Hodge Podge

Well, the Celtics lost their 3rd game in the series last night, despite a late rally. Garnett had 32 points. That man is a machine! On to game 4 (also in Atlanta).

Also, have you ever noticed that Jacoby Ellsbury looks a lot like Julianna Margulies?



So, my mother had her first chemo treatment last week and it went very well. She is experiencing some slight nausea, despite the anti-nausea meds they've given her. But we suspected as much since the oncologist's nurse had said that her kind of chemo would be especially nauseating. Nice. Thanks a lot. She's enjoying the Crazy, Sexy, Cancer Tips book I gave her, too. I think she is finding that she can relate to the author somewhat because she is also stage 4 (liver cancer = a total m*ther f*cker).

Oh, I forgot to report - our bad news bears-style softball team finally captured a win last week! We shocked ourselves to the core. We went through the entire frostbite season winless, and we even started out the spring that way (We lost our 1st game. Bonus: one of our best players fractured her index finger while trying to catch a line drive. She's on the DL for a few weeks.). We pulled a come-from-behind win out of thin air in the last inning! We screamed like a pack of little girls. The other team must have thought we were a bunch of pathetic morons. I wanted to let them know how huge this was for us, but decided it wasn't a good idea to inform them that they were the first team that stunk enough for us to beat. It was actually their pitcher's fault. She was a former fast pitch softball player and she just lost it in the bottom of the last inning. She was throwing shit way over people's heads and what-have-you. She walked a lot of batters. My proudest moment in the game was catching a high pop-up foul behind the plate (I am catching, still, until I get over the fear of blowing out the quads).

Switching gears: I had another successful spa party with my small soap business. The girls really enjoy complimentary facials! I was invited to a lovely home in Acushnet, MA and the turnout was sizable, so I did pretty well. My mom is hosting one for me in 2 weeks. And a gal from Raynham from the last party wants one, too. I feel really comfortable with the format now. Arrive, set up, mingle while people arrive, introduce myself and talk about my biz, allow the ladies to sample products while I make fresh facials (avocado/yogurt and oatmeal/honey), do the facials, set up the raffle (I raffle off draining soap dishes, loofahs, spa-style eye masks, a few of my products, pumice stones, etc), then do the money thing. It usually lasts 3-4 hours, but it goes by so fast. And all the girls usually know each other, so it's a nice way to spend an evening. Plus, I get to lower some of my prices a bit since there is no shipping involved and Yahoo/Paypal do not get their commission (I do the same at shows).

Speaking of my soap biz - I will be taking part in Somerville's Art Beat festival in July. Details to follow.

Wednesday Stuff

There were 2 moments yesterday at which I forgot that it was September 11th. I feel pretty rotten about that. In one case, I was in the kitchen making pizza and I heard the word "firefighters" come from the television during last night's pre-game ceremony. I walked into the living room and asked if they were honoring the 2 firemen who died in a recent West Roxbury fire. Jere looked at me and said, "Uh, no. It's September 11th." Yikes. This would never have happened if they did what I said and made 9/11 a federal holiday. I'd be willing to swap out Columbus Day or President's Day for it. Wouldn't you?

Moving on.

Though Wake wasn't proverbially "on" last night, the Sox offense was able to take the Devil Rays all the way down town. I am glad that Drew made some decent contact (finally). The kids just keep on hitting. They are so much fun to watch. Coco's been pretty consistent since late July. Funny how no one sings that guy's praises, but they can't wait to complain about him when his game isn't so hot. I hate Boston fans, man.



On Sunday night, we checked out Pleaseeasaur and Neil Hamburger at the Middle East - Upstairs. I saw Hamburger at the same venue last year (probably right around this time, too). Check out Jere's review of the show. I would only add that I haven't seen anything as hysterical as Pleaseeasaur in a very long time. It's rare that I wind up crying from laughing so hard. They perform a song called "I Hate Dog Shit" that's seems like a public service announcement of some kind, but it just gets weirder and weirder as the song goes on. The lyrics are pretty funny, but it's the execution and brilliant performance by Pleaseeasaur that totally got me. The one liners, the mullet wig, the abominable snow man costume, the bad hair news anchor get up - all priceless. Do yourself a favor and check our their stuff.

So, get this. The woman who tried to create the Willy Wonka Smellovision experience is trying to get this out to a wider audience. Okay, as I said, this was a very gallant effort on her part and I totally respect her hard work and dedication to the cause, but I hope she changes up her strategy, because, as I pointed out after we attended one of her experimental presentations, all we ended up smelling was mustard and cigarettes. There was just no way the smells were going to reach people in an outdoor setting when there are mere dabs of stuff on poster board sheets being waved around. Don't be afraid of the smells, lady! Really douse those things before you wave them around. Unless she was going for mustard and cigarettes. In which case, I take it all back.

How about those Patriots, huh? I never thought that crew would sink to that level. I am not a huge fan of football (there's only room for 1 professional sport in my life, though I've been trying to squeeze basketball in these last few seasons), but I've lost a lot of respect for the Pats. You know that non-Patriot fans across the country are totally stoked.

In softball news, we play game 6 tonight in Newton. I think I am well enough to play. I am about to hydrate myself to the gills.

That's What I'm Talking About

Okay, so I caught some of the game last night. Enough to see that Josh "Eye of the Tiger-ee-no" Beckett was going to shut her down. Mind you, I didn't say shut her out, as he did allow 3 runs. But the Sox provided some much needed bat awakening.



I'm telling you, this Beckett kid is crazy good. I wish we could clone him and use him in every single pitching role. How cool would that be? Oh, hey, they're taking Beckett out after 110 pitches. Looks like another Beckett has been warmng in the pen. Every single batter would have to face Josh Beckett every single time.

Glad that Lugo finally used his powers for good rather than evil last night with his homer to start things off.

Jere and I are shoving off to Northampton for the day. I hope this nonsense weather turns around for us.

It's Been a While

... since I've done a muppet look-a-like post ...



Baltimore Manager, Sam Perlozzo and



Sam the Eagle

By the way, Cora just homered in tonight's game against the O's. I heard the crowd going crazy and ran into the living room to see what had just happened, assuming one of the birds got a hit off of Schill. Nope. I mean, come on Baltimore fans! How about supporting your boys? Every time I go to Camden Yards for a Baltimore-Boston game, it's a sea of red. Taylor (that's an O's fan friend of mine, for those of you not in the know), what gives?

By the way, the Yanks are, in fact, in last place. And yes, I was, in fact, at the dong fest that was Sunday night's game.