A "Wicked" Good Time

Guess where Chris and I were Saturday..........



That's right! We traveled to Atlanta to the fabulous Fox Theatre to see the Broadway musical, Wicked. We have tried for 3 years to get decent seats for this event and boy, did we - Left Orchestra, Row G!! What can I say? This show was wonderful! The costumes, stage settings, makeup, music - superb! I love the whole story line and left appreciating why the Wicked Witch of the West was "wicked". It had lots of comical parts as well.

Now, seeing Wicked was great but visiting the Fox Theatre is a treat in itself. It has been a few years since I have visited and I'm always in awe when I come back. This historical Islamic/Egyptian style theater is beautiful. The tapestries, the ornate wall sculptures and decor sets the mood for any featured venue.

And once you are seated, you have to look up and see the "sky.... There are 96 crystal "stars" and 1/3 of them flicker. There is also a projection of rolling clouds. (FYI - one of the stars is actually a piece of a Coca Cola bottle!)

It was a wonderful day and a day to celebrate because...........it was mine and Chris' 22nd wedding anniversary!

We did celebrate a little late since our actual anniversary is on September 9th. But, it was well worth the wait! After leaving the theater, we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for a yummy dinner and of course, cheesecake. They have at least 20 different cheesecake flavors to decide from and it is always a hard choice. I go in with an idea of what I want but usually have to let the large window case speak to me - LOL! I went with the White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut and Chris had the Dulce de Leche Caramel. Yummy-O!!

So, now it's Monday and back to reality. Have a great week!

Fun Friday

Here's a little fun Friday Q&A. Things you may or may not have known about me:

A. Age: 43
B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning the bathrooms
D. Dogs: None but use to have toy poodles
E. Essential start to your day: Diet Coke
F. Favorite color: Right now it's blue.
G. Gold or Silver: I like both.
H. Height: 5’5"
I. Instruments you play: I played the flute in middle school but couldn't hit a note now if I tried!
J. Job title: Office Manager, Mom, Wife, Crafter, etc....
K. Kids: One teenage son
L. Live: Augusta, Georgia
M. Mother’s name: Katie
N. Nicknames: MiMi
O. Overnight hospital stays: Yes, in fact had one in January for a bad case of stomach flu.
P. Pet peeves: Liars, Bad Customer Service and people who do not put their shopping carts up in the parking lots.
Q. Quote from a movie: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" - Rhett Butler
R. Right or left handed: Right handed.
S. Siblings: One younger brother
U. Underwear: Everyday!
V. Vegetable you hate: Artichokes and a couple more - not really a veggie eater.
W. What makes you run late: Signing school papers that I didn't know about the night before.......
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Many
Y. Yummy food that you make: I only have a couple that I think are the best - red velvet cake, coconut cake, cube steak and gravy, squash casserole....
Z. Zoo animal: I love them all but I do enjoy the Meerkats and Giraffes.

Have a great weekend folks.

p.s. Berit - I would love to share my squash casserole recipe. I will edit this post with it in the next day or two. You will love it!

RIP Barbie (Elizabeth)

Warning: This post contains information that may be sensitive to some. It describes the details of a murder investigation. It contains information regarding the crime scene but has been toned-down and is written as it would appear in a newspaper or other article. If you are overly sensitive to this type of information, please stop here......

As a young girl, I would spend some of my play time with my Barbie. I would dress her up, take her on bike rides and she would visit my BFF, Kim, who had a lovely pink townhome and swimming pool for all of our dolls to enjoy.

This past weekend, while out shopping, Corbin and I picked up a new Barbie to bring home. Only this time, Barbie is not Barbie. She is Elizabeth Short and even though she is dressed for a fun day at the beach, her beautiful life will soon change. She will come victim to a horrendous crime.

Corbin is taking a course in Forensic Science at high school this year. This is the first year the school is offering this course and it is the perfect starting point for his college career in Forensic Chemistry. The first assignment was to reconstruct a famous crime scene and include elements of evidence. He chose the murder of Elizabeth Short or The Black Dahlia, as she is worldwide known. Elizabeth was murdered in California in 1947. Her body was cut in half, completely drained of blood and organs, she was washed and dumped in a vacant lot behind a subdivision only a few feet from a street and sidewalk. The most bizarre fact from her murder was that the killer cut her cheeks in such a way that she appeared to be smiling. Over 200 people were interviewed for the crime and 50 actually confessed to doing it! Because of the lack of evidence, no one was ever charged for this crime.

There are a lot of details, crime scene photos and interviews that can be found on the internet. Elizabeth was a beautiful young lady who, by all accounts, was a "good-girl" and wanted a career as an actress. There are so many unanswered questions that maybe could have been answered if our modern day technology was available back then. This is what my son wants to do with his life. He wants to gather evidence, analyze it and be a voice for the victim. I am very proud of his decision to pursue this passion he has as a career.

Elizabeth, may you forever Rest In Peace!