Oh Ben Watt. How much do I love thee?

For the record, I am not an overgrown Raver. I don't stay up until the crack of dawn at seedy clubs on a regular basis. I'm not out in a barnyard somewhere rolling on hits of E every first Sunday of the month. But I DO enjoy "shaking my thang" to some mad beats every now and then. And last night, I was most certainly doing just that.
Having followed Everything But the Girl since 1985, my tastes in music have evolved, to a certain degree, right along with Bens. Simply put, his/their music has made me happy for 20 years. *gulp* (Wow. That's a long time. .. ) I was so happy last night to share my love for him with some good friends and my honey..

Yes indeedy Mr Tweedy. Yet another kickass time spent grooving to the sick beats of my man Ben. With a simple vodka and redbull(for wings!) we all got our dance on despite it being a school night. I guess we WEREN'T too old afterall! (I can say that I could've done without the random fistfight on the dancefloor.. boy what a mood spoiler.)

So here's to Ben! Thanks for loving what you do (it shows in your face everytime the beat crescendo's). Thanks for cranking out some hot CD's. Thanks for mixing in Brandy's Full Moon (I almost fell to the ground, that was hot!) . And thanks for showing ALL of us at the DNA last night a BuzzinFly time!

For Shame

All this for a glass of champagne Floyd? For Shame...

Landis gives positive drugs test

Landis finished ahead of Oscar Pereiro to win the Tour de FranceTour de France winner Floyd Landis has given a positive drugs test, according to his Phonak team.
The 30-year-old American, who claimed victory in the Tour de France on Sunday, has tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone.

Hot Days

A scorcher of a weekend for us Californians. Normally I love the sun and warm weather, but when you are sans Air Conditioning in your home, it can be a bit stifling. But anything beats the typical San Francisco July and I have been trying to enjoy it as much as my body thermometer will allow. Running at 8am in the morning is already a challenge with the sun beating down. But it makes for some striking views:

And oh yeah, I squeezed in a 2.5 mile run with the Doggone Fun Run crew and Tyler, one half of the winning team(my pick!) from this season's Amazing Race. Some of you aren't familiar with the Doggone Fun Run? Don't worry. I'll be blogging about it soon enough!


But like I said, my body could probably only withstand so much outdoors in the Heatwave. So off to the Museum we went!


After an afternoon of Monet and The Russian Bride's Attire, tea tasting was in order. I know, Hot Tea on a Hot Day seems counter-productive but.. strangely enough, it all worked out in the end!...

Rowdeezy, Rowdeezy, Quite Contreezy; How Does Your Garden Grow?

If you were to ask most who know me, they wouldn’t likely equate Rowdeezy with the outdoors, great or otherwise. Although I am mostly happy with my City Girl sensibility, I felt there was more I was missing out on. Something that challenged me and perhaps even scared me a little. (See Half Dome adventure from last September). I have, in fact, spent the last few years of my life trying to break out from behind the High Maintenance, Martini-Weilding, Stiletto Heel-wearing, I-Don’t-Like-Dirt mold with varying degrees of success.

With the advent of my new(ish) home, I have been challenged in yet another dirt-related arena. Gardening. *gasp*!! *the horror*!! Don’t I have enough to contend with in this busy world of ours? In between the dusting, the DIY projects that lay unattended in the corner, piles of laundry to be folded, unread books, belated birthday gifts still to be wrapped, I now also have to water, prune, and plant?

And let me tell you ladies and gents(and the rest of you too), remembering to water is the easiest part. Moving in this past January, my front yard was in such a state that a major clearcutting was in order and, quite frankly, this seemed an overwhelming endeavor. But D has been my Gardening Angel and with his patience, guidance, and overall love of flora, I have been nudged out into the greenery. His prescient birthday gift of pink gardening boots also helped. (Afterall, let’s not loose focus. It’s still important to look cute!). He has taught me about the insidious nature of yellow oxalis and jasmine. And lo! While rooting around in one of the terraced beds, I have gone head to head with my Arch Nemesis: the dreaded Blackberry.

Slowly, as you may have noticed, new words have slipped into my vocabulary, I own tools I never thought would be in my possession. I have discovered the joys of seeing my Celosia and Alyssum bloom and thrive and offer up their vibrant colors to my home. I have felt the rush of victory as I yanked a sonofabitch Blackberry root from the ground.

But lest you mistake me for a complete garden convert of the Green Thumb variety; I still squeal at the site of anything slimy in the dirt. I still worry about my manicure if I forget my pink gardening gloves. I still can't differentiate between annuals and perennials. But I’m learning everyday how my plants and flowers calm me. I'm learning how my flowering begonias can make me sigh with satisfaction as much as my Richard Tyler slingbacks. How the smell of cocoa mulch can now so quickly say "welcome home". And though it will never be the Gardens of Versailles, it is mine, sprung from toil and achy muscles. It is mine, sprung from necessity and newfound wonder.

Viva Le Phil!

C'est aujourd'hui le quatorze juillet....
This was the first sentence I ever learned in French Class. I get to use it once a year.
Of course, I could really tire that phrase out by heading down to Belden Lane tonight for the Bastille Day celebrations. Or do you think they're still mourning their World Cup loss?

No matter. Tonight will be Viva Le Phil!... It's his birthday and we're gonna party with Strikes, Spares, and GutterBalls... So instead of my elementary french, I shall be accosting those around me with utterances such as Suck it Dude! and Your mom's a strike! instead....

What The???!

Your Daddy Is Dennis Rodman

What You Call Him: Big Daddy Why You Love Him: He gives good spankings

Who's Your Daddy

And by the way, y'all have no idea HOW MANY hits I get from people who Google "Bai Ling Nipple Slip". .... Yeah. She's really putting herself on the map with her acting role, huh?

Pay It Forward

This Monday Morning cannot go by without mention of Milo's generosity Friday night. .. It was one of those nights that we got the band back together and 12 of us piled up to enjoy a night of Sangria and Potatas Bravas at Esperpento's. Some of us thought all the carafe's of fruity goodness must have gone to our head's when we asked for the check and the waitress jsut pointed at Milo and said he took care of it. "WHAT? NO WAY?!!! It's too much! What are you thinking?"

Here was Milo's proposal: In return for our dinner, each of us had 30 days to commit a Random Act of Kindness(RAOK), preferably to someone we didn't know. Oh the pressure! I helped some tourists with their Muni tickets last week, does that count? How kind and how random of an act will count to truly pay this forward? I have mulled this over the last few days and I'm no closer to any ideas of what I could do. But I DO know the following doesn't count:

• Opting not to take the last of the low-fat milk at the coffee shop downstairs.
• Holding the elevator for the cute guy on 36.
• Wearing my extra short skirt to the park.
• Posting more pictures of Sake to show everyone how cute she is.
• Turning down the volume on my office speakers when Cher's Believe comes on my Launchcast Radio.

Not that I won't be doing any of these things... I just don't think Milo's going to count them as my RAOK so stay tuned. All the rest of you are free to relay your act to me and I can post(I TOLD you this was going on my blog!)... Pay it forward Bitches.....

Cupcakes and The Fourth

It's been 3 days since our Independence Day has come and gone but I can still feel the weight of 5 sticks of butter coarsing through my arteries. That's what I get for temporarily taking leave of my senses and wolfing down at least 3 cupcakes and a mound of mac n cheese.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful July Fourth holiday. I myself always seem to celebrate this holiday with makeshift efforts. With no concrete plans of my own again this year, my girl Leslie approached me with a wonderful proposal.
"How about we bake cupcakes and drink champagne all day while watching You've Got Mail?"
Well, that sounds about perfect!

A few additional troops were rallied over to my place and before we knew it,we had ourselves a party!
Leslie and Linda diligently baked over 3 dozen Magnolia-recipe cupcakes while we all sucked down glasses of champagne. For supper we toasted with a simple "America, F*ck Yeah!", and dug into my cholesterol-laden Proscuitto Mac N Cheese. We even had eye candy like Oceans Eleven (for the ladies) and Charlie's Angels (for the men) playing on the telly.
But lest you think our day was an entirely wholesome affair, we did cover plenty of NC-17 topics during our dinner conversation. Yes indeed, I don't think any of us will look at nuts and butter the same way again.
The day eventually winded down with the usual Gay Dance Music, some dog mounting ("Hey! It's not that kind of party!!"), massive sugar overload, and a great view of fireworks from my deck. I want to thank everyone for coming over and making it such a great day. Welcoming dear friends into my home for good food and fun is one of life's pleasures that offers me no end of happiness. You've no idea how it warmed my heart. So cheers to a lovely day, I hope to experience so many more of them with you!!!