Re-Entry

Re-entry

is a 

bee-otch...

especially 
re-entry

that involves 
breaking the speed of sound...
into Planet Earth's atmosphere.

Apparently, acceleration wreaks havoc on the human body.

(just ask Sandra Bullock)

Anywhooooo.....

Almost as 
torturous 
as watching Sandra Bullock's re-entry  
from outerspace
to Planet Earth...

 is the re-entry

from this world 

Planet Paradise

into this world...

Planet Reality

Having to accelerate 

from a 

slow crawl off the beach...

to 

full speed ahead
shoveling 

of the front walk...

is also a bee-otch...

(just ask PaulA)

Winter Olympics Degree of Difficulty

I admit it…

I'm a Johnny-Come-Lately, 
new latecomer,

to the Winter Olympics,

mainly because I've been M-I-A 

in the C-A-B-O.  

Granted the games are televised worldwide,  

but I have been very busy…

trying to free a little worm from a bottle of Tequila.

degree of difficulty - 9.0

I have caught wind of the story of the slow speedskaters. 

Apparently the speedskaters also caught wind, 

as none of them placed above seventh.

So what's the over/under on the Under Armour controversy?  
Did the high tech new speed suit actually slow them down?  
Or was it a convenient excuse?  
Who doesn't love a convenient excuse?  

or a controversy?

Talk about a wardrobe malfunction.
Maybe if the skaters didn't wear a suit of armor under...

they would have had a better chance.  
sounds simple enough to me.  
just saying.

Apparently there was something about a flap in the design holding the skaters back.  

Before I start flapping my gums on this subject, 

I should confess that I don't speak 

the language of aerodynamics, 

but I do speak a little spanish language...
Me llamo es gato.

Donde es el bano?   

degree of difficulty...5.3

Anywhooo……

I plan on watching the Olympics from here on out.  

I'll be rooting for Team USA in hockey.  

The goalie, Jonathan Quick, went to Colinboy's high school. 
 (Apparently the kid had potential.)  

With the Russian team knocked out of the Olympics,
(let alone the gold) 
I'm hoping the team wasn't banished to Siberia.  

I'll be rooting for Gracie Gold 
to win the gold medal.  

The silver and bronze medals are not the right metal for her.

And in the spirit of what the Olympics are all about...

I'm rooting for all the Olympians to have a 
safe and competitive Olympics.  

As a tribute to Sochi, 

I put down the Tequilla and 

hoist a vodka.

degree of difficulty...2.0

Happy Birthday, Colin

Today may be Valentine's Day to most romantics…

but to me it is...

Colintine's Day.

Colin's Birthday 

and 

Valentine's Day 

all rolled into one sugary sweet day.

Anywhooo……

When you are a mom as lucky as me…

you have a son like Colin.  

A young man who is sweet, thoughtful, and loving 

to his mother.  

A young man who frequently calls just to chat and 

who keeps me a part of his life. 

It only made sense that Colin was born on Valentine's Day.

On this special day I can't help but reflect back and remember 
Colin growing up through his 26 years...
from the  

active blonde-haired bowl cut boy with a gleam in his eye…

to the determined young man driving off to Nashville.

So many pictures and special moments of Colin run through my head.

For  me, Special Moment 5,456,559

 was just a couple of weeks ago at Madison Square Garden.

It was incredible to see Colin playing on the BIG stage…

but just as incredible and wonderful 

was when Colin wasn't playing.

Special moment #5,456,560...

My son and I 
standing side stage at the end of the show,

confetti guns blasting paper pieces through the air 

2 dreamers…2 squiggles...
standing arm-in-arm.

Happy Birthday 
to my wonderful son
on his 26th birthday.

Colin,

Here's a cheers...

 to all the special moments 
still to come.

Got Country

NYC and NJ country fans 

finally got what they were asking for...

MORE COW BELL.

The metropolitan area was without a country radio station for 17 years,

but that changed last year.

Now they get their "country on" with

NASH 94.7 FM.  

It's no wonder NYC radio

finally woke up and 

smelled the Jack Daniels in their coffee. 

There was no denying loyal country fans their music.

 Country is HUGE...

especially with shows like "Nashville" and country singers

Blake Shelton on The Voice 

and Keith Urban on American Idol.

Heck ya'all, 

country singer Jason Aldean sold out 

Madison Square Garden in under 10 minutes.  

Anywhooooo…...

Speaking of Madison Square Garden... 

that's just where Colin played on Wednesday

my favorite bass player 

with Dustin Lynch 

on the Keith Urban,

Little Big Town 

Light the Fuse Tour,  

which was a dream come true for any dreamer…

especially dreamers like Colin and Kat.  

PaulA and I were right there with the other country fans….

hootin' and hollering' and kickin' up our boots.

yahoooo!  

Congratulations to 

Dustin Lynch and his band

In a toast to ya'all...

we lift our Jack D.

or sweet tea.

(depending on the time of day)

"CONGRATULATIONS ON PLAYING
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN...
such an 
incredible 
iconic
dream come true
venue."

Happy 28th Birthday, Chelsea

Some people LOVE celebrating birthdays, 

and then there are some others who 

LOVE  LOVE  LOVE celebrating birthdays.

ummm…..that would be 
Chelsea.

And because celebrating a birthday 

once a year is not enough…

Chelsea celebrates half birthdays.  

(hers and her friends)

twice the birthdays. twice the fun.

Happy 28th Birthday, Chelsea…

and

Happy 56 Half Birthdays, Chelsea.

(Note to self:  Don't do the math for your own half birthdays.)  

You will be totally freaked out.

This 28th birthday year is a HUGE one for Chelsea…

the year she and Austin will be married. 

woot   woot

Anywhooooo…….

Today I'm remembering, 

how Chelsea got her name…

which by the way, 

is an Old English name meaning "port for chalk."

Inspiration for baby names can come from anywhere... 

flowers: "Daisy", 

athletes: "Pierce", 

places: "Paris". 

The inspiration for Chelsea's name came from the movie 

"On Golden Pond"  

(she should be glad I wasn't 
thirsty: "Chardonnay" 

or hungry: "Olive")
but the connection was much more meaningful.

The movie came out in 1981 

(the year PaulA and I were married) 

and starred Jane Fonda...

as "Chelsea." 

I immediately loved her name. 
I had never heard

"Chelsea" as a girl's name…

although I was very familiar with it as a name for a "town." 

My grandmother and other relatives,

 such as my great, great Uncle Stanley Wilson 

(once Governor of the great state of Vermont. just saying.) 

hailed from the beautiful town of Chelsea, VT.  

It made an immediate and special connection with me.

After seeing the movie, I said to PaulA, 

"If we ever have a baby girl, I am naming her Chelsea."

5 years later...

when it came down to naming our 1st baby-to-be...

I taped a list of possible baby names to the refrigerator door. 

 Under "Boys Names" I wrote 11 names...

Paul, Matthew, Sean, Ryan, Trevor, Travis, Kyle, Austin....  

Under "Girl's Names" I put one name.

And so it goes…

we had our Chelsea.

Chelsea in Chelsea, VT

 I have to say...it was funny/coincidental/foreshadowing 

that we had Austin, 
Chelsea's fiancé's name, 
on the list as well.

Happy 28th birthday, 

my lovely "Port of Chalk" Chelsea.

Your dad and I were 

thinking of you and 
loving you… 

5 years before you were born.

xoxox

Say YES to the Dress

Chelsea and Austin
got engaged 
November 1st.

presenting

the lovely couple

Nothing drives home the 

realization,

actualization,

light bulb momentization

 that Chelsea is getting married 

more than

seeing Chelsea

step out of a dressing room 
and onto a platform riser 

in a wedding dress.

pass the hankies, please

Looking at Chelsea, 
the baby girl I used to hold in my arms...
stand in front of me 
in a wedding dress,
opens up my emotional floodgates,
flooding my mind with a montage of 
pictures of her growing up.

I can't help but ask myself.....
"Self, where did the days (and years) go?"

Chelsea's dress-up days 

didn't seem that long ago.

Anywhooo…..

The ultimate dress-up day 
will occur this fall,

and I'm sooo happy to go with Chelsea 

to look at all the wedding dresses 
the city of Atlanta has to offer.

Something tells me that we will look at quite a 
few of them before a decision is made.

 Is 999 too many?

(I do remember going with her to find a prom dress.)

But 

I do know this…

when Chelsea puts on 
THE dress…

there will be no question in her mind.

She will 
unequivocally 
undeniably
indubitably 
know 
FOR SURE
and

say 
YES 
to the dress.

It may take Chelsea a while to find the right dress...
but
Chelsea has known for a long time that
Austin 

is the right guy.

When Hell Freezes Over

Oh Baby It's Cold Outside.

How Cold is it?

Cold enough for an escaped inmate

in Lexington, Kentucky

to turn himself in to the police 

because he couldn't take the freezing temperatures.

Anywhooooo……..

So...How cold is it?

Cold as Hell.

I used to think a snowball didn't have a chance 

in Hell.

But apparently I was wrong.

It has a chance...

Hell has frozen over.

Hell, Michigan

pop. 600

If you don't believe me...

You can

go to Hell.

right this way

The inmate in Kentucky

 probably thought that if he ever managed to escape,

he would 

 NEVER EVER turn himself in...

not until Hell Froze over.

Apparently that's exactly what happened.

Okay, so what's next? 

Pigs that fly?