The glamorous life........

Years ago I found myself single, with an infant son, back home at Mom and Dad's. A situation that I thought would NEVER apply to my life. But, hey, you get no guarantees. Actually single with an infant son was easier than the married option, and Mom and Dad helped me get back on my feet in every possible way. I couldn't have done it without their love and support. xo! So, anyways, I was working in a gym instructing aerobics, (the killer, high impact kind) and weight training 12 hours a day. Yes, I rocked the de rigeuer leotard, tights, legwarmers and high top Reebok's popular at the time. Sorta like Olivia Newton John in Physical, crossed with Madonna. Ewww, but cool enough then. Seems all I did at the time was work and stay home with my baby. A full life to be sure, but I found myself wondering where the "glamour" was. It was completely eluding me. Even just a touch of what the new MTV then assured me was what I needed. Remember Sheila E? I wanted to be her then and I still do. Exotic and worldly was so not me, in sweaty leotards, stuck in a small and definitely NOT glamorous small town. After lamenting my plight to a friend, my world was about to be infused with a touch of elegance. One cold, January day, after instructing my third class of the day, Therese picked me up for a lunch date. Her daddy's chocolate brown Mercedes was shiny clean with the sunroof open. She strode into the gym and ripped the ponytail holder out of my hair and the sweatband off of my forehead. After fluffing up my 'do she slipped on a full length fur only moments ago purchased at the local Sal Val. The Reebok's were replaced with a pair of HIGH heels, and a pair of Ray Bans were shoved on my astonished eyes. The crowd in for their workout applauded the make over. Now, with this decidedly hookerish look we headed out to the Merce-Cruiser. Fur met plush, brown leather. Ah h h h. She then handed me sparkling grape juice in a real champagne glass. There was my favorite lunch choice, M&M's, in a bowl on the console. She had the tape set for--you can guess--Sheila E's hit "Glamorous Life", with "Material Girl" on backup. During my chauffeured ride around Alpena, viewing it's sunny, snowy, winter beauty, I finally felt glamorous. Therese said, "There, girl, it's all you. You are so VERY glamorous!" So, for the next 55 minutes, I was treated to the star treatment, and felt every inch the star with all of my favorite things (except the baby) within grabbing distance. And damn, I looked good. It was the exact thing a tired, sweaty, baby momma needed to get thru. All these years later, I still smile at the memory, and the friend who not only understood, but took the time and made the effort to add sparkle to my life. Don't know special that is to me. Thanks, girl, you are simply the best. Oh, and Mom and Dad for your constantly being there for us. I am truly blessed. And glamorous. xo

Hot child in the city......

At eighteen, I needed to "find myself", and leaving my family home in Ossineke, moved to the big city of Alpena. Two of my girlfriends and I rented an apartment together and what I was sure was to be a very Mary Tyler Moore life ensued. The apartment was in a converted, large, old home in Alpena. There were 5 apartments plus a studio in the place. The studio apartment served as a love nest for a local business man and we loved watching him and his mistress going to fit in a quickie on lunch hour! You might want to adjust that beehive lady, and tuck that shirt in there, mister, we'd giggle upon their exit. Anyhoo, there were approximately 24 people living in the remaining 5 apartments in-- various configurations. The place was a real living organism constantly changing and growing. People coming and going and staying all the time. Sorta like a hippie commune with all of us sometimes eating, sleeping, using each others clothes, bathrooms, cars, etc. Early on we all made a pact that none of us would sleep with each other so as to not ruin the perfect synchronicity we had achieved. My parents were less than thrilled by this little "camelot". One time when I was suffering with the flu, my Dad stopped in to check on me. After finding some pot that I did not have time to stash, (it truly WAS someone else's!) He witnessed the dude from downstairs come out from my shower, dripping wet and wrapped only in a towel announcing that I was low on shampoo. Oh, and "Hi, Dad." See, his apartment had only a bathtub and ours had only a shower, so we swapped alot. Works for me. The same guy also always had diet Pepsi and aspirin on hand for our hangovers, as well as quarters for the laundry mat. Another guy (did I mention that we were the only chickies there?) usually hosted a big Sunday dinner that we could all attend. It was sometimes the only real meal we ate all week--except for my date at Big Boy with my Dad whenever I could con him. All three of us had jobs, but with car payments, insurance, lip gloss, ciggies, etc. there was barely enough money left over for rent--much less food. One friend's Mom worked somewhere that she could give us cases of cranberry juice. This was mixed with cheap vodka that served as our drink of choice and also very conveniently kept us from bladder infections. Double duty! Ingenious AND efficient, we were! The fact that our pad had only ONE large bedroom made sharing sleeping arrangement sometimes rather dicey. Thus sharing with some of the others was sometimes a necessity. Nobody seemed to mind me crashing on their couch or wherever, with my blankee and Barry White (ever faithful teddy bear) in tow. I could usually score something to eat or a cocktail--plus cable! Bonus!! It was sometimes interesting to see what was in MY kitchen tryin' to scrounge up (good luck, guy) breakfast the next day. So, after a period of this craziness, one friend announced that she was moving away with her family and was leaving us in the lurch on the three way rent split. What to do? My remaining friend and I decided that this was the perfect time for us to vacation in Florida to think through our options. Cleaning out our small bank accounts, we headed south to live it up. Arriving home, unspeakably tan, I soon learned that I was being laid off due to job cuts. Arrggh. Okay, no job, no money, and certainly no fun. Couldn't even make one more months rent. Dad to the rescue, again. Shamefully, I was forced to move home. The end of life as I knew it. Goodbye, city life!! Back at the ranch, I had my own private bed, a shower AND a bathtub, no rent, and a full refrigerator. Could be worse right? RIGHT? No more splitting a chicken pot pie--they were 4 for a buck at the time! And cranberry cocktails before noon were frowned upon. But, as always, I survived. Unemployment kicked in till I found another job and another adventure could begin. And eventually, it did. Did I ever find myself? Yeah, I think I did. Just another hard knock with the lesson learned. Blah da blah blah blah. Now that I am secure and more than one mortgage payment away from homelessness, I still love to think on that period in my life and realize it will never be the same again. Thank God. xoxoo

Songs in the key of life.....

In an effort to to write a more interactive blog, I am digging deep, to ask the important questions --meaningful and thought provoking--that will compel you to post comments for me to learn more about you. So, when recently considering what my favorite song is, I thought it would be good fodder to consider my choices and for you to think of yours. My ipod has such variety that I'm not too sure how to narrow it down. Based on what? And are there any category limitations? No, just top 5 songs that make you feel something for whatever reason. Not being a real musical aficionado, in the technical sense, I have decided to go with 10 of my favorite songs that just move me somehow. Try not to think too hard. Okay, so here goes. 1. I Can't Tell You Why--by The Eagles 2. It's too late--by Carole King 3. I'm Every Woman--by Chaka Khan 4. One of These Nights--by the Eagles 5. Can't Get Enough of Your Love--by Barry White 6. Dreams--by Van Halen 7. Holiday-- by Madonna 8. My Cheri Amour-- by Stevie Wonder 9. Superstar--by the Carpenters 10. Can't You See--by Marshall Tucker Band. These are songs that I unabashedly wail out in my car and the shower, too. No one will every mistake my voice for Whitney or even Cher, but who the hell cares. It's fun to dream and I c0nsider it my right and privilege. As probably evidenced, all of my choices can be traced to love lost, lusted after, enjoyed, dreamt of, been empowered by, and reveled in. Specific songs mark very specific times and people--okay, men. What can I say. I am a slave to the feeling. Having a song relative to those times can bring back a flood of feelings--good and bad. Luckily time seems to somehow "rosey up" the bad times. Jogging my memories for history or say checkbook balances--are something I can NEVER remember. Maybe I would have done better in accounting and history if it just could have been set to maybe, a Grand Funk Railroad riff. But alas, it's true, relationships and love are what it's all about--past and present. And I have to acknowledge Travelin' Man with the Beautiful Loser segue. Ahhhhh. Forgive me Prince, Frank, Englebert, Johnny and Dwight, I love you all too. Please, dear readers, do me a favor and think on this. Let me know at least your top five, and what motivates your preferences. If it makes you dance, cry, sing, etc., tell me about it. Looking forward to your responses. P.S. "Swingtown" debuts tonight and I will be DVR'n the series for some serious strolls down memory lane!! And the groovy 70's tunes. More P.S Beat the Sox, Tigers!!! Yay on the new Pistons head coach, Micheal Curry. (what a hottie!) Welcome to Detroit. Help us bring home the championship!. Whoo hoo! One more P.S. Thanks to my sister, Lisa for giving me the Harley Davidson tank top in my pic. She got it while visiting Dubai and I was the envy of bikers while in the Keys! xo

We will, we will ROCK you....

LET'S GO RED WINGS!! Can you even stand it? After having our hearts broken by our Pistons, The Wings have came thru again. They simply, coolly and calmly, get 'er done. Our team has so much heart and ethics that they are the perfect representative of our blue collar gritty city. Detroit love abounds today. We are national news FINALLY for a good thing. Any other day we are the most crime ridden, fat, non-graduating, out of work, murder capital, etc. etc. But today, we even got kudos from Regis. I remember 2 championships ago, we were attending a family wedding when at game time, a big screen telly was wheeled out and shots were slammed around. When they won the final series that night, it was met with as much hoopla as the original reason we were there. Of course!! It's Red Wing hockey!! In 2002, I was at the game and had such goods seats, that my face is in the official team picture. I will never forget the moment, with Scotty skating out on the ice, and the "D" party that then ensued. Last night, watching the game at home with friends, I never got that nervous. My girlfriend and I drank wine and caught up only occasionally glancing at the game in progress. I just KNEW that they would do it. Growing up in northern Michigan gave me quite an early appreciation of the game. We all ice skated about as soon as we could walk and even had a rink in our back yard. My uncle Dan would water that thing till it was smooth as--well ice. We had floodlights positioned around and would play and skate till well after dark. Gotta mention that one year our septic field froze, thus forcing us to the public rink. In high school, we had a class A championship team. The Alpena Wildcats rocked! And like Detroit, we gave all love and support. I spent about a million hours freezing my cookies off over at that unheated rink. Didn't help that I dated 3 or so different hockey players. Always attracted to the jock type, I loyally did my part. Inspiring from the sidelines was the least I could do--tragic and loyal and FREEZING!!! So okay , 'nuff of sports involving ice. It's finally summer, the Wings have delivered Lord Stanley and the only ice I am participating in is the chunks in my cocktails. I must say, it will be nice to have a night off from watching sports, or even just one as sometimes all 3 teams were playing. Tonight debuts the new series, "Swingtown" which promises a flashback of July 1976! I loved everything about that time and have the DVR set to record the whole series for a serious stroll down memory lane. Maybe it will fill in some of those events I seemed to have somehow forgotten. But, I digress. Congrats Detroit Red Wings!!! xo

Mustang Sally--er, Jodi

Driving home today from an appointment in Detroit at 5:00 p.m., on 94 with the snottiest conditions ever, once again forces me to reckon with the fact, once again, that I INSIST on driving a Mustang during winter in Michigan. I know, rear wheel drive, wide slick tires and a uselessly big engine--not to mention a top more suited to down than up, is a MOST ludicrous decision. Not to mention life threatening, with all the fishtailing and such. BUT. In the days ending with 70 degrees plus, its a whole 'nother story. The car in question--a.k.a. Black Betty, is one fine ride! With gleaming black paint, the top down and those hot, racy wheels it is its own piece of heaven. Sometimes even giving bored, myopic truckers a vague reason to blow that air horn thing. I can easily merge onto freeways with acceleration that just means POWER! And safety!! With the wind in my hair and some designer shades, (okay-so they are knock offs) I can't drive 55! Just ask the not so understanding St. Clair Shores cop who recently, and heartlessly collected a cool $225.00 from a slight speed limit misunderstanding. Some people have no sense of adventure or romance in their souls. Its one of the few ways I know that an old Michigan broad can feel like a young, California chickie. And I had 8 whole miles going 25mph. to dream of it!! Great idea #364. How about if Ford Motor Co. could lease me Black Betty for 6 months of the year and then swap her out for, say a Black Bart, a big ass Expie for the other 6? Do I have to think of EVERYTHING! Bam a lam. xoxo