Phlog from Jim Thorpe

One of my favorite nooks in Northeastern Pa. is Jim Thorpe.
I've written about "America's Little Switzerland" before , and every time I go back it seems as if there's something new to discover.

This trip, which I made last Friday as part of my Birthday Extravaganza, I seemed to discover a penchant for taking pictures of flowers and trying on vintage hats.

Without further ado ...








{Aside from the hat pics, I think this one's my favorite. I just love the colors and textures.}



{This was such a Dorothy Parker hat - I loved it!}

{A view of the gorgeous Packer Mansion from Molly Maguires.}

{View of the Packer Mansion and Jim Thorpe from Flagstaff.}


Learn more about Jim Thorpe for yourself by clicking here

Fin.

Big weekend looms!

It's gorgeous here in Northeastern Pa.
Summer's looming.
Flowers are blooming.
And I've got a big big big weekend ahead of me.

The fella and I are driving out to Long Island to Meet His Parents.
We're going to eat seafood, play mini golf (or "putt-putt" as I like to say), hit the beach and a bunch of other things I am super excited about.

But the most exciting thing of all is meeting the people who shaped him into the guy I've been waiting my whole life to find.

{I just love love love this photo from findstuff22, don't you?}

Phlog from Pittsburgh trip, and other news.

It's been ages since I last blogged, and for that I'm sorry.

Since I last wrote, I:
- have lost - and kept off - a total of 10 lbs. since the beginning of January
- received a dozen red roses for Valentine's Day (for the very first time in my 32.5 years!)
- took a weekend jaunt to visit friends in Pittsburgh
- was declared a girlfriend. :)

My trip to the 'burgh was my first full weekend off since Halloween, and I so desperately needed it. I'm happy to report that there was a ton of booze, food and friendship from the whirlwind Friday-night-to-Sunday-morning trip - and I maintained my weight! In fact, I ate whatever the hell I wanted, but knew when to call it quits.
{Naturally, I am quite proud of myself!}

Following are some photos from the trip. It's been a while since I've done a phlog!


Self portrait en route.


Pretty Pennsylvania landscape whizzing by.


Blue skies all the way across the Keystone State!


I was fascinated by this teeny, tiny toilet in the handicapped stall at the Altoona Sheetz!
{By "fascinated," I totally mean I wanted to use it!}


More Pa. landscape, but there's a train track up on that there mountain!


Told you!


A dilapidated Hungarian restaurant just inside city limits.


"Because you deserved better than hotel soap."


Now that's what I call a welcome basket!


First highballs of the weekend!


... and in plastic cups!


Our first brews at the amazing Church Brew Works (read all about it here:)


The absolutely fabulous ones.


Me and Tiff - who I hadn't seen since her Oct. 17 wedding!!


The most amazing fish sandwich ever! I talked about it all damn weekend!


In front of the tanks at Hofbräuhaus Pittsburgh - they did not let us put straws in, though we did try, Lord, we tried!


Taaa daaa!


Like booze, documentation is a form of preservation!


This is where the team that won SIX Super Bowl rings plays!!


Even closer to the Steelers' field!


Frolicking among Andy Warhol's "Silver Clouds." (Learn about his museum here)


Tiff in the clouds.


Johnny in the clouds, or my "avant-garde photo."


Andy!


We're always up to no good!


On the bridge outside the Grand Concourse.


Snowy tracks.


Goth of the North, Nanook's long-lost sister.


In trying to hide the fact I was eating ice cream before a photo, I tried to hide the cup inside my coat, which caused ice cream to get all over my coat and sweater.
{In case you're wondering, it was Hershey's cake batter ice cream.}


See, you can't even tell I housed ice cream directly prior to this photo!!


The PGH skyline at sunset.


Ceiling inside the Grand Concourse.


Our wares from the Warhol: Johnny's are the soup cans; I have Jackie and the Andy quote: "I wonder if it's possible to have a love affair that lasts forever."

Fin.

Ladies who lunch.

I had such a crazy busy, yet delightfully fun week this week.
I daresay I wasn't home but to sleep, something that usually makes me a bear, but I loved every second of it.

The week was capped off with a day off where I took a delicious little daytrip to Jim Thorpe with Adrianna, my best gal pal from college.

If you've never been to Jim Thorpe, you are missing out.
It is the quaintest, prettiest little town in Northeastern Pennsylvania I've ever seen. (Click here for info: http://www.jimthorpe.org)

There's tons of little shops, a few restaurants (I highly suggest the pork quesadilla at Mollie Maguires Pub) and lots of gorgeous historic buildings.

They call the town "America's Little Switzerland."
{Don't quite know who "they" are, but they are so right!}

We had such a great day being Ladies Who Lunch, Shop and Wine Taste ... and try on hats fit for old ladies.
{Yes, I will be uploading pictures soon!}

I got a bottle of tasty, locally made wine, four gorgeous green glass pieces to add to my collection, earrings, a surprise for Mommalah and treated myself to three pieces of chocolate that I savored the whole way home.
{Never you mind that they were gone before I even went 10 miles on the turnpike!}

It is so refreshing to know that Adrianna and I still have just as much fun as we always did way back when. After reconnecting for the first time last month, we decided to do a monthly Girls Get Together. Next month, we're thinking about a spa day, which excites the hell out of me because I've never had a complete spa experience.

Not only is it great to rekindle a great friendship, but it's also a great way to give myself a non-food reward for being such a stickler on The (New) New Regime.

Pretty sneaky, huh sis?

For Poison, who I will always always ALWAYS love.

On Sunday June 28, I will see my 14th Poison concert.
Yes, I said 14.
Some people followed the Dead. Phish. Bob Dylan.
Me, I follow Poison.

I fell in love with them 22 years ago, at the ripe age of 10.
I would roller skate in our laundry room and always stole a tape from my brother to rock out to in my alabaster white skates with fabulous purple bumpers.
One day that tape happened to be "Look What The Cat Dragged In."
I promptly fell in love with singer Bret Michaels, and I haven't looked back since.
{I've always been a sucker for blue-eyed boys.}

I can still draw a perfect Poison logo and I cannot, in fact, write the band's name without actually drawing said logo.
{For a long time, I actually thought about getting the logo tattooed on myself, but a desperate fear of needles put the kibosh on that particular dream.}

I've traveled to California and North and South Carolina to see the band.
Its music is my happy place, and it always will be.

My top 5 poison songs are as follows:
1. "Something to Believe In."
{Always reminds me of my beloved Pop-Pop who died in 1990, right around the time this song was huge, because of the line "You take the high road, I'll take the low road." That was our special saying.}
2. "Life Loves a Tragedy."
{My brother and I vowed long ago to make sure this is played at our funerals. God forbid.}
3. "Fire & Ice."
{It's such a fantastic break-up song that unfortunately fits my love life.}
4. "Good Love."
{One of my favorite Get It On Songs. That I've never actually Got It On to. Damn non-Poison fan exes.}
5. TIE: "Home (Bret's Story)." / "Let It Play."
{"Home" refers to the legendary Rainbow Bar & Grill on Sunset Blvd. in L.A., where not only Poison hung out, but Led Zeppelin, who is my ultimate favorite band. It was amazing seeing it as a fan and wannabe groupie. "Let It Play" is the epitome of how I feel when I listen to music in general, but Poison especially: "When I hear the music/ All my troubles just fade away."}

Times I've seen Poison:

1. Feb. 21, 1991 at the Kingston Armory, Kingston, Pa.
{Went with my brother and his girlfriend at the time. I had to keep my room clean for like three months for my mom to let me go to my first official concert.}

2. June 7, 1991 at Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa.
{Mommalah took me to this one, and yes, she is a fan.}

3. July 13, 1999 at Montage Mountain in Moosic, Pa.
{With brother and friends.}

4. July 6, 2000 at Montage.
{It was either this show or No. 3 or No. 4 that me, my brother and his friends ran down the rocky hill in the dark between the parking lot and the ski lodge and I fell off a wall into LA Guns' Bus and one of the members came out to see if I was OK. Good times.}

5. June 20, 2001 at Montage.
{With brother and friends.}

6. July 6, 2002 at Montage.
{This was the first time I finally met Bret, after spending $20 to join his fan club, which garnered me a brief, albeit nearly orgasmic, meet & greet. He signed my favorite album ("Flesh & Blood") with "Nikki, Something to Believe In, Bret." The picture is below. If you look hard enough, you can see the tears in my eyes.}

7. July 3, 2003 at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
{We went to the Rainbow post-concert and saw a SLEW of rockers, except for my Poison boys.}

8. June 19, 2004 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, Ca.
{This was a most eventual concert experience for my brother, "sister" and I, but what happens in Irvine, stays in Irvine, thank you very much. They opened for KISS, my brother's favorite band on the planet. Stars within touching distance: Gene's kids Nick and Sophie and Shannon Tweed, Lance Bass, Kato Kaelin and Zakk Wylde, who incidentally, my beloved late dog was named after.}

9. July 23, 2004 at Montage.
{I went to this with Mommalah because she too is a mucho grande KISS fan.}

10. June 25, 2006 at Montage.
{Went to this with my former editor. Since I was at the Weekender at this time, I actually got to interview Bret, who told his publicist to give me passes so I could give him the article. Which he signed "Love & Poison, Bret." I also wrote a personal column about how much I loved the band - he signed that one "Love & Respect, Bret." I swoon every time I see them, which is every day because I have them framed in my home office. The picture is below. We totally look like a couple. I told Bret I'd be seeing them again in two months time and he said he'd look for me, which made me swoon, even though I knew it was just a line. }

11. Aug. 23, 2006 at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
{Went with brother and "sister." This was the best Poison show because it was intimate, the band was really tight (never mind that two days later Bret and Bobby got into a fight on stage), and it was just fantastic. Also, it might be because Bret spotted me from the crowd - I WAS jumping up and down at the time during a particularly quiet moment - and gave me a shout out, saying "I remember you! I know where you came from!" True f'ing story, friendo. I may have cried. A pic from that show is below.}

12. June 17, 2007 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, N.C.
{With brother and "sister" again. Third row, best seats I ever had. No flipping camera. Balls!}

13. Aug. 27, 2007 at Montage.
{With my BFF and other friends. The first Poison show I got completely shitfaced at.}

How fitting is it that "Look What The Cat Dragged In" played on Sirius' Hair Nation as I was finishing this?
That's flipping fate if ever there was fate my friends.