I Have To Pee

Before I met Adam I think I had been to one musical. Since he came into my life with his love for musicals we've seen quite a few shows here in Chicago, on Broadway, and even a few in London. I never really considered myself a musical type of guy but I'm growing quite fond of them. In the past week we've seen Jersey Boys (which I highly recommend) and tonight we saw The Addams Family staring Bebe Neuwirth & Nathan Lane. I laughed throughout the show and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I may just be turning into a musical lover myself.

Shh, don't tell Adam.

Running Up That Hill

I know you've been waiting for it so without further ado here is Friday's Fun Fact about me.

When I was younger my family used to go on vacation in our big conversion van. My dad always liked leave at odd hours which meant we usually ended up sleeping in a rest area. One night as I lie asleep on the fold out couch in the back of the van I was awoken by my mom screaming my brothers' name. When I opened my eyes I saw my brother standing over me getting ready to pee. Apparently he was sleeping walking (or peeing in this case) and my mom woke up just in time to stop him. Usually I was so annoyed that my mom was such a light sleeper but that night I couldn't have been happier.

Oh Pretty Baby

During my last visit to the dentist she commented that I was grinding my teeth at night. At first, I thought "how does she know that?" Then I realized that she WAS a dentist and could probably see the wear on my teeth. She recommended a night guard and said that it would cut down on the damage to my teeth dramatically. I went through the process of getting pre-approval from my insurance company (a joke) and was told that they covered no part of it. Not even a dollars worth. I had been expecting this but wasn't expecting that it would cost $300 for a little piece of plastic. After giving it much thought I decided that I would go ahead, after all it's an investment in my dental health, right?

So today I picked up my $300 piece of plastic. Here's to hoping that my teeth get the rest that they need. I've posted a picture to show you what $300 can get you...

Pretty, isn't she? Don't be jealous now.

You Are So Wise

Change. It's something we've all done at one time or another. Even the President used it in his election campaign. One little word can strike hope in one person and fear in the next. What is it about change that causes such a wide range of emotions?

A friend of mine recently got elected to the board for the union at her job. She had many good ideas that she wanted to introduce to help her co-workers and to help make the union more transparent to the members. Well from day one she has come up against strong resistance from incumbent union members who say they want change but block every attempt she makes to do just that. These union officials want change only if they can hold onto their control.

When President Obama ran for office he ran on a campaign platform of change. Many Americans felt the country was headed down the wrong path and wanted to see our country head in a new direction. There were t-shirts, bumper stickers, and posters all with the new Presidents face and the word "change" written on them. On the opposite side I saw stickers that said "Keep the change." One again this is an example of the divisiveness of the word. Some embraced the idea and others shunned it.

Often times people will use change to better their lives. Maybe they're in a job they hate or a bad relationship. They realize that they need to make a change to turn a negative into a positive. They may be afraid of what the change will bring but know it has to be made.

Fear of the unknown. Happy with the status quo. Needing a new direction in life. Change is all of these things. How you choose to look at it is up to you.

Dan & Morathy

Here it is folks, Tirade Tuesday...

Dear lady in the car in front of me at McDonald's on Sunday: I beeped at you because you weren't pulling up all the way. Simple as that. Was it necessary to stick half your body out of the car window, twist all the way around, and yell at me? You had kids in the car. What kind of example is that?

Why were some representatives in Congress conferring with Catholic Bishops before they could vote yes or no on the health care bill? Shouldn't you confer with your constituents? Apparently there is no separation of Church and State anymore. There will be an entire blog devoted to this subject soon.

I know that in today's economy many, if not all, public agencies are having funding problems. However, if I have to hear ONE more time about how the CTA has no money I'm going to scream. Year after year it's always the same thing "we're cutting service to make up a deficit." Even if the economy was going gangbusters and they were getting a huge amount of the sales tax revenue they'd still have no money. The entire agency needs revamped.

And finally, to the gentleman that poked me today. You are VERY lucky that I took a deep breathe and continued on with my work. I wanted to punch you in the face. DO NOT POKE ME!

I am Living There As Well

Almost four years ago Adam and I took our first cruise together. It was on Royal Caribbeans Legend of The Seas. We had a great week in the Caribbean and couldn't wait to take our next cruise. Since that time we've cruised to the Bahamas, the Caribbean again, and took a 14 day eastbound Transatlantic cruise. All but one of these has been on Royal Caribbean. We've come to love the service they provide and benefits we get from being return cruisers. At one point we said we'd love to be one of the retired couples we see when we cruise and just spend our golden years on cruise after cruise. On Saturday we decided that it had been long enough since we cruised and booked our next Royal Caribbean cruise to the southern Caribbean. We'll be experiencing new ports of call and will get to sail on the Jewel of The Seas, which is a new ship for us. I suggested that our "thing" should be to sail on every one of their ships...to which Adam replied "let's do it."

So wish us luck as we make a plan to cruise of every single Royal Caribbean ship. As of today, there are 21 ships in their fleet with a 22nd coming next year and we've sailed on 3 of them so we do have our work (and money) cut out for us but we're excited about it. After all, the possibilities are endless.

Information Overload

I got this tag from Teresa's blog and loved the questions and her answers so I thought I'd give it a shot. Thanks for the idea Teresa!

1.What is your current obsession ?
Our upcoming cruise. We just booked it but I'm already consumed with it.

2. What are you wearing today?
Grey cotton pants and my favorite blue t-shirt.

3. What’s for dinner?
Left over spaghetti. It's always better the day after.

4. What’s the last thing you bought?
McDonalds on the way to take Adam to work.

5. What are you listening to right now?
Coldplay.

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Well, no one tagged me but I got the idea from Teresa so even though I've never met her I think she's a great friend to Adam.

7. If you could have a house, totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
London.

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
t-shirts and shorts.

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Costa Maya, Mexico.

10. Which language do you want to learn?
European Spanish.

11. What’s your favorite quote?
blah blah blah, whatever whatever whatever. (it's my own quote and I love it)

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
Julia Roberts...I love her laugh, it makes me smile.

13. What is your favorite color?
Blue.

14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own closet?
My blue t-shirt. I'm wearing it right now.

15. What is your dream job?
To be a schedule planner for an airline.

16. What's your favorite magazine?
Travel & Leisure.

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
Music on iTunes. There's a lot I want to get.

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
I know nothing about fashion but I'd say...wearing clothes that appear to have been painted on you.

19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon?
Jennifer Aniston.

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?
Completely shaved.

21. What are you going to do after this?
Watch Private Practice.

22. What are your favorite movies?
Mary Poppins, Steel Magnolia's, and Love Actually. ( I am gay after all)

23. What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?
Next.

24. What inspires you ?
Hope.

25. Give us three styling tips that always work for you?
Again, next.

26. What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?
Pull it together, make it work, and find something.

27. Coffee or tea?
Tea.

28. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Find the perfect song to lift my spirits.

29. What is the meaning of your name?
Evidently it is Germanic in origin and loosely means "spear"

30. Which other blogs do you love visiting?
All the ones I've listed on my blog plus I'll visit Perez Hilton once in a while.

31. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
Strawberry Cheesecake.

32. Favorite Season?
Fall.

33. If I come to your house now, what would you cook for me?
Nothing. I don't cook. We'd order in something fabulous though.

34. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
Tell them directly that you won't put up with their actions anymore.

35. How do you calm yourself down when you are agitated or angry?
Music.

36.Who is the modern ideal girl: The one who knows how to shop, dress and enjoy, or the one who is simple but manages the house, kids and herself well?
The simple one.