Happy 51st, Sweetheart!

The Day Fire

A fire being called 'The Day Fire' has been burning about an hour away from us since Labor Day. We were driving home from the NASCAR race in Fontana on the day it began and -fortunately - made it home just a few hours before the fire temporarily closed Interstate 5. (We've had to worry about freeway closures every time we've driven into L.A. this month - every time the wind changes, I-5 is threatened!)

They are saying that the fire is the largest and longest-burning in the history of the state. As of today, the fire has burned 144,884 acres and is 42% contained.

My husband was surprised to find his new car (a gorgeous, black 2007 Chevy Corvette) covered in ash yesterday evening but the smoke has made for some incredible sunsets over the past few nights...

Golf Legnd Byron Nelson Dies

He retired from golf at age 34 (after winning a record 11 consecutive tournaments in a row - somethig even Tiger hasn't done (yet!)).

Matt WHO?

What do these two men have in common? Not a whole heck of a lot... Their last names (Damon and Craven) do sound a lot alike, though - especially when spoken over a cell-phone on a windy day at the golf course...

Finally!

I've been waiting for Grey's Anatomy to start ever since the season finale last season. I'm so excited that tonight is finally the night! I've waited all Summer for the answers to my questions...

Will Izzie really leave Seatte Grace? Will He-Shepherd finally leave She-Shepherd for his true-love, Meredith? Will the handsome Dr. Burke be able to operate again? Will Christina stay at his side if he is unable to? Will Dr. McSteamy grace us with his presence again?

How many hours until it's 9 PM???

Knee Pads

Both of our kids were invited to a birthday party this afternoon - a rollerskating party. Sounds like fun, right? Unfortunately, neither of my kids has ever even touched a pair of roller skates - much less tried to maneuver a busy rink with them on their feet! They were both eager and willing to try, though - such troopers. Much to my dismay, 95% of the other kids were zipping around like little maniacs on theirs - while my kids frantically and hysterically tried to simply keep their balance. We did roller skates initially but someone suggested we switch to roller blades and the kids seemed to prefer them. It wasn't pretty - I won't lie - but in just the 90 minutes we were out there, I have to say that we did see marked improvement! More impressive than that was my son's determination. He definitely lags behnd his peers in the gross motor department - but he did not want to give up - he was determined to master them! He asked (and asked and asked and asked) for his own pair and we have decided to get them both some. I wanted to wait until Christmas (thinking they'd make a great Santa gift) but the kid wants them yesterday... Off to the sporting-goods store this weekend!

9th Annual AFI Golf Classic

Like last year, my husband will be golfing in the 9th Annual AFI Golf Classic again next week. It's being held at Trump National this year - it'll be his 2nd opportuity to golf at that fabulous course. He won't find out which celebrity he'll be playing with until that morning - he'd love the chance to play with Ray again!

Dancing

My husband surprised me last week with VIP tickets to a taping of Dancing With The Stars! My girlfriend and I are going this afternoon and we can't wait. Contestants this season include Vivica A. Fox, Joey Lawrence, Emmitt Smith, Jerry Springer, Mario Lopez, Sara Evans, Monique Coleman, Tucker Carlson, Willa Ford, Harry Hamlin and Shanna Moakler - should be a blast!

And - just for fun - take a look at the Vegas odds for the dancers! (My bet is that those will change a bit based on last nights' performances!)

Never Forget

The almost 3,000 people who died 5 years ago today and their families are on my mind...
I know I will never forget.

Fontana Fun

We survived our weekend at the races! We came home early Monday (missing most of the Labor Day traffic, thankfully) - tired and with our ears and heads still buzzing. The kids had a great time and I have to admit - I did too! The whole experience was much more enjoyable than I thought it'd be. The only bad thing about the weekend was the temperatures - it was hot as holy hell out there with little to no shade and blacktop everywhere. I was terribly thankful for the suite (and the air-conditioning) - which I did not venture out of often! My son (a NASCAR enthusiast and the main reason we decided to go) had an incredible time and we loved seeing him enjoy himself so much.

If The Rumors Are True...

...and Storm Large was kicked off of Rock Star : SUPERNOVA this morning, I'm going to be so sad! I've grown to adore her this Summer. I don't know if she was a perfect match for Tommy, Gilby and Jason, frankly, but hate to see her leave regardless. She's amassed quite a fan base during her run on the show and I have no doubt that she'll go far. My hubby and I have both agreed that we'd pay to see her perform! GO STORM!

Father's Age May Play Role In Autism

There was an interesting new AP story out yesterday regarding a possible correlation between a Father's age and the occurrence of Autism.

NASCAR: Here We Come

Tomorrow, my family and I will be attending our first NASCAR Race. I'm not exactly a NASCAR kind of person - knowing next to nothing about the sport at all until about a year ago. My 7-year old son has somehow become quite an enthusiast and since this weekends' race is here in California (at the California Speedway in Fontana), we've decided to take him down for it. If you ask him who his favorite is, he'll tell you "orange Home Depot #20 - Tony Stewart". Cracks me up. I'm going with an open mind - not sure if I'll like it or not but eager to experience it (at least once) nonetheless. My daughter feels the way I do - she is definitely pleased that Kelly Clarkson will be there as Grand Marshall, though!

We will be in the Team Chevrolet suite which is, from what I hear, quite spectacular. We look forward to seeing Jim Belushi perform as well as checking out the Chalet Village and my husband and son cannot wait to make good use of the pit passes they have!

Lost my iPod!

I'm so annoyed... I have (rather - had) a little iPod Shuffle that my husband won as a tee-prize at a golf tournament a year and a half ago and gave to me. I never dreamed I'd want one until I actually started using it - I grew to love it! Unfortunately, it was lost somehow last week. I had it Monday (at the gym) but couldn't find it Wednesday when I went. I've checked my car, purse, lost-and-found at the gym... It has simply fallen off the face of the earth!

My hubby - bless his soul - took pity upon me (he knows how attached I was to it) and has ordered me a new one. This time, I'm getting a regular iPod - the 60GB one that holds not only music, but podcasts, pictures and up to 150 videos as well! I'm such a lucky girl...

Update: When things fall off the face of the earth, they apparently fall into my laundry room. A day and a half after my Shuffle disappeared, that's where I found it! I brought it in from the car Monday - wanting to add a few newly-downloaded songs onto it - and set it down in there for some reason... Mystery solved!