An Unsuccessful Venture

Afternoon Update: Kendra sent the photo above a little while ago. It was taken by a friend of hers. Apparently this is the car the MJ drives - love it!

As mentioned, there was an unsuccessful venture of sorts this past weekend. Back in March I wrote on this blog about a Michael Jackson impersonator that performs in and around Huntsville.

On Friday afternoon/early evening while I was cooking dinner, my friend Kendra sent a text saying that Huntsville’s very own MJ was at the corner of Whitesburg and Governor’s Drive. For months I have been on a search to see this guy and haven’t been lucky enough for a sighting. Robert, a friend from work, saw MJ at a wedding and was lucky enough to dance with him. Here’s the video. But as for me and Tony, we have not been lucky enough to see him.

So, after Kendra sent the text, I sent a text to Tony to let him know and about 10 minutes later we were in the car to see if we could finally see for ourselves the elusive MJ.

Here's Tony driving as quick as he can to see MJ

Unfortunately, by the time we got to Fuel City, MJ’s favorite spot at the corner of Governor’s Drive and Whitesburg, he was no longer there, which was a shame, really. I had my camera in hand ready to take a photo but we were unsuccessful in our venture to find MJ.

If you have a MJ sighting, tell us about it in the comments section. I want to know all the places where we can possibly see this guy!

Happy 90th Birthday Margaret!

Rudye and her sister Margaret - the birthday girl

This past weekend was busy – packed full of unsuccessful adventures (more on this later) and fun activities. This first of the fun was my best friend Margaret’s 90th birthday party which was on Saturday morning from 10 –noon.

Earlier in the week, Margaret’s sister Rudye called and asked me if I would serve cake and of course I agreed! How could I not help out?! After all Margaret is my best friend. You see, Margaret would always tell me I was her best friend when I would see her at church. Then one day a few years ago, I was walking by a classroom and I heard her tell my friend Janet, “You are my best friend.” So, of course, me being me, I stopped in my tracks and said, “Margaret, I caught you! I thought I was your best friend.” It has become a bit of an inside joke for me, Margaret and Janet, and we often laugh about it when we are around each other.

So, I arrived at the party a little early to get set up for serving cake and to take a few pictures. (Please excuse the outfit I was wearing. I have no idea why I went with this but needless to say it was less than flattering and it looked like I weighed about 20 pounds more than I actually do – not that you care, but I do. Thanks for letting me get that out.)

Me and the birthday girl!

The party was a huge success and had a steady stream of people for the whole two hours. That’s a lot of cake cutting! Margaret was afraid no one would come which is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard because she is one of the most loved people at our church. She and her sister Rudye will make you laugh any time you are around them. They have a quick wit and are absolutely hilarious. I heard a story at the party that their hair dresser calls them the Dynamic Duo and it is certainly the truth.

Margaret and her hairdresser

Three men showed up to the party even though it was for women only. The first man was with his wife and was someone I didn’t know. The second man was Lisa’s granddad, Mr. Hendrixson and I imagine he came because he had to drive his wife, Mrs. Connie. The third man was Mark Rowe, father of my friends Shelley and Kimberly. I imagine he came because he’s unconventional and wouldn’t have it any other way!

Today is actually the day of Margaret’s Birthday – 90 years old! That’s amazing! I hope you have many more birthdays Margaret because you are an absolute delight to be around and I am proud to call you my best friend!

The serving table

A lady from church made these "M" shortbread cookies

The birthday cake

The flowers were so pretty

The first guests come through the door

Guests enjoying cake

Here is my friend Candy (right) talking to my friend Pat.

I gave Candy a piece of cake with a rose because she loves icing like nobody's business!

Here's my friend Lisa with another friend Claudette.

Claudette's is actually Lisa's aunt by marriage and is also a great teacher!

Mr. Hendrixson, the second of three male guests

Mark Rowe the third of three male guests - getting a hug from Lisa

The cards Margaret received for her birthday.

Garden Update

We’ve reached another Friday and today I’ve got some garden pictures to share with you. My garden is growing like crazy this year. I was talking with my neighbor Jeff the other day and he said his garden was growing like crazy too. I’m not sure if it’s the humidity or the fact that we are getting rain almost every night or what the deal is, but my tomato plants are already above the cages; and the garden was planted less than a month ago!

Tony’s garden is growing fast as well. I saw it on Memorial Day but didn’t take my camera so I don’t have any photos to share. We are really anxious to see how the pumpkins turn out.

Here are some photos of my little garden:

The garden on May 25

The garden on May 31

May 25

Little tomatoes coming in

More tomatoes

Tony decided he wanted to point at the blooms

And then he wanted to hold one

This is a juliet hybrid tomato - very good!

Tony's probably pondering why I haven't pulled the weeds out of the spot where the peppers are planted.

Last year I planted this Hydrangea- it only has one bloom.

Closer look at the lone bloom

My neighbor Jeff gave me this plant last year.

I'm not sure what it is.

This dog, Dudley, moved in next door. He likes to bark!

Here are some photos of The Tide (just for you, Candy!)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thursday Movie Review MacGruber and Prince of Persia

As mentioned in an earlier post, Tony and I saw two movies on Saturday afternoon/evening. The first of the double-header was MacGruber, based on the Saturday Night Live skit of the same name. MacGruber is a spoof of MacGyver, a television series from the late 1980s – early 1990s.

For whatever reason, Tony and I think the MacGruber skits on SNL are hilarious; and it is not uncommon to occasionally hear us singing the theme song. I had seen where this film was dubbed the best SNL movie since Wayne’s World, and since Jackie and I loved Wayne’s World as kids, I figured MacGruber had to be funny. WRONG! This was one of the worst movies I have seen in I don’t know how long. The plot was dull, there was lots of bad language and strange sex scenes and the crude humor was not funny at all. I thought the funniest part of the movie was when MacGruber said to his friend, “I’m going loco man,” and the translation came on the screen, “I’m going crazy man.”

If you were thinking about seeing this movie, but haven’t yet made the plunge, take it from me, save your money. It was awful! 

Tony's take: awful.

The second movie we saw was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan. This movie, oddly enough, is based on a video game. When I saw the previews for this movie, I was intrigued and wasn’t sure if it would be that good. Tony thought the same and after I told him I thought I would go see it by myself, he decided he too wanted to see this one. So, off we went.

I thought the plot of this movie, although fantastical, was very interesting and the movie kept me intrigued throughout. All the characters were interesting and there were many times when I couldn’t decide who was trustworthy and who was not. The true villain of the film may come as a surprise to you, it did to me.

Produced by Disney, this movie had more of a grown-up or young adult feel to it, similar toThe Pirates of the Caribbean movies; so, you may not want to take the youngest of children. The best I can remember, there was no foul language, making this a very family friendly movie.

I enjoyed this movie immensely and would recommend it for anyone looking for a good date movie or a family movie night. Two thumbs up from me.

Tony's take: pretty good

Thursday Movie Review - Sex and The City 2

This past Friday, I hit the theater to see Sex and The City 2 with my friend Brenda. Brenda and I work together and she accompanied me when I saw the first Sex and The City movie a couple of years ago. So, we decided we would go see this one together too.

I had read a lot of the critics’ reviews before seeing the film and I think I went in expecting to be disappointed; but, I wasn’t because nothing beats Carrie and the girls getting together for a cocktail and to catch up. After all, after being absent from the scene for two years, who isn’t ready for a dose of Carrie and company?

I started watching Sex and The City when I lived in New York and immediately fell in love with the show. I have all the seasons on DVD and while not an uber-fan like some crazy people out there, I do love it. When I lived in North Carolina, I watched all the seasons with my friend Jessica (hey Jess!) and we had a grand time laughing and talking about the show.

This second movie was on par with the first in my opinion. The plot wasn’t over the top or extra ordinary; it was just okay. It’s a bit difficult to tell a story about established characters when you’ve only got two hours and the characters have been MIA for two years, which is why the show was so much better than the movies have been.

The fashion was absolutely amazing, as expected. I read somewhere that the budget for clothes was in the millions and I believe it. In the movie the girls take a trip to Abu Dhabi and the scenery is absolutely amazing and so extravagant and beautiful – it almost made me want to plan a trip to the UAE – almost.

A lot of the critics’ reviews I read complained that the girls had fallen into a more societal role of wife and mother rather than being the trend setting fly by your pants type of women they were in the television series. I personally didn’t find this offensive in the least. I think it’s more appropriate that these characters have become wives and mothers rather than the bed hopping singletons they were previously. It shows that they are much more mature than they once were and after all, that’s what life is all about – growing up and casting away the crazy lives we had in our 20s. I know I’m quite happy I’ve moved on from that time in my life. The only character that remains the same is Samantha. She's up to her same crazy antics and quite frankly, I think it's time she grew up as well.

In short, if you are a fan of the Sex and The City franchise, then I think you will enjoy this movie as well; because it’s always good to catch up with old friends, wouldn’t you agree?

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

Hello, is anyone out there? It's been a long time since anyone commented on this blog. I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is reading these days. How was your Memorial Day weekend? I hope those of you that work enjoyed the day off; I know I did. I also took last Friday off so that I could enjoy a four day weekend. I had lots of activities planned; but unfortunately some of them didn’t happen because of rain.

On Friday, Tony and I had plans to go over to Decatur and attend the Daikin Festival. I had never heard of this before, but a man I work with told me about it and I thought it sounded like fun. Of course, the festival was outside and it started raining Friday afternoon into the night and I didn’t particularly want to hang out in the rain; so, we cancelled those plans and went to Olive Garden and watched Couples Retreat instead. It was just as funny the second time around.

Saturday I had thought about going to Decatur for the Alabama Jubilee to watch the early morning hot air balloon races. I was going to ask my dad to go with me since I know he likes hot air balloons; but I opted to stay in town and go to the gym instead – I think there’s something wrong with me! So, Saturday was spent cleaning house, going to the grocery store and watching softball and hockey on TV – I know you are jealous of how awesome my day was.

Sunday Tony and I saw two movies at the theater, which I will be reviewing later in the week. One was terrible, the other was really good, which is usually how it goes when we see two movies the same night. It’s our curse I suppose.

On Monday morning, Tony came over about 6:30 and made sure the tires on my bike were pumped up and we headed out on our bikes up Bankhead Parkway to Tollgate. I did a lot of complaining and heavy breathing; but looking back on it, it really wasn’t that bad and I’m planning to do it again soon. I hope to build up my endurance on this part of the course and perhaps make it all the way up the mountain one day not so soon. At any rate, we went up to Tollgate and Mountain Wood to watch the Cotton Row runners come up the big treacherous hill. Tony said he wanted to see the agony on their faces. I had a grand time. Tony was actually feeling sick so I don’t think he enjoyed it as much as I did. There were over 4,000 runners this year and in the mass of people coming up the hill I missed seeing everyone I know. Actually, I recognized a few people – someone from the gym, the son of a couple at church, another face or two – but no one I could yell and cheer for. Three of my cousins, and a score of other people I know ran in the race and I saw not one of them as they came by. It probably didn’t help that the HPD was letting cars pass right in front of us as we watched; which brings me to a complaint.

The Cotton Row Run has taken place every year for the past 30 years and has had the same route for I don’t know how long; so, drivers, if you live on the route and need to get out on the morning of the run – how about planning accordingly? And HPD, why do you feel the need to let these idiots drive down the road when there is a foot race taking place? One person almost ran over my toes – it wasn’t pleasant. One person even turned in the same direction as the runners after he was directed to go the other way by HPD. I’m not even kidding. I guess that person wanted to see how many runners he could take down. It was bizarre. I personally think that HPD should have made people wait or take a different route rather than allow them to drive alongside the race route while people were on the street. OK, thanks, I feel better now.

After we watched the runners come up Mountain Wood, we headed down the mountain on Randolph Street and saw some of the same folks head towards downtown. Then it was time to go home and nap. Here are the results in case you want to look up some Parkers or other people you may know.

I also mowed the lawn and did some grilling before watching game two of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Why is it that in every year of my life the Flyers stink it up in the Stanley Cup Finals? I wasn’t even alive the last time they won the cup, you’d think they could win it just once.

So, that was my Memorial Day weekend. I hope yours was just as adventurous as mine!

Get Out And Vote!

There will be a weekend update and movie reviews later in the week; but, for today, it’s the first day of June and also the first Tuesday in June which means it’s time for the primaries in Alabama. If you know me, then you know I am a HUGE advocate of getting out and letting your voice be heard in the form of voting. This is a privilege that we have as Americans and so many people take it for granted by not voting, and that is really sad to me.

I hope you will get out and vote today and let your voice be heard. There are a lot of offices to vote on this time around, including some big ones – governor and U.S. Representative. The polls are open from 7a.m. – 7p.m.; so, please get out there and vote!