And the winner is.....

Hey gang! I hope all is well in your world. I was not going to post today but I just spoke to Wildcat (Happy birthday, kiddo) and she gave me the strength to think....or at least think about thinking....you see, my brain has been fried a bit.....it all started last week.......

But instead, I will start at the beginning....I was born to couple with a huge extended family. How huge? Really big...think about the biggest building in the world. Now consider filling the top half of the building with my kin.....OK, perhaps the bottom....anyway....big.....

Bullpen Grandmom with her puppy dog eyes slyly mentioned that she needed a ride to the reunion on Sunday. Hmmm...I dunno....there are a lot of people there. I will know two of them....BP Grandmom and Grandpop....However, those pleading eyes had me at "I need...." and we were locked into the reunion. As luck would have it, the reunion was on Sunday in Atlantic City...think Steel Pier, casinos, and beach....also think of Miss America. OYE! That's right....BP Grandmom did not want to leave on Sunday. She wanted to leave on Saturday and see the Show me your shoes parade. Again.....there are lots of people there....I'm a germphobe.....parades are not my thing....but I accepted and looked at it as something different and perhaps, yes, perhaps...an adventure.

And so, we piled into the new CRV and loaded the suitcases in.

I tried to find a hotel in AC for less than $800.00/night but nothing was available except underneath the Boardwalk with a sleeping bag and a few hobos. Those spots were going for $150.00.



On to AC where we met up with family who own and operate the Steel Pier. Graciously, they had chairs set up for family as we took our seats in the front and watched the parade. The Miss America contestants drove by in convertibles wearing something that represented their states. And yes, even the shoes were decorated as people would shout: "Show me your shoes."



The reigning MA had her own float and interestingly, she was not as emaciated as the contestants. In fact, she looked pretty darn normal to me. Which had me thinking....are these girls anorexic? Once they finish the contest, they probably eat hoagies, fries, and drink beer. That will put weight on a girl, I should know. I still have my freshman 15....

As each girl passed by us, showed her shoes and waved, I looked at the picture. They were pretty. Some were plastic looking...others looked fragile....some were super excited (check out Miss Louisiana) and others were scared. The one thing that they all shared was that they were a size zero. Yep, I am not sure that Macy's has a swim line for them. It seems they only sell size 2 to 8....
Back to MA....tiny...they were tiny...itty bitty....a strong sea wind would knock them down or they would fly into the ocean. It was here that I gave them my deepest respect. That's right. I give Miss America winner and losers, my props. Why?

Well....what do we like to do more than anything in the world besides sleep? UH, if you answered pick weeds and babysit a colicky infant, you guessed wrong. The answer is that we LOVE to eat....not just love, but crave, enjoy, taste, chew, masticate, and so on. We love it. And they gave eating up not only for Lent but for all of the summer and early September. This is a huge sacrifice that I know I could not make. The weekend killed my Weight Watchers points with one fried Oreo (OK, I know what you are thinking, but Scooby made me eat it).  I guess that they had their eye on the prize...the tiara. Perhaps this is something we should all consider as we seek to drop a size or 20, cut out a picture of a tiara and glue it on a picture of yourself. Then place the image on the fridge....every time you head for the freezer and chocolate chip ice cream, you would scan the photo and grab an apple or a slice of low calorie, non fat, tasteless cheese stick.

And so, once we returned home after a terrific (yes, we had a great time) weekend, Tink and I settled in to watch the competition.



The show moved along quickly as my parade favorites were out of the running. When I heard the story of how Miss Florida tore her ACL this week and insisted on competing, I bet my nickel on her for the win. She did not earn the tiara but she earned something much more important....my respect. Do you think that she will be comforted as she dives into the cookies and cream ice cream when she makes it home today?

And so it goes....as Miss Florida heads to the OR to repair her knee, I will be working with Tank to correct the tendonitis in my right arm. Yep, a yoga injury. Who would have thought? Who would have cared? And do I actually tell Tank what happened or should I just keep my mouth closed and take this one to the grave with me?

With Tank's sense of humor and his sarcasm, let's keep it our secret. It sounds just as bad as I slept on it funny. I will tell him nothing....he will not get me to talk unless he dangles a chocolate chip cookie, then as I look at it with all of its chocolate-ness and may be forced to divulge the secret.

OK, I am off to finish prepping for class tomorrow. Later!