Giggles

I'm sure that we have all had that mortifying moment when you erupt into uncontrollable giggles at the very worst time. Without fail this used to happen to my brother and me during our family bedtime prayers. We'd all stand in a circle holding hands, recite the Hail Mary, the Our Father and take turns adding our personal litany of petitions at the end. Anytime that Anthony and I had to hold hands it was just too much for us. All we had to do was look at the other out of the corner of our eye and the shaking would start. My dad would get so mad at us! We just couldn't control ourselves. Sometimes, we even got my mom going. I'd like to think that I have outgrown this giggling weakness, but this weekend I discovered that I have not. Don and I had finished our set at Saturday's Cabaret Night, so we decided to visit with some friends and family who were attending. I ended up sitting next to my friend, Mark, which I should have known was a bad idea, because we are notorious for getting each other in trouble and embarrassing Don in public. Don was actually across the room, so we just embarrassed each other. So, Mark and I ended up sitting next to each other during a few sets which included one very difficult one to sit through. This particular singer started out ok, but very soon we all discovered that each song should have been dropped 2 steps at least. Unfortunately, the memorable thing about the set was the painful screeching that we were all forced to endure. Of course, Mark and I could not have been sitting in the back; oh, no, we were right in the line of fire, and the person performing kept looking at us the whole time! I did my very best to be an adult and gracious fellow performer. I plastered a very pleasant smile on my face as I clenched my hands in my lap and kicked Mark under the table. We would have made it through if during a particularly screechy note Mark had not been drinking and spit it out! Then, we lost it. It could not have been better comedic timing if he had planned it. I couldn't even look at him. My abs and hands hurt so bad from trying so hard not to laugh. I hope no one was watching us, because we really were trying to be polite. Oh, well.

As always, there are tons of things going on for us. Some are the same ol', same ol'. But, these are the things I'm really starting to look forward to: Haunted Houses! Andy and I have never been, so we're going to check them out this weekend. Pretty fun. We'll get it out our system and probably never have to go back. Holiday stuff: I love all the Holiday preparations. I'm working on a village house right now and will start my ornaments after that. Wow! The Auction: I'm really ready to start working on our Standards set again, so this will be a great thing to get us back into that area. Christmas stuff: I can't wait to go to the Magical Forest and all the Christmas parties and such. Midnight Mass: For the last few years, I have not wanted to do Midnight Mass, but I went along with it. I'm actually excited about it this year, though. I hope it goes well. January 8th: Our last 5:00 Sunday Mass. January 12th: Anniversary #4! Yippee! End of January in New York: Yes, I know it's gonna' be cold... I am so looking forward to our first "real" vacation since our Honeymoon. It is long overdue. We haven't planned anything yet, but hopefully we will get some things booked in the next week or two. We've had a lot of good advice, so it's starting to seem more do-able now. So, it looks like we have a lot coming together to help usher us into a new chapter in life.

In the general vein of much needed change and the imminent close of 2005: the year that sucks, I want to send out some prayers, good wishes/vibes etc. Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers: Jessica and her mom; Laura, Doreen and "the Boy"; Debbie and Dottie, Antonio and Jane and my sister-in-law, Lisa, who has learned the unfortunately familar lesson regarding My Space and the power of interpretation. I guess there really isn't a safe place to express one's views/life without coming under personal attack. Sorry, you had to deal with that.

Now, I'm off to work up my WW Monday dinner. Tonight's menu: Tequila and Jalapeno Chicken and a garden salad. Yum! (Plus, I get to try out my George Foreman grill for the first time. Double the fun!)