So here we are in the middle of November and I thought I would get started on my blog post for last month. Yeah, I’m always behind but at least I eventually get caught up, right? I still continue to write these blog entries for the purpose of catching up on life and keeping an online ‘journal’ if you will so that I can use it for scrapbook pages later on.
Do you have a “Bucket List”? I sort of have one in my head but recently I have decided that I needed to complete my mom’s bucket list…she had several things that she always hoped she would do and we talked about it from time to time over the years. So here is what I think my beloved mom’s bucket list would include on it…and I am only going to list the things that I knew of…I am sure there were more but I also know that she did get to complete some of it (like her trip to Hawaii).
1. Concerts. Mom said to me once, “Before I die I want to see Rod Stewart, Kenny Rogers and Tina Turner” Ok, I took mom to see Rod Stewart in Orlando back in 2003, she almost didn’t go because at the time my stepdad was in the hospital but the nurses convinced her to go and have a good time and said that her husband was in good hands! I don’t know if I’ll manage to finish out her other 2 but one never knows.
2. TV Shows. The View and Dr Oz were 2 of mom’s favorite shows ever!! She also adored the Oprah Winfrey show and rarely missed an episode. I have set my DVR to tape every episode this season and at some point will watch them all in honor of mom.
3. Reality TV. Mom and I were big fans of these shows. We watched “The Next Great American Band” and absolutely adored The Clarks Brothers and were thrilled when they won!! We watched American Idol and Dancing with the Stars religiously…over the years we would sometimes watch together over the phone or when someone did really well on AI and my phone would ring I knew when I picked it up it would be mom on the other end, “OH MY GOD THAT WAS FANTASTIC!” :) I miss that, for sure and I got a bit emotional this past season when the opening credits music started to play because I knew that mom wouldn’t be ‘watching’ with me this year.
So…having said all of that above I have been on a quest to scratch one thing of mom’s bucket list and that is to attend a taping of THE VIEW and finally after 3 attempts it happened on October 6th!! Woooo!! I suppose the first 2 times just weren’t meant to be, I have to look at things in perspective and know that everything happens for a reason because that morning I didn’t get in as a standby for the 1st taping and again I thought I would be turned away even though I had #11 on the line but when we went back we were told that we would be guaranteed to get in for the 2nd taping so my friend, Eileen, and I decided to stick around and wait for that. Imagine my shock and surprise when they said that one of the guests on that 2nd show was Emeril Lagasse!! Wow, mom just loved him and I was really excited that I would get to see him live! We went back at our designated time to arrive for the 2nd taping and finally after much waiting we were brought inside and seated!! I was surprised how much smaller it looks in person compared to watching it on TV. It was Fashion Friday and Tommy Hilfiger was there, as well. Just a few pictures to share.
Here I am with my ticket to get in (finally!!!) and a picture of our giveaways!! We got $100 to spend on Emeril’s catalog, a $50 gift card from Tommy Hilfiger (that might get me a pair of socks at his store, right?) LOL!! Also we received a gift bag from Pillsbury with products from their “Sweet Moments” new refrigerated Brownie bites. A great day, all in all and I am so happy that I was finally able to get into the show and scratch something off mom’s bucket list in the process!!
October 8th was a much anticipated evening for me because I have had these tickets for almost a year now, after seeing The Lord of the Rings-The Fellowship last year at Radio City I couldn’t wait to snag my tickets to the 2nd installment which was this year. The film is played in its entirety on the big screen while the score is performed live by a symphony orchestra and choir on the stage. This is quite an amazing experience and I look forward to next year when the 3rd and final film (and quite simply my favorite of the 3!) will be done. Bring on “The Return of the King” Ahhhh…."Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you *stand, Men of the West!*”—Aragorn
The following weekend I went to spend some time with my Cole. Nancy had asked me to come visit this particular weekend a while back because on friday there was a boat show that she and Paul wanted to check out and I am always willing to watch my little Cole and get some quality time with him!! I took the Megabus this time and it was a really relaxing ride down for me, I read my book and had my dinner that I had packed (yummy avocado sandwich) and took a nap and before you know it I was pulling into the parking lot in Washington DC and Paul was there to pick me up. Nancy and Paul set out on friday morning and I planned out my day with Cole!! Thanks to Al Gore’s internet I found a Chuck E Cheese nearby and thought it would be fun to take Cole there to play. He had a good time walking around and checking out the place and he was really interested in seeing everything but when I lifted him up on the rides it was a whole different story….poor little man was scared of Bob the Builder and yes…..he was having none of it so I had to take him off there pretty quick!!
So from there I just let him walk around and he gravitated off to the Skee Ball and I put a token in and off he went with the balls…it was really cute!! We stopped off to check out some big orange things that looked like fun to touch and then back home we went for our lunch and our nap. After nap time we went out to the mall to walk around…wow…the mall I went to was huge…and I got a nice 30 minute walk in before heading home to play and get ready for dinner. It made me think of when Jesse was a baby and I used to take him to the mall to just walk around…Cole loves to “people watch” just like his Aunt Linda. :)
On Saturday there was a community garage sale going on so Nancy and I took Cole out for a walk and checked out what people were selling…it really was a beautiful day out and I enjoyed walking around with Cole who was just a beginning walker…exercise is so good and fresh air is the best!! :) I hated to leave on Sunday morning because I knew I wouldn’t see them again until December but I was really glad to have made some good memories this weekend.
October 23rd was a gorgeous day with bright blue skies and warm fall breezes. We decided it was time to find the perfect pumpkin to carve and off we went to the farm to have some family time. We ate roasted corn and enjoyed the festivities while Alex tried to find the biggest pumpkin ever! It was really pretty funny because he could barely lift it but he had to have it! He didn’t do the corn maze this year, he wanted to have another piece of roasted corn instead which was fine with us. :)
The day before Halloween I was scheduled to work what is one of the biggest events at the library, the annual Italian luncheon for our seniors. It was the first time that I had the opportunity to work this program and I truly had a blast!! There is music and food and just overall a great time was had by all. Here I am with some of my friends from work…from left to right…Jessyka, myself, Mat, Natasha, Mandy, Elizabeth and Ellen. We truly spoil our older patrons on this day, we serve them at their tables and get them whatever they need, they never have to get up. There was ziti and meatballs, coffee and cake and cookies. Yummy!!
Halloween with a teenager….what to do? Well for me it was an opportunity to spend time with my son and take him to see a Broadway show!! Every year the Broadway League sponsor’s “Kids Night on Broadway” and I couldn’t have been more thrilled because the new show, “Rain-A Beatles Tribute” opened the week of Halloween so I snagged up a pair of tickets so that I could take Alex!! His ticket was free and I got us 8th row and we had a great view of the stage! What was great about this event is that everyone with a theatre ticket that day had free admission to Madame Tussauds wax museum and I was really happy to be able to get in and check it out since I had never been before. Alex was actually a bit scared of some of the wax statues because they look so real and I had to real coax him at first to get some photos with a few of them but he was more than willing to stand next to these guys!! As we rounded the corner he said, “There’s the boys!!”
I think this is about the closest I will get to fulfilling one of mom’s dreams, too bad Alex wasn’t doing too well with the camera today but it’s ok. Who knows…maybe Tina Turner will tour again sometime in her 70’s…she was 68 on her last tour a couple of years ago.
We really had a great day and Alex loved the show and sang along to every song which was fantastic…I had more fun watching him, quite frankly! The mom and daughter sitting next to us were dressed in homemade Sgt Pepper outfits and it was really cool to see all of the kids enjoying music that their parents grew up on. The performer who plays “Paul” had all of the kids stand up at one point and we all applauded them for embracing musical theatre and great music from the past.
We got home in time for Alex to do a bit of Trick or Treating with 2 of his friends and it was the end to a perfect day for us and a great way to finish out the month of October!!
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