The Last of 2006

Well, I promised I'd catch up! Here are some of the cool things that have happened to me since August - in words and (mostly) pictures...

I finally got to spend some "quality time" in California. I went out to take part in the Disneyland Half Marathon and visit my friend Rose. I detailed the race over at Runnin' Fitz, so I won't reiterate it here. We did do some other awesone stuff. I did see Disneyland and it was a blast. We terrified Rose's son Matthew by going on every single dark ride in the place (he was especially scared of Mr. Toad.) He loved Pirates of the Caribbean though. We actually managed to go out after our 13.1 mile trek and saw The Groundlings in L.A. (for the uninitiated, they are a Second City-like sketch/improv troupe whose alums include Phil Hartman, Pee Wee Herman and (my favorite) Jennifer Coolidge (aka Stifler's Mom.) We also stopped by a Los Angeles institutionfor after show cocktails - Jumbo's Clown Room. All I can say is...wow. Google it. The few days I spent there went by way too fast. I'm hoping for a return trip in September of '07!

In October, I met my new brother-in-law, Tom (far right, seated). We had kind of an unofficial reception for them at my parents' place in Naples. He is a very cool guy and a perfect match to my sister Keirnan (who just got her esthetician's license in Illinois. She works at a spa called Egea in Evanston - so if you are in need of a facial, look her up!)

Also in October, I went to what should have been my 20 year high school reunion (Long story - in a nutshell, we moved to Boca Raton when I was starting 8th grade. I had to leave my childhood friends in Miami Shores. The reunion was for the high school I would have attended had we stayed in Miami.) I hadn't seen a lot of these people since 1982. Scary, huh? It was so much fun and in addition to the gals in this photo, I saw a guy who always invited me to be the sole chica at his birthday parties. Explains a lot - if you know me and my past (fraternity little sis, more male friends than female, etc.) I saw the pictures from my high school's reunion, and this bunch had way more fun than they did (besides, all of my remaining high school buddies vetoed attending. I was really actually looking forward to it. Despite the fact that I didn't have the best of experiences in high school, I did have the potential comments of my smart-ass husband to look forward to!) I have to thank Rose for inviting me to this shin-dig!

Mexico. Yeah....those of you who know me are aware of my previous Mexican adventure. Those who don't, sorry, but I'm not recapping. Suffice it to say, I am lucky to have had the chance to make a return trip - "The Redemption Tour"! This time around, I was pretty much under the weather for the whole damn trip (at least it kept me from drinking too much!) And, no, it wasn't Montezuma's Revenge sickness - just in case you were wondering! We fished, we partied, we hung out with some very cool guys from California (who were in the same frat as Will Ferrell at USC) and yes, we did make a return visit to see "Mexico's Finest Showgirls" - who weren't quite as fine this time around, if you ask me. This is Paul at Cabo's Smallest Bar - all of the pictures of me are blurred for some reason (and no, they weren't self portraits!) All in all, nice, uneventful fun...well, except for me losing my tourist visa! Thanks, Mrs. Kagalis and Spanish 5!

Wine Fest Weekend! Ok, we headed back to O-town for EPCOT Food and Wine Festival for (I think) the 5th time. I have a bad reputation about this event. In the past I have lost my car keys, fallen down (twice) and haven't made it around to all of the World Showcase countries in the past 2 years. (I blame the sake room in Japan.) This year my friends Susan and Christine came along for the ride. I actually made it around not once, but TWICE! I made t-shirts that needed to be signed by a representative of each country, so I knew I had to collect all of my autographs or carry around a souvenir of my failure for 365 more days! I only had one glass of sake (see?) Sue really liked the champagne! My poor friend Johanna was the recipient of quite a few drunken phone calls that day. We also managed to piss off an entire busload of tourists on the way home!

The night before, Paul and I went to Monsterween - a huge Halloween party in Kissimmee, sponsored by my all-time favorite radio show. We had to do something "adult" for Halloween because Paul wanted to wear his flasher costume - complete with frighteningly realistic looking "member." Since I don't want to offend anyone, no pictures here - email me if you'd like to see it. So insted, here's me in my "Naughty Cop" ensemble with "Flavor Flav" (most popular costume of the evening, with Hunter S. Thompson a surprising second...)

Speaking of radio shows, I was national in December on the Opie and Anthony show (well, on XM and some stations across the ol' US and A.) It was a lot of fun. Here's me with Opie...

...and Jim Norton (who, by the way, is a phenomenal comedian).

2007 promises to be a great one! 2007 WDW Half Marathon next week and audition for VH1's "World Series of Pop Culture" next month. Keep reading for all of the recaps and (hopefully) photos - maybe BellSouth will give me a break soon!