Boomerayy...

Ok, maybe that's not the best play on words, but I've had a tough week and don't feel like being creative much right now.

But who knew that two of my loves [football and RR] would collide! During some downtime at work on Sunday, I opened the November issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. There is a "how-to" column where a professional weighs in on their area of expertise. Who was it this month? BOOMER ESAISON on how to throw a perfect spiral! Not that I'm a huge fan of his [I don't quite 'get' him...he's a little egotistical and a little strange, like how he gushes over O.A.R..] but I was just ecstatic that two worlds played so nicely with one another!

In the spirit of the season (election season, that is)...

Can I have "it's a small world after all" for $1000?...

You know that commercial where it shows people all over the nation - in the barber shop, at the local sports bar, in their own homes - yelling at the TV - "Marsupial!" only for the contestant to answer "what is a mammal"? Well a similar situation happened tonight. The answer in response to the category "Request" something like "my ring tone to this trio's hit song 'Bootylicious' just keeps me begging to hear the entire thing."

No one knew it. No one even guessed. No thumbs convulsing like crazy. Was there a cricket in the room, I wonder? But it's even more frustrating when you [sort of but not really at all] know the contestant. I was yelling like Edith could hear me - "Destiny's Child! C'mon you knooow this one, Edith! DC - Destiny's Child." I was telepathically unsuccessful at contacting her via the TV. She ended up fairing well, second place. She held her own. I think if she would have connected with me that would have been the turning point. The momentum would have then been in her court and she would be coming back to Alex tomorrow. Oh well. Most people can only hope for 15 minutes of fame and here she is with 22.

P.S. - The missing link here is 3M's former boss, the sports information director at Fordham University. Edith is his wife. Small world, eh?

Twitter me sparkly...

Twitter me! shanSparkles

Labor Day weekend...(cont.)

In regards to the Labor Day post below, I found these tips on how to dress for game day on myscoop.us [or you can just click here]. I love this list. It's so amusing to me. Although I must admit I am a little less Southern belle and a little more down-n-dirty...and I know the difference between a nickel and dime formation is not five cents.

Without further delay, here are some tips to help make the average fan look truly "fan"tastic in the stands:

• Hair:
• Your hair can cause you to feel about 10 degrees hotter than you actually are.The humidity itself is enough to suffocate you during early football season not to mention the traumatic effects that it has on our hair! Often times you may ask yourself why you styled, straightened or even dried your hair.Please refrain yourself from pulling a “Brittney” and shaving your head as there are alternatives to this madness. Pony tails have come a long way and they aren’t just for keeping you cool and your hair out of your face during a workout. Most styles prove to be fairly easy to re-create without the need of a personal glam squad or even a gimmicky tool such as the “Topsy Tail” that many of us invested in during our youth. Here are a few personal favorites that should be easy to recreate:
• Side braid with pony
• Princess Laia braids
• Low sleek side bun
• Low sleek pony
• Part hair down middle and either twist or braid two strands and secure
• One last thing to be noted is to avoid using an abundance of hair products unless you want your hair to be the venus fly trap for gnats and other pesky insects that are drawn to your hair.

• Attire:
  
• One of the difficult things about the beginning of football season is dressing for the stifling heat. In the beginning it is so extremely hot that the temp is flirting with the triple digits yet all the clothing in our favorite stores are comprised of wool and other thick materials that we will later be thankful for, but not early football season. At this point in our summer wardrobe we are tired of everything that our closet has to offer so we feel that we have nothing to wear thus putting us in a fashion rut. Learn from my mistake and whatever you do refrain as long as possible from wearing your brand new wool dress unless you want to be wiping away a “sweat stash” all day!
• The best things to wear for the scorching heat and humidity are clothes that breathe such as light and airy fabrics. These will keep you much cooler and will not stick to your body as other thicker materials have a tendency to do. Jersey dresses and sun dresses are always a great choice. Opt for lighter colors if possible.
• Make-Up:
• To avoid looking like your face is sliding off go minimal on the makeup! Forgo using heavy matted powders that offer full coverage for a softer look. Your face will be perspiring and caked on powder does not fix this problem it only makes it worse as your face feels suffocated as well. A great alternative for matted powders is a tinted moisturizer. If you already have oily skin and you can’t stand the thought of going all day without powder to touch up your T-zone then switch to a lightweight translucent powder. Also, Too Faced Re-Fresh Blotting Papers from Sephora do the trick as well!
• Leave your lipstick at home. This is going to be a personal toughie for me as I do not go to the mailbox without my bright red lips. Think about it, lipstick, alcohol and scorching temps do not mix. You do not want your picture floating around the internet of you looking like the Joker with smeared lipstick all over your face! A great alternative is a soft lip gloss with a hint of color or even a tinted lip balm. Once the cool weather rolls in you can break the lipstick back out!
• Accessories:
  
• My new favorite accessory for keeping cool during football season is not an accessory to be worn better yet it is to be held. Handheld fans are making a comeback and what better timing? If you are thinking battery powered handheld fans you are thinking wrong- think Scarlett O”Hara minus the lace or Cleopatra. Handheld fans are a great and stylish way to cool off.
• As always hats are a great accessory to hide a bad hair day or hair that does not cooperate with the heat and humidity. The irony of a hat is that they are so easy yet at the same time hats give the appearance that you actually put forth some effort. Grab the big hat that you bought for the Kentucky Derby party. Yes, the one that you thought you would never be able to wear again. Guaranteed you will get more compliments while wearing the hat than not. Even if you don’t start out the day wearing your big hat or fedora take them and leave them in the car just in case you decide that you need them.
• Necklaces, bracelets, earrings- these are totally up to your discretion but do keep in mind that you mind end up with some funky tan lines especially with your necklaces.
• Shoes:
  
• Never one to pass on the opportunity to wear heels it must be noted that heels are a work out, especially when it comes to trekking all over campus tail gate hopping to meet friends. When I say work out I mean a calf burning, sweat induced work out. In order to avoid walking around barefoot like Brittney at a gas station bathroom I always throw a pair of flip flops in my purse to slip on once I decide that I can’t stand the pain any longer.
• Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate:
• No matter what you are drinking whether it be beer or your favorite game day concoction be sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water! Another great way to stay refreshed is to keep a bottle of Evian misting spray in your purse. These great little bottles provide a refreshing spritz of water to your face that can rejuvenate even the warmest of fans.

Veep veep, vroooooom...

Both presidential candidates have now announced to the US of A their selections for vices, for right hand [wo]men. Although the fact that Johnny Mac decided to make his announcement a few hours earlier than planned completely put the kibosh on a planned interview to go Nationally for my company (ughhhhhhhhh!), his choice was certainly an interesting one. [Yeah, they had make-up, were mic'd up and ready to go when BREAKING NEWS flashed across the producer's computer leaving us in the dust.]

Politics has not particularly struck a chord with me in the earlier elections, but as I continue to age I feel like the present issues are becoming more and more real and have more of an affect on my lifestyle. 3M has taught me the best kind of voter is an informed one. The republican appointment of Sarah Palin is especially intriguing. She truly has worked her way up the ranks, a former PTA member is now on the ticket for the 2008 presidential race. Good for her, a tough as nails former goalie maverick and mother of five running with the big boys.

For Labor Day, VH1 Classic is celebrating the wondrous decade of the my birth with 80 hours of 80's. Technically being a child of the 80's, it was only in my younger years, so much I do not recollect, but I do enjoy 80s throwbacks, nonetheless. Did you know that Bow Wow's song titled "Basketball" of the Like Mike soundtrack was a remake of the Kurtis Blow original? Yeah, me neither. I don't know which one I like better....

...I'm glued to this station for the rest of the night, Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" video is now on, a favorite for swimmers everywhere after the first 10 of 20 100's on the 1:15 are completed. [Shout out to Sayreville War Memorial HS, Alma mater of my dad!]

A pun a day...

I'm a sucker for a corny joke so, needless to say, I was cracking up at these. The last one is the best one, so read all the way down...

• Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.
• A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'I'll serve you, but don't start anything.'
• Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.
• A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
• A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm, and says: 'A beer please, and one for the road.'
• Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: 'Does this taste funny to you?'
• 'Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home.''That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome.' 'Is it common?' Well,'It's Not Unusual.'
• Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, 'I was artificially inseminated this morning.' 'I don't believe you,' says Dolly. 'It's true; no bull!' exclaims Daisy.
• An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.
• Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
• I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn't find any.
• A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, 'Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!' The doctor replied, 'I know you can't - I've cut off your arms!'
• I went to a seafood disco last week...and pulled a mussel.
• What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.
• Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, 'Dam!'
• Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
• A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel, and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office, and asked them to disperse. 'But why,' they asked, as they moved off. 'Because,' he said, 'I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.'
• A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt , and is named 'Ahmal.' The other goes to a familyin Spain ; they name him 'Juan.' Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, 'They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.'
• Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him. (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good) ..... A super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Quote of the day...

"Yo, I hate those indoor pools. You feel like you are being eaten alive by bacteria when you walk into one. Your flesh will disintegrate in the air in one of those disgusting places." -3M while watching The Today Show interview with Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte this morning.

D means drunk and disgusting

Because of the lewd behavior of unruly Jets fan at Gate D, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority publicly issued some new rules for Meadowlands football-goers. Those include parking lots only open five hours prior to kick-off, rather than seven and view-blocking banners so that the masses can't partake in the public display of exhibitionism from floors above.

What puzzles me (and no it is not the two hour reduction in pregame partying, c'mon - you're telling me people can't get loaded in five hours?!), is the fact that none of the tenants took this opportunity to condone these new rules. It would have been a great forum for them to reach out to express and emphasize the importance their fans' safety. It would have been a great publicity platform. But then again, what more publicity do you need as a sports team in the metropolitan area...

On a completely separate note, as I began to enter this post, I heard a soft knock on my door. It was my neighbor asking me to come outside. Our backyard is basically a free-for-all parking lot. Our landlord rents out the empty spaces to local workers, as parking can be scarce on the streets. Cars are parked within either three inches of one-another, making you suck in the gut and shimmy into the seat or right behind you, forcing a 17-point turn in order to exit the space without any bumps. Anyway the point of the story is my neighbor called me out to take a look at this one car, which left a small crack in each of its four windows. The crack was just enough for a curious squirrel to sneak in. Ha! Poor lil guy...

And this is what you would get by combining the Gate D antics with the lil guy in the car.

Happy 8.8.08!

What a wonderful Friday evening!

The start of my blog, an Oliver Perez gem and a feel-good, safe Opening ceremony. That Lang Lang gave me goosebumps, boy, that lasted a good hour. Good for Mescall for keeping the festivities a secret!

Anyway - welcome to the portal of my mind. I thought I might as well jump on the bandwagon and try a bit of blogging for myself. I'm going to [try] to keep my profession's KISSS mantra true throughout my postings - keep it simple, sparkly and sporty! Ok, ok - so, I added the last two "s"' [what's the correct punctuation there?!] for effect, but hey - I must brand myself, too, right?!

You'll find these postings are eclectic as Elton John's sunglass collection, but that's me. I love people, sports and all things beautiful, fun and sparkly and am looking forward to sharing them with you. So, without further ado, happy reading!