Music Monday: White Flag by Dido

There are a few songs, both current and oldies but goodies, that whenever they come on the radio in the car, we turn it up and the whole family sings along. "White Flag" by Dido is one of them.



I know you think that I shouldn't still love you,
Or tell you that.
But if I didn't say it, well I'd still have felt it
where's the sense in that?

I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I know I left too much mess and
destruction to come back again
And I caused nothing but trouble
I understand if you can't talk to me again
And if you live by the rules of "it's over"
then I'm sure that that makes sense

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

And when we meet
Which I'm sure we will
All that was there
Will be there still
I'll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I've moved on....

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





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If One of Those Bottles Should Break in the Mail...

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Jones Soda. All opinions are 100% mine.

IZEA and Jones Soda teamed up to put hundreds of bottles of Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda in the mail to loyal blogging "posties." 100 bottles of pop in the mail, 100 bottles of pop, if one of those bottles should break in the mail, 99 bottles of Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda in the mail... and one soggy cardboard box and the strange smell of turkey gravy wafting from our mailbox.

Rex, London, Maddie and I spent our pre-Thanksgiving Saturday in the Roxiticus Valley catching up on errands. London had a tennis make-up lesson with Pavan and Mark at Fox Chase Tennis, followed by a fancy meal of Whoppers and crown shaped chicken nuggets at Burger King, a new pair of jeans and some casual holiday dresses for the girls at the Gap, birthday earrings from the Icing for Maddie's newly pierced friend, and a big shopping day at Shop Rite, including a turkey to donate to the local food pantry.

On the way home from Chester, I was regaling Rex and the girls with what I hoped to find in our mailbox: our very own free sample of Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda in my Thanksgiving Postie Pack from IZEA. Even though London and Maddie were a bit skeptical about the unusual seasonal flavor combination, we were psyched to sample the soda. Rex went to the mailbox and brought back a large green cardboard box... but uhoh, it was wrapped in plastic with a message from the post office that it had been damaged in shipping... and what an odd smell! Kind of like Thanksgiving dinner and soggy cardboard all wrapped up in one.

When I opened my postie package, we were all sad to see that our Jones Soda bottle had been smashed to smithereens... but we did get a great turkey hat for Rex to wear while he prepares the Thanksgiving dinner... stay tuned for photos!

Tweet and Retweet Were Sitting On a Fence

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Sponsored Tweets. All opinions are 100% mine.

Speaking of our investment banking clients, Twitter is not just all the rage in my personal and blogging life... it has crept into our professional lives as well! One of our new clients actually provides competitive intelligence on Twitter marketing messages for brand marketers and their competitors. Right here in the money making blogosphere, our good friends at IZEA recently launched SponsoredTweets.com, a new marketplace that is designed to help Twitter's tweeters to monetize their Tweets. Once you sign up for sponsored tweets, all you need to get started making money is to set your price, add a category and some keywords, then wait for offers to start rolling in from big name advertisers. Even though RoxiticusDH hasn't qualified yet (you need 200 followers), IZEA does have many other celebrities participating in the program including Bob Vila, Kim Kardashian, Leann Rimes and Sister Hazel. IZEA is also very excited about their disclosure engine, referral program and API... they are looking for Twitter developers to use their API in new and unique ways.



Go ahead, sign up... and tell 'em RoxiticusDH sent you. And while you're at it, please follow RoxiticusDH on Twitter so I'll have 200 Twitter followers before too long and qualify to monetize my tweets. In the meantime, here's a Web 2.0 riddle for you: Tweet and retweet were sitting on a fence. Tweet fell off, who was left?

Too Tired to Be a Second Grader...

I had spent the day hard at work on a Confidential Information Memorandum for one of our investment banking clients (Project "Rocket Science"), and had just about run out of brain cells. Not to mention feeling a bit under the weather with the first cold of the season. Then Maddie asked me for help on her second grade math and logic puzzle homework tonight. She had finished most of the assignment, leaving only the toughest problems for mom to help on. There were words in circles and other words not in circles, and somehow you were supposed to guess what the non-circle words had in common with each other and did not have in common with the circle words. Here's a sample problem that Maddie said was easy...the circle words are teddy bear, doll, and blanket; outside the circle words are pants, scissors, and pliers. Well, not only am I NOT smart enough to be a fourth grader, I am too tired to be a second grader! Turns out the answer is the words outside the circle come in pairs. I think I'll put on a pair of pajamas, grab my teddy bear, and get into bed early so I can wake up smart enough to be a second grader, third grader, and an investment banker.

Now's the Time to Travel

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of British Airways. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's mid-November and a chill is in the air... we closed our beach house in Bay Head after the annual Halloween Parade, and we've been spending our weekends up north (and west) in the Roxiticus Valley. We miss the beach from November through mid-April, but it always seems too dark and desolate during the cold winter months without Daylight Savings Time. Since British Airways is running a November Seat "world sale" on their truly upgraded experience (including over 200 On Demand entertainment options), it seems like an ideal time to get away from the United States and Canada and visit someplace we've never been before.

I think several of my current dream destinations are available:

• A whirlwind European tour starting in London and including France (Paris and the French Riviera), Spain (Marbella, Madrid), and the Italian Riviera;
• An African safari -- lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

British Airways sure is a great way to get away -- with World Class service not only to traditional favorites like London and Europe, but also more exotic locales including the Middle East, India and Africa. There's no skimping on the basics, with complimentary food and cocktails on all flights... an incredibly comfortable in-flight experience featuring ergonomically designed seats, complete with lumbar support, adjustable headrest and recline... plenty of blankies, cushions, eyeshades and flight socks to maximize comfort for the entire journey.


Let's get going... book by November 19, 2009!



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Music Monday: Jethro Tull Live with Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll

Last weekend, on the way home from the Miley Cyrus concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, with our little girls falling asleep in the back seat of my Acadia, my friend Susan and I were discussing our mis-spent youth and our first concerts. Mine was Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes at Somerset County College; hers was Jethro Tull. We were both feeling a bit older, more like parents than the rockers we once were, but this song came to mind and put me back in the "never too old" frame of mind:



The old Rocker wore his hair too long,
wore his trouser cuffs too tight.
Unfashionable to the end --- drank his ale too light.
Death's head belt buckle --- yesterday's dreams ---
the transport caf' prophet of doom.
Ringing no change in his double-sewn seams
in his post-war-babe gloom.

Now he's too old to Rock'n'Roll but he's too young to die.

He once owned a Harley Davidson and a Triumph Bonneville.
Counted his friends in burned-out spark plugs
and prays that he always will.
But he's the last of the blue blood greaser boys
all of his mates are doing time:
married with three kids up by the ring road
sold their souls straight down the line.
And some of them own little sports cars
and meet at the tennis club do's.
For drinks on a Sunday --- work on Monday.
They've thrown away their blue suede shoes.

Now they're too old to Rock'n'Roll and they're too young to die.

So the old Rocker gets out his bike
to make a ton before he takes his leave.
Up on the A1 by Scotch Corner
just like it used to be.
And as he flies --- tears in his eyes ---
his wind-whipped words echo the final take
and he hits the trunk road doing around 120
with no room left to brake.

And he was too old to Rock'n'Roll but he was too young to die.
No, you're never too old to Rock'n'Roll if you're too young to die.

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Music Monday: Shake It by Metro Station (Miley's Big Brother)

We're up in the Roxiticus Valley recovering from Saturday night's Miley Cyrus concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. I've posted a sort of review of the Miley Cyrus concert and Music Monday video over at Roxiticus Desperate Housewives, and wanted to keep the theme going here with Miley's Big Brother, Trace, and his band, Metro Station, who opened the show. Here's the official video for his song, "Shake It," but it seems like they updated the video for Miley's Wonder World tour, with baby sister herself shakin' it on the jumbotron behind the Metro Station live performance.



Let's drop!
Yeah, come on

I'll take you home
If you don't leave me at the front door
(Leave me at the front door)
Your body's cold
But girl, we're gettin' so warm
And I was thinking of ways
That I could get inside
(Get inside)

Tonight you're falling in love
Let me go now
This feeling's tearing me up
Here we go now

Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it

Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it (x4)

Your lips tremble
But your eyes are in the straight stare
(In the straight stare)
We're on the bed
But your clothes are laying right there
And I was thinking of places
That I could hide
(I could hide)

Tonight you're falling in love
Let me go now
This feeling's tearing me up
Here we go now

Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it

Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it (x4)

I saw you dancing
And I couldn't get you off my mind
I could tell that you could tell
That I was taking my time
But I was thinking of ways
To get you to stay tonight
Body's shaking
Tell me off so I can turn off the lights

Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it

Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it (x4)

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Music Monday: Closing Time by Semisonic

After the annual Bay Head Halloween parade, we always close down our beach house and stay warm and cozy in the Roxiticus Valley until the snow melts in April. And, here in the United States, this weekend we ended Daylight Savings time by turning our clocks back an hour. So I wanted to find a fitting Music Monday, and came up with "Closing Time" by Semisonic. Rex and I saw them live at the Garden State Arts Center about fifteen years ago when they opened for Matchbox 20.



Closing time - time for you to go out, go out into the world.
Closing time - turn the lights up over every boy and every girl.
Closing time - one last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer.
Closing time - you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.

I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - time for you to go back to the places you will be from.
Closing time - this room won't be open 'til your brothers or you sisters come.
So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits - I hope you have found a
friend.
Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Yeah, I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - time for you to go back to the places you will be from...

I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...

We'll see you all in April 2010!

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Music Monday Tribute to the Bay Head Halloween Parade... We Did the Mash, We Did the Monster Mash!

I'll be posting some photos from the Bay Head Halloween Parade soon, but first it's time for Roxy's Music Monday theme: Halloween! In honor of all the scary monsters, sweet bumblebees and flamingos, and creative costumes that turned out at for the annual Bay Head Halloween Parade, here's Bobby "Boris" Pickett with a spooky video of the Monster Mash:



I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"

It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my monster mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you

Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash
And do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash
You'll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash

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Today's the Day: Annual Halloween Parade in Bay Head, NJ

For the past few years, it feels like the annual Bay Head Halloween Parade has involved a grim weather forecast of hell and high water. Yesterday we drove down to our beach house in the pouring rain, which flooded Lake Avenue and didn't let up as we made our way to the Crab Shack to pick up 100 clams for dinner.

All week long, our little Weather Girl, Maddie, has been watching Weather.com, where just like last year, they forecast rain, rain, rain on Saturday, but sunny and 60 degrees on Sunday for the Bay Head Halloween Parade. Witches, goblins, ghosts and Disney princesses will start gathering on Mount Street in Bay Head, New Jersey, shortly after 11am for the 11:45am parade start.

Continue reading

Bay Head Halloween Parade This Weekend... Wait Until You See London and Maddie!

Roxy's loyal Bay Head Blog readers know that our family takes Halloween very seriously, particularly our participation in the annual Bay Head Halloween Parade. Last year, London, Maddie, Rex and I won the "Good Sport" award for grown-ups who dress up in the best costumes and march in the parade with their kids. The photo on the right shows us in costume, from left to right: Maddie (as Sharpay "Golf" from High School Musical) Rex (as Ken), Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis, Roxy (as Barbie), and London (as Sharpay "End of Year" from High School Musical).

This year, I don't want to give too much away to the competition in advance of the event, but London and Maddie are dressing up and performing along the parade route as their girl band, the Butter Bites, and we've prepared a special "float" to march in the parade. And Rex and I will be in costume as you've never seen us before... pictures on Monday!

Mrs. Bill, Where Are You Now?

Over the long Columbus Day/Roxy's Birthday Celebration weekend, one of London's teachers gave me some homework... to provide my insights into London's reading style and abilities and any influences on her reading and writing. The "homework assignment" got me thinking back to my own childhood and the teachers who influenced my own reading and writing and made a difference in my life. Over the twenty five years since high school, I've lost contact with all of my teachers, most of whom must have retired by now... including the Freshman English teacher I'll call "Mrs. Bill." While I can't say that the assigned reading for her class really inspired me, I give Mrs. Bill credit for getting me started on a lifetime of keeping a journal... and eventually a blog, though the Internet hadn't been invented yet when I was in college... never mind high school.

In an attempt to track down Mrs. Bill, I've Googled her and tried the usual social networking sites, but I don't think many people over the age of 60 has a Facebook page! So I'm going to visit MyLife, America's #1 people search, and test out the service to see if you can find Mrs. Bill...If I find her, I'll let all of my loyal readers know what she's up to these days, and I'll be sure to thank her for influencing the writer (and mother of two readers/writers) I am today.

Music Monday: Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding by Elton John

Up north and west in the Roxiticus Valley for this rainy rainy weekend, Rex and I attended a memorial service for a dear neighbor who passed away after a long struggle with cancer. The lyrics below for Love Lies Bleeding (since Funeral for a Friend is the instrumental lead-in) really reflect the end of a love affair rather than the end of a life, but the song was stuck in my head, so here's my Music Monday pick.



The roses in the window box
Have tilted to one side
Everything about this house
Was born to grow and die

Oh it doesn't seem a year ago
To this very day
You said I'm sorry honey
If I don't change the pace
I can't face another day

And love lies bleeding in my hand
Oh it kills me to think of you with another man
I was playing rock and roll and you were just a fan
But my guitar couldn't hold you
So I split the band
Love lies bleeding in my hands

I wonder if those changes
Have left a scar on you
Like all the burning hoops of fire
That you and I passed through

You're a bluebird on a telegraph line
I hope you're happy now
Well if the wind of change comes down your way

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




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Making Plans for a Pet... or Two

It is no secret that my younger daughter, Maddie, wants a dog. For the past couple of years, she's done every school project, big or small, about dogs. At the Mendham Township Elementary School book fair last spring, Rex and I found her a huge encyclopedia of dogs and, despite its five pound coffee table book weight, Maddie carries it with her everywhere, reading out chapter and verse on different breeds and how to take care of your new puppy. When she has a chance to go online, Maddie visits all sorts of dog and pet web sites, such as Petango.com - Adopt a cat! a site which lists thousands of dogs and cats, currently cared for at reputable animal shelters across North America, who are all looking and waiting for loving homes.

Due to her older sister London's pet allergies, Rex and I have been reluctant to adopt a pet for Maddie, but after three years of "research and testing," including a doggy slumber party, with the Cock-a-poo across the street from our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, we believe that London no longer has allergic reactions to certain dog breeds. Maddie has used our zip code to look for a dog on Petango, which provides a real-time searchable database of happy, well-loved pets waiting in reputable shelters around the country for new loving homes. The pets Maddie finds on Petango are right in our own backyard. Now we just have to find one... or two... who won't make London sneeze and break out in hives...wish us luck!

Roxy's Birthday Music Monday: Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds

As I mentoned over on my Roxiticus Desperate Housewives blog, we're down at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, celebrating my birthday with a long Columbus Day holiday weekend... London and Maddie have off from school, so it takes me back to my elementary school days, when I often had a long weekend celebration for my birthday.

I'm feeling a bit introspective this weekend, with life and death weighing on my mind after our dear neighbor in the Roxiticus Valley passed away last week. For my birthday Music Monday pick, I wanted something that would convey the depth of these emotions, but at the same time give us all an uplifting message. Back in 1959, Pete Seeger set the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 to music in "Turn, Turn, Turn," made popular by the Byrds in 1965.




To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear its not too late

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Today's the Day: Kitchens by the Sea in Bay Head, New Jersey

In a few minutes, London and Maddie's babysitter will arrive, and Rex and I will head out to Kitchens by the Sea, an amazing day of peeking into our neighbors' kitchens and enjoying delicious food samples provided by local Jersey Shore restaurants and caterers. This year's participating restaurants include:

• Rock'n'Joe's
• Scone Shoppe
• Miletto's
• Bay Head Chocolate Shoppe
• Labrador Lounge
• Martell's
• Theresa's South
• Shore Fresh Seafood
• Brandl; and
• Joe Leone

Each of the homes, spread out through Bay Head and Mantoloking, will feature an excellent local restauranteur or caterer serving samples of their cuisine. In addition, the dining areas of the homes will showcase table settings and floral arrangements provided by local designers.

All proceeds benefit the Bay Head School Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Please call 732-714-1902 for more information.

Tickets are $50 (with limited availability, as this is a very popular event) "at the door" today, the day of the kitchen tour, at Bay Head School, 145 Grove Street in Bay Head, where your information packet and tour map will be distributed.

As you head out on the tour, be sure to stop in to visit the local Bay Head merchants...many of the shops, including the Anchor & Palette Gallery on Mount Street, are offering special discounts to kitchen tour participants.

Music Monday: I'll Take You to the Top

Saturday night, we were relaxing on the porch with our iPod five star playlist rolling on the last night of our vacation at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey. Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones came on with the seductive "Tops" and I decided to make it my Music Monday pick.



Hey baby
Every man is the same come on
I'll make you a star
I'll take you a million miles from all this
Put you on a pedestal
Come on, come on

Have you ever heard those opening lines
You should leave this small town way behind
I'll be your partner
Show you the steps
With me behind your tasting of the sweet wine of success
Cause I'll take you to the top, baby
Hey baby
I'll take you to the top

Step on the ladder
Toe in the pool
You're such a natural you don't need no acting school
Don't need no casting couch
Or be a star in bed
Never, never, never let success go to your pretty head
Cause I'll take you to the top, baby
I swear we're never going to stop, baby
I'll take you to the top

Don't let the world pass you by
You better take your chance now baby
Or be sorry for the rest of your sweet loving life, baby
Oh, sugar
Hey sugar, I'll take you to the top
I'll take you to the top
I'll take you to the top, sugar

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Taking Care of Cashew

Tomorrow, Maddie and London embark on a wonderful adventure. Our neighbors, Jango and Dorothy Parker, are traveling to a wedding in Chicago, and have entrusted us with their sweet dog, Cashew. When we next get together with the neighbors over a long weekend in September, I'm going to help the good doctor Dot to set up her own hormone replacement therapy blog.

The girls have spent plenty of time playing with Cashew, and taking him for walks on the weekend. However, due to London's pet allergies, this is the first time we've had a doggy visitor spend the night. Since Cashew is a cockapoo, an allegedly hypoallergenic dog, we're testing to see if London's allergies act up, or whether we might be able to get a cockapoo as a pet next summer instead of a lizard.

Music Monday Theme: Lookin' Back with Taylor Swift's "Fifteen"

Here's the second post in my theme for this week's Music Monday: Lookin' Back, this time with Taylor Swift, to age "Fifteen." As my sweet 7-year-old Maddie and 8-year-old London sing out the lyrics, I think about who they might be at 15 and hope they'll remember the words of Taylor Swift, who at only 19, doesn't have that far to look back to her 15-year-old self:



You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
You say "Hi" to your friends you ain't seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody's way
It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here
For the next four years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
"You know I haven't seen you around, before"

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Feeling like there nothing to figure out
Well count to ten, take it in
This is life before who you're gonna be
Fifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool
Well be out of here as soon as we can
And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And your momma's waiting up and you think he's the one
And you're dancing round your room when the night end
When the night ends

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tell you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin round but
In your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy of the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine

And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
Who changed his mind and we both cried

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall
Ive found that time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

La la la la la .. la la la la la .. La la la la la

Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through those doors

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We're Having A Party... Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes at Martell's Tiki Bar in Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ: Monday, August 31 & Tuesday, September 1

While I was raised on the Jersey bar band sounds of "We're Havin' A Party," "Talk to Me," and "I Don't Want To Go Home," I've never really known whether Southside Johnny has a following beyond New Jersey and the Tri-State area, or whether Bruce Springsteen is the only Jersey boy who's become a household name for the rest of the world. For most of the past twelve summers, Rex and I have made an annual tradition of seeing Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes at Martell's Tiki Bar in Pt. Pleasant Beach, New Jersey.

We had some portion of the Jukes and La Bamba's Big Band at our wedding on the beach in September 1998 and at Rex's 60th birthday party at our house in Mendham a few years ago.

While London and Maddie had the good fortune to see their first concert (Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Tour at the Prudential Center in Newark NJ in December 2007) before they turned seven, my first concert was Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes at Somerset County College (now Raritan Valley Community College) in 1978, when I was twelve years old. Having learned proper groupie decorum from late night network TV (who remembers Midnight Special and Don Kirschner's Rock Concert??), I jumped the stage and grabbed onto bass player Gene Boccia's leg. 20 years later... Continue reading

50 Cent Beach Reads for Charity at the Anchor & Palette Gallery in Bay Head, New Jersey

It's a rainy Saturday here at our beach house in Bay Head, the perfect time for a rundown on Roxy's recent beach reads, all of which I've picked up for 50 cents at the Anchor & Palette Gallery in Bay Head, New Jersey. All proceeds go to the good work of St. Paul's United Methodist Church, on the corner of Bridge Avenue and West Lake Avenue in Bay Head, NJ.

The best, by far, is the one I'm reading right now: False Memory, a thriller by Dean Koontz: a tale of madness, suspense, love, and terror from a startlin and true-life psychological condition so close to home it will stun even his most seasoned readers... autophobia -- fear of oneself. As a huge fan of haiku, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the evil psychiatrist who manipulates his patients with hypnotic haiku.

I also breezed through "April & Oliver," Tess Callahan's debut as a novelist, as well as Lisa Scottoline's "Look Again."

I'm headed back to my comfy chair on the porch to finish False Memory... I'll try to post more details later without giving away the gripping conclusion.

Hurricane Bill Was Here

Gone Surfin'

No one in our family actually surfs with a long board (though I have a cool pink boogie board and London and Maddie are getting to be quite the body surfers like their dad), but I wanted to let you know that Rex, London, Maddie and I will be spending the next couple of weeks here at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey. I'll still be posting here, as well as over on Roxiticus Desperate Housewives, and may even have more time to devote to the blogosphere, but hope that my posts will be filled with the relaxation of the ocean waves crashing against the sand.

The first day of our beach vacation started out as an 8-hour day of work in the home office, but as I said to Maddie and London when we headed out to the edge of the ocean around 4 o'clock, "A short day at the beach sure beats a day at the office."

At a minimum, I'm hoping that a daily dose of sunshine and the sound of the ocean waves will calm my nerves, soothe my soul/psyche, and remind me to focus on what's really important: my family and my health. So far, so good... for me, the sound of the ocean is more relaxing than all the yoga and belly-breathing a more "holistic" person might enjoy.

I'm writing in a new pink journal whose proceeds, through the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, benefit the fight against breast cancer, which is another element of putting priorities in perspective. I thank God every day for all the ways I have been blessed.

Unsubscribe, Please

You know how spammers and other e-mail marketers give you a click through to "unsubscribe" from their frequent, unwanted e-mails? Have you ever received an e-mail (or multiple e-mails) from a friend and wished you could just e-mail back a single word response..."unsubscribe."

I have a high enough degree of stress in my career that I don't need to add to it, so I avoid unpleasant news and discussions. I don't find it helpful to commiserate about the economy, the unemployment rate, or the housing market, unless there's something productive to do about it. There's enough bad news in the world that can't be avoided, so I'd prefer that my friends not pass along their grim reaper newsletters to me.

Summer Dinners at the Beach with Rex

Down at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, particularly on the hottest days of summer, Rex likes to prepare light, refreshing dinnners for our family and guests... from his famous grilled chicken taco salad to a flank steak salad. In addition to using all natural NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar in one of his summer recipes, Rex might splash it onto a simple green salad, baby spinach, chicken fresh and hot from our backyard grill, pasta, baked potatoes, or even hot vegetables like yellow squash or zucchini. Made from whole grain rice and naturally brewed in a traditional manufacturing process that begin more than 200 years ago in Japan, NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar is a fat and gluten free, low calorie (one tablespoon = 20 calories vs. 1 tablespoon of mayo = 90 calories and 10 grams of fat), delicious and healthy alternative to salad dressing, sour cream or butter. If you're watching your salt intake, it also has 50% less sodium than other rice vinegar brands and is available in several tasty flavors such as Roasted Garlic, Basil & Oregano, Balsamic Blend, Red Pepper, and Italian Herb.

Check out NAKANO's web site for recipes, fun-to-try splash tips, and a $1.00 off coupon so you can try "the new condiment" for yourself. Join the NAKANO Splash Recipe Club to receive cool newsletters featuring great cooking themes such as cooking with Caribbean flavors.