Orange-ya glad you know.

Today I got the word, and I am sure you did too, it was an ORANGE day. Now, I was confused because I thought we were under attack. National Security at risk. Turning on the radio, I did not find any breaking news. So then I thought, no one should be on the roads must be some alert to let us know that we were in a state of emergency, but again, I could find nothing to let me know what would have caused this crisis. Later in the day I was enlightened to find out that it was just that it was an ozone alert. Which meant I should not run my lawnmower or some lame thing like that. We have so many codes and colors that crayola must be in sheer heaven. What ever happened to the crafting of words to make a sentence to say "Stay off the roads, they are bad" or "damn we just had a plane go down!" or "it is hott as hell so don't go all crazy and have a stroke". I am certain that the color coding system is more complex than the Dewey Decimal system. So, if you hear that the color is red or orange or blue or green, just shrug your shoulders and assume that someone will come along and put it into an English sentence!

Potpourri Carbo Style

So many random thoughts and thing happening, I just don't know if my ADHD head can handle it!

First - Charles Nelson Riley passed away. I was and still am (though few may know) a big Match Game freak and his passing only tells me that the show really is in re-runs and not live. Ugh.

Second - Taco Bell is changing their recipes to include no trans fats. I think the rats were being diagnosed with high cholesterol and coronary issues. Thanks PETA, now everyone is safe.

Third - Brunch Bunch is Saturday so the menu is being massaged and grocery lists being developed. Have you responded? Are you coming? If not hit me back with a comment.

Fourth - Had dinner at the Redwood Inn last night. As seedy goes, it goes well. Nice and yummy, with a hint of lower lower middle class. I chugged a few beers and ate a sausage roll. Sat next to the large electronic baseballs sign. If you are ever there, listen to the noises it makes. It became kinda of funny. As my friend and I shared conversations it would make or say things, which sometimes was a bit wild because it seemed to be listening to us haha. Okay, I will stop the paranoid rant.

Finally - Matt Kelty explains that he is just stupid for not understanding Indiana Law about filing and that he and his council must have been at worship and missed that you just don't falsify your documents. This Republican encourages everyone to become or vote democratic this fall or find a write in candidate we can all campaign behind. Kelty is quicksand. Our city could soon become known as the underground city.

Food crawl?

My trip to Minneapolis was full of random moments and fun times. A friend of mine and I fly from Fort Wayne to Detroit to Minneapolis Thursday evening and we returned Monday evening. We ate Middle eastern food, Italian food, Greek food, American food, southern food and many other things in between. But the food was not just about multi-nation food questing, nope. We shopped in small towns, we shopped in large towns, we shopped in a mega mall (Mall of America), to include grocery stores, and dollar stores. We chased these activities with bottles of wine and I had a Mojoita. (A friend of mine had one about a month ago, she raved and I copied the memory into my mind and had one! PS they are yummo!)

We went to a country club home, we went to an apartment, a museum and a tour of both St. Paul as well as Minneapolis.

In a very short time, we made certain few stones were left unturned. It was fun, though exhausting and today I have just drug my ass all around the office until I realized I am of no benefit to anyone.

It was just a few minutes ago that Clyde returned from his vacation in Auburn. He, too, is tired though he is not in a mood to tell me all that he did.

Oh ... I can see it!

I have returned from my vacation to Minneapolis. I will share some more highlights later, but this stands out as the most unusual thing that happened and it was within the first few hours of departing from the Fort Wayne International Airport.

Landing in Detroit for a couple hour lay over, my friend and I stopped at the restroom facilities before we went to eat Middle Eastern Food for dinner in the airport. Walking into our respected restrooms, both of us met back up to share the shock and awe of the most crazy restroom set up.

This had become what I call the "Helen Keller" restroom. The toilets automatically flush but if you did more than your duty, there is a special button to push to trigger another flush. The sink had automatic water faucet, an automatic soap dispenser and an automatic hand towel dispenser. The mind never had to work once you left the toilet (and you did not do more than your allotted share of toilet filling).

This get-a-way weekend was very relaxing and much fun. I will share more soon...

Yellow and Blue equals your green!

What a crazy couple of days, American Idol ends. Dancing with the Stars ends. Lost ends. YLNI hosts the forum on yellow and blue (sorry, this is not a a Sesame Street thing), I had my teeth whitened, I am going on vacation to Minneapolis, Clyde is going on vacation to Auburn, more quotes for the kitchen remodel, my trip to Italy is getting hammered down, the United Way met the goal....

My head just continues to spin. So many things to say but just can't find the time to put it into sentences. Speaking of sentences, did anyone catch the clips of Rosie and Elisabeth fighting on the View. Oh, it was good, I mean really good. This is what daytime television is supposed to be about. Remember the good soaps where you could actually see the cat hair fly, well folks, it was and it did and it was classic television at its best. Find it on utube or somewhere because it is good to see someone smack the Rosie.

My friends, and readers, my blog will be celebrating the Memorial Holiday in silence. I will return on Tuesday with stories and updates. Until then, be safe eat well and "enjoy the view!"

Oh, isn't he cute?

It was about 730 or 800 last night when I finally made it outside to water the plants. My water hose is in the garage, so I pull out my no-tangle hose (which somehow was in a knot) and was spraying my flowers. I have a very manicured side and then on the opposite side of the sidewalk is the wild daisy section. I began to spray the wild side, which is a bed of ivy with daisy growing four foot tall within. When low and behold, I sprayed a chipmunk. He was under the ivy and he went scurrying away. He went to the end of the sidewalk, then like a streak of lightening hit him, he darted into my open garage. For an hour I looked for Theodore, Simon or Alvin, but to good fortune. I never found him. Now, he may have darted in and then darted out at some point, but I do not know. I thought, this is all I need is to be a haven for half way chipmunks! Time will tell, stay tuned.

Brunch Bunch Menu

Greetings! I am going to host my first brunch of 2007. Who knows, I may do it more often! I have come up with the menu, or at least at this point the menu:

Spinach and Rice Casserole, Ham and Cheese Muffins, Bacon wraps, Artichoke Risotto, Biscuits and Sausage, Peach-Marscarpone Topped French Toast, Marshmallow-creme iced cupcakes, Blackened Broiled Shrimp, Banana Split Salad, Fruit and Yogurt parfaits, Beef Stew, Orange and Ginger salad, Cucumber-Grapefruit Crab Salad, Berries and Creme Cones, Pizza Cobbler along with fruit and cheese trays.

Menu may change or be altered if the luck of the kitchen does not cooperate, but at this point this will be the menu! Yum. I am sure that I can conjure up recipes if anyone would want them.

Another food review...

Another day another celebration. Saturday family gathered in Angola, Indiana to celebrate my birthday. Everyone selects their birthday meal. Typically it is a restaurant but sometimes it is a home style brew. Well, it was a bit of both for me. Growing up the restaurant known as Caruso's has been something like "home". Though we did not eat there often, like I do at Flat Top (where everyone knows my name), Caruso's was a place that my grandmother had worked and the restaurant that was standing there under another name too. So, in some bizarre wave of memories, I recall grandma serving up meals in red baskets with wax paper inserts in the form of french fries. I know Italian restaurant and french fries, but this may be where the crossing of cultures began. Imagine an Italian with a beret. What Caruso's is known for is their famous sausage roll, or even pizza. What you have to, must have, can't consider anything else if only strapped with five bucks, will be the bread sticks! Oh my, my heart doctor probably will earn a few extra dollars off this splurge. The bread sticks are lightly deep fried to give them a bit of a crunch, but not like bruchetta crunch. They are coated with Parmesan cheese and then drenched (and I mean by the pound) with butter. Now you can add cheese to dip them, and you figure, what are a few more calories while eating death-bed bread sticks. The family ordered a multitude of items from the daily special fish and macaroni and cheese to sides of pasta to Italian subs to a torpedo, a rolled up small pizza with sauce galore. The meals were good, the portions plentiful and the service wasn't five star but it was decent. The short drive up highway 69 is just a mere thirty minutes or less from the Dupont Exchange in Fort Wayne. A drive up the highway was a tour down memory lane.

Spring - from my house to your ears!

Last night I read. I did not open the bottle of wine or create a pitcher of Grapefruit Martinis, nope just me and my cookbook magazine collection catching up and being inspired to host a Spring Brunch! I have picked the first Saturday in June to host this gathering of friends for brunch. It is wedged between my two vacations: Minneapolis and Nashville but what fun to have friends and family over to salute the kick off of spring. I am still mulling over the menu but I have already thought of the color scheme and layout, which normally is half of my battle. I plan to mix part breakfast with part lunch to give a full stomach to go with the great memories and laughter which I hope, if I follow the recipe correctly, will yield enough to go around for everyone. Invitations should be sent out soon, not sure, but have thought about an email invite, which is so not me, but I need to live outside of the cereal box. Stay tuned for more details. As always, open invited if you have read this ... just drop me a note.

Returning home

We all knew the show was over last week, when the fat lady sang. This week, it rang louder when Melinda Doolittle got the get-to-go!

America sent the "first lady of soul-lite" go home. I have watched American Idol this year thinking it was a one person race and could not wait to get to the crowning of a new winner. Well, the show ended a week and two hours early for me. I am disappointed, but I am certain that Ms. Doolittle will cut a deal where she can perform and make it big. Not big as in LaKisha, but big in the vocal money making, hit making sense. My Tuesday and Wednesday's have been returned to me and for that, I can be thankful Melinda went home last night.

Don't Stomp til you get enough...

Last night a group of friends and I had dinner at the Summit Club and then attending the Broadway Series Stomp! The meal, of course, was dynamite! We engulfed a salami platter as an appetizer, enjoyed soups and salads and our entrees. We took a shuttle from the Club to the Embassy. The show was very exciting. It was fast paced, high energy percussion performance without words. If it had not been for the Embassy having the heat set at 120 degrees it would have been a more than amazing night. We took turns fanning ourselves. Drenched, as if we had been out in the rain, we went back to our shuttle and made it back to our car without ever receiving a drop of the perception which plagued us Tuesday evening. In a nut shell, my birthday was much fun, filled with great friends, family and memories. Thanks to all of those who made me feel much joy!

.... to Mark...

Today I crack another year on the longevity stick, as I celebrate the big 3 9! Yes, Carbo is celebrating his birthday in style. Last evening friends and I went to Eddie Merlot to break bread over a wonderful dinner filled with stories and laughter. Tonight friends gather for a blessed dinner and off to see Stomp! the Broadway performance at the Embassy Theatre. The celebration will continue on Saturday and Sunday enjoying dinner with family and friends. I received a gift from Clyde, he bought me the 80 IPOD. He knew exactly what I needed since my 60 was full. Amazing little dog, isn't he? This is the best BIRTHDAY ever.

Stamp of success

As you should know, today, postage stamps have increased by two more cents. So, here is my two cents on the topic: I encourage postage rates to increase. This would have to, at some point, effect the amount of junk mail I receive at my home. The number of catalogs I receive for products I will never ever purchase. For example I received a book about car parts. Trust me, that is the last thing I would attempt to purchase. Or Pottery Barn kids, What? I am amazed at the amount of stuff I throw into the trash can every night when I get home from work. This is when I wished I had a bird so I could line its cage. Or a goat that I could just feed. I receive credit card offers, post cards for places I doubt I will ever go to. I wished I could go to the mail box and get an old fashioned letter written by someone who I knew rather than a sweepstakes company that has made numerous attempts to reach me but at last resort had to send me a post card instead because they have a get-away weekend for me in a posh hotel on the water in Florida. So, I say U.S. Postal Service, keep raising the rates! If you want to send me a letter, heck send C.O.D. that would be fine by me.

Star Bright.

Yesterday my mom and I traveled to Frankenmuth to replace Christmas ornaments and buy new memories that were divided in half from the divorce. Little Buddy spent the day with a friend (and as a sidebar, he had so much fun he slept all night long and woke up just a few minutes ago! He spent his first day with children too!) Bronner's Christmas Wonderland has been a routine adventure in my life for decades. I have taken the trip to buy fun, new and different Christmas tree ornaments. However, during the divorce, some of my memories are now across town losing their meaning because they were not her memories to begin with, oh well... I found some very nifty items and I am anxious to celebrate Christmas after MexiCARBo. We spent some time in the small village of Frankenmuth enjoying a homestyle meal at Zender's and buying fudge and other crafty items. Even saw wool jackets (a friend of mine would have gone crazy ... they were really sharp). I even came across somethings that will come to light during the next big holiday open house. To all the Mothers celebrating the day, hats off!

Glasses and all!

I have my pictures from Tapestry. My new best friend Patty Duke and I as we enjoy the delights of Debrands before we hung out at the Oyster Bar and shared stories about life, television and the art of song writing with my other new best friend, Jana Stanfield.

On a personal note: I have been swamped so my blog has been pretty vegan-ish lately. I will try to add more meat next week. Stay tuned for news about a Saturday adventure to Michigan, a dinner review of Eddie Merlot's to kick off the birthday week, Stomp on Tuesday and some dental work that should make my smile brighter, but you have to check back to see what happens! It is sweeps months!

Where the road leads...

This has been a grand year so far and luckily five months into the year some things are coming to a close. My fundraising efforts are ramping down for United Way. The goal to raise $250,000 by May 10 has happened and the matching grant to double that number has happened. Kudos and great news for our community and the not for profit community. The Girl Scout breakfast wrapped in April as did Cookin' Men, the Parkview Foundation fundraiser and Tapestry, the day for women, all are tucked into the massive volunteer file cabinet.

Speaking of the end, what happened last night at the elections?!? What a mess, now for the Republican ticket we have Matt Kelty. Looks like I am switching parties. Anytime you have a two story poster of yourself, you got to say ... what may be coming next. He is anti-Harrison Square, he is pro-religious zealot. Oh, don't even get me started. I am not familiar with Mr. Henry, but trust me, I am going to learn more and fast.

Work on the other hand just continues to grow beyond my wildest imagination. Soon, I will hope to share some awesome successes and all I can say is let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I have one mammoth happening coming up and stay tuned for this grand announcement.

What's playing on my IPOD

Greetings! This day I have been packing my IPOD with new tunes and new artists, a few veterans return with music too. I thought I would share this with you:

After seeing his lame-ass performance on American Idol where he was high or dumb or lustful for Paula Abdul, I almost did not buy this CD, but my co-chair for the American Red Cross' capital campagin, Linda Jackson, raved about it and she was correct. It is great and I think the song "Everday" made the CD well worth the purchase. His last CD had a song called "Home" that has become one of my favorites of favorites. Enjoy!

Grab a bottle of really good wine, or a super drink, throw down some candles and spin this album for a calming, relaxing vibe. I have enjoyed Feist over the past couple years to just veg-to. The vocals are light and lilty and great to listen rather than to sing with. This CD does not disappoint or vary from that formula.

After I stopped laughing at the cover art, I clutched the CD toward me as I headed to the counter so no one would laugh at what I had in my hands. I have always been a sucker for buying music from artists that I have liked a song or ten from past Cd's. Such was the case when I picked up an album by Leann Rimes that I had no idea had been released last year. So, if I did not know, then most likely few people did. It was the "pop" Leann Rimes not the "country" which is the same person but just mixed a bit different. It had some nice hooks, and overall not a bad mystery purchase.

I had never heard of Rosie Thomas, and probably never would through my travels in life, but I picked up the headphones at Barnes and Noble and heard her voice on "Songbird". Not the one with Anne Murray, but her voice and simple arrangement was captivating. I had to own it. The album was not like "amazing" but I enjoyed the simple music and the voice which was soothing.

Mig Aysea's album MiG is awesome. It takes adult contemporary songs and wraps them with some great musical arrangements that are soothing but not make you tired. His voice is calm and breathy.

I added Mavis Staples. No relation to the lady who played Edith Bunker on All in The Family. She was born in 1940 and is best known as the lead singer for the Staple Singers. It is a nice refreshing voice from the past 'making it her own, dawg'.

Fishy situation

Okay, yesterday I did something I seldom do and that is eat "semi-fast food". What an experience I encountered. I went to Long John Silvers. Don't ask why, just accept this as a fact. As I parked behind the building and walked to the front door I came across a dead bird. This was a sign, so note to readers - any time you find a dead critter on the outside of the building something is wrong on the inside. I kept walking to the front door and noticed that the wood in the windows has decayed and had nearly disintegrated. I got inside and realized I have been in cleaner truck stops than the entrance floor. I continue to walk .... I could not turn away, it was a drug. Fast food drug that I could not get out of my system. Went to the counter where the wait staff never said hello, or 'grrr' as a pirate mate might. I ordered some chicken fish platter. She said something, but for the hearing impaired, luckily I saw the screen of my total. I waited at the counter and she said 'you're waiting on your food!?!" I nodded because I thought that seemed obvious. It was sort of a question but it could have been a comment but nonetheless, I just paid for my meal, I was waiting for it. The meal was served on lovely black Styrofoam. That about grossed me out to begin with. Anyway, the food was pretty good but as I was eating I looked at the sorta white walls and notice that every baseboard and chair board was painted blue, but so were sections of the white wall with oops-paint strokes. Kindergarten kids really would have done a better job. Well, that is my experience with Long John Silvers. The food tasted good and greasy (as to be expected) but I felt as if I was in a third world country getting there...

Norah's Art!

We all filed into the Murat Theatre two by two to hear the sounds of Norah Jones.

I was with my Mom, as it was her Mother's Day Gift. We trailed down to Indy to fight the storms which were predicted to rain for days and nights, which I am not even certain if it rained it all. We went to Bucca di Beppo for dinner and enjoyed Norah her band for a set and an encore. Norah is very subdued, calm and almost relaxed beyond fault but when she opens her mouth vocals soar loud and superb. Her band members were enjoying playing their instruments and no one fought for center stage it was very comforting to see a show of artists who had one thing in mind, and that was performing. It was a wonderful evening, albeit long day and night, but life begins at the crack of dawn and let the good times roll.