This is my 200th Post - 200 Things - Part 1

WOW, 200 posts! I'm pretty impressed I reached this number so quickly. I've only really been actively blogging on a daily basis since June.


So, in honor of my 200th post, I've decided to do something I've seen others do, and that is give you a "100 things about me" post...times two. However, because I don't want to hog all your "blog-hopping" time today...I'm going to break this up into pieces. I'll give it to ya 50 at a time.

So I give you - 200 things about me: - The first 50


1. I was born in Africa

2. Specifically, I was born in Luanda, capital city of Angola a country on the western coast of Africa.

3. Angola was a Portuguese colony at the time, and my parents both moved there as youngsters, met and were married there, and had me.

4. That last one wasn't really about me, but it was about my history so it counts.

5. I left Africa when I was 8 months old, for Portugal

6. I lived in Portugal until I was almost, but not quite, 10 years old.

7. While I lived in Portugal, we moved 9 times.


8. I have wonderful memories of my childhood in Portugal, and even though money was tight, I only remember ever being happy and thinking we had it all.


9. My brother was born when I was 9 years old and became the love of my young life.


10. To this day my brother and I have a bond like few siblings I know. I don't think we've ever had a "real" fight, and I love that even now, at 23 he still comes to me for advice and support.


11. I'm really proud of the man my brother is finally growing up to be.

12. I left Portugal for the U.S. the day before my 10th birthday.

13. I became a U.S. citizen at the age of 17 (I think) because my parents took the citizenship test while my brother and I were still minors so we'd become citizens automatically.

14. I have now lived in this country almost three times as long as I lived in Portugal.

15. I consider myself to be an American in every way that matters.

16. I think this country is flawed in many ways, and wish we'd do a better job of being Americans.

17. That said, I'm proud to be an American, love the freedoms and opportunities that this country has afforded me, and don't plan on ever living anywhere else.


18. However, I do have fantasies of retiring to some tropical beach somewhere in Mexico or Jamaica, and won't completely rule out that possibility.


19. Since moving to the U.S. I've moved 5 times, the first four within the same city, the last time to the next town over, about 5 minutes from my parents' house.


20. I live about 45 miles north of Boston.


21. I went to college in Boston, at Suffolk University.


22. Suffolk was a commuter school at the time, so I never had a "campus" college experience.


23. I don't have a problem with that.


24. My time at college was what "they" say high school should be. "The best four years of your life"...or something like that.


25. College was really an eye opening experience for me, I learned a lot about myself, about life, about others.


26. While in college, I went to school full time, worked full time, and still managed to have time for a pretty darn active social life.


27. I also managed to keep a GPA above a 3.5 the entire time I did the above.


28. My major in college was Communication and Journalism because I wanted to be a reporter or just any kind of writer when I "grew up".


29. I had a minor panic attack my junior year in college when I realized I'd never get a paying job doing the above, and I had way too much debt to risk it, so I added a paralegal minor when most other students were taking the "rocks for jocks" sorts of classes.



30. Suffolk is NOT a sports school, our most celebrated sport at the time was soccer, but the only one we all partipated in attending was intramural basketball. Which was HUGE and I loved going to see.


31. Therefore, I never experienced the "college" sports phenom that seems so widespread in this country.


32. So, most of our extracurricular activities involved more cerebral or artistic pursuits.


33. On that note, I joined the Forensics team my junior year in college. (Yep, along with adding a minor and working full time).


34. No, Forensics doesn't actually have anything to do with dead bodies and CSI investigations. It's just a fancy word for the Speech and Debate Teams


35. I was actually pretty good at this Speech stuff, and won several awards in my short time on the team.


36. With the Forensics team I was able to travel to several schools in the New England and New York area for competitions, and also to a national competition in Flagstaff, Arizona.


37. That trip to Arizona is pretty much when the travel bug bit me long and hard, and hasn't let go yet.


38. One of the speeches I delivered was an informative speech on Pez (yes, the candy). Go ahead, ask me anything about it's history, I can tell you.


39. From the time I was young my dad would tell me that I should become either a lawyer or a politician because of how much I loved to debate.


40. At one point I had aspirations of going to law school and becoming a hot shot Boston lawyer, litigating major cases like you see them do on Law and Order type shows.


41. I knew, however, that it's not exactly like that in the real world, so decided to work in a law firm as a paralegal for a while after college, to decide if that was in fact the world for me.


42. It is now 10 years later, I'm at my fourth law firm, and still working as a paralegal. Obviously, I decided against law school.


43. I'm extremely confident in that if I had chosen to go to law school, I would have done well and would be, in fact, working at some Boston firm, making good money.


44. But I'm even more confident that I made the right choice when I decided that I just didn't want the school debt to enter a career that would practically require me to give up any personal life I have in order to be successful.


45. I think it is extremely tough for a female to be taken seriously in several different professions, and law is one of those professions, and therefore, women have to work twice as hard as men, in order to be seen as the "bitches" they need to be to be taken seriously. I didn't want to deal with that crap.


46. Most lawyers I know, male or female, hate their jobs.


47. I won't tell you that being a paralegal was or is my dream job, but I actually enjoy what I do, and aside from my gripes here at The Firm, I like my job.


48. I especially like the fact that when I leave at the end of the day, I leave my job behind me. I don't take work home, I don't have to think about it until the next morning, and I can focus on the rest of my life.


49. While at one point I thought I would be a "career driven" person, I've realized that my motivation to work has changed as I have gotten older. I'm now driven by the desire to have a good, happy, comfortable life. I work to live, I don't live to work.


50. I don't have a problem with that.


Check back tomorrow for part 2, or The Next 50.

Also, check back later for Follow-up Friday.

Here are 13 photos taken last week, on my mini vacation to Lake Winnipesaukee. Enjoy.

1.

2.

3.

4.
5.
6. 7.

8. 9.

10.

11.


And my two favorites:





12.
13.

Click here for other Thursday Thirteens.

Tales From the Firm - In case you were wondering

Wordless Wednesday is right below this post.

Just in case anyone was wondering, since I wasn't at work last Wednesday and was thus unable to report, YES, Whisper Wednesday is definitely still in full effect!

It is 10:30 AM and they have already been at it for at least 20 minutes. Since M.I.A. only arrived about 40 minutes ago, that should tell you the productive sort of day she's bound to have.

Me? I'm going to put on my music, close my office door, and get to working...because that's how we do.

Carry on...

Wordless Wednesday - Make No Bones About it...

Click here for more Wordless Wednesdays

Oh what a night...or five.

I was tagged by The Queen of Memes, JennieBoo, for quite the thought provoking meme quite a while ago. I started this post almost three weeks ago, but was unable to finish it because I just couldn't come up with the answers. I've decided to give it a go again.. It is the Five Best Nights, So Far Meme.


The rules: list the 5 best nights that you can recall and then tag four other people and see if the meme can continue.

Sounds simple enough right? Yeah, sure, until I had to start thinking about what my 5 best nights so far were. Really? I have to really dig deep for these. I'm pretty sure that I'll miss a night in here that I'll go back and think "oh yeah, that was even better than he ones I listed" but I had to go with something, so here's my five:


1. March 9, 1985 - It was my first night spent in the United States of America. It was also the evening before my 10th birthday. My parents and I, and my baby brother had arrived and my grandmother had birthday cake for me. It was a full house of strangers so happy to meet us all. It was the beginning of a new life for all of us. It was so long ago, and I was so young, but I still have very vivid memories of that night.

2. Any of the number of nights spent with my cousins up at the white mountains when we were supposed to be sleeping, but were instead listening to music and talking into the wee hours. I can't pick just one specific night, but I have great memories of those nights.

3. I don't know the exact date, but the night I went to my first concert. It was a New Kids on the Block concert, and I was about 13 or 14 years old. My cousins and I were the biggest New Kids fans. We had our walls wallpapered with their photos, we were in their fan club, we even had our own "Pen Pal club" that we started. Spend our days writing letters to other "BlockHeads" throughout the world, exchanging pictures of our favorite New Kid. And we scored tickets to one of their concerts. We were in a kind of delirious heaven only teenage girls can understand. Our seats were horrible, but we had the time of our lives. It also began my love affair with live music. From that point forward I would attend over 40 different concerts. But that particular night, and all the silly memories that come with it, will always stand out in my mind.


4. This one is a bit of a stretch, because it started off as a "day" which turned into a "night", but I'm throwing it in anyway. My first date with my ex "The Soulmate". He picked me up at 11 am, and wound up dropping me off at 11pm. It was the best date I've ever been on, and I don't even remember most of what we did that day. I do remember that I fell in love with him that day, and didn't want the date to end (thus why it lasted 12 hours). It was a great night.


5. My first night in my condo. I bought my condo about one month before I turned 28 years old. Prior to that, I'd been living with my parents. I'd never moved out. I hadn't gone away to college. I'd never been "on my own". Buying the condo, all alone, was a great source of pride for me. Moving out into the world, by myself, was something I'd wanted to do for a long time. My first night, completely alone, in my new home, was bittersweet. There was a great sense of separation from my parents, and this left me with both a sense of accomplishment and pride, and a deep sadness, that here I was, all grown up and on my own. I shed a few tears, and then I took a deep breath and looked around. WOW, this was all mine. I had done it. There have been few moments in my life when I've felt so proud of myself.

So there you have it, the 5 best nights so far...sort of...

I think I'm supposed to tag some people here...so, let me see...

Annie - because she's a fairly new blogger, who I really enjoy reading, and I think she'll enjoy filling this one out.

Qualcosa di Bello - because I love reading her blog and have a feeling her response will be full of moments that'll make me teary eyed, in a good way.

Frances - because she absolutely fascinates me, so I can't wait to hear what she'll choose as her nights.

and finally

Frigga - who will probably kill me for tagging her yet again, but I love the stuff this girl writes, and just know her answers will be a fun read.

So, hop to it ladies, let's see if you can do it in less time than it took me, which was about 3 weeks or so. You can do it. ;-)

Fun Monday - A pinch of salt...

Lisa the Food Snob is hosting this week's Fun Monday. She wants to "to see your favorite recipe, be it either because your grandmother wrote it, it's the easiest thing you can slap together that everyone likes, it makes you feel healthy, it's cheap, etc. You don't have to make it (although you could if you want) but let us see the index card, cookbook, printed paper from the web, and why it's a favorite in your house. If you have a lot, just pick one, I know I'll have to!"

I read and reread the rules to be sure there was no mention of it having to be a food recipe. It doesn't.

SO, since we were all discussing martini recipes last week, I decided I'd give you all my favorite martini recipe. I'm such a cheat! But the truth is, I don't really cook from recipes, I just cook from whatever I have lying around, creating my own recipes as I go along. Therefore, it's hard for me to pick a favorite recipe.

Even for the martini recipe, I realized I didn't have my favorite martini mix in the house, so I created my own martini...I present to you Karina's Starbucks and Chocolate Martini:

Looks good right? I make apologies now if some of this post doesn't make sense, but after making that martini I was FORCED to drink it, so...um...yeah. (And I'm writing this on Sunday night, so no, I did not drink before work on Monday). Anyway, for the recipe, which I created myself tonight...it is two parts vodka, two parts Starbucks coffee liquor and two parts milk (skim milk for me), coat the glass with Hershey's chocolate syrup, and you are good to go.

As I was making the martini, I was also making myself dinner. Yet another creation borne of my imagination. I present to you my "chicken and cheese dumplings".

Again, I just made this up as I went along, discovering what was in my fridge and cabinets. It is ground chicken, green chillis, salt, pepper, garlic, a bit of ginger paste, some habanero hot sauce, and some shredded cheese insterted into the middle of the dumplings before they are rolled. Fry them up, and I sprayed some "truffle" oil on them to finish with. The maccaroni is wheat with a Ginger Peanut Sesame Pesto sauce, made with a store bought pesto and coconut milk. It was delicious.

I do, however, have one recipe that I've made several times this summer, and as it is the only recipe I can recall following in its entirety, here it is:

Hopefully you can click on that picture to enlarge for the actual recipe. It is delicious and refreshing for a summer salad option.

Well, this was a fun and delicious assignment. Thanks Lisa! Go to her site (link above) for more entries. I have a little extra martini mix left to polish off...finish this vacation off right!

Follow-Up Friday - I'm BAAACK

Well, I'm back from my little getaway, did y'all miss me? I'm actually off work today as well, and have spent the early part of the day relaxing, watching television, sitting on my balcony enjoying some sunshine, and just being plain lazy.

But I promissed a Friday post, so a Friday post you shall have. So, without further ado, let's dig into my new "segment" of Follow-Up Friday, and see what you all had to say in the comments this past week. Again, as a disclaimer, if I don't reply to your comment specifically and/or individually, please don't take it personally, I read and appreciated each and every comment. Each Friday I'll be following up on just some of the comments left here, so look at it as part of the fun...will your comment be one of the ones in this post? But I do visit everyone who comments on here, and I do thank you for stopping by.

We'll start with a quick reply to the comments in last week's Follow-Up Friday. I'm glad you all enjoyed this feature, I definitely did too, so yes, it will become a regular feature. I also love that I get to share some link-love while I do these recaps, because everyone loves some blog-love.

Now moving on to this week:

It all started with Fun Monday, where we were asked to showcase some art pieces throughout our house. I went mostly with some unconventional pieces and everyone seemed to agree with me that my coffee table was quite the work of art. For those who missed it, here's a photo:


And while yes, I broke the rules by listing things that in no way could I carry out in case of a fire, rules were made to be broken, right? The response I received to the table was immense. Therefore, I figured I should elaborate on the story of how this table came to be the centerpiece of my living room. This table is most definitely my most prized piece of furniture. When I bought my condo, most of my furniture came to me courtesy of Wal-Mart. Having just spent most of my savings on closing costs, and now having a mortgage where I didn't even have rent, I needed to furnish an entire apartment on some meager funds. Therefore, build-it-yourself fake wood furniture was pretty much all I could afford. However, in my search for unique pieces I came across an Asian Furniture store that was having a going out of business sale. In the midst of several pieces, that even on clearance, were well outside of my budget, I found this table. It is solid mahogany, and in decent shape, but it has quite a few "marks" that kept it from being a "new" piece. Most of the little stools that fit underneath the table are cracked in places. It also no longer had a glass top. I also found the wine cabinet (which can be see in the Fun Monday post) in the same store. That piece is in pretty decent shape, but a bit wobbly in the legs. Due to these and other barely noticeable imperfections, both pieces were significantly marked down. Due to some additional haggling on my part, I managed to purchase both pieces for $300 TOTAL. For the record, I've seen this very table (in perfect shape) at furniture stores for over $1500. Quite the deal, wouldn't you say? Anyway, the table sat in my living room without a glass top for at least a year, and then, about $50 later, it was complete, glass top and all. So there you have it, the tale of a table.

Now, for some of the indvidual comments: In reference to my comment that there was noone else living with me to question about art, therefore the choices would be made by me, myself and I, Allisonwonderland said: "the three of you did a very fine job of choosing art! it's a good thing you'll have six hands to carry all those neat things out of the house!" This one made me laugh out loud. Thanks for that laugh!!

Qualcosa di bello commented on the caricature. Namely, she wanted to know who the "dude oggling" me was in that picture. That "dude" in the picture was a cause for many jokes amongst my friends and I that evening. I'm not reall sure who he was supposed to be, but we all figured it meant the caricature artist was representing himself in that piece. haha...See, it's a true testament to what a head turner I used to be in my prime. HA! Okay, I'm kidding.

Everyone else, thank you for your kind words about my art, especially those who said I did a good job on my pottery pieces...I'm pretty proud of those! As for the martini glass, I just bought a floating candle in the shape of an olive this weekend to put in that glass...how cool is that?

Also on Monday I posted an update to the Interiew with a Blogger, with a link to Ms. Frou Frou's response to my interview questions. I told you all that interviews would be forthcoming from both Joy T and Annie. I was excited to see that a few more of you asked to be interviewed. So to Lisa, Frances and JennieBoo, I'll be working on your questions this weekend, and will send them to you sometime next week.

Look for more posts in the future as these interviews go live on their own websites. OH, and this just in...ANNIE'S is up! Please go check it out.

And finally, in response to "Where in the World is Candid Karina", everyone had well wishes for my mini-vacation. I'm glad to report that I had a wonderful and relaxing time, which did in fact involve plenty of girl-talk and martini expirements. I'll have pictures and more later on (including some new martini recipes...stay tuned).

Jannis wanted to talk martinis. She asked "What is your favorite? what is the worst you have ever tried? Gin or Vodka?" Well Janis, I've rarely met a martini I didn't like. To be honest though, I'm much more a fan of the flavored martini vs. the regular plain martini. My all time favorite is a Godivatini, which is a specialty of a local billiards place I used to frequent. There is also a raspberry chocolate martini that a local restaurant serves up that is TO DIE FOR. The worst I've ever had, was, ironically enough, a chocolate martini, ordered several years ago at Fire & Ice in Harvard Square in Cambridge. I'm not sure if it was made with cheap versions of liquor, or what exactly the issue was, but it just wasn't pallatable and I was unable to finish it. Oh, and I'd say vodka over gin, all the way.

Oh, and Annie, I'm glad you enjoyed Ms. Frou Frou's interview, she's a load of fun, you'll be hooked now, I tell ya! And I am sorry I left you to yourselves for two whole days, I can only imagine the trouble you've all been up to! Actually, I'll be sure to do some bloghopping this weekend and check it out for myself. For now, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my afternoon off work.
Thank you all for your comments, I'm really enjoying getting to know you all through them.

Candidly Yours,

Karina

Where in the World is Candid Karina?

I'm off on a mini-vacation starting today after work, heading off for some rest, relaxation and a bit of fun.

My friend Traveler is home for the week. She moved to Florida for work earlier this year, and as she was my "martini" buddy, I've missed our martini nights. Nights that were as much about experimenting with new martini flavors as they were about girl time. Venting about each other's work days, gossiping about celebrities, scoping out the men in the room, girl time. Her move to Florida is supposed to be temporary, but of that only time will tell. In the meantime, I've missed our girl nights. So, this week, she's home. Here to celebrate her 30th birthday with her family and friends. And as one of her favorite places in the world is Lake Winnipesauke, we're heading off for a few days of girl time at the lake.

We take off tonight, as soon as I'm done with work. The overnight bag is packed, the pre-mixed martinis (good stuff) and the cooler are ready to go. We've got our gossip, our cameras and plenty of smiles for whatever members of the opposite sex we may happen upon. But mostly, we're just looking forward to catching up, relaxing, and having some girl time.

I won't be posting the next two days, this week there will be no Wordless Wednesday or Thursday Thirteen. The laptop is staying home. I haven't had a vacation all summer, so I'm leaving nearly all traces of technology behind (the cell phone will come with me, however). This is a short getaway, so I'll be home on Friday. Make sure to check back then for my new "Follow-Up Friday" feature, where I respond to all your comments. Hopefully I'll also have fun tales to tell of my time at the lake with Traveler.

LATER!!!

Candid Karina asks the questions

Fun Monday is below this post.

A while back I was interviewed by my fellow blogger Frigga. You can read that interview HERE. It is a fun new meme going around the blogosphere, and a great way to get to know other blogggers just a little bit better.

Per the meme, a few bloggers asked to be interviewed by yours truly, so I set to asking the really tough questions.

Please visit Ms. Frou Frou for the first of my interviews.

Hopefully coming soon will also be interviews with Joy T and Annie. Stay tuned.

Also, if you'd like to be interviewed, I'm still taking volunteers...let me know.

Fun Monday - What's Art got to do with it?

This week's Fun Monday is being hosted by Sayre at Sayre Smiles.

Sayre says: Brush off your interview skills. Talk to everyone who lives in your house. I want to know what their, and your, favorite piece of art is in your home. Photographs do not count. If there was a fire in your home, everyone would grab photographs, but what is the non-photographic piece of art you would grab on your way out - and why? (Edit: These don't have to be paintings - these can be wall hangings, statues, lumps of clay by your child, anything that is artistic expression of some kind EXCEPT photographs.)

WELL, I live alone, therefore, I can't interview anyone to ask what their favorite piece of art in the house is. SO, I've decided to just ask me, myself and I...and WE decided to walk around my house and pick a favorite piece of art from every room. As art can take so many forms, it was fun to explore my house and figure out which things I loved most.

I started in the kitchen, and hanging in my entryway/kitchen wall is my only actual piece of "art", which is a painting I've posted about here before, both in another "fun monday" and in other posts...my "Baby Blue" portrait. You can read more about it here.

Also in the kitchen is my martini glass, decorated at one of those "pottery painting" places by your truly. I love this thing.

Check out the olives IN the glass...cool right? Hey, I'm not very artistic, so I was really proud of this.

Moving onto the living room, we find two more pieces that I painted myself (again at those pottery places), as well as one of my favorite sculptures, given to me ages ago. Behind the sculpture is a bowl with chinese characters, one of my "works", and then there is this japanese style plate, also painted by MOI.

Also in the living room is this amazing wine cabinet:

All of the artwork on this piece is made with Jade and other stones...this really is one of my favorite works of art in my house. There is one more piece in my living room, but I'll get to that in a bit.

Moving onto my bedroom. I've already showcased quite a few of my wall hangings from my bedroom here, so I won't repeat those, but this picture, of Jesus, hangs on my bedroom wall as well. I love this piece. And yes, that is the color of my bedroom wall behind it.

In my bathroom I have a brand new piece of art, in a very unconventional form. THIS

is my new shower curtain. I just love it.

And in the office, hangs a a charicature portrait of yours trully, done at a company Christmas party years ago.

How funny is this thing?

The following, however, is definitely my favorite piece of art in my house. What is is you ask? It is my coffee table. Bought for a steal at a going out of business sale, it is carved mahogany. It has six little "seats" you can pull out, for Asian style dining, but the intricacies of the carvings are what get me. No piece in my home is talked about more than this piece. I'm not sure I could haul it off and run with it in a fire, but man, I'd miss it if I had to leave it behind.

The one piece I would definitely grab on my way out the door, if it came to that, would be the Baby Blue art piece. I've had it since I was a baby, I plan on having it forever.

Be sure to visit Sayre for other Fun Mondayers...

Follow-Up Friday - Now with photos

I'm still trying to work out a method of including you, my dear readers, as a more integral part of this here blog. See, I love the comments you all leave me with, but feel that if I reply in the "comments" section, my replies may go unnoticed, and I want to be sure that I respond to questions, comments, and all the witty things you all have to say.

Since my Thursday Thirteen last week, the one where I replied to comments, was so well received, I've decided to dedicate my Friday post to following up on that week's comments. This is not to say I won't reply individual within the comments section on any given day, because I will still try to do that...but on Fridays check back here, and I'll have pulled out some of the comments that required lengthier responses, and have at it.

Let's make Friday a conversation day, shall we?

So, without further ado, we'll start with last Friday and work our way forward:

Friday's post - "The Curse of the Hot Friend".

The comments to this post made me realize that I'm not alone in being the "hot girl's friend", and that yes, you all understood and felt my pain. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then know that it probably means YOU are the hot friend. I have to agree with Frigga's comment that it is better to know a guy is a jerk right off the bat too, saves you a whole lot of trouble later on. And I'm glad you all enjoyed/enjoy my story telling. I enjoy telling stories, so it works out well. More stories to come, I promise.

Saturday and Sunday I took a break. Although I did post a Sunday Scribblings at my other blog on Sunday. And am very appreciative of the comments I receive on there as well. It is tough to actually post my creative efforts, as I am HIGHLY critical of my own writing, so any feedback is always appreciated.

Monday was Fun Monday and was all about doing good deeds.

Frigga said: "The best part about doing these sorts of things is how good I end up feeling!" - I totally agree! This carries over to everything in life. Whenever I do something that benefits someone else, I wind up winning. With being a Big Sister, for example, people tell me how wonderful I am for giving of myself to my little, and all I can think of is how much she's done for me simply by being in my life. And the feeling I get when I see her do well, and know I had something to do with it? There's nothing quite like it.

Beckie and Joy both said they wanted to be my friends on Facebook, and I thought I'd elaborate a bit on this whole facebook thing. See, anything techie-ish I'm into, and although both myspace and facebook CAN be kind of childish, they are also fantastic networking tools. I've reconnected with people I never thought I'd hear from again through both of these sites. I mean, my best friend from 8th grade, a girl I hadn't spoken to in about 13 years, found me on myspace, and now we've reconnected. That's pretty amazing. So, all the "creepy" or "imature" stuff aside, I'm a fan of both sites. I don't spend nearly as much time on those as I do in the blog world, but it's nice to know I can find folks there. That said, if you're on either and want to be "friends", drop me a line. (There's a link to my email on my profile).

On Monday I also had a bit to say about MTV's Video Music Awards. And apparently, so did you.

Karmyn R said: "Thinking of Britney - I wonder how much of her career is actually her decision - or her Manager and Record Contract Screaming, "WE NEED YOU NOW".Obviously, that girl is not getting good advice from her "people" - You are probably quite right in this Karmyn. She's obviously making some pretty bad choices, and you would think "her people" would tell her "girl, you are just not ready for this" . However, as has been evidenced by her writing off her family, she's not exactly one to listen to good advice anyway, so how much can you blame them?

The Ex has this to say: "Timbaland is smokin'" - Amen sister. He trully is. who knew?

Susannah S commented on how a channel that barely plays music videos can have an award show. So true! And yes, I also feel that Sarah Silverman crosses a line and goes from not funny (because she just is NOT funny) to rude way too often for my tastes.

JennieBoo said: "I know I'm probably the only one, but Britney's horrible performance almost makes me sad, you know?" - You are not the only one Jennie, I was sad for her too. As much as a trainwreck can be fascinating to watch, it is a sad sad thing.

On Tuesday the blogosphere was filled with Tributes to the 9/11 victims and survivors, and I shared a poem written only weeks after the attacks. Thank you to all of you for your heartfelt comments, both about the tribute and about the poem itself.

On Wordless Wednesday I introduced everyone to Rocky, my brother's new pitbull pup. Glad to see that most could see his sunny disposition, as pitbulls really have gotten a bad rep.

But now we come to the fun part, because in yesterday's Thursday Thirteen I offered up some eye candy. I appreciate that we all have different tastes, as was obvious by some of the comments, but I also asked for your input on who you think should be on that list. I knew I'd get requests for some country guys, and you all did not disappoint. There were also some others you thought I missed. And because I aim to please...

Frigga, Rob Thomas doesn't really do it for me (although I do think he's a good looking guy), BUT, just for you:

Also, you mentioned Josh Turner and Blake Shelton. I believe you said they had sexy voices, but they are good looking guys in their own right. Personally, I'm not much for long hair on guys:

And Julia, how could I have forgotten Jim Morrison?

And your strange attraction to 50 cent? I actually get that. I'm not really sure what it is about him, but, yeah, I see it...

And someone else I missed on my list, and only realized it because he was on the "Early Show" this morning...Chris Daughtry...yummy.

I did say this was in no way an all inclusive list...I'm sure there are plenty more I missed. But any excuse for eye candy is good enough for me.

Anyway, it was fun trapesing through the comments this week. I think I'll make this a regular feature. And if I didn't address your comment directly, it is not because I didn't read it and it didn't matter, I read them all, and they all make me smile.

Come on back later, I've sent out some interviews, and will have links to the responses in a bit.

Thursday Thirteen - Bringing Sexy Back

Today's Thursday Thirteen is strictly for the ladies. Well, then again not necessarily. I should say it is strictly for those who can appreciate a sexy man. Mostly, I was just in the mood for some eye candy, so here is a list of 13 men in music I think are among the sexiest in Hollywood. (Stay tuned in future weeks for men of television and men of movies, because hey, why not?) In no particular order:

1. Justin Timberlake. I'm not really sure when it happened that Justin went from being a cute N'Sync-er to the guy who was bringing sexy back, but yeah, he's got that something. I watched his concert on HBO this past weekend and had to admit that yes, he's definitely gotten sexier.

2. L. L. Cool J. - 'Nuff Said.

3. Jon Bon Jovi - He's someone I just think has gotten better with age (and short hair)...lately he just looks delicious.

4. Tyrese Gibson - the man is just hot...that's it, no other reason.

5. Enrique Iglesias - who I think has the sexiest eyes on this planet.

6. Lenny Kravitz - really, I'm speecheless with most of these, which is highly unusual, as you know if you read me regularly...

7. Nick Lachey - I know all the drama with the whole Jessica Simpson thing, and the reality show thing and whatever is annoying...but he's still hot.

8. Akon - This one is more of a personal thing, because he looks a whole lot like my ex Cognac (maybe I'll tell you all about him one day), so I can't help but find him sexy. Although, I will say, Cognac managed to be even hotter.
Yeah...way hotter...

9. DMX - yes, I know he's a bad boy, and yes I know he's quite possibly insane. And I don't even really listen to his music anymore (although I still think he's talented), but he's sexy, and his voice is sexy in a "scary as hell" sort of way.

10. 2pac - Had to make mention of him because to me he was the ultimate "tough guy on the outside, lost child on the inside" kind of sexy.

11. Jason Wade from Lifehouse - now here's someone I hadn't even realized was good looking even after looking at pictures of him. He's a good looking guy, don't get me wrong, but he's totally not my type, and he's sort of young, but...watching him perform live, with the AMAZING voice he has, and hearing him talk about his wife, and the song he wrote for her...well, ladies, that just made him sexy as hell. It helps that I like just about every Lifehouse song that exists too.

12. Adam Levine from Maroon 5 -


I think I mentioned once before that I'm finding Adam here to be incredibly sexy of late. I'm not really sure what it is, because I never thought so before, but with this new album he's got something I hadn't seen before. hmm...

13. Mark Mcgrath - to be honest, lately he's not looking all that sexy in his new job as a member of "The Insider" or whatever entertainment news show he's on right now. But back in the days of Sugar Ray, I thought he was adorable.

And there you have it. I'm sure I missed a major one in here somewhere, but I couldn't think of anyone else when I was putting this list together last night. Who do you think I missed? Who are your faves? I know I'm going to get grief for not having any country guys on here, but none top my list, I'm sorry...maybe you can change my mind.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!