"I think you may be a kindred spirit after all..."

"Psst...Carrots!"

When I signed on to host a "Christmas with Anne of Green Gables" program at my library, I knew it would bring back some childhood memories, but I had no idea that it would be like opening the floodgates. If you can believe it, I've never read the books...growing up, I was such a huge fan of the movies that I just knew I'd ruin the whole thing by reading them (which is so backwards, I know!). And since I didn't have enough time to go through Lucy Maud Montgomery's whole catalog before the program, I decided to revisit the movies for the first time in probably 15 years.



I can't even begin to explain how deeply Anne's character resonates with me. "My God," I thought as her story unfolded, "that's ME!" It was so like watching myself at that age that I had tears streaming down my face. Bookwormish, imaginative, melodramatic...that describes both me and Anne to a T. I can remember seeing the movies as a little girl, wanting so desperately to be just like her and knowing that I could never be that clever, brave, impetuous, beautiful. Even today, I wish I had more of her spunk and eloquence. And her story is so utterly romantic that my heart aches to think of it. To have such a handsome, intelligent, witty man pine for you the way Gilbert Blythe pines for her...even though my marriage and husband are both wonderful, I couldn't help but wish that I'd waited for a Gilbert of my own to come around.

There's a reason why "Anne of Green Gables" has remained in the public's consciousness for 100 years - it's a timeless, beautiful story, plain and simple. And one of these days, I might get around to finishing the books. :-)


One of my favorite scenes, when Anne's skiff sinks and Gilbert rescues her. The two come so tantalizing close to admitting their true feelings for one another.


I remember thinking that there was no more beautiful and elegant dress in the world than the one Anne wore when reciting "The Highwayman".

In the presence of rock gods

There is not and will never be a more powerful form of music than rock 'n roll. Fads and trends come and go: pop, rap, R&B, country. Their popularity ebbs and flows, reaches a peak amidst a chorus of ear-splitting prepubescent female shrieks, then falls into obscurity. But rock 'n roll - true rock 'n roll - will always come back with a vengence...and Vengence, I name thee AC/DC.

The last time they toured was 2001, when I was in college. Of course, they performed in Philly in the dead of winter when I couldn't make the 4 hour trip home, which just killed me. After all, who knew when - or if - they'd ever tour again! There had been rumors of them hanging it up for years and I missed what could've been my last opportunity to see the hardest rockin' band EVER. I was devastated. And in subsequent years, there had been rumblings of a new album, a new tour, but nothing ever came of the rumors. So when the existance of Black Ice, their first LP since 2000, was confirmed this past summer, I got on every ticket notification system out there because, goddammit, NOTHING was going to stop me from seeing them live.

And nothing did. I got tickets the minute they went on sale (for my mom and dad too...are they not the coolest parents on earth??) in a freaking awesome part of the arena - upper tier, but side-stage and second row, a virtually uninhibited view. I got my hands on a copy of the new album, listened to some of my old ones and started feeling more excited about a concert than I ever had.

The Wachovia Center was a madhouse last night. I think Pierre Robert said it best in his broadcast on 'MMR: "It's all about the peace, love and rock 'n roll tonight, my friends." I wish I could describe the show itself for you, but there aren't words. The best I can do is to say that it fuckin' ROCKED. I was leaping to my feet and punching the air and headbanging with the other 20,000 people there. When the "Rock n' Roll Train" crashed onto the stage and Angus started wailing on his guitar in the first chords of that song, I screamed myself hoarse. And when they played "Thunderstruck", well, it was damn near orgasmic. The gigantic bell for "Hells Bells", the appearance of...ahem...a very buxom blow-up doll for "Whole Lotta Rosie", Angus and his striptease during "The Jack", his devil horns during "Highway to Hell." God, the whole thing was amazing.

There are very few things in life that make me happier than a kick-ass guitar, pounding drums, and a screaming front man. Need an example why?

Slight change in Scotland accommodations

The Terrace Room wasn't available, so we've reserved the Rob Roy Room, so named because it was the room in which Jessica Lange stayed during the filming of Rob Roy. If it's good enough for Jessica Lange, it's good enough for me (and to be honest, I've always liked this one better anyway).

My niece

Is she not the cutest little munchkin ever?

My sister is a mom...weird.

Must be a family thing...notice how all their mouths are open?

I'm an aunt!

My little niece Shelby was born tonight! She arrived at 7:44pm and weighs 6 lbs 15 oz. We don't know yet how long she is because Tim, her daddy, won't give her to the nurses. :-) Mommy and Baby are doing well, even though Kristen was a bit disappointed that she ended up having a c-section. Even though her water broke around 5am and she was loaded up on pitocin, Shelby just wouldn't drop. It ended up being a good thing that she didn't try to delivery vaginally though because the cord was wrapped around Shelby's neck. Kris hasn't been able to hold her yet either because of the epidural - she doesn't have any feeling in her arms or legs. When I called, I could hear the cutest little cries in the background. I can't freaking wait for next weekend when I get to meet her! Lots more pics and info to come!

Ready to RUN!

I've been in dire need of new running shoes for a while, so I figured that, since I was off today, I'd stop by the Charm City Run store in Bel Air to get outfitted by a professional. My last sneaker purchase was dreadful. I went to the Lady Foot Locker in the York Galleria and was waited on by a bored high school dropout who was no help whatsoever (moral of the story - do not shop there). I ended up getting a pair that was slightly too small, which meant that the more miles I logged, the more cramped my toes got and the nails even turned black for a time. Yuck. You could say I was peeved, yeah.

Earlier this week, I'd swung by Charm City Run to register for the local Turkey Trot (and to kind of scope the place out) and was impressed with what I saw - very friendly staff, a small but good selection of all sorts of running necessities, not too hard to get in and out of, considering that it's on the corner of Main and Churchville right in downtown Bel Air. So I made it my first stop today while I was out running errands. The girl spent a good 20 minutes helping me out, measuring my foot, watching my gait and bringing out a huge variety of sneakers to try. Of course, the pair that fit best was the $125 Nike Vomeros, but if I learned anything since I started running, it's that you can't scrimp on shoes. And not only did I get them, I splurged on an awesome pair of running pants too. And to top it all off, when I was checking out, she gave me a free shirt! I will definitely be a repeat customer. Can't wait to pull out the treadmill!


Sweet new kicks and the free t-shirt!

Another travel update

I submitted the reservation enquiry for The Grange in Fort William today! The owners will contact me to confirm everything, so I'm praying that the room we want is available. Isn't it amazing??


The Grange, Fort William, Inverness-shire, Scotland


Another view of the house


The terrace and gardens


A view of Loch Linnhe


The room we want has it's own private terrace

Only 8 months to go!

Yes...We Did.

Good job, America. Now let's get to work.

Tomorrow's the day...

After two long years of campaigning, Election Day is finally upon us. Is it just me, or has the race gotten exceedingly ugly in the last few days? I got one of those robocalls from the RNC this weekend that didn't say a word about John McCain's policies, but rather went on about how Barack Obama would raise taxes, consort with terorists, blah blah blah. Does anyone actually fall for that crap? Although I have to say, I was extremely heartened to see this hanging from my front door when I got home from work on Saturday:

Obama volunteers actually came to my house! I don't live in a neighborhood - our place is out in the middle of nowhere even though it's on a pretty big thoroughfare - and is not conducive to people just stopping by. So I never in a million years would've thought that either campaign would put forth the effort to come out to my neck of the woods. I wish I'd been home to reassure the volunteers that, even though we live in diehard McCain country, there definitely are pockets of Obama supporters. The move also impressed my husband, a registered Republican. I'm going to email my local field office to tell them how much I appreciated their visit.

Remember folks, the polls are open from 7am to 8pm tomorrow. Josh and I are planning on being there as soon as the doors open to avoid having to wait in ungodly long lines later in the day. That, and voting always makes me feel good, so I'll start the day knowing that I helped make history. If you need to find me tomorrow evening, I'll be planted on the couch, watching NBC's coverage. Obama-Biden 2008!

The Democratic National Convention

Is it July yet??

Finally, after five years of planning and talking and dreaming, Josh's and my extravaganza trip to the U.K. is taking shape. I've been dying to go back for a visit...I spent my senior year of college in London and, while it wasn't always the best time, in retrospect, I really did enjoy myself. And I miss it horribly, so much so that I have incredibly vivid dreams about it every so often. Anyway, we had to wait until 2009 to head over because we knew that my ancestral family, the Clan Cameron, would be holding a Gathering (a kind of family reunion where the only thing you have in common with the other attendees is your last name) during the summer of that year, so we figured it only made sense to schedule our trip around that. The plan is to spend the first four or five days exploring London, showing Josh all the sights and taking him to Kingston-upon-Thames (where my school is), before flying up to Scotland for a week or two. I made our hotel reservations in London a few weeks ago and we're staying at the beautiful Draycott Hotel. Here are some pics so you can see just why I'm so psyched!


The Draycott Hotel


Now this is what London is all about


The gardens


Gorgeous!

I'm going to firm up our plans for Scotland sometime in the near future. We'll be staying in the most darling B&B in the Highlands, the Grange. I can't freaking wait!

The Babies Oldfield are here!

My dearest friend Angela gave birth to her twins on Sunday October 12th at 7:39 and 7:40am. Grace was 4 lbs 11 oz and Ethan was 4 lbs 10 oz. Mother and babies are doing remarkably well and everyone was able to go home on Wednesday. You have no idea how excited I am to meet these little snugglebunnies!


Ethan Daniel and Grace Callan

The Oldfields

Race for the Cure

This past weekend (actually, I think we were there for less than 24 hours), Josh and I drove up to my parents' house in Jersey for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k that was held at Great Adventure. I ran my first 5k this time last year, at the Race for the Cure event in Baltimore, which was an amazing, grueling experience. After I crossed the finish line, I collapsed on a curb and cried my eyes out. I was so proud of myself for accomplishing an athletic feat that I never thought I could do, and it was also very overwhelming seeing all those survivors of breast cancer and knowing that my aunt Linda wasn't among them. It was extremely emotional and I wished my family could've been there to share it with me.

I got my dad into running over last winter and his ultimate goal was to be able to do a Komen 5k with me. I found out about the one in Great Adventure, which isn't terribly far from where my folks live, and got the idea in my head that, if Dad and I were going to do it, why not invite the rest of the family? Most of them are athletes (lots of soccer players) and we were all devastated by Aunt Linda's death five years ago, so what better way to get together as a family and honor her?

We ended up making an event of it. Our team of runners and walkers got together at the crack of dawn Sunday morning (5:45am, to be exact. Ugh.) and we all caravaned out to Jackson. Grandmom and Grandpop even came and we brought chairs and blankets so we could get comfortable before and after the race. It was chilly, let me tell you! Wearing running shorts at that hour of the day when it's 40 degrees out is NOT fun. But by the time we got there, all the vendor booths were open, so we milled around, got some cool freebies and tried to keep warm until the race started.

I haven't done many 5ks yet, but this one was definitely my favorite. With the exception of the narrow course (which, because of all the bottlenecking going on, ended up costing me at least two minutes on my time), it was perfect - we ran through the parking lot and some of the behind-the-scenes areas of the park before going right into Hurricane Harbor. It was relatively flat, only a few small inclines, which was a huge improvement over the one in Baltimore, and made for an easy run. Like I said, I was pissed about the traffic (leave it to me to get road rage during a foot race) and pissed at the race organizers because they didn't do anything about it. The race last year had very obvious starting points depending on your mile speed - if you were going to run it in Olympic record time, obviously you'd go to the front. If you thought you might finish in an hour, you were told to go to the back so you didn't stop up the works. Well, they didn't do anything like that this time around, and we had to contend with the slowpokes who, for some reason, started in the front. If it wasn't for that, we could've finished in about 32 minutes, but as it was, my official time was 34:59. Too frustrating! That's the exact same time that I finished the Bel Air Town Run in June...and I had to stop three times during that race!

But we all finished in pretty decent time. The quickest of us was my uber-athlete cousin Nicole, who finished in 28 minutes (my goal for next year is to do that well), and my aunt Sharon wasn't too far behind me and Dad at 38 minutes. There wasn't as much time to sit and reflect this year, otherwise I'm sure we all would've been weeping messes, but we were able to come together as a family, bond a bit and have a great time, which was a pretty darn good end result if you ask me. Looking forward to doing it next year.



Me and Dad crossing the finish line

I've succumbed...

Yes, yes, I've finally yielded to the pressure of hosting my own blog. So ta-da! Here it is. Stay tuned for more updates as I get this thing figured out.