Happy 4th You All!

Hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th.



Mr. Moto got a new girlfriend. Her name is Kawasaki. She was born in 2012 and she is a hot 450! We spent Saturday morning at the track with her in the 95 degree weather and then headed to the Beach where it was almost 20 degrees cooler.
That's where we tried a new sport...kayaking. After a few important pointers, we were ready to launch. Final words were "keep the kayak straight as you enter the ocean". Andy was on the left side and I on the right as we pushed forward over the surf. And then it happened. Kayak was no longer straight, it was now sideways(my side) in the surf. As much as Mr. Moto tried to keep it straight, the surf had a mind and a strength of its own. Suddenly,
I felt the weight of the crashing wave and the kayak upon me. My little left chicken leg was no match for their strength. But I stood strong, like an idiot, determined not to go down as my leg was screaming to do otherwise. Andy is yelling jump in, jump in and I did as you only have a small window of opportunity until the next swell hits. We paddled out into the glassy ocean. It was awesome and quite peaceful out on the sea. I was secretly hoping I'd grow a new leg while we were out enjoying the ocean. We were also told to keep the kayak straight upon returning to land, so as not to barrel role it coming back in. We had a smooth beach landing and then I tried to step out of the kayak. My left leg buckled and I hopped around the sand like a one legged pirate. I couldn't put any weight on it. It hurt like hell. I was wincing with every step unable to put my foot down. Mr. Moto said to "walk it off". Grrrrr. OK tough guy! I hobbled over and dropped into my beach chair, and suddenly a glass of wine and 2 Advil appear (thank you ladies!) Felt no pain soon after that and stayed on the beach until dinner. Then had a beautiful bonfire. Everyone was gathering driftwood to add to the fire. It was dark and I bent down from my seat to pick up a piece of wood that was near me for the fire. Hmmm, why does this wood feel odd...kinda soft? As I tossed it up and into the fire, I saw fur and a hoof!!!!!!OH MY GAWD, it wasn't a piece of wood, it was the front leg of a dead deer and I had just thrown it onto the bonfire. If I had had two working legs of my own, I would have jumped up and began doing the GROSS dance at this point. But I couldn't. There was not enough soap and water to get the cooties off. EEEEEEEEWWWWW. Poor Bambi. Damn coyotes. I still shudder when I think about it. Bad day for legs I guess.

Had an "old fashioned 4th of July" at the historical Stow house, saw antique tractors, pumps and farm equipment. Even a working blacksmith shop. Spent the afternoon sitting on the shady lawn listening to great country western band with an ice cold
beer. Life is good.

Watched the fireworks from Mr. Moto's roof. Got up there ok, but couldn't get down. Damn leg. Bless his heart, he had to drag out another HUGE ladder to get me off the roof. Looked like something the Fire Department would use.

Did I mention he still opens the car door too?

Me and My Bee Gees

Yes I am needing a BeeGees fix.

Go ahead, make fun. Most people do.

But, next to country music, I love these guys. And right now, it's long overdue for some Bee Gees.

So crank it up and sing it loud.

Seacrest out.

Three Weeks and Counting

In just the last three weeks I have - in random order

- packed and moved a two story, 4 bedroom home with 20 years of crap in it.
- unpacked the above crap and moved it into my Dad's home (thanks Dad!)

- had my 4th garage sale in 3 months

- started a new job

- trained at new job

- attended my youngest child's high school graduation and threw a bbq
- attended my first husband's wedding reception. (Congrat's Bob & Deborah!)

- planned and sent out bridal shower invites for Carla's shower (a luau here at new digs)

- celebrated my first niece's 21st birthday at a cowboy bar

- stepped on glass and embedded it in my heel

- shopped for a MOB dress (mother of the bride) to no avail

- had my awesome sista Gina stay with me for a week (I miss ya already)

- gave myself a 2nd degree burn on my wrist with my curling iron

- entertained out of town guests on graduation weekend

- spent time with Mr. Moto :)

- had the most insane job interview EVER

- visited Neverland in honor of Michael's 2nd anniversary of his passing

- had a meltdown.

- had glass in foot cut out by Dr. and curling iron burn "cleaned" on my lunch hour. OUCH.

- killed the ivy plant in my bedroom due to neglect.

- wrote this blog post

-saw Hangover 2 movie

- and finally

wondering how I could possibly hire my own personal assistant.

Never Can Say Goodbye

It's been two years now.

I will be at the gate soon and will be joined by many others, some staff and many, many fans. There will be tears, (like now) laughter and dancing.
I am filled with such emotion as I try to put into words how special you were.
"I'll Be There" was the first song of yours I remember in my childhood. It was the first song I "slow danced" to at a school dance. Your pictures graced my bedroom walls.

When you performed on the Motown 25 year anniversary special with the sequined glove and your breathtaking moonwalk, I knew history had just been made. It was a defining moment, not like one where a war has been announced, or a tragic incident, but one of those RARE historical moments that was fun and brought joy for a change, where the history involved magic.

You were magic.
And then you brought the magic to Neverland.

In my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined I'd be a part of your world. You taught me such grace, generosity and love. You were a gentle soul. You inspired me by your humanitarian efforts and your indescribable influence on dance and music. But your biggest role of all, Michael, was that of a Daddy and you rocked it, my friend.

I miss you so. May you sing with the angels above.

The Highlights and Lowlights

Burning my right hand with my curling iron. Somehow, hanging flesh is not a good sign.
Chelsea's dec0rated mode of transportation named "Mango".

Moving, load number 28.

My niece's 21st birthday. Let's just say she slept in the shower to stop the "spins".

Two year anniversary this Sat.

Bikini staple wound healing, week 4.
Right thumb. Looks nice next to burn' t right wrist.

Grand Prix in Virginia City with Mr. Moto. Just finished 125 miles in just over 4 hours.

Chelsea singing "National Anthem" at graduation while holding onto hat during strong winds. 240 graduates in her class.

The wind beneath my wings, my kids, Carly, Chelsea and Kyle

P.S. Did I mention I have a piece of glass in my right foot too?

Santa Ynez Graduation 2011 "National Anthem"

Do Something You Love

I have a new job....it's called the Professional Job Applicant. I go to work every morning looking for employment, making calls, sending resumes and doing research. I report to my laptop every morning at 8:00 am, complete with hot coffee in hand and search, and search and search.

I blast off my resume and cover letter into cyberspace. Most times, I never hear from these companies. I can count on one hand the amount of interviews I've had, only to be told I am "overqualified and would be bored" in their positions. I could do a documentary on my journey, especially my "Norma Rae" moment while on my last interview when they asked me why I was applying for such an "entry level" position. I let them have it. They sat straight up in their chairs. It felt liberating, I walked out of that office with a smile on my face and thought, your loss, not mine.

Mr. Moto asked me what I would love to do for a living, not what I know how to do, but what I would LOVE to do if given the chance.

My dream job would involve -

adirondak chairs

seashells

vintage things

pretty things

sweet things

romantic things

picket fences
treasure hunting

girlfriends

flea markets

coffee with cream

white chipped paint

quilts

vintage china

old clocks

cozy things

lace curtains

sea breezes

home cooking

shutters

roses from the backyard

chocolate
&

laughter

Now put that all in a blender and what do you have?

Tracy's dream job.

i LOVE my friends

Today, my BFF took me to a movie.

I soooooo needed it!

A chick flick.I laughed out loud

and I cried.

It was the best medicine for me.

Somehow your peeps just know that.

Thanks Wendy,
i love you.

and

i loved the song too.

p.s. rated R

Days of Chel

Prom with Max Santa Barbara Idol Goodbye Santa Ynez High

Chelsea graduates in 7 days.

She has just turned 18.

She received the Theatre Achievement award.

She is on her way......

Counting down

8 days til Chelsea graduates.

53 days til Carla's wedding.

Oh my.

Where have I been?

Well, its a tale of two homes and I really don't even know where to start...other than the good news is I am back at a computer keyboard, with lots of blogging material and I miss you guys!

Sadly, I have joined the other bizillion people that have lost their homes. So for the last 3 weeks, I have been moving twenty years of "stuff" from my two-story, four bedroom home.....box by box, tear by tear (sniff) into my new place. Emotionally, it has NOT been easy, but it is what it is and life goes on, so put your big girl panties on and deal with it!

Let me begin with DAY ONE at my new digs. I awake at 5:30 a.m. to have a garage sale. As I have an interview later that day, I jump in the shower to wash my hair. Five minutes into the shower, a horrific noise begins. Gads, what the hell is that noise???? The plumbing? Nope. It was the LOUDEST "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" I have ever heard! I jump out of the shower to discover...it is the smoke alarm. Apparently, the steam from my shower set it off. No problem, I will just wave some pillows at it until it stops. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! That's not working. Mind you, I am dripping wet and the noise is deafening. I grab a chair and try to reach the ceiling (I am on the 2nd floor of the house next to the staircase). No go. Too short. I know the neighbors can hear this shrill noise and I can't make it stop. Naked, I run down stairs to the garage to find a screwdriver or a hammer or both in this case. Back upstairs, on the chair, still can't make the blasted thing stop screaming! I am now standing on the iron staircase railing, holding on with one arm and smashing the smoke alarm with a hammer. If the fire department arrives right now, I swear to you I will just die....Forget the hammer, I'll just pick it off the ceiling with a screwdriver....EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, I am waving madly at it like I am weilding an icepick! The noise is absolutely ear splitting, I swear it gets louder the long it is on. I am like a mad woman stabbing thin air. Finally it comes off the ceiling momentarily but it won't stop screaming. What the hell, is it possessed? It is still plugged in! With all the strength I can muster, with one wet left hand, and balancing myself on top of the stair rail with the other, I yank the thing out of the ceiling and fling it across the room. Ahhhh, suddenly, there is peace. And there I am, naked as a jaybird, balancing myself on the stairs. Soaking wet hair, can't even remember if I rinsed out the conditioner, but don't have time now, garage sale starts in 10 minutes....so off I go. Later as my hair dries to the consistency of straw, I discover the stuff I thought was conditioner in the shower was really body lotion........ but me and my straw hair made it to the interview and by gosh it went well!

(p.s. the deceased smoke alarm is still laying on the floor, three weeks later :)

"Oh and Dad, I promise to fix the smoke alarm and thanks for letting me come home....again"

WHERE'S THE BLOG?

Dear Blog Follower in Arizona (you know who you are)

This one's for you!

Thank you so much for your inquiry and yes I've been feeling like the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz lately.....if I only had a brain.......

It's because of caring people like you, that encourage me to write even when things are tough.

So sit back PB, read on and enjoy the post below.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO TITLE THIS STORY

A funny thing happened while at the beach yesterday.....

Mr. Moto and I were flaked out on the sand, enjoying an absolutely gorgeous day. I'm lying on my back and I reach down to adjust my new bikini bottom. As I reach in on the inside of my right hip, I feel a sharp stab. I immediately flinch and try to withdraw my hand quickly, only to feel resistance and a searing and piercing pain. What the hell? Why won't my hand come out of my bikini? I sit up immediately and realize I have caught my thumb on something inside the bikini and it won't budge. As I look down, I see that I have "fish hooked" my thumb to my bikini. Apparently, there was LARGE staple where the price tag was and in my haste to get dressed I had not removed it, thus impaling said staple thru my thumb and attaching it to my bikini bottom. I could see where the staple entered and then ran under the skin the width of my thumb and came out the other side. OMG. I cannot get my hand out of my pants. Panic. I glance again and the bleeding begins. I wake the napping Mr. Moto.

"Andy, can you help me. My hand is stuck to my bikini bottom". He sits up and surveys the situation........trying with all he's got not too laugh. Crap, it hurts and now there is more blood. Get it out I scream! We are both on our knees facing each other trying to figure out what to do. We can't pull the staple out because it is in the fish hook position in my thumb and will rip the skin apart. We can see where it went in and where it came out. It is in deep. So picture the scene. Both of us on our knees, with our hands in my bikini trying to maneuver the staple. Andy's plan is to remove staple from bikini first, freeing my hand and then remove staple from my thumb. As gently as he can he is trying with his man hands to pick out the staple from the bikini..........however, he may as well of had lobster claws for hands. We tried using my car keys to lift bent end of staple but too no avail. Then we tried using sunglasses and anything else we could find on our beach towel, bottle caps, my fingernails. Every time he tried to unbend it, I winced. (come on Trace, be tough, this is Mr. Moto you are with....who has broken more bones than I'm sure he can count, been helivacted, survived punctured lungs and being run over by motorcycles ) and you are whimpering over an impaled staple. Suck it up, girl!!! And then I notice people are now staring. Because this does look pretty perverted. Man with hand in girl's bikini, using car keys and sunglasses and girl screaming out loud....."stop, it hurts". I can only imagine what these people are thinking. And now I am thinking about parading down the beach with my hand stuck in my pants en route to the ER to get this damn staple removed from my thumb. Or I could take off the bikini bottom that is attached to my thumb and look like an exhibitionist and stride down the beach bottomless clenching it in my hand. Those were my two options. After about 5 grueling minutes, gaping stares by on lookers and me now hyperventilating, Mr. Moto is finally able to unhook the bikini from the staple, thus leaving me with a free arm but with a the complete staple still embedded through my thumb. Mr. Moto then grabs the projecting part of the staple, tells me to "bite the bullet", yanks it in a fish hook shaped motion and rips (yes, I said ripped) the staple from my thumb and throws it into the sand like it was a poisonous snake. AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHWWWWW, I scream.

Really? Did we have to do it like that? Now pass me a beer. I poured a few drops on the wound, drank the rest and resumed my position in the sand. Just another day at the beach...........

No More Pine Valley and Llanview?

ABC announced that it will cancel two long running soap operas this year. It's the end of the road for All My Children which debuted in 1970 and One Life to Life which hit the air in 1968. I cannot tell you how many hot arizona summers I spent glued to those shows while babysitting, earning a whopping .50 cents an hour. I would end the afternoon with GH (General Hospital) with a belly full of Pepsi (don't think diet had been invented), a can of bean dip and a bag of fritos.

Of course it's a money thing, it cost $30 million more a year to produce soaps than it does to produce talk shows. So now its time to kiss AMC and OLTL goodbye. How do you write an ending for a show that's been around for more than 40 years? Whats the best way to pull the plug on Erica Kane and Vicki Buchanan? When "Little House on the Prairie" ended, they blew up Walnut Grove....I am still not over that. Perhaps they can all turn into Vampires, or maybe everyone from Pine Valley can move to Port Charles and get jobs at General Hospital or Ruby's Diner. Or maybe they could all just wake up and find out it was all a dream like J.R. Ewing on Dallas.

Thank you ABC for the memories. Those soaps were a huge part of my teen years, my "having my babies" years and sweet memories of my mom taking a break after her housework was done to enjoy her "soaps". Thanks for laughter, the tears and the cliff hangers.

I leave you now with one of the most memorable moments from One Life to Life - below

One Life to Live: Karen takes the witness stand

R U Kidding Me?

So the black cloud has now turned into a thunderstorm, complete with tennis ball sized hail. I feel like I am holding an umbrella that has turned inside out.

But hey, what usually follows such a storm? The beautiful warm sun and sometimes a rainbow.

So bring it.

The Black Cloud

Ever have one of those weeks where you have one of these following you around?

I swear if I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all!

Watch Chelsea LIVE

Santa Barbara Idol sold out...BUT....you can catch it live by going to the following website at 7:00 PM Pacific time (Friday, April 8) and catch Chelsea compete. She will be 8th in the line up of 10.

www.ustream.tv/channel/sb-teen-star

Thanks for your support.

Whew

So tomorrow is Friday and I have made it thru the first week. Alvin, Simon and Theodore have been really awesome! I arrived dressed up in a skirt and blouse, hose, bling and high heels.....everyone else was wearing casual wear, apparently I did not get the memo. While walking across the vast estate to the office, my heels aerated the front lawn and at one point, one shoe stuck in the lawn really deep, but my leg kept going. Had to turn around and retrieve my shoe, I'm sure that was a visual and have you ever tried to walk on a cobblestone driveway in stillettos? That my friends, takes talent!

Lots to learn here, but loving it so far.