhood is massive, and I can't tell you how many times (even with as many times as I've been in and around that neighborhood-- either visiting my inlaws, or HELL-- I went to elementary school there, so you would THINK I would be pretty familiar with the place) we got turned around. Anyway, we scored some good deals, and oddly enough, I managed to find some cute clothes, which I rarely look for, much less find at these things. I can't recall a time when I've nabbed a beautiful light-green, short-sleeved angora sweater from Banana Republic for a whopping $1.00! Amanda was also quick to inform me that it had a "condom pocket" on the chest, which interestingly enough, was an entirely foreign term to me, but hey, you learn something new everyday.

I also managed (please do anything and everything to contain your laughter) to find a pair of red-red, pointy-toed women's cowboy boots! Now, normally I would never, EVER buy or wear cowboy boots, but these just kicked ass. I'm sorry, but they did. They were just sassy, and really didn't give off that whole cowboy-boot-hey-I'm-a-redneck-hoochie kind of vibe, so I bought them. They rock, and I really wish I would've had them for the Bon Jovi concert. That would've kicked ass. The first time I wear them, I will post pictures for your amusement.

What else? Oh, I got this great iron bird feeder dish on a pedestal that is this fantastic brick red color, so it will match my front door. I also found a divided serving bowl that matches some really fun retro dishes that I bought at an antique store back in college. I've been working on finding a complete set without resorting to paying eBay prices, so I was thrilled to get this bowl for $1.00. There were two really great things that came along with this bowl-- #1: Apparently, the lady brought it all the way from Boston, and you just can't beat that (talk about fate!), and #2: The lady asked me, "You're not from Oklahoma, are you?" THAT absolutely MADE MY DAY! I know I should probably be more proud of where I'm from, but apparently I gave this lady the impression that I was far too awesome to be from middle-America and that made me happy! Amanda couldn't stop laughing.

However, that lovely compliment was quickly shot down after another woman, and her elderly mother began commenting on my hair. I've recently let it go curly again (loose curls, nothing kinky-- good lord), and these two women loved it. Now, I'm sure you're asking, "Well, what's bad about that?" Okay, let me explain something-- when a middle-aged woman and her elderly mother refer to your hairstyle as "precious" you have to start questioning yourself a bit. I mean, as it is, sometimes when I style my hair now, I feel like I'm walking a very thin line between Little Orphan Annie and Old Lady Hair. 99% of the time, I'm successful at falling into neither category, but their comments certainly got me wondering. I mean, at nearly 30 years-old, do I want to be referred to as "precious"? Kittens are "precious"-- newborn babies, even, but my hair? Shoot me now.

Ugh, I'm tired. Way too tired for a witty conclusion, I'm sorry. Plus, I have to sit down and watch a couple of episodes of season six of "Sex and the City" so that I'm good and caught-up by the time the movie comes out next month!

Good Times With Bon Jovi

It isn't often, especially since becoming a mom, that I get the opportunity to go to a concert, but last Fall, my brother Jarrod (and die-hard Bon Jovi fan), scored some tickets for Tuesday night's big show in OKC. It was a long, long wait-- I'm not going to lie, but oh was it worth it!

Jarrod has seen Bon Jovi now five times, and this was my second experience. Daughtry opened for them, which in and of itself, was phenomenal. That band can rock-- there's just no other way of putting it. Of course, if I'm being honest, the show was really all about Bon Jovi for me, because after seeing them perform in Chicago many years ago, I knew it was going to be a fantastic show. There are a lot of bands that I love, but if they can't put on a good live show, I really have no desire to see them in concert.

Our journey to OKC began around 3:00 that afternoon. The four of us (me, Jarrod, Amanda, and Matt) all piled in The Toaster, and off we went on the two-hour drive to the city. I was hoping to get some pictures of some stupid billboards along the way-- you know, the ones for the Microsurgical Vascectomy Reversal and so forth, but with the storms we've had recently, the billboard was trashed. Bummer! The most excitement we had on the way up there was Jarrod incurring yet another crack in his already scarred windshield, when some gravel flew up on us part-way into our drive. We watched as the ding in the glass turned into a crack, and began creeping across the windshield. Lovely! Of course, that was totally photo-worthy-- as was Jarrod's violating the speed limit the entire drive down there.

When we got to OKC, we nabbed a great parking space underground at the arena, and took a short walk to Bricktown to grab a bite to eat. To our dismay, Stumpy's was closed, so we opted for Spaghetti Warehouse, which was pretty good. I even got dessert-- by golly if I'm going to live it up for an evening, I'm getting a piece of cheesecake to go with my side of Bon Jovi! Of course, we can't forget the stupid photos that followed, namely the one of the nasty "gum wall", and Jarrod pretending to lick it. Ew.



The wind that day was horrendous, which blew my already over-amplified 80's rocker hair into whole new territory. The thing about Bon Jovi concerts is that you're bound to see some seriously trashy-looking women-- not as bad as say, at a Poison concert, but it can get pretty bad. We spotted some girls wearing serious "hooker boots", who really had no business wearing them (see photo-- if you dare). After our stupid photo session had ended, we headed out to the arena and waited to get in. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring my camera in (damnit), but I could bring dad's in, because it didn't have a detachable lens. Better than nothing, and honestly, it did a fair job of getting some decent pictures-- a bit grainy, but not terrible.



Daughtry opened, and as I said, it was awesome. During a short intermission, Jarrod encountered a guy (in the restroom line, of all places), who had seen Springsteen in Dallas on Sunday, Bon Jovi in Dallas on Monday, was there in OKC for Bon Jovi (duh), and was going to Kansas City to see Bon Jovi again on Thursday. Bastard. I want to live like that-- a highly disposable income, and no responsibilities! Where can I sign up for that job?



So, the moment we had all been waiting for arrived, and there they were-- Bon Jovi, live on stage, ready to rock our world once again! Good times! The set list was amazing-- new stuff, older stuff, really old stuff-- a nice variety. Of course, Jon looked amazing, and had so much energy that I think he would actually make a great aerobics instructor. I've never seen a guy with that much energy. I was like, "Dude, I'm just standing here, watching you play, and I'm exhausted." Richie totally rocked the house, especially with his "I'll Be There For You" solo, which was cool to see. One of the best highlights of the show was when Chris Daughtry came out and did a duet of "Blaze of Glory" with Jon. It was off the hook, and of course, the arena went crazy. For the record, Jon had exactly three wardrobe changes-- in case anyone was wondering.

We finally got out of there after 11:00, and the show started at 7:30. They definitely give you your money's worth, there's no doubt about that. I'm not usually a huge souvenir person, but I bought a totally old-school Bon Jovi tank top, and some dog tags to frame up with my ticket stub. We were all completely wasted-tired by the end of the night, and Amanda and Matt fell asleep in the backseat, while I tried to keep Jarrod awake on the drive back. Speaking of which, we ran over some pretty fresh road-kill before we even got out of OKC, which was disgusting. Jarrod asked if I wanted some road-kill fur for my scrapbook. Smartass. Anyway, they dropped me off about 1:15, and as much as I wanted to take a shower to cleanse myself of all the sweating I did (it was hot in the arena, even with a tank top on), I was lucky to even have the energy to get out of my clothes before I got into bed. Maybe I'm getting too old for this!



Nevertheless, it was exactly what I needed, considering all my personal drama right now-- a good getaway with good music. Call it cheesy, but nothing, and I mean nothing makes me feel better when I'm low, like good music. It's the absolute best pick-me-up. So, thanks to Jon and the guys for a great show, and for brightening my day!

Reality TV B.S.

Oh goodness, The Bachelor. What can I say, really? Here is what seems to be a nice, English guy, being subjected to a bunch of crazy American women, and we (and by "we" I mean Jarrod and I) are crossing our fingers that the most cliched "American Girl" (Lorenzo Lamas' daughter, Shayne) will get to take this poor English chap home to meet Daddy. Now that's good reality television, people!

We can't help it that we are so fascinated by the inflated ego and poor acting skills that encompass Lorenzo Lamas-- it's a sickness, kind of like our obsession with All-Things-Hoff.

In other reality TV news, my other weakness, "Rock of Love II", came to a close last night (insert holy angel singing here), and thank goodness our dear friend Bret Michaels did not choose Daisy! That girl was on a path that led straight to Joan Rivers-ville, what with the nasty hair extensions, overdone lip injections, ginormous fake breasts, and eyelashes so artificial that you could barely see her actual eyes through them. She didn't even look human. However, let me be clear, there really weren't any "high quality" ladies on this show-- that's the whole point of the show-- trashy girls throwing themselves at an 80's rock star. Don't get me wrong, I love Bret Michaels-- (viva Le Poison!), but his taste in women is just horrid-- horrid! The woman he did pick, (thank goodness), was Ambre, who was the only one who I thought actually possessed at least half a brain, and wasn't completely slutted-out. So, here's hoping Bret finally did find his "rock of love" (even though I would secretly love it if there was "Rock of Love III").

Okay, momentarily back to The Bachelor. Robyn is just nasty-- she is. She is not attractive, always has this sort of sick, disapproving scowl on her face, and I can't stand her bad teeth. There, I said it. What's worse is her attitude (yes, for the record, I am not a complete snob who judges people on their looks)-- she interrupts all the other girls when they are with The Bachelor. Wait your turn, you attention-hungry troll!

Ah, I feel better.