CLUB LIBBY LU - PART I

V.I.P. = VERY IMPORTANT PRINCESSES













CNN and I took Pinf's daughter Sophie to the KoP mall Friday afternoon. Sophie had a gift certificate for Club Libby Lu that was burning a hole in her pocket, and we spent it!! This store is quite amazing-girl power music, glitter, and a princess table...CNN and I got caught up in the madness, trying on tiaras and hats, and the 3 of us ended up with matching star stickers on our faces, and star anklets. Sophie's favorie design is the star, and her favorite color is pink. She picked out a new pooch and named it "Kiki". She also got some girlie make-up, and then we made some fairy dust together. You can make candy, lotion, and lip gloss, and they also have clothing, hair extensions and accessories, jewelry, temporary tattoos-the works!

We then went to the Sanrio store, which is the home of all things Hello Kitty. This is one of my favorite stores, and the prices range from a 25 cent piece of candy to a $350 Tarina Tarantino haute couture Kitty necklace. We picked up some pencils, stickers, mini gumball machines, and got some free goodies, too....Sophie got a hand held HK fan (perfect for the beach) and an HK magnifying glass.

Our shopping trip was very satisfying for all of us, and we had such a good time! CNN and I will expect to see Sophia each time she makes the trip up here-she's a special girl who worked her magic on us :) Thanks Pinfers!


You are now entering Club Libby Lu!













Sophie & new pooch KIKI

















Jojo, Sophie & CNN - THE GIRLZ












The party now moves to The Ponderosa. See following post!

THE PONDEROSA-PART II

We ended the day with Matt, Mary, BB gun, PinF and Flash at the Pondersa, where Matt and the boys cooked a wonderful meal, complimented by great wine and Chuck's cosmos. CNN, Sophie and I went through all of our Libby Lu/Hello Kitty purchases, and swapped some Kitty stickers, and looked at our digital pics of the day, all while listening fantastic music and smelling the delicious dinner cooking in the background. The adults (if you can call us that!) ended the evening on the patio, dogging the boys with Brokeback jokes and taking surprise pictures of each other-absolute hilarity!

An amazing day that will not be forgotten!

FRESCA...


Matt & Mary


Dinner


Sophie's Dessert


BB & jojo












...next stop: Delco Idol at the Media Theatre :)

THE ANNUAL 5 MILE AT TED'S

This year's annual fiesta at Tedman's topped all of the previous we've attended. The food was great, drinks were flowing, kids were running here and there, and the conversations were hilarious. You can find out who actually won this year, and past years by going to the 5 Mile website: www.media5milerace.com

Austin was fed many burgers and dogs to the point where he finally just walked around carrying a hot dog in his mouth that looked like a cigar.

Late night, Bill brought over his BIG BUD-a huge plastic Budweiser bottle CNN gave him that was originally filed with pretzels. I specifically did not drink from the communal cup, but those who did wore the unmistakable beer stain down the fronts of their shirts!

Thanks for a great time, Ted!


The Boyz


Austin "Smoke 'em if you got 'em"


Matt & the BIG BUD


The Official 5 Mile Cheerleaders


Fun with Ray while in line for the facilities











Also, Happy Belated Father's Day to all of you out there! Hope you had a wonderful day, and were treated like kings!

Days of May

This month has surely flown by! I did not realize how long it has been since I posted, and now I know that it has been much to long. At least this month has been chock full of activities, and not our usual couch potato exsitences.

My mom and I did something that I have been wanting to do since dad's been gone-we had our portrait done, and are anxiously awaiting the photos in the mail. One of the photos will go into our church "yearbook" that is done every 5 years, so it will be a nice tribute to pops as well, especially with his two ladies looking so lovely!

One of my childhood buddies premiered 3 pieces of her handmade jewelry on QVC, Friday, May 18th at 4am. Of course we TIVO'd it, and it was cool, funny and touching at the same time, all in the short span of 6 minutes. We all have an immediate stereotype in our minds regarding the HSN and QVC "buyers", but what we don't realize is the number of people out there who actually can't go out and shop for themselves or others. Anyway, her jewelry looked great on TV, and she had lots of buyers during and immediately following her premier. She goes on again in August....hopefully not at 4 am.

Ak's birthday was May 28th, so his mom came up for Memorial Day weekend, and stayed into the next week. We fiendishly cleaned the week before her arrival...I even spackled and painted....and the apartment was sparkling! I am a little manic when it comes to cleaning, and it's best to stay out of my way and/or follow my exact orders. Ak loves it when I get this way...NOT! Anyway, his mom's visit was perfect, and we did lots of stuff with my mama, too. It's the first time the two have been together since the engagement, so they had a ball together. We took the mom's to Total Wine in DE...ak's mom had found paradise, and my mom hunkered down with the cart in the front of the store and didn't move :) We hit our local fave Italian restaurant Antonio's, then for ak's bday we went into the city to Morimoto's where we met up with our gal CNN and had stellar time. On the holiday, we went to the Simon Pearce restaurant/store/museum, which is only 5 minutes from our place. It was fascinating to watch the glassblowing, and to experience each step of the creation process. The food at the restauant is yummy, and it overlooks the Brandywine, so we got to see a ton of tubers, kayakers, canoers and folks fishing. Of course there is the store, where we spent some time browsing at the beautiful glass, and purchased some cool champagne glasses (we seem to be drinking lots of the bubbly lately). We adjourned to our apt and watched The DaVinci Code, which we all enjoyed. I can't remember the last time I watched a movie with my mom! On Tuesday we went to KoP mall because ak's mom had never been, and she has heard about it for so long...it was fun, had a good lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, and came home a little poorer than when we arrived. Wednesday arrived, and ak's mom returned to North Carolina. The visit was fabulous!

Things are quiet now, and we're back in our normal routine. I am still shuttling mom around, but therapy begins next week and we are going to start looking for a vehicle for her...she's ready but doesn't realize it yet, and quite frankly, I think she is sick of me! Not in the bad way, but in the "I can't stand depending on you" way, which I can handle.

My next door neighbor graduated from college this week-he was born when I was in 9th grade and was my exclusive babysitting job in high school, and now he is a foot taller than me, handsome, smart, and is an amazing jazz musician. I am so proud of him, but it scares me at the same time how fast he grew up! I am copying pictures that I have of the 2 of us when he was a baby/toddler that I am putting together for his present-he is even in the pre-prom pictures at the house both years. Funny.

Summer is here, friends....

PARTY PEOPLE part duex

NOTE TO READERS...PLEASE SCROLL DOWN AND READ THE POST PRIOR TO THIS ONE FIRST, WHICH IS APPROPRIATELY TITLED PARTY PEOPLE.

Thank You,
Management

Tim, Meesh, Kelly and Ted















Party favor Zachary and his mommy Pasha

















The Ladies: Sue's grandmom, my Aunt Mary, my Mom & Sue

















Bartenders Chrissy & Terrence
















Late evening camera instruction-it really looks like we know what we are doing!
















Again, fun was had by all, especially akjn! My mom was out past midnight! Lots of good laughs with everyone, and delicious food.

Akjn again extends our deepest thanks to Chrissy and Sue for co-hosting, and to everyone who attended :) Love you guys!

PARTY PEOPLE

The Engagement BBQ hosted by Chrissy and Sue was a Fabulous success! The food was excellent, the drinks nver stopped flowing, but best of all was sharing a great time with our good buddies!

Here are some pics for you to enjoy...


Kelly & T-Money



















Jojo after a tequilla shot with Chuck

















Pretty Girls















Kelly with my mama















Sue & Ak

Beginning my next 365 day trip around the Sun

Pictures of the lovely tulips that Ak got me for my birthday-beautiful colors. The red ones are called 10 point tulips, and they look like fire flames. Love them, and love my honey!


Hey hey, everyone!! I had a fantastic birthday, and received many shout outs from the blog posse and other good buddies....Thanks! Mama came over Sunday and spent the night with us in the treehouse, and AK made his awesome pizza (my fave), and ended with some yummy strawberry shortcake (the only dessert I like). We watched some great HD programming-everyone had their feet up and we were totally relaxed. I need to get my mom over here more often-we really had fun, and got along wonderfully...could it be the medication? Whatever it is, I like it and hope with all my heart that we continue on like this :)

Geting ready for the big engagement BBQ this weekend, and hoping that the weather will cooperate....everyone concentrate for sun on Saturday :)

Just finished rereading one of my top 10 books-Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I have had this copy since 1988. It's a heavy read, but interesting during this time of complete idiocy in the world. The book's concept is that the government policies and interference with what they think is for the good of the nation eventually force the major manufacturers and industrialists to disappear, causing the country to literally come to a standstill. If you are ready for 1064 pages, I highly recommend it.

What else, what else...completed the horrendous but necessary chore of switching the winter/summer clothing and shoes. It's at these times that we wonder where the heck we got all of this stuff? Who authorized these purchases? Did we try anything on at all? But I ended up with a nice pile for Goodwill, so that makes it worth it. The other good side of this activity is coming across some really cool things that you forgot you had :)

We are looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday :) Peace out!

EASTER SWEETIES

We celebrated Easter (Greek Orthodox style) on Sunday, April 23. Here are some pictures of the kids that were there, my godson included. Nothing like kids aged 4 and under freaking out on sugar buzzes, binging on chocolate and other goodies from their baskets...it was quite a scene, especially with a chocolate fountain that was served with fruit as one of the desserts. I had white pants on, and had to dodge sticky hands most of the day.


My Godson Nicky having fun with some orzo


Arianna and Alexander working the chocolate


Evan & Nicky in their cool new hats we got them






OTHER NEWS:
My mom has gotten the clearance to DRIVE as soon as she is comfortable. She will be doing some upcoming physical therapy starting mid-month, and then be back to her Boscov's-shopping self! Tomorrow she wants to try driving around the neighborhood a bit, so I am excited and a bit anxious...will check the insurance on the Lexus first thing in the am, then will take a val in preparation:) I am issuing a warning to all residents and drivers of Knowltonwood and Highmeadow from 12pm to 2pm while Felicia is behind the wheel.

Akjn's birthdays are fast approaching...mine on May 7th and Ak's on May 28th. Feeling quite fine heading into 37 (can't really believe it) but I am 90% satisfied with the current state of things, that I'm still a pretty good looking chick :), and I have a lot to be thankful for, also.

Don't forget Mother's Day...that is just around the corner on May 14th! If you are sending flowers to your out of state momma, contact the florist closet to her and have the flowers sent from them rather than 1800FLOWERS or online...akjn has had many bad experiences with them in the past, but have had great luck with the locals as they can tell you what they actually have in stock and available, and can give you delivery times. For Media moms, we recommend Kenny's Florist on State St.

Peace out!

WEST SIDE PICS

AK AND I WITH BIG GRINS AFTER MAKING THE FINAL PICK! WE PROCEEDED TO THE HOTEL BAR AND DRANK HEAVILY, MAKING MANY LATE NIGHT CALLS BACK EAST, WAKING LOTS OF PEOPLE UP :) A VERY GOOD DAY!
(TIFFANY'S, SAN FRAN)





THIS IS OUR GOOD BUDDY JULIE AND HER AND HER HUSBAND GABRIEL'S ADORABLE, SMART, INQUISATIVE AND SUPER CREATIVE DAUGHTER HANNAH, 3 YRS OLD. WE WATCHED HANNAH GROW UP FROM DAY ONE, AND SHE HAS TURNED OUT AMAZING-100% FULL THROTTLE ALL THE TIME! SHE HAD LAID OUT ALL THE PRESENTS THAT AK AND I HAD GIVEN HER OVER THE YEARS (MOSTLY HELLO KITTY MERCH) AND WE TALKED ABOUT EACH ONE. SHE GAVE US A TOUR OF THEIR BACKYARD GARDEN, COMPLETE WITH SCARECROW, WHO WE COULDN'T TOUCH, BUT WE COULD SHAKE HANDS WITH HIM. SHE EATS SUSHI. AND SHE'S AS TALL AS A 5 YR OLD-HER PAPA IS LIKE 6'5". NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE HAD A BALL PLAYING WITH HER AND HAVING HER TELL US HOW SHE REMEMBERS COMING TO OUR APARTMENT AND HAVING LOTS OF HUGS...YOU COULD SAY THAT AK AND MY HEARTS MELTED ON THAT ONE!
(SARATOGA, CA)




AK AND I, JUST AFTER PICKING UP THE RING. THIS STATUE IS DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM TIFF's, AND SEEMED APPROPRIATE! IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE CITY, AND ONE WE WON'T FORGET :)
(UNION SQUARE, SAN FRAN)




A CACTUS OUTSIDE AK's MOM's BEDROOM PORCH THAT GREW INTO A HEART SHAPE. WE ALSO THOUGHT IT APPROPRIATE TO TAKE THIS PICTURE.
(SEDONA, AZ)

OK, GETTING MUSHY...BUT I LIKE TO SHARE WITH MY PALS..

Return to Eastside/Andy Reid Sighting

Just got in last night from AZ...decent flight, and got to meet Andy Reid on it, so ak and I continue with our streak of literally "flying" with Eagles on our planes from Phoenix to PHL. He was adorable! I wished him a Happy Easter and told him I looked forward to a great season, shook his hand, and he thanked me for being a fan, and wished me a happy holiday as well. Looks like he's dropped some lbs.

Anyway, back to the treehouse-it was amazing to sleep in our own bed again :) Returning lots of calls, talking to lots of relatives, and receiving gracious and loving wishes re: the engagement ring; as well as fending off those ready to get the wedding plans rolling...patience is a virtue!

Looking forward to seeing the Media posse...CNN especially!! Thanks again to all for your congrats messages...we feel the love!

*the picture was taken from one of our friends places in Santa Cruz, CA...totally beautiful!

HOLY BEGONIAS!!!

AKJN GOT ENGAGED IN FRONT OF TIFFANY'S IN UNION SQUARE IN SAN FRAN THIS PAST THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2006 AT 3:15PM PST...

YOU WAITED 11 YEARS FOR THIS NEWS, SO WAITING FOR A WEDDING ANOTHER 10 YEARS WON'T BE A PROBLEM FOR ANYONE! :)

WE'RE RIPPING IT UP OUT HERE WEST SIDE - WE CAN'T WAIT TO COME HOME AND DO SOME CELEBRATING EAST SIDE:)

HEADING WEST...

Ak and I went to the Flyers game with Kelly and Terrence this past Tuesday-crappy that they lost, but we had a hell of a time! K&T don't mess around-we had the perfect parking spot, perfect spot at the bar prior to game followed by a tag team relay throughout the game for more drinks, good laughs, a drink at McFadden's post-game while the traffic was crazy, and back to Wilmington, De in about 20 minutes. It was a beautiful thing, except for the loss. We tried to meet up with CNN's bro between periods, but he was on the 'club' level, and Kelly and I were denied access! This was one of the only times my big boobs weren't able to work it. I talked with them when we got home-everyone is cool.

Akjn are taking it West-side next week! Heading back to our old hood-Silicon Valley. Can't wait to visit all of our good buddies, eat at all the restaurants we've been craving, head to Santa Cruz and Boulder Creek, see some redwoods, hit SF, check in at my old place of employment, eat more, shop, eat, eat! (FYI: much of ak's world revolves around food) We are very excited!! Then we will be heading south from there to Sedona, to help supervize the new deck installation at ak's mom's house, and eat tons of food at all of the delish places there!

We had some visitors a couple of weekends ago-college pals from Richmond. Andre went up to NYC to retrieve more of his possessions from his sub-let apt. He went to Africa last summer, and had a gallery show of his photos he had taken there in NYC this past June. He brought the unsold pics back with him, and we got 3 amazing photos-not typical animal scenes-more urban/texture pics...hope you'll get to see them sometime. Jeffe bought a bunch of Ak's computer cast offs, and in doing so, I got half of my 'craft' table back! I have been waiting for that half since we moved in together in April of 1999 in CA...it's been a long time!

I've been thouroughly enjoying the continuation of MofC through comments, as well as PokerPro's Nigerian situation...we;ll just have to see how they both play out.

Peace out.

Farewell to the Banana Sling and/or I Miss the Bat Guano

I am joining with CNN and PokerPro in the Hands Across Sligo campaign.
How dare one of our pioneers leave us!

Quote from MofC:
It doesn't lend itself to a discussion of the weightier issues - gun control, abortion, religion, euthanasia and all that kind of light party chat, at least not in it's current format. The kind of issues that get the "Richie's" of the world all worked up into a lather!

My response to this is-so what? I enjoy our blog/comment banter as I feel I am getting to know myself and my friends better. Doesn't that count for anything?

Please reconsider, Chuck...

For My Good Buddy PinF

When he shall die
Take him and cut him out in little stars
And he will make the face of heav'n so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

PinF-you are in our hearts, thoughts and prayers here at the treehouse.

Early AM Treehouse Report

It is currently 3:40am in the treehouse and I am wide awake! This is due to the all day nap that I took in order to recover from last night's festivities.

I finally met our boy PinF, and our biggest blog fan Jah with her family.....we shared lots of laughs, had good chats, smoked many cigarettes and drank a hell of a lot of beer. The class of '87 was out in force on State Street last night. It was so good to see so many friends :)

Two important bloggers were missing and need to provide explanations:
1. Chuck-we know you touched down at PHL at approximately 12:30am last night, which gave you plenty of time to get to Media for last call with us!
2. Pokerpro-we know you went out to dinner in Philly, so we expected that you would be a little late....but not showing up at all?

I really can't give anyone too much of a hard time, because we know I don't leave the treehouse all that often :)

Big thanks to Goose for driving me to CNN's last night, then picking the 2 of us up in the am to head back and get our cars. Before going home, we got to enjoy java with PinF and Ted-thanks for meeting us! That was an extra bonus, and the weather was divine for sitting out and watching the folks and their dogs go by.

Now ak and I are looking forward to the HBO line-up later today. We will return to our tradition of cooking italian and eating while watching the Sopranos, and we are interested in the new show-Big Love-about polygamy, starring Bill Paxton.

Until next time..... Jojo out!

PICKS & PANS

Just reporting on the happenings of the past week or so....

While surfing around the other day, I found myself looking at the Penncrest website, and I clicked on the find your class button to see if any of my cohorts and friends were listed. I actually signed in and created an alumni profile! Then, when I clicked to find my other classmates, I was so disappointed to find only one other class of '87 graduate had registered ... Joe Montgomery. So, I am urging the PHS graduates out there to log onto penncrest.alumniclass.com, and don't leave me alone with Joe.
(oh, I also checked out the Claude J. Falcone memorial/tribute sight which was very cool....he was my art major teacher all 4 years, the only teacher who pushed me, and the only teacher who prepared me for college!)

A bit of bummer news-my mom went for MRI's last week to check the progress of her healing neck fracture, and unfortunately it has not healed at all! No therapy or driving for mama for a few more months. She expressed to me that maybe she doesn't want to drive at all any more...I can say that I am slightly anxious over that statement, but she was in a bad accident, she's old, and the longer she does not drive the harder it will be for her to get behind the wheel. I have decided to cross that bridge when we get to it, focus on my mother's healing and well being NOW. Her primary care doctor just put her on Prozac as this whole experience has put her in the dumps-who wouldn't be? Anyway, we are doing all we can to keep her frown upside down. :)

Fun, fun, fun!! We had a fabulous weekend! We actually left the treehouse! A college buddy flew up from Atlanta Thursday night, and from that point on, the laughter did not stop! We had a great Saturday night-met CNN and Tedman in the city for some drinks, then on to Morimoto for a sushi fest beyond belief. We were sad to drop him off at PHL on Sunday, but happy to have such amazing friends. He's our brother from another mother.
(note on the movie "Waiting"....slapstick parody of Bennigan's style restaurants...we recommend for crazy laughs, but you won't feel like eating out for a while.....a LONG while....)

Finally....I have been blog-silent recently due to the backlash regarding the Rookie Blogger of the Year Award. I had nothing to do with it! In order to keep our community together, I propose that we develop a ballot at the next convention for a 2006 Summer Awards ceremony. I picture the ceremony in close proximity to Ted's BBQ. PinF, we'll wait until you journey north to convene the ballot conception meeting....Chuck-do you think we can get a webcam going in CR for you?

Peace out, players!

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

ON SATURDAY, I RECEIVED IN THE MAIL MY OFFICIAL ROOKIE BLOGGER OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM PinF. WHAT AN HONOR!! I WAS THRILLED, BUT ALSO WORRIED ABOUT THE AWARDS CEREMONY AND WHAT TO WEAR. I CONSULTED MY FAVE STYLIST, CNN, BUT SHE WAS OUT OF TOWN, SO I HAD TO GO IT ALONE FOR MY RED CARPET DEBUT. I was going for "innocent yet vampy"...I think I pulled it off!



WHAT A MAGICAL EVENING!!! THE STARS WERE BRIGHT, AND THE BLOGGERS WERE PARTYING LIKE IT WAS 1999. UNFORTUNATELY, AS PICTURED BELOW (who let the paparazzi in this am?) I TOOK THE CELEBRATING A BIT TOO FAR....TO MUCH CHAMPAGNE, CHOCOLATES AND CIGS...THE 2 XANAX PROBABLY DIDN'T HELP,EITHER.





ANYWAY, THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, AND ESPECIALLY THE ACADEMY/PinF FOR THIS GLORIOUS HONOR. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT CONVENTION :)

p.s. please do not forward any of these shots to Sanrio...I can't get fired! I have a really good gig going there....thanks!

COFFEE LOVERS MUST READ!

COFFEE ALWAYS IS AN UNDERLYING THEME IN OUR BLOG CIRCLE, SO I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE SOME EXCITING NEWS....

I RECEIVED FOR VALENTINE'S DAY THE BUNN MY CAFE TEA & COFFEE POD BREWER, AND IT IS AMAZING!! THE COFFEE STAYS HOT FOREVER, IT IS SMALL BUT SUPREMELY POWERFUL, TAKES ANY BRAND COFFEE PODS & REGUALR TEA BAGS, AND FITS ALL MUGS AND TALL TRAVEL MUGS-I AM IN HEAVEN & VERY PLEASED WITH MY THOUGHTFUL VALENTINE-AK RESEARCHED FOR 2 DAYS :):)

IF YOU HAVE MADE THE TRANSITION TO THE INDIVIDUAL COFFEE POD MAKERS-THIS IS THE ONE TO GET. CHECK OUT COOLBEANS.COM-THEY HAVE THEM IN STOCK AND COMES WITH 50 FREE COFFEE PODS AND A COOL TRAVEL MUG. TO TOP IT OFF, IT HAS A SUPERCOOL BLUE LIGHT THAT COMES ON WHILE YOUR CUP IS BREWING...I DRANK 3 CUPS LAST NIGHT IN THE DARK JUST SO WE COULD SEE THE LIGHT COME ON...VERY STAR TREK.

AND IF THAT ISN'T A ROMANTIC GIFT, AK RECEIVED FROM ME A MINERS LIGHT-ESSENTIAL FOR COMPUTER BUILDING AND FIXING. IT HAS A STROBE SETTING WHICH IS INTERESTING...WE COULD POSSIBLY OPEN A NIGHTCLUB. IT'S ALSO A GREAT LOOK-FUNCTIONAL FASHION!

CANDY SUX....COFFEE SAYS I LOVE YOU EVERY DAY!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

JUST FOR CHUCK

Snow is beautiful, as long as you are inside! I took these from our balcony this morning especially for Carlos Costa Rica so he can see what he's missing.
Take a break from the guano removal, Chuck, and imagine yourself here :)