Hot Dates

The air is frisky with Spring and it's making me woozy. It could also be the pollen. Or maybe it is the mating-ritual-laden series on Discovery, "LIFE." Whatever the reason, I'm feeling generous. After teasing my hubby for being a "nancy boy" on the Disney roller coaster (see video on "Is there Magic" entry), it is time to do a tribute to the man who still gives me the vapors. Danny, I loves ya.

A woman sat on my kitchen counter not long ago and found a note that Danny B had written to me. It was on the inside of the cabinet door on a post-it note and she sniffed it out. In a dumbfounded tone, she asked, "Do you still have sex with your husband?!" She was shocked and I realized it meant that she is not so hot for teacher anymore. As I look around, this issue is pretty common.

I get it, after a few years, the thrill is gone...unless you work at it. One of my bestest friends recently gave me inspiration. She encourged me to show up in a wig and trench coat for an airport visit to deliver various items to Dan as he scurried from one city to another. Although I didn't do it, it was a brilliant idea that I'll keep in my back pocket.

Ok, your partner bugs you, doesn't give enough, has changed since you met. But you're with this person and if you committed, you gotta work that skirt to keep the love alive. For my man's birthday, I sent him flowers, baked him whoopie pies, and took him out on a date. We write each other notes and text each other. I want hot dates until I'm 100.

Here is my HOT DATES appetizer that will make your love fawn all over you...I promise, it's the best and people rave about it. Watch the video>>>>>

HOT DATES RECIPE
24 dates
goat cheese
walnuts
bacon

Pit the dates, spread in the goat cheese, stuff in a walnut, wrap in bacon (seam-side down).
Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes...broil a little longer if you need a little crispness.
Serve up those hot dates and watch your friends melt with happiness

Wanna Play?

People sometimes ask where workin that skirt comes from. It's living large and sizzling up life. Kids inherently know how to do it - they wear costumes, get absorbed in a sport, they lose themselves in an activity. Watching my little people inspires me to get into that zone.

Gigi's play date with her friend Emma gave me a perfect opportunity to work that skirt. I was in my sweat pants cooking grilled cheese sandwiches when the girls started getting fancy in dress-up clothes. They invited me to join in the fun and I said, "YES!" Instead of checking email, putting dishes away, folding laundry, blah blah blah, I got dolled up in a fab number. There were applications of makeup, jewels, heels, and ooo la la sparkle lotion. We turned it into a "little ladies who lunch" party by unraveling the sparkle tablecloth and adorning it with the "plates and tea cups from China" that Nana gave us. We danced to princess music and spun around until we were dizzy. I think I liked it more than the four year olds.

A lot of adults need an excuse to cut loose, such as a birthday party or a special occasion. Something gets lost between the time we are three years old and being a grown up. Inhibitions creep in. Put-downs crop up. But there really isn't any time for it. We have one life to live on this planet. Play big no matter what you are doing even if it means frolicking in a fancy dress on a Tuesday afternoon with two little girls.

Capture the Magic

TRY TO READ THIS STORY IN A HUSHED, 1940's PRINCESS VOICE...

Once upon a time there was a family that took a trip to a faraway land. After their plane ride, they checked into a Caribbean hotel, ventured forward on a 30 minute bus ride, and entered a place where dreams come true. However, wet, cold, pouring rain threatened to ruin their expedition. The mother had a brilliant idea - explore the kingdom in bewitching ponchos. They made their way through Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland. Then the parents went in search for Liquorland, much to no avail.

The children were even more wide-eyed as the voyage continued. An elevator ride in a terrifying tower caused Gigi's leg to shake uncontrollably. And the family was attacked by a T-rex! Along the way, they met some fantastical characters. David Dean battled Darth Vader with a lightsaber. A princess with a really, high-pitched voice coveted Gigi's headband. Nose-kisses were given to each of the children by a giant mouse and his girlfriend.

Before they could return home, the father's mission was to "capture the magic." He seized a moment of enchantment by recording a video during a trek up Mt. Everest. It indicates that the children are thrill seekers, however, the father screams like a "Nancy Boy." The mother is overjoyed by the wondrous hooting and hollering of the father. Of course, he says he was playing it up for his young son. With mission accomplished, they return to Prospect Street and LAUGH happily ever after.

VIDEO - Roller coaster, wa who who who

My "Sweet Mama's Chocolate Chip Cookies"

My mom and dad came to visit from Atlanta and something really overwhelmed me. It wasn't the rodents running around on the table during the dinner with cousins from Baltimore. Nor was it surprising that Gigi sat STILL while getting her first mani-pedi for her 4th birthday. And I wasn't even shocked to learn that at Mt. Vernon where George Washington lived and decorated the interior of his house in extreme colors, he "allowed" Martha to design ONLY one room (which I thought was in the best taste - white on white). The amazing thing is that I'm flooded with appreciation for my parents because of the love they give my kiddies.

After endless hours of Legos and makeup applications to grandma AND grandpa, we did something I used to do with my mom in our kitchen on Vesta Brook Lane in Morrow, GA - hold a dough throwing contest. Roll the cookie dough in a ball and use it as target practice in your child's mouth. Ok, so the USDA recommends cooking the eggs before eating them but body-builders eat raw eggs. My research revealed from Yahoo Answers that, "The average person would come across a contaminated egg only once in 42 years." Supposedly if you get cage-free eggs, the chances are even lower. I've been eating batter all my life and never gotten sick from the incredible edible egg. Fingers crossed because I'm 43 and my time could be up. However, I'll take the risk of one pukey day to eat more oodles of dough balls.

My mom created this recipe by modifying several others and it is the BEST. They are called "Sweet Mama's" because my mom deserves all the props a daughter could give her sweet mama.

VIDEO - Sweet Mama's Chocolate Chip Cookies >>>>>

RECIPE - My "Sweet Mama's Chocolate Chip Cookies"
Preheat oven 375 degrees
Blend wet ingredients with mixer on medium for 5 minutes, until super creamy:
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 c butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Add and blend until doughy on low:
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
3 c flour (pour in 1 cup at a time)
Stir in, by hand, 1 bag of chocolate chips and 1 c chopped walnuts
Bake for 8-10 minutes on 375. Make sure you take them out when they are a tad gooey.

Reinvention Convention

I joke that I'm on the Madonna Reinvention Tour because I'm looking for my next career move. The bullet bra inspires a transformation. Will I continue being a producer, or become a pastry chef, a teacher, a burlesque dancer? I know women who were born again by following a dream...a dream of starting a mommy-bootie camp business, selling multi-million dollar homes, or owning a spray-on tanning boutique to the stars. Some people just want to transform a little, by losing weight, getting promoted, having a child, traveling. Whatever the passion that is brewing, say YES.

I recently attended The School of Womanly Arts Reinvention Night. My friend, Regena Thomashauer, who has inspired me lots and lots and lots over the years is doing amazing things with conventions full of hundreds of women getting jazzed by re-imagining their lives. There we are in Regena's dressing room, goofing around on the set of the show we created for Rainbow Media. That's not my real hair. Wigs are fun!<<<<<

The best line in NYC about reinvention was that it is like "throwing your saddle on the back of the unknown and taking a ride on a nameless longing." Last year, on the train/bus rides back and forth to NY city, I started writing, which was the impetus for this blog. Recently Cheryl Richardson, the lifestyle makeover coach, who did a series on Oprah, attended a Womanly Arts class and she raves about it. (See picture of Cheryl and link >>>>) The Womanly Arts have helped me over the years get rid of anger and have more love. How can that be wrong?!

If you are curious to see what is it like to walk into one of these Womanly Arts get-togethers, check out the video below (that I shot and edited). And if you're surrounded by people who want to cut their nuts off, join me in the Mastery class where you will be embraced by women who are tapped into their pleasure.

Womanly Arts Reinvention Night VIDEO