Pop Culture and Caffeine

I’ve been feeling tremendous guilt over my last few posts being a little MORE about me personally and a little less about Pop Culture and Caffeine, so as I sit here with my morning coffee I’ve decided to get back down to business. I am a FAILURE as a Pop Culture and Caffeine addict, because not only did I MISS the Billboard Awards, I didn’t even know they were going to be ON to DVR them. FAIL. Major FAIL. However, all the Whitney Family news that came from it is just absolutely intriguing.

TMZ broke the story that 19 year old Bobbi Kristina, along with 22 year old adopted brother & boyfriend Nick Gordon was gambling with before the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas (http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/21/bobbi-kristina-gambling-vegas/) and now, the MGM Grand & the Nevada Gambling Commission is investigating the incident. Penalties can include fines for both Bobbi Kristina and The MGM Grand, and a possible 6 months behind bars for Bobbi K. Really???? She obviously didn’t win anything, so they need to chill the hell out. And where is Pat Houston, the supposed “protector” of the Houston women???? I can already see the writing on the wall for Bobbi K, and its not looking great.

And in too little too late related news, Pat Houston tried to have Ray J ousted from his seat next to the Houston Family immediately before the Whitney Tribute at #BBMA (http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/21/billboard-awards-whitney-houston-family-ray-j-move/), which seems absolutely ridiculous that #1, the awards committee would even sit the two together, and #2 to even make a scene about it. Have some dignity. Ray J didn’t kill Whitney. She was the maker of her own demise, God rest her soul.

And in an interesting twist, Ray J is hospitalized the VERY next day (http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/22/ray-j-hospitalized-after-billboard-awards-exhaustion-stress/) for what is labeled “exhaustion” ( I know, we all saw “For The Love of Ray J,” being that much of a womanizer is HARD work!), but are the two incidents related?

To be continued…

And I’m off the grid for a few days! After a lot of hard work, I will be receiving my Associates of Arts in Business Administration tomorrow in a commencement ceremony at our local music venue!!!! I worked full time and went to school part time, all while being a wife, mommy, and wannabe blogger. Anything’s possible, folks!

XO

So I’m getting a little off track with Pop Culture and Caffeine in some of my posts, but every time something happens to me now, 9 out of the 10 people I tell always ask: “Are you going to blog about this?”  So I feel like people come to expect this of me, and who am I to dissapoint??  :-)

I really wanted to challenge myself with my fitness and run a 5K.  My dear friend Sarah asked me to run the Strawberry Shortcake Run with her- 2 miles isn’t quite a 5K, so it was a great run for her to use to get back into running form, and a great run for me to get introduced into the running circuit.  The Strawberry Shortcake Road Race in Plympton, MA does a 2 mile “Fun Run,” a non competitive 10K walk, and a 10K Road Race in which we all get to have strawberry shortcake when we finish.  I was excited! I’ve come a long way from overweight couch potato, and this running thing was a challenge I was ready to take on.  

I followed the Couch to 5K plan that my friend’s husband (aka Super Triathlete) sent over, and worked running into my already busy schedule of a full time job, school, and wife and mommyhood.  It really was a challenge, because previous to this, I didn’t think anyone should run unless they were being chased!  Its started out slow enough that it brought me slowly to my breaking point and past it in a way that I didn’t realized it happened, and soon I found myself running MORE than the program called for.  Holy sh*t folks, I actually started to LIKE to run!!!!  One time I heard a woman say she didn’t know why every mother didn’t run, because its the only time that you had total peace.  It became a regular thing for me, getting my ear buds and running to the music of all my pop culture obsessions at my local YMCA, (who by the way were SO encouraging and supportive of my efforts), and getting my sweat on.  

Then the day came, where Sarah and I drove to middle of somewhere Plympton to take this race on.  I was excited, but not really ready. I had fallen off towards the end of the Couch to 5K plan, but I was ready to see my commitment through.  It was a gorgeous sunny spring morning, and I was feeling like I could do it.  We arrived at the Upland Sportmans Club where we checked in at the pavilion, and got our shirts and race numbers, and suddenly I was feeling very official.  

They call us to line up at the starting line, and suddenly I’m feeling very amateur and old, all at the same time.  It was a LOT of children, with maybe a handful or so adults peppered in, one girl younger than us, and the rest older. Most of the other adults present were starting the 10K noncompetitive walk at the same time. When the horn was sounded and it was go time, the kids took off like a SHOT, bats out of hell, and I started on my steady pace. My thought process at that moment was they should have a separate race that’s just for kids, because having kids that sprint two miles when everyone else is running a steady pace is just insanity. I fell behind Sarah a bit, and she tried to wait for me though I urged her on; I knew she wanted to beat her time from last year, and I had to climb my literal and figurative hill alone.  I’m not going to lie, twice I stopped to walk, but I ran most of that race, and finished just over 14 minutes. My name and number were called out when I crossed the finish line, and it was great to run in to the applause of spectators and other runners.  I felt really good when I was done, definitely a sense of accomplishment that I had set out to do something that was such a challenge for me and actually did it!  Saturday was a great morning.  

Today I’m looking around on Facebook, and I see in my news feed that the race results for the Fun Run are posted!!!  I was guestimating that my time was 14:10, but I was dying to see what it actually was… Especially because while Super Triathlete was very congratulatory, he was questioning how I could do a seven minute mile; and my brother has now challenged me to run with him in a 5K in September to see who gets the better time (seeing as he’s the seasoned athlete and I’m the “rookie”). So I click the link, and- NOTHING.  I’m not listed.  ANYWHERE.  What a deflating feeling.  Again, something that would only happen to me- work so hard for something, and no one even knows you were there.  

I emailed the race director who called me fairly quickly, but not with the response I was looking for.  Robert Browne, the Strawberry Shortcake 10K Race Director, informed me that the “Fun Run” is just that, for fun, so there isn’t anyone keeping an official time, and if I wanted to tell him what my time was he could have it put up on the website. If that was the case, I could’ve saved my registration fee and had my own “fun run” in my neighborhood, where I kept my own time and made my own damn shortcake.  Now I’m completely and totally deflated.  He told me that even though they had already archived the race times from Saturday he would have someone pull them out and look for my time.  About a half hour later, he calls again and says they have found a time with no race number or name attached to it, so they are assuming it belongs to me and they will add it to the website.  At this point it honestly doesn’t even matter, I’m just so disappointed with the organization and lack of regard for the “Fun Runners.”   

I immediately call Sarah to report the current events to her, to which her reply is something along the lines of “I know I’m a good, but 13:10 to run two miles is insane, so I Google Earth’d the course route- and it’s only 1.4 miles!!!!”  Sarah has now joined me in deflation, because for her this was more of a “comeback” race, where she was prepping herself to move forward with 5K’s and maybe next year she would be ready to do the Strawberry Shortcake 10K.  At this point, she also emails Mr. Browne with her thoughts to which his response is exactly this (copied and pasted from his actual reply):

Sarah,

I apologize for your dissappointment in the race. This is really aimed at the children and usually we see some adults because they want to run with their children. It is not USATF sanctioned and that is the reason we call it a fun run. This run has been done at the same distance for the last 25 years and logisitically it would be very difficult to stretch it to 2 miles.

WHAT???  No where in any information that I read on their website (http://www.strawberryshortcakerace.com/index.htm) that this race was mainly for children (which most races do indeed indicate when they have races geared towards children).  I feel a little bamboozeled and a lot cheated.  Suddenly, my accomplishment is less than what it was, and its a big load of bullshit.  If this is a race for kids and their parents, it should be advertised as such and stop misrepresenting it to people like Sarah and myself, who are trying to work our way up (or back up) in the world of running.  Though in a word to Mr. Browne and the Strawberry Shortcake Plympton Road Race Organization- thanks for tainting my first race experience.   

On the upside of this whole debacle, that certainly isn’t going to discourage me from more races.  I conquered a feat I never thought I could in taking on running, and I WILL be running that 5K with my brother in September- and I’m going to kick the ass off of his time ;-)

So the other day I was in CVS picking up the plethora of cards I need for Mother’s Day (mom, mother in law, grandmothers, all of the aforementioned women again from my daughter, and my best-est mommy girlfriends), and there was one card that went along lines of “You’re an awesome mom, and I’m an awesome mom.  Mother’s Day is for us!  Some other lesser mom’s will celebrate too, but we know its really our day.”  This is how I feel “attachment parents” feel about all other mothers. 

Case in point?  “ARE YOU MOM ENOUGH” splattered across the cover of TIME magazine with a mother breastfeeding what looks like a six year old child.  Even though I didn’t breastfeed, I’m not against breastfeeding, but I’m totally offended by this image.  I don’t care how “natural” breastfeeding is, it doesn’t need to be shoved in my face.  Not in restaurants while I’m trying to eat, stores when I’m trying to shop, and not on the cover of a magazine.   Defecating is totally natural too, but if I decided to take a shit on a street corner in public I’d be arrested!!!  Never mind the fact that this kid is now traumatized for life (if not by the act, but by being on the cover of TIME magazine looking like a deer in headlights with a breast in his mouth).  We are creating an entirely new generation of INCAPABLE people by taking coddling to this new and unnecessary level.  I know our babies are only babies for so long, and yes- I know there are benefits to extended breastfeeding, but mothers who are PHYSICALLY breastfeeding older children are doing it more for themselves than the children.  If you want them to have breast milk after they can already walk, talk, and wipe their own ass then PUMP it and give it to them IN A CUP. 

After I posted my aversion to this on my personal Facebook page yesterday, I received some snarky comments from an “attachment mom” that I went to college with.  She was someone I considered a good friend in those years, but have made a conscious effort to pull away from when she became a mother because I find her views so extreme.  I don’t believe in cosleeping with INFANTS, and I don’t believe in NOT vaccinating your children.  I will quietly oppose most viewpoints to be respectful, but I will gloves off BOX your ass on not vaccinating your kids.  Its socially irresponsible, and you only have that luxury because of all the parents who DO vaccinate their kids.  Vaccinations do NOT cause Autism, and all of the studies indicating this have been refuted.  EVERY SINGLE ONE.  (and if you don’t believe me, believe the Autism Science Foundation- http://www.autismsciencefoundation.org/autismandvaccines.html).  On a side personal note- are you fucking stupid???  People DIED of things like Polio when our parents were children!!! Prevent the things that are preventable. TB would still run rampant without vaccinations.  Asshole. 

Her comments were passive aggressive but offensive to not only myself, but the handful of people who took the time to personally message me about it.  So in the most polite and eloquent way as I possibly could, I told her to get off her high horse and FUCK OFF.  She not only unfriended me on Facebook, but removed herself as a member from my daughter’s picture share site.  Good fucking riddance.  If you cannot respect opposing viewpoints of other parents, then you should get fucking lost.  However, its a sad day when we cannot just accept the fact that most responsible parents do what is best for their kids and themselves, and as long as the kids are healthy, happy, and safe, everything else is moot. 

Though I digress- I don’t believe physically breastfeeding a CHILD (not an infant, a fucking child) is healthy.  Once you get past a certain age it’s bordering perverse. And if you don’t like that I said that, you can unfollow, unfriend me and fuck off as well!!! 

Happy Mother’s Day!!!!

Today started off as a regular old day… woke up late, scrambled to get dressed, scrambled to get my daughter dressed, frantically grabbed everything we needed for the day and flew out the door.  Usually I wake up and check my email, but today I was later than usual, so it wasn’t until after I dropped my daughter off at school I decided to give my Gmail a quick look and saw this:

My day, week, month, AND year are now forever changed. And this also explains the Jordan Knight dream I had on Saturday night- my subconscious knew something great was coming! Forget that doing ANY work today has gone completely out the window, because I spent the better part of my day researching the how and HOW MUCH… and coming to terms with the fact that the Botox I lobbied hard for- and was promised- for my graduating with my AABA in May will now be forfeited for this.  Fine… maybe I can just get it when I get back! 

Then comes the hard part… convincing the husband.  He was OK with NKOTBSB once, twice he was definitely pissed about, and was BULLSHIT about the Backstreet Boys Cruise.  So naturally, he was INFURIATED about Nick Carter ITO Chicago… (hahaha), but we all knew I was going.  Just like we all know I will be at Mix Tape Fest in August ;-)

I sent him the email that I received from Block Nation this morning (if you don’t know what Block Nation is, you may just be in the wrong place), and his reply was “You’re a psycho.”  LOL, but that wasn’t no, right????

Curious to see if I’ll be going with his blessings, or hearing about this for the next ten years… but either way, I WILL BE THERE!

We all know how I was sleeping with my NKOTB sheets and trying to get the plastic underwear off of my NKOTB Ken dolls in the 80s, I had a poster of LL Cool J on my CEILING for the better part of the 90s, the whole Backsteet Boys aspect goes without saying, Kelly Clarkson is my would-be life partner if we were both lesbians, and they are ALL going to be in the SAME PLACE!?!?!?!?  Also, Shecky’s Girls Night Out is going to be there doing events (which, btw, I’ve been DYING to go to their events in Boston for YEARS, and get the shaft every time)!!!??!?!?  I’m sorry, but this is MONEY WELL SPENT.  And let’s consider it a cost of doing “business,” because let’s face it- this festival is the culmination of my blog’s work.  All that’s missing is Lionel Richie sitting at the head of the table leading us in a rendition of “Easy (Like Sunday Morning)” on Day 2. 

Let the games begin!

For anyone that knows me personally, you know I encounter MORE unsolicited problems than ANYONE. I am forever butting heads with people anywhere I go, whether it be rude sales people, strangers, and now dentists.

My mouth has been KILLING me. I thought it was my teeth and that I maybe had a cavity or something, but it’s the entire bottom right back corner of my mouth. It bothers me to the point where I can’t sleep on that side of my face. Well, it’s been almost a week, and if it is a cavity, I wanted it to be taken care of. They were able to get me in last night at 6 o’clock, so I headed over there expecting to me told my teeth were rotting out of my mouth, and I needed extensive dental work, because THAT’s how much pain I’m in.

I was taken right away, which I was thankful for, because I want to find out what the problem is, get on the road to resolution, and get home to my family. The hygienist examines me and takes an x-ray. She suggests that I may have TMJ (whatever the hell that is) because there is nothing wrong with my teeth, tells me the dentist will be right in and leaves me sitting there… for FORTY MINUTES. SO anyway, after forty fucking minutes, this fat slob of a dentist (that isn’t my regular dentist) comes schlepping in with no hello, no handshake, looks at my x-ray, teeth, and told me to open and close my mouth a few times.

“Well, I don’t know what you did to yourself, but your mouth feels differently on one side when you open it, and differently on the other when you close it. Maybe you got punched in the face a few times, who knows.”

WHAT!?!?!!?!? He made that punched in the face comment THREE times before I finally asked him what the HELL he was inferring.

“You have a broken heart with skull crossbones tattooed on your wrist, don’t tell me your life isn’t exciting.”

I have never been SO taken aback in my LIFE. My immediate reaction was “Excuse me??? Did you really just say that?!?!?!” To which his response was “You’re gonna try and sit there and tell me that this tattoo has NO significance at all and means nothing!?!?!” And I said “100% insignificant. It was just something I liked.” He goes “Oh. I’m going to go write about you in your chart now,” and walks out.

The hygienist tells me to use Sensodyne toothpaste and warm moist heat, and her demeanor was only better than his by a hair. The girls at the front desk were SO nice, and they knew something was wrong, cause they kept pressing me about it. I told them what the dentist said and they seemed taken aback, and then were extra nice to me. I was FURIOUS.

I have never had anyone without knowing me infer that I was anything but a decent person and snap judge me like that because of my tattoos. That one on my wrist is no bigger than a half dollar. That guy is a cunt.

But this brings up an entirely new thought process for me- this is the first time that anyone has ever SAID anything derogatory to me based on my tattoos, but probably isn’t the first time anyone has thought it. I was unemployed for THREE years, and I have to guess there was a reason I didn’t get those jobs that I interviewed so well with. I’m confident in my abilities and know I interview well. My tattoos were probably a sticking point for more than one employer.

For those who don’t know me, I have 6 tattoos, and on my most scantily clad summer day (which is never now that I’m a mom), you can see them all. I have a bird on my left foot, a crescent moon and stars on my right ankle (no bigger than a half dollar) three tattoos on my lower back that actually have become one massive piece of artwork (this goes from below my bra strap to just past my pant line), and the last one is the one douche dentist was referring to, a pink broken heart with crossbones going through it on my left wrist. Again, no bigger than a half dollar. Most people that haven’t known me over a significant period of time have NO idea that the massive piece of artwork on my back even exists, and have only seen the tattoo on my wrist (or at best, my wrist and my foot). I pride myself on my tattoos, they are beautiful pieces of artwork that I feel are tastefully done and placed. The one on my wrist is definitely going a little outside of the box, but it’s something that can be easily covered with a watch or bracelet if need be.

My father didn’t give me much, but he gave me one piece of advice about tattoos when I turned 18 that has proved most valuable, and especially after last night, I can see why he said it. “I’m not going to argue with you about getting tattoos; I don’t agree with it, but you are hard headed like your mother and are going to do whatever you want anyway. I can only tell you to NEVER get tattoos on your chest, arms, and legs. Always look like a lady.”

Even though he sucks at life, I always heeded his advice the best I could. ALL of my tattoos can be easily concealed if need be, there was forethought in my tattoo placement process. But I feel so silly that I’ve gotten through the majority of 30 years of life with the naive misconception that most people in this day and age are kind and open minded. Though I would still like to believe that is true.

There are some things you just shouldn’t say to people, especially to a person who is paying to see you for your services. I have to believe this slovenly looking asshat is the minority, and just has a really bad case of diarrhea of the mouth. Interesting timing though, as I have decided to get tattoo #7, something that I’ve wanted for a long time, and have been contemplating placement.

Basically, I’m totally flabbergasted by my dental experience last night, not to mention still in pain. I had never been talked to that way in my life based on a negative snap judgment, and hope to never be talked to like that again. Based on this experience, I will not be changing anything about myself, including how visible my tattoos are when I go places. And as always, I will be filing a complaint. Someone’s gotta do it!

“It’s only his outside; a man can be honest in any sort of skin.”

Herman Melville, “Moby Dick”

I love all of the feedback I get on this blog, it really helps shed some clarity on how to handle things sometimes!  I was always going to stand by my decision to stop shopping H&M after the way I was treated, but I was very torn over the reply H&M’s corporate customer service sent me yesterday.  Some of my readers thought I should be happy with that.  But what you all didn’t know is their “consolation prize” of 20% off is a coupon I already had in my purse for being their email subscriber (to which I’ve promptly unsubscribed since all of this has been going on).  So as politely and respectfully as I could, I told H&M thanks, but no thanks:

I got a LOT of feedback and personal contact on yesterday’s Fuck You, H&M post!  Most of us have worked, or are working, customer service positions, and this incensed a lot of people.  I had a lot of people reach out to me personally and express their outrage.  Was I expecting a reply from H&M about how I was treated at their store? Nope.  Did I get one?  You betcha.  Am I satisfied?  Meh.  I just don’t know that this is good enough:

Dear Lindsey,

Thank you for contacting H&M.

We appreciate your feedback and understand that during your recent visit to our Braintree store, you encountered customer service that was not up to H&M standards. As a company this is not a reflection of the way we treat our customers. Our goal is to provide our customers with the best shopping experience.

Please note that your feedback will allow us to improve our service and your concern will be address to the Store and District managers.

We would love to see you in our stores again. To show our appreciation for this valuable feedback, please provide us with your mailing address so we may send you a 20% off customer appreciation card.

Sincerely,
H&M Customer Service Team

I’m sure if you follow me on Twitter or my personal Facebook page, you have seen my Fuck You, H&M posts from Friday. To make a long story short, I made my THIRD attempt to shop an H&M store that week, and I wasn’t allowed to use the dressing room because the store was going to close in 40 minutes!!! And the douche cunt manning the dressing room, in his stupid fur hat had me totally incensed, wagging his stupid fucking finger at me and said “Um, not uh, you are not trying those on.” EXCUSE ME!??!?! I just drove an hour out of my FUCKING way to shop that store and you aren’t going to let me!?!?!? I dropped everything in my hands and walked out. I’m furious. Three days later, I’m still furious. So, this is the letter I just sent to H&M Corporate thru their website, not that they’ll give a shit to respond, but they should know they they have forever lost my business:

I just wanted to let you know how POORLY I was treated when shopping your store in the South Shore Plaza in Braintree, MA Friday March 2, 2012. I had at least $300 of merchandise in my hands for myself, not counting the stuff I was holding for my husband and child, and was not ALLOWED to try any of it on. I was told by a male employee wearing a fur hat working the dressing room that I would not be trying on any merchandise because they were closing the dressing room, and his tone was beyond condescending. I had waited in line for 10 minutes to even get to the dressing room, and the store wasn’t closing for another 40 minutes. Unfortunately, because of the inconsistency of your sizing, you cannot buy most items from your store without trying them on first. The employee was rude beyond measure, and refused to let me in even though there were other patrons still using the dressing room. This was the 3rd H&M I had attempted to shop that week; the one closest to my house has been closed (Independence Mall, Kingston MA- still 20+ miles from my home), the 2nd one I drove to is 40 miles from me (Silver City Galleria, Taunton MA) and had a VERY limited selection, so this visit to the Braintree mall was intentional and specifically to shop H&M. I am so furious that after all that effort, this employee just wanted to close the dressing room early so closing the store could be easier, and essentially refused my business. The most infuriating part is I went intentionally way out of my way to give your store my business. Because of this experience, I will never shop H&M again. Just thought you might like to know that you lost a sale, and probably more than mine if this is how you allow your employees to treat your customers.

I also want to encourage anyone who believes in good customer service and RESPECT to pull your business from H&M. I worked retail for a lot of years when I was in high school and college, and I would’ve been FIRED for treating a customer like that. Think fur hat douche is still going to have his job for talking to people like that? I’m sure of it, and it just isn’t right.

So its lunchtime, and I go to get lunch for me & a Project Manager at work. I only have my debit card on me, and he gave me a $20 for his order… so I was going to pay with my card, and keep the cash (less his change). I get there to pick up lunch and realize I don’t have my card, cause it’s still in my jacket pocket from when I stopped for gas this morning. So I come back to the office, drop off the lunches and run out to go to the ATM to get cash… my “logic” tells me to head to Stop & Shop because they have a Citizens Bank inside, so I can get cash AND change. I use the ATM to get fast cash and bought a $4 fruit bowl with a $20 at the self service check out, and run back to my car and go back to my office… I don’t realize until I get back to my office that I only grabbed the change change and not the dollar change. Now I’m ALL flustered, because I just wasted 10-15 minutes doing something that was pointless. Though I called S&S and my money was still in the cash part of the self service checkout so they are holding it for me at the service desk.

Meanwhile, in my travels I’m requesting “Burning Up” by Nick Carter on 92 Pro FM cause I REALLY wanna hear it while I’m in the car… when I get back to my office, I got a reply to what I’m assuming is my Facebook comment on their page that says “I’ll get that right on for you” and I bugged out… there are speakers wired throughout my office but the radio is downstairs… so I just ran, jumped, ran, jumped, and ran up and down the stairs at least 5 times trying to get 92 Pro FM to come in… and now we are listening to bluegrass. Good times.

So remember when I blogged a month or so ago about my daughter’s questionable taste in music, and my unconscious promotion of it? Well, my concerns went out the window when we were driving along last week, and my daughter’s getting down to Nick Carter’s “Burning Up” (which apparently is now the new family favorite sing along). I turned back at her to see if she actually sings the line “when you shake, shake, shake, shake that ass,” which indeed she does. HOWEVER, she knows she’s not supposed to say “ass,” so MY DAUGHTER- the light of my life, the joy in my world- actually says the word keister instead of ass! It was BRILLIANT!!! I would totally post a video of her doing it if I wasn’t against that sort of thing!

That moment affirmed for me that it doesn’t matter what they see or hear in the “media,” its about what you teach them at home. Couldn’t have been prouder :-) Though we’ll see what I’m saying in about ten years!

So yesterday, the most amazing thing happened in my famous in my own mind world- Lionel Richie started following me on Twitter!!!! Yup, you heard me right, DADDY’S HOME!!!! (for all those that don’t know what I’m talking about, please scroll waaaaaay down to the second ever post on this blog about my theory that Lionel is actually my father). So, I’m curious… did he read my blog post? Does he think I’m a stellar super fan that could possibly be his offspring?? Or am I just that awesome that Lionel Richie made me 1 of only a couple of dozen people he follows???

Whatever the reason, Lionel Freaking Richie is following me on Twitter, and I was elated!!! I basically shouted it from the rooftops, and drive home with a Lionel Richie marathon playlist on my iPod- cause lets face it, the man can sing!!! And the man can write!!!! The man is amazing… and that’s why he’s THE MAN. Mr. Lionel Richie- Daddy!!!!

But alas, this morning when logged onto Twitter, I was down 5 followers, and when I go to check (with the hopes it was some of the porn accounts and bots that are gone) Daddy was missing. And just like that, I was unfollowed by the man. And I deflated, right here at my desk. Slowly, like a leaky balloon…. pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft.tttt.t.

But, I digress. Now I’m CONVINCED he’s my real father, because he’s certainly got the abandonment aspect of being my father down! Gets me all excited and then takes the fuck off. Well, it was good while it lasted, Lionel.

As most of my loyal readers know (can you believe it?? *I* have loyal readers- they must be as fucking nuts as I am!), I lost some weight last year. Enough that Mary Fischer, AKA The Mommyologist, thought I was Mom Sexy enough to write about it on her blog (see post here: http://www.mommyologist.com/2012/01/mom-sexy-fridays-damn-it-im-mom-sexy/) and I actually inspired a couple of women to get off their asses and get to they gym!

So why haven’t I gone?

A lot of people resolve at the start of a new year to lose weight, eat better, blah blah bullshit, but as I wrote about in another one of my posts, you don’t need resolutions to have actual resolve. I’m a student in my last semester to get my associates, and I had that LONG winter break to work out to my hearts content, and I didn’t. Now, I’m in class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, should be going to boot camp Thursday nights, Body Combat Saturday mornings, and Boot Camp again Sunday mornings. But the reality is, when Thursday comes, I just want to breathe for a minute, because I’ve been running around like a fucking psycho all week, so I sit. Saturday, Body Combat is at 7am… and that’s really early. And with the way my weekday mornings go (hit snooze 10-15 times, jump out of bed when I realize I now only have 20 minutes to get myself & child dressed and out the door-which never happens- and make it to work skin of my teeth on time/bordering late), I really just want to sleep for as long as humanly possible on the weekends. And for most of us with kids, we know that’s 8am, if we’re lucky. So that leaves Sunday. Oh, dear Sunday. Sunday is the day my husband also likes to enjoy one of his extra curricular activities, a 3D Archery League (aka hunting practice) which is every Sunday from 7am-12pm and whatever local rod & gun club is hosting it. Boot Camp is 9:45. Some parents bring their kids, but my daughter wouldn’t peacefully entertain herself or play with the other kids- she’d try to come barrel-assing her way into that room so SHE could do boot camp, too, and probably get herself or someone else hurt.

So what do I do??? I realize that I have to make working out a habit, so its just something I do, and not something that can be squeezed out because it’s a scheduling conflict. Does anyone else have this problem?? The last time I was on a scale I was the exact same weight was the last time I was at Weight Watchers (which has been a while- the only 2 local meetings happen either when I’m in class or should be at boot camp. Ideally, I should be at boot camp, but now I haven’t gone to either.)

I realize that its easy to make excuses, but I have RESOLVE, so I’m going to start exploring the alternatives to my norm. If what I usually do doesn’t work, I gotta do something else, as long as I’m KEEPING IT MOVING. So I’m going to try to start working yoga back in, and Monday I’m going to have a session/consult at Koko Fit Club, which promises results in a 30 minute workout! I’m a skeptic, and it seems expensive, but I’m willing to take a look. Honestly, sometimes 30 minutes is all I have! 7 more lbs till I get to my starting goal weight, and if I ever hit that, I want to lose 5 more ;-)

So what do you think? Think I can do it? Any tips or advice? As always, I’ll keep you posted!!!

Now it’s time for you to add me to all your social networking sites so that i can inundate everywhere in your online life :-)

Facebook: facebook.com/popcultureandcaffeine

Twitter:LindseyLu1011

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And don’t forget to favorite and follow this blog :-)

Thanks loves :-*

In my life, the Backstreet Boys have brought me so much enrichment. OK, now before you turn it off and click the X at the top left corner of the page to move onto something different, let me elaborate. I know for most there isn’t a lot to be said for being a super fan of a pop boy band, but for me there’s a lot. When I became completely and total infatuated with the Backstreet Boys at 16 years old, there was a lot of sexual charge behind that infatuation. And at 19, I took my loins on the road, and followed them through this great nation, taking me to a lot of places I wouldn’t have gone otherwise. Like Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, TX, New York, Arizona, Miami, and the Bahamas. Brought me friends and experiences I wouldn’t have otherwise had, therefore enriching my life. Can we agree on that point? Good. Moving on…

11 years later, it’s Saturday morning, February 11th, 2012, I woke up to the first real New England winter day we’ve had this season- chilly temps and snow. I dropped my daughter off at her friend’s birthday party, hugged her tight and told her mommy would be back tomorrow, then was off. The reason for the season? Nick Carter. When I found out that Nick Carter was doing a solo tour for his second solo album I’m Taking Off, I was elated- until I found out he was coming on a Monday. This is my last semester to get my associates, which is 12 years overdue, and I CANNOT miss any classes if I want to graduate. So sorry Nick, but I’ve put the Backstreet Boys before a lot in my life, and it was time to be an adult. As soon as I put it out there that I wasn’t going, Mary Jo (who I became fast friends with on the Backstreet Boys Cruise) immediately responds “His Chicago show is on a Saturday.” Really!?!?!?! So fast forward a month and a half, and I’m boarding a flight to Chicago for literally a 24 hour visit with the sole purpose of attending this show, and for the first time ever, VIP. I’ve actually met all of the Backstreet Boys before, but never by purchasing their usually grossly overpriced VIP packages. It was by standing outside of hotels (or actually staying in them when the funds were available to do so), and cozying up to nightclub bouncers who would let me into the VIP areas they were inhabiting, wearing as little clothing as I could possibly get away with. But I gave up those ways a long time ago, and now that I’m a married mom, it was time to be legit ;-)

My flight was ridiculously pleasant (thanks Spirit Airlines!), and in no time flat, the Windy City welcomed me with open arms and 18 degree temps! I actually arrived earlier than anticipated, and we had plenty of time to check into our hotel, catch up for a few, and then get ready to head over to the House of Blues. I have to say, up front, that the tone has definitely changed with the fans- we met SO MANY nice girls at this show that it was unbelievable to me! [Maybe people are nicer to me because I have more clothes on, who knows ;-)] But we met some really great people in line for VIP and during the actual concert. (My girls from the front right corner of the stage, if you’re out there, I’m talking about you :-P) We watched him sound check 2 songs, and he did a brief Q & A in which I learned, thanks to Mary Jo’s question, that he modeled the “Burning Up dance” that we all love after Jordan Knight’s Step By Step dance (!!!), and then it was time for the big meet & greet. Purposely, we hung to the back of the line so we could be last meeting Nick. I was in no hurry… especially because the nervous and excited energy in the room was getting to me. The shorter that line got, the more I reverted to the 16 year old girl who ran away from the stage at her first Backstreet Boys concert because she couldn’t even handle having Nick Carter in her eye shot. Even the bodyguard at the front of the line kept asking me if I was OK! I was really nervous… and pissed that HOB kept the bar closed during VIP- a drink to calm my nerves would have really been nice!!!! But then it came… I was the last in line, and he welcomed me with open arms. Nick Carter was incredibly warm, gracious, and dead fucking sexy. I was shaking on the inside… shaking. And I’m hoping it didn’t show on the outside. Out of all the things I could’ve, should’ve, and would’ve said (with a cocktail or two), the only thing my shaking inner 16 year old could get out was “Thank you.” I think that really was the only thing that needed to be said. And he hugged me again and it was over.

The concert was fucking AMAZING!!!! I went to the Now or Never tour, and honestly, I can’t remember a single iota of it. I don’t remember how he looked or what he sang, but this show will forever be emblazoned in my brain. I’ve honestly never seen him smile so much on stage. The energy during the show was ELECTRIC- we were feeding off of him as much as he was feeding off of us, and it was an incredible experience. So thank you, Nick Carter, because for the first time in a lot of years, I feel like you gave us more than we’ve given you. Everything about that experience EXCEEDED my expectations, and I couldn’t be happier that I got on that plane and went to Chicago.

CHICAGO!!!!!! What a great city. I cannot wait to go back and spend so much more time there. Mary Jo was the ultimate hostess, showing me all of the beautiful, scenic, and historic things her city has to offer in a tour that was 4 hours flat before I had to be at the airport to go home. I saw US Cellular Field where the Sox play, Solider Field, Wrigley Field, the Marilyn Monroe monument, the Bean, the Planetarium, the Aquarium, a bunch of other stuff that I have pictures of and can’t name, and had my first Chicago dog at Gene & Judes! I also cannot forget to mention that after the show we met up with some of our other fellow cruisers thanks to the genius that is Twitter and went and had authentic Chicago deep dish at Pizzeria Due, and it was ridiculously delish! What a great group of girls (and boy!), which are already connected to other great groups of girls we met on the cruise- our network is only getting larger :-)

And like that, it was over. I was back on an airplane, with an entire exit row to myself I was back on my way home. Again, my life is all the better for it. Another place I wouldn’t have been, and friends that I wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for a Backstreet Boy named Nick Carter. :-P