Church Of The Poison Mind

That's my kind of church, man!

This is an honest-to-God sign in Downtown Zanesville. Obviously, these folks don't see how that could be misinterpreted! That's my hometown for ya. Of course, I have to send this to Jay Leno!

Give Peace A Chance

Me, throwing a little peace your way. In this uncaring, fast-paced, inhuman world, we all need it.
"you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..."

My Brave Face

I am in deep despair! The Columbus Macca show is already sold out. Anyone willing to part with a couple of tickets? Okay, well, I tried.

I should just be thankful I've been able to see him live before. Right? A moment of silence, please, while I wipe away my tears.

Working For The Weekend

I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing, fun weekend. We've got Kyle's first softball game tomorrow (sort of scrimage-type deal, I guess), Hayli's birthday is Sunday, and Bill and I will be going to Newark tonight to shop for her and for clothes at Steve and Barry's (that place is WONDERFUL!) . Miss Thang is having a My Little Pony birthday, so I'll be looking for some of those toys for her. She does NOT want clothes! What a trip. I CANNOT believe she will be 4.

One thing I have promised myself is that I WON'T blog (is that a verb?!) this weekend. I'm becoming addicted! I've spent a LOT of time on my blog the last three days, just combing my posts for grammatical errors or things I should add (like changing the titles of all my posts to SONG TITLES! How clever. HA HA.). I gotta stop, kids.

I was reading an online article yesterday about celebrity blogs, and the fact that they are all the rage right now. It was mentioned that some people feel blogging's a sign of self-importance, self-indulgence and vanity. It can be those things, certainly, but it can also be an interesting way to read about other people's projects and thoughts... maybe some important thoughts. Sometimes. Whatever, man. If you don't like it, don't read it!

I don't know about anyone else, but for me, at least, my blog is a great way for me to vent, tell it all the way I see it (as I always do!) and give out information. I don't expect anyone to read it but me, but if someone does, I want to make it worthwhile. It might be considered "mental masturbation", but that's healthy in my book. We all need to let it out AND SHARE!

Carry That Weight

At that weight, she'll NEVER be a model!

It's so disturbing to me that our standards of "skinny" have become even more unattainable and RIDICULOUS as time goes on. When Altoids, cigarettes and an occasional Red Bull are the only things some models/actresses/singers will admit to consuming on a typical day, what the hell are young girls supposed to think? They see these beautiful, skinny women and want to know HOW to look like them. They hang on every word, trying to catch a beauty tip. I know this happens because I used to be one of those impressionable young girls. Hell, I'm just now beginning to be comfortable in my own skin, and I'm almost 30!

I've done a lot of harmful, crazy things to my body to lose weight and I probably damn near killed myself, but the worst part of it all was realizing that I wasn't happy even when I was really skinny. I wish I could impart that knowledge to everyone.

Women have to stop allowing themselves to buy into this bullshit. We have no one to blame but ourselves if we do! It's INCREDIBLY INCORRECT to say MEN have created all the pressure to be thin. Women are more critical of OTHER WOMEN (and themselves) than ANY MAN I have ever heard. We are our own worst enemies.

We all have to be happy with our bodies and not try to look like or be like anyone else.

The World Needs A Hero

This is Christopher Meloni's "You can tell me what REALLY happened, or I can kick your ass right now" look. (Ohhh...I've been bad, Detective Stabler. Cuff me. PLEASE.)

I am in LOVE with Law and Order SVU! Right now, it's the only thing that will glue my ass to the couch in front of the telly for more than five seconds... due mostly to the talent and hotness of Chris Meloni. So masculine and heroic! I'm telling you, I wouldn't mind being stuck in an interrogation room with THAT man!
Lest you think all my SVU sweating is carnal, let me please say the acting by Chris and Mariska Hargitay is absolutely stunning. The way they have fleshed-out characters who are flawed, deep, haunted, hard-working and believable is jaw-dropping. Mariska even won a Golden Globe this year, if you don't believe me. Plus, it's great to see such engaging back stories, for once!
check out
http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order:_Special_Victims_Unit
for info on SVU and the rest of the L&Os (Dick Wolf is the MAN).
Get more on Chris at http://www.christopher-meloni.com/intro.html
By the way, watch OZ on DVD if you can. Great stories, great acting and in some sweet scenes CHRIS IS NAKED (you'll get what they mean by "Meloni's baloney"...*AHEM*). And the gay sex is HOT. WAY hot.

South Park Theme

You guys, seriously... South Park is the sickest! In a good way!
Trey and Matt are evil geniuses... you never know which current event or celebrity du jour they'll screw with next! It's got to be the best cartoon for grown-ups EVER (Aqua Teen Hunger Force might be a close second... more on that to come).
Check it out at http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/southpark.
Nothing is sacred with these guys, and that's just the way I like it! GO COWS!

Back In Your Face

I know what I said a couple of days ago, but the news that Tha Leps are gonna be on The Today Show (NBC, May 27th) and Live! with Regis and Kelly (no date yet on that one) is making me mental with excitement! No matter how disappointed I am with how things are going with them lately, I am REALLY happy that they are getting this exposure. I bet they're gonna do "No Matter What" (check out the snippet: http://www.defleppard.com/news/nomatterwhat_sample.mp3)

I can't get that song outta my head!

Walking In Memphis

Me at Elvis' memorial garden at Graceland. September 2004.

Elvis has left the building! Bill took this when we visited Graceland this past September (on our way down to Baton Rouge for Amy and Chad's wedding). It was really interesting, even though I'm not the biggest Elvis fan. I also found it VERY creepy that Lisa Marie already has a plot next to her Pops.

Band On The Run

Paul McCartney at the 2005 Superbowl.

Macca is coming Back-a! WHOO HOO! check out the new tour dates at www.paulmccartney.com !!!!!!
I'm especially glad to see the Columbus date (October 22nd at the Schott) !!!!!!
Thank God Heather keeps him feeling so young and spry! She's a good reason for Viagra if I ever saw one (hee hee), I don't care what anyone else says about her!!!
Maybe he'll do "My Brave Face" for me this time?! I'll cross my fingers.

She's Too Tough

Hayli and Kyle.

So, Hayli (AKA Miss Thang) asked me last night:
"Why is your name Aunt Jodi?"
"I don't know, Hayli. You'll have to ask Grandma. She named me."
"Grandma, why did you name her Aunt Jodi?"
"I don't know, Hayli."
"Ooooookay..." (Hayli then shrugged, sighed and rolled her eyes)
She slays me!

Devil Woman

Halloween 2004.

Ninja Master Kyle and Princess Hayli with Satan's Little Helper (AKA Aunt Jodi, always the little devil!). Uncle Bill lurks in the background. THOSE KIDS ROCK!!

Handbags And Gladrags

DUDES! Have you been noticing the fake-ass handbags that are going
around in small town America?! Hello, when I'm seeing welfare moms
toting Louis, Prada, et al., the beauty is lost. Those companies must be bleeding out, for all the business they lose to imposters!!!

I LOVE the look of those bags (ESPECIALLY the Louis Speedy), but I can't afford a real one and I wouldn't cheapen the brand names by buying and carrying a fake.
I'll stick with my affordable, well-made, genuine Gap and Old Navy bags. I ain't ashamed!!!

Rock Of Ages

I feel like such an ingrate for saying this, and I would NEVER EVER post this on a fan board (I'd get flammed to death or moderated out for sure!), but I am not happy with the things that are happening with my boys in Def Leppard. I think the fans are getting screwed with this Best Of/Rock Of Ages CD deal (which, to be fair, is probably NOT their fault), and they're touring with BRYAN ADAMS?! Holy shit.

I understand that they want to evolve and make music that will sell TODAY, but it seems like they're giving up and allowing themselves to be packaged as a nostalgia act.... with the hits CDs and this "career retrospective" tour. Maybe that's why Viv and Phil are releasing side project albums, because they want to do new stuff? The snippets I've heard from Man-Raze are TOUGH (check out www.Man-Raze.com)!!! That's the kind of NEW stuff Lepp could be doing. I mean, I didn't LOVE X, but at least it was all new material!!! Also, for the record, I really like the idea of a covers album (it's interesting for the fans, and I like the songs they've covered), but not when it's meant to take the place of NEW stuff.

Here's my problem with the Bryan Adams thing... maybe (?) I'm just a spoiled brat fan, but I don't want to share them with Bryan Adams fans on tour when they're there to see HIM, I don't want to compete with them for seats at the shows (it's GENERAL ADMISSION!) and I just plain don't want to sit through Adams' show. Unfortunately, if I want to see Tha Lepps this summer, I'll HAVE TO... he's going first at the Ohio shows!

My second gripe is about the idea of two different greatest hits CDs. Someone in the biz knows that there are those of us who WILL buy two different CDs if they put two different "bonus" songs on them.... case in point, "Waterloo Sunset" on the UK Best Of CD, and "No Matter What" on the US Rock Of Ages CD. It seems like SOMEONE just wants our money. C'mon! I think it's really unfair that we should have to go through the bullshit of special-ordering UK stuff AND blowing all that money! SOMEBODY give us a break.

I am sensing desperation from the Lepp camp, perhaps surrender to what they used to be? I don't know. I know that I am a loyal fan, and I WILL continue to buy everything that comes out and I WILL see them on tour this summer. And I don't care if the newer albums have paled in comparison to Pyro or Hysteria, I KNOW that these are the most talented guys on the face of the planet and they can continue to kick ass for years to come, albeit on a less global scale, IF THEY WANT TO.

21st Century Sha La La La Girl

Me BACK IN THE DAY with Def Lepp stuff. 1992.

Goddamn! I had a lot of Lepp stuff! Unfortunately, some of it has been lost in the sands of time. Tragic.

We Belong

Me and Bill (Lovesexy). He is so hot.

Mamma Mia

Virgin territory, this.... it's my first-ever blog post!
Well, I am getting crazier by the day about finding a baby. Bill and I are having a hard time waiting for the adoption process to come through , and I fight the urge to go Soap Opera (stealing a kid from the hospital, like in the soaps) all the time. I would never actually STEAL someone else's baby, but GODDAMN, I understand the impulse! I sit here day after day seeing these 15 year old welfare mothers, and I think "WHY?!"!!!!!
Thank GOD Bill and I have our nieces and nephews. And thank God for our cats, too. At least with them I can be a mother. Sort of. I have always said I am just a mom without a child.
I don't know how I feel about surrogacy. Bill wants to look into it, and I hate to shoot him down because it's his chance to have his own biological baby, but it creeps me out. I don't LIKE the thought of another woman having my husband's baby. Wow, I never said that before! Whew! (better say that to Bill, eh?!)
I REALLY think the ONLY reason he likes the idea right now is because the adoption is taking so long and is so uncertain, and surrogacy has an exact start and finish once you get into it. I know he doesn't care much about having his own biological child as long as he raises a baby with me. I am so lucky to have him. He always says he married ME, not a baby, and he knew what he was getting into.
Anyway, this is all bullshit I've been over again and again, and I'm trying to move on...