Wild Ramblings

Without a doubt, "A Feeling Like That" is still my favorite song on the radio. I just can't get enough of it.

I was listening to XM 11 today and heard Billy Currington's "Good Directions." As many times as I've heard that song I *just* today got that Miss Bell was his mama.

No hate mail on XM 11 please. It has a great mix of music and the sound quality rocks.

New Music Roundup is done. As suspected, it sounded much better when I cut it in my den the 2nd time, vs. cutting it in my kitchen the first. It doesn't air until next week, I'll remind you closer to the time. 58 1/2 minutes. Starts with Trisha, ends with Trace. Blog readers from New England to South Dakota rejoice.

I don't think I mentioned it at the time, but I worked with Brad Paisley a couple of weeks ago. He's a little nervous - and feeling quite helpless - about becoming a father. The best part of our conversation came after the tape stopped rolling. I told him to tell Kim to take the drugs.

I did not go to the Musik Mafia thing last night, although I was invited. Had I known Jon Bon Jovi was going to be there, I might have reconsidered.

Anyone reading near Cleveland? I need a favor.

Received my first press release on MistleToe Roaster today. 'Bout time! Although it's only for a show they're doing in Nashville, not the Pigeon Forge run. There's a great photo that really should have been serviced to the press on their website. I offered... but since it still hasn't gone out, allow me to link you to it.
If you aren't joining us this weekend around the Toe Roaster - feel free to tune in to XM to experience one for yourself. Dates and times found here.

And last but certainly not least... I took Delaynie to the dentist today, and faced that moment that strikes fear into every parent's heart. And pocket book.

He used the B word.

World Tour Update

Back from a Midwest leg of the World Tour, which included stops in Farmington and Quincy, IL. Nothing like the IL cornfields at the end of November. I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend and safe travels with better scenery. If you look closely at the 2nd picture, I'm pretty sure you can see Iowa.

Up next:
Friday / Saturday / Sunday - Pigeon Forge TN
Monday / Tuesday - Washington D.C.
Friday / Saturday / Sunday - Kansas City, MO

I'm living out of a suitcase for a while starting next weekend... and hoping that my husband and daughter don't forget what I look like.

Have you had a chance to check out XM 105 - Music City Holiday? Let me know what you think.

Contest Time

Every year at this time... the company I work for runs a little employee contest to see who can garner the most new customers through our Friends & Family program. This year is no exception. The people who win each year usually work in advertising and I'm convinced must buy email lists because they always have like, a thousand more referrals than anyone who works in programming. But I digress.

Even though I don't have a shot in Hades at winning the 7 foot tv or whatever it is that they're giving away this year, I **DO** want y'all to take advantage of the special deal they're running, which, for the first time ever, includes a discount on service too! And, of course, I don't want to be humiliated by not having any referrals when they send the weekly updates.

However, contest rules state that if this offer is posted on the internet, you're DQ'd and they lock you in VT7 and force you to listen to an 8 hour loop of "Who Let The Dogs Out." So I can't post the details here, but if you're interested, PLEASE let me save you some money and email me at ProducerJ - at - aol.com and tell me you want to join the XM family. I'll hook you up.

A Couple of Programming Notes...

Wednesday night at 9pm Eastern - one final Road Trip, a special mid-week episode! Appropriately enough... the night before Thanksgiving, we're headed "Home." This actually aired last Sunday too, I just forgot to tell you about it. Be sure to stay tuned all the way to the end for a special close. The show runs 35 minutes I believe.

While you're on the channel, you might as well just keep it on XM 17 and catch the last hour of US Country at 11pm Eastern. See if you can detect the theme... hee hee hee. And THEN you can hear Music City Holiday launch! (Garth is song #2... sorry.)

I'm waiting on the official air dates, but it looks like there will (finally!) be a new episode of New Music Roundup for December. Hoping it will air the week of December 4th. And no, believe it or not - it's not Holiday music. (Don't EVEN get me started on Holiday music... after the day I had today wrestling logs, I am quite the Grinch!) It does, however, revolve around the event that these photos were taken at. (Storme and I were outside, btw, which is why we have the red noses!)

Oh - and for the record - the song Mrs. Brooks is performing in that red dress is in BOTH of the above shows.

The Giant Reba

...and no, I'm not talking about the Billboard at the West End / Broadway split.

I saw part of CMT Giants last night. It's hard... I think... for other people to cover Reba. After everyone - and I do mean EVERYONE - tried, she got up there and blew them all out of the water. Aside from the Martina / Kelly Clarkson duet I wasn't overly impressed. (I didn't see the whole show - didn't see Wy or Jennifer Nettles I know.) However, I was very impressed with Kelly. To be able to hold your own sharing a stage with Martina McBride is quite a feat.

I've interviewed Reba twice, and both times she gave the same speech she gave onstage about how her fans traveled with her to Broadway, to Hollywood, etc. etc. etc. Someone needs to write her a new script, LOL.

However, what we really need to discuss with this show, is the fashion. And the hair. OMG - could Faith and Trisha have had worse hair? I don't think they could have POSSIBLY gotten Trisha's any bigger. And Faith's makeup! OMG - is that Hollywood's idea of beautiful? And WHO picked her clothes? She had that beautiful silver skirt, and then a frumpy 1960's turtleneck? Did they not have mirrors in the dressing room?

Trisha's dress was not any more flattering either - I don't know why she's so hit or miss in her outfits. I think it's great that she's confident enough to show some skin, but there are some styles that just don't show off your best assets. Strapless with an empire style waist is not for her.

I know there are the fans who will say she looks beautiful in anything. My husband will tell me the same thing. However, there are times when I look in the mirror and say "Hmm... this outfit... not today." You have to police yourself.

Anyway - if you saw the show, feel free to comment... I'm looking forward to seeing the whole show.

The Mid-week Mistress

My husband works ridiculously late on Wednesdays and Thursdays. If I didn't know better I'd wonder what he was up to.

I took advantage of the solitude tonight to really comb through the Music City Holiday database. I'm close to getting ready to actually be able to schedule some logs. So... I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself for the lame participation in the "Guess the Last Song to Play on US Country" quiz.

It was Jo Dee Messina "Bye Bye" for the record.

As the computer scheduled it in my test run, the first song was Garth's "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

I'm listening if anyone has a better suggestion.

Morning Ramblings

I'm going to miss US Country when it goes Christmas. I really love the music of the channel, and feel really good about how it sounds.

The episode of New Music Roundup I did at my kitchen table didn't sound so good by the time it went through 3 pieces of equipment to get into our system. LOL. Which I kind of figured was going to be the case. But for a few shining moments I was really happy creating the show, so all is not lost.

I thought Dancing with the Stars was crowning a winner last night, but I haven't heard. I'm rooting for Emmitt. I was in Texas Stadium the day he broke the record and became the NFL's all time leading rusher.

Clear Channel was sold this morning. Radio is about to get very interesting.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!

I have scheduled US Country through next Wednesday, at which point, it turns Christmas. Anyone want to take a guess at what the last song to play on the channel is?

State of the Nation

Or the country... as the case may be. Do y'all know how confusing it is to work with channels named "America" and "US Country" ? I have an identity crisis 2 or 3 times a day.

So here's my lesson du jour that it doesn't pay to be the nice guy. I had ordered some production for US Country (XM 17) that was due just before CMA's. The production guys were slammed with some other things, and asked if I could extend the deadline until last Tuesday. I said sure.

So Tuesday came and went, and of course I was in major CMA recovery mode trying to get caught up, and Wednesday... and Thursday... and Friday morning, realizing that my production still wasn't done yet, sent them a nice cheery little "Hey, can I get an ETA on this stuff?"

Well lo and behold, Friday night (after I'd left the studio) the production director emailed me back that it had been done MONDAY - a day early even! It was right there waiting for me... in the America (Channel 10) folder. Umm... no wonder I didn't find it. At least I'm not the only one who's confused.


I wrote, recorded, and edited an episode of New Music Roundup last weekend - at my kitchen table! I love technology. I'm waiting on a broadcast waiver to be able to put the show on the air - then I'll tell you all about it. If I can remember which channel it goes on.

Songs That Grab You

There's some great new music playing on Highway 16 these days.

I still love Kellie Pickler's "Red High Heels." No matter how many times I've heard "Alyssa Lies" I cry. Seriously, crying in traffic today while trying to merge onto I-65 was not cool. The last song that did that to me was "Live Like You Were Dying" but that was probably more because I was dealing with a tumor of unknown origins at the time. I haven't met either Kellie or Jason Michael Carroll, but I'm hoping we get them both in for Driver's Ed.

But the song that I love, Love, LOVE right now is Gary Allan's brand new one - "I Can't Find A Feeling Like That."

You're all I want...
Now all I want

Is that lightning in my veins
Thunder in my chest

All tangled up with you
Trying to catch my breath

I've been chasing that sensation
Halfway 'round the world
Lookin' back
On what we had

I've done it all
And seen it all
But I can't find a feeling like that

What's grabbing you?

Is this a problem?

In case you thought you had a bad day today, be glad you aren't on our web team. For several hours today, this is what people saw when they visited every channel page on xmradio. com. Imagine that you were looking for Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash, and you were greeted by this:

Yet More Awards!

Ummm... ok, nevermind this entry. LOL. Way too complicated.

But while I have your attention - my Property of Garth Brooks Road Crew t-shirt arrived today. Very thin - you can see through it - and made in Honduros. Very disappointing.

And yet STILL more Faith

Wow. The CMA issued a statement from the President of the CMA Board of Directors (who also happens to be Brooks & Dunn's manager.)

Statement From Clarence Spalding, President CMA Board Of Directors:
There has been a lot of public discussion about Faith Hill's on-camera reaction during the announcement of the Female Vocalist of the Year Award. Having been there, I can assure you that Faith was in no way being disrespectful of Carrie Underwood or her accomplishments. It was a playful moment caught on camera that has been blown out of proportion and taken out of context. Faith has always shown the utmost respect for Country Music artists and the CMA Awards. This inadvertent moment does not reflect who she is as a performer or a respected member of this community.

The view from backstage

The press room was a huge assembly of every media under the sun. There were over a dozen tv cameras, including a reporter from England that had such a strong accent the artists couldn't understand her questions. There were four more rows behind me of reporters - and this only shows one side of the room. I estimated about 150 people back there - and CMT, GAC, and Extra all had individual interview booths separate from the main room.




The problem with just a few artists taking home all the awards is that it makes for a very slow night in the press room. And when the hosts of the show are the big winners, they can't come back until the end. So it was 2 1/2 hours of boredom, and then we got all four at once.

I have copious quantities of audio from Brad, Kenny, B&D and Carrie if y'all are interested in hearing it. I seriously need to podcast - I sure missed being able to share the scoop from the past few days with the masses.

Statement From Faith

Hot off the press:

“The idea that I would act disrespectful towards a fellow musician is unimaginable to me. For this to become a focus of attention given the talent gathered is utterly ridiculous. Carrie is a talented and deserving Female Vocalist of The Year.”

Not much of an explanation there, is there?

The Story of the Night

... was not who won or who lost, but what someone did when they didn't win. Did y'all see the Female Vocalist of the Year announcement? Discuss.

(If you didn't see it, click here.)

The press room was very boring, which is what happens when the hosts win everything. It was dead the first 2 hours, then we got everyone at the end. Photos tomorrow, I left my camera cord at the studio with my laptop.

Shame on those who won but did NOT come back and do media. Two such offenders this evening, neither excusable. Maybe when you've won Vocal Group of the Year so many times, you don't have anything left to say, but you only go into the Hall of Fame once. And if you're lucky enough to be alive when it happens, then you need to come back and spend 3 minutes with the media.

Speaking of no shows... if I'm going to an event that is billed as the biggest night in the industry I work in, I would expect, whenever possible, that my husband to be there as my arm candy. (Which obviously, in my case, can't happen since I can't bring a date in the press room, but stick with me here, I have a point.)

And if my husband also happened to worked in this same industry prior to his retirement, all the more reason for him to be there and see his colleages. A reunion of sorts.

But if one of the 2 men credited by my husband as his biggest influences is receiving the biggest honor of their career, in the industry that my husband and I both work in, I'd damn well expect his arm to be there for me to lean on and for the national television cameras to get the shots of us clapping and cheering. Even if it meant getting a babysitter for the night. Seriously.

It was raining at the end of the show, so I only made it to two parties. The SONY BMG party was, as expected, incredibly crowded, held at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Lots of people, lots of stars, lots of chocolate. Had a white chocolate martini here. They had an Oil of Olay Lounge. Which was actually a pretty cool little hang. I got a goodie bag of products. Made my night much more worthwhile.

A much less crowded but more fun party was the joint party between Equity Records and Big Machine. Taylor Swift looked like a million bucks. Spent some time with Mark Wills, who suggested country music needs to learn to lip sync. Good calamari here, bad coffee.

So back to the female vocalist thing... let the spin begin.

Picks

Ok, it's time to make some predictions -

My guesses - Carrie Underwood has the biggest night, Brad Paisley only takes home 1 and Kenny takes back Entertainer. Alan Jackson surprises everyone with the Album of the Year trophy.

Also, I'm hearing Faith, Alan Jackson and Little Big Town are actually performing (gasp!) LIVE with a band - not to a pre-recorded track. See if you can tell the difference.

I'm off to get ready - decided I'm wearing the Mother of the Groom outfit, Christmasy red satin and all!

Is it Wednesday yet?

I had a really long post written last night and then managed to kick the power strip to my computer and lost it all. GRRRRR. Which is probably just as well, since I was grumpy from having spent hours in a pair of high heeled boots that I shouldn't have been wearing. (But will wear again tonight, LOL.)

Two events yesterday, the Music City Walk of Fame induction and the Songs of the Year Concert. We talked to Reba before her induction about the honor, the CMA's, and her Habitat for Humanity project. I mentioned the other day about Gretchen's changing looks... Reba's is much more drastic. And expensive, I'm guessing. I wish I had a better picture of her. It was a little shocking, actually. (Although at this moment Blogger isn't letting me add any pictures, GRRR.)

After that I went to the red carpet at the Songs of the Year event. We had great positioning on the red carpet - 2nd in line behind GAC, who sponsored the event. Spent hours doing index cards of prep for the air talent who was going to be doing the interviews, and he wound up ditching me. I did get great soundbites from those who did the carpet, including Jo Dee, Blake Shelton (and yes, he talked about Miranda, it was very sweet), new daddy Josh Turner, Lonestar, Trace Adkins and others.

My two favorite moments of the night: The guys from Lonestar were gathered all around, and Richie was talking but I couldn't quite reach my microphone from where he was standing, so Keech reached over and took it from me and held it up.

And then, there was my new favorite person, James Denton, from Desparate Housewives. I've never seen a single second of that show, but A) he's a good lookin' guy in cowboy boots, and B) he loves XM. On the red carpet ropes there's a sign for each media outlet, and he walked over and said "Who's with XM?" I said hello and he went on to tell me that he has XM in his car, loves it, loves XM 175, the baseball channel... lots of XM love. He gave a great interview about being from Nashville and loving country music, as well as presenting "The Brooks & Dunn Award" (his words) with Trisha at the CMA's. (He said she's blowing off rehearsals so he has to rehearse by himself.) Trisha, btw, didn't do the red carpet.

The show itself was less of a concert and more of a TV taping, which meant a whole lot of downtime between each performance. James and Trace traded off intro'ing each artist, and when James was out there he did a lot of audience interaction, talking about his tv show, the CMA's, etc. I didn't make it through the entire show, but stayed for most of it, including seeing Haggard, Trisha, and one of Trace's songs. (He did two.) Eric Church and Jack Ingram were the only ones who had to redo their performance while I was there.

Another misc. note - I was seated in front of the box that contained the ABC soap stars who walked the red carpet and stayed to watch the show (and got in trouble for bringing beer into the Hall, only to bring more in later, LOL.) They got hounded for autographs, but were very nice to those who asked.

I'm backstage in the press room tonight for the show, Jon will be live at 7pm Eastern, tune in to Highway 16 as I'll be sending him all the backstage scoop!

Happy CMA Day to you!

Around Music City

Gretchen last night couldn't have been any nicer. Previous occasions I've had to work with her she had her "I'm a badass" face on. Didn't see that last night. She did a nice interview with Jon right after coming off stage, and talked about performing the acoustic show, the progress of the new CD, and defending her CMA Female Vocalist crown.

After the interview she stopped me from leaving and wanted to know why Hank's Place had become Willie's Place. She told me how much she loved that channel and all the barroom schtick that goes on in between songs. That makes one of us, LOL. So I told her we'd give her Highway 16 for a day if she ever wanted to do Gretchen's Place.

As y'all know... Gretchen has really shaped up, and it was the first time I'd seen the new her in person. Kim, my intern, and I both compared the current Gretchen to the poster we have of her in the studio. She's lost her chest. Almost entirely. LOL. She looks beautiful, don't get me wrong. But as someone who's been everything from a size 4 to a size much larger than a 4, I can testify when you loose weight, you loose it everywhere, and it's not always good.

I've sent Jon photos for him to post on his myspace page (I'll link you once I remember where his page is) and you can see for yourself. I won't tell anyone you're staring at Gretchen's chest. Wayne.

Over at the Wildhorse last night we got a full show from Eric Church, who continually - CONTINUALLY - made references to playing too loud and too long. To be honest, I didn't think he did a lot of either. He had a lot of down time in between songs, he could have used some faster pacing for the show. But then at the end he explained that he liked to change the set list up every night, and it was this song that was the reason he was no longer on the Rascal Flatts "Me and My Gang" tour. And he did a very long - probably 7 minutes or so - medley of a bunch of songs, including his debut single "How 'Bout You," mixed with a bunch of other old country and rock songs.

So my guess is he'd play his alloted time slot and then get to the end and realize he didn't do the single and launched into THAT, going way over his time and not pleasing the headliners. Time management, when you're a new artist with one medium hit, would be a good thing. But he seemed quite confident in his ability to walk away from one of the year's biggest tours and play his "Me and Myself" tour. I hope the clubs he's playing has room for both egos.

Luke Bryan closed the show last night, brand spankin' new guy on Capitol. He reminded me a lot of Craig Morgan. Real country, real smiley. Luke wrote the current Billy Currington single "Good Directions" which he performed.

Today we're covering Reba's induction into the new Music City Walk of Fame, and then doing the red carpet at the Songs of the Year concert and staying for the show. I'll be back late tonight with a full report.

A couple of other random notes:

Paula is famous!

I got to briefly see Sally and meet Monica last night!

CountryNation carries this interesting tidbit today:
-- In the December issue of Playboy, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks tells the magazine: "We never felt cool by any means -- and we were never talked about as being hot or pretty."

"Shania was the hot one, and Faith was the beautiful one. And we were like, 'Well, we have talent.'"

Ouch.

To Be Continued...

Good crowd at the Chevy Stage tonight. I was the unidentified brunette on stage with the redneck in the suit. Kim, my intern, was the unidentified blonde who took this picture and also threw out dozens of shirts and hats from XM, Chevy, and the CMA.

Good signage too! And apparently the stage (and hopefully the signs too!) are staying up through Monday, when Sugarland performs on Good Morning America.

Gretchen perfomed three songs from the new CD (But NOT "Come to Bed") and then did Redneck Woman. Lots more on my Gretchen observations tomorrow, plus a report from Eric Church's show at the Wildhorse.

Let the Parties Begin!

And so... CMA week is upon us.

Tonight's schmooze fest was a Curb Records Showcase at the Musician's Hall of Fame. A very odd event, with a bunch of radio station winners in the front, and the industry folks at the back. And a cash bar. A cash bar at a private showcase? Unheard of. The food was good, but that room isn't really good for a full band performance. Nothing but concrete everywhere.

Steve Holy hosted the show, and it kicked off with Bomshel. They bombed. Everyone around me was wondering how in the world they got a record deal. They are a female duo, one of whom is a fiddle player. She decided to climb up on the bar as the band botched their way through "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." I had to pull my camera out and try to capture that moment. I'm fairly certiain these blonde bombshells are in their forties, trying to look like they're 20 something. After an INCREDIBLY long delay, Steve Holy performed 4 songs. I really liked what will be his next single, a song called "Come On Rain." Wow. After a slightly shorter delay, Amy Dalley was next. As much as I LOVE the stuff she's put out to this point, it seems Curb is curbing her, so to speak. She did a couple of songs that I wondered where they came from and who was singing them. That girl should have been a star eons ago, she's so talented.

By that point my coughing fits were coming back, my feet were tired from standing on the concrete floor for 2 hours, and my intern was bored silly. (So much for showing her the fun, party side of the business!) So we skipped out on Rodney Atkins and Jo Dee Messina.

Tomorrow night it's Gretchen and Josh Gracin on the Chevy Stage, followed by Eric Church at the Wildhorse. Sunday I'm covering Reba and Ronnie Milsap being inducted into the new Music City Walk of Fame, and then doing the Red Carpet at the Songs of the Year show at the new symphony center.

The REAL parties, of course, happen after the Awards themselves. RLG (now SonyBMG) is usually THE party to be at, but Capitol, Warner Brothers, and Lyric Street are all having them, as well as a joint party between two indys - Big Machine and Equity. I've picked three I'm hoping to hit. Still don't know what I'm wearing to anything over the next 3 days. (Is red satin too Christmasy?)

By the way, Delaynie has been grounded from everything for the rest of her life. No Gretchen for her.

The Press Release vs. The Scoop

THIS is what the Press Release Says:

Nashville, TN – Chevy, the official sponsor of the 40th Annual CMA Awards, will present a FREE concert on Saturday, November 4 at the Plaza at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Lyric Street recording artist Josh Gracin will appear on the stage of the Chevy All Access Music Tour with a very special guest for a night of great country music in the crisp fall air. The concert begins at 6:30pm sharp at the Gaylord Entertainment Plaza.

THIS is what Producer J. Says:

Get there early, the special guest goes on first and is only doing 3 songs. Accoustic. Jon Anthony will be emceeing the event and I'll be on hand tossing out XM hats and t-shirts.

And of course... Delaynie will be there.

Looking for Garth in Nashville

So... for those of you non-GarthNutts here... there was this "Limited Edition" Garth Brooks DVD boxed set released today. A million of them to be exact. Available, according to all press releases, as 12:01am at all 24 hour Walmarts in America.

Being the good GarthNutt that I am, I wandered into the WalMart closest to me at about 10am. Ten hours after it's release. Checked out the check out area first, because when the "Limited edition" boxed set came out last year at Christmas, my store didn't have them in the electronics section, they had them by the checkouts. (A year later, there are a bunch of them still left on the electronics section shelf, so I guess "Limited" is a matter of your perspective.)

Nothing at checkout, including signage, so I went back to Electronics. Meander all through the section, no Garth to be found. No banners, no display, no promotional signage, no DVD's.

So I grab an employee, and in my loudest croak (I'm still sick) ask "Where's Garth?"

The guy looks at me like I have two heads. "Excuse me?"

"I'm looking for Garth. The new DVD set? Garth BROOKS?" As if anyone in Walmart - or the city of Nashville - and certainly not a Walmart IN the city of Nashville - should need an explanation as to who "Garth" is.

"Oh. I think I saw some of those in the back. But they haven't been released yet," says Mr. Helpful Walmart guy.

My croak gets louder. "They were supposed to be released TODAY."

At that time, around the corner comes someone with an Anderson tag (WalMart's merchandiser) and a WM employee with an Assistant Manager tag.

Mr. Anderson Guy has a WM Ad in his hand. "Novemeber 1st. That's today."

I smile at him as he comes up. "You wouldn't think it would be this hard to find Garth in Nashville, would you?"

Mr. Assistant Manager grimaces at me. Mr. Anderson Guy asks "Are you looking for the Garth DVD?"

"Yes. According to every press release Garth's publicist sent me, I was supposed to be able to buy it today. But I can't seem to find it."

Mr. Walmart Guy says "I know where they are in the back. I'll go get you one."

"Three," I say. "I'll take three."

So while I'm standing there patiently waiting, Mr. Anderson Guy and Mr. Assistant Manager are haggling over where to put the DVD's. Mr. Anderson Guy is making firm statements about it being a WalMart exclusive, a limited edition, and Garth being their best selling artist (he apparently gets Nancy's press releases too!) while Mr. Assistant Manager is telling him why he can't have every visible option he asks for.

They finally agree on an endcap display in the very back of the electronics section by the televisions. At least everyone else won't have to spend half their morning waiting on Mr. Walmart Guy to find them in the back. I predict they'll sell better in their 2nd 10 hours of release than they did their first 10 hours.

Eventually, Mr. Walmart Guy comes back with my 3 DVDs and then tells me I have to check out in Electronics. I agree only if he'll ring up my cough syrup too. Which he does.

And so - Garth went home with me today.

BIRTHDAY CORRECTIONS - Ok, I screwed up the birthday thing... spending half my Halloween in a cough syrup fog clouded my brain - Sandi's birthday was actually the 30th - DUH, I not only celebrated it with her I baked her an amazing chocolate lava cake.

However - JoAnn's birthday was yesterday! So a Happy Belated Birthday to the true Halloween Baby!