Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite Holidays because it's all about what we're thankful for and eating, spending time with family and friends, and more Dinner! 

I'm thankful for this blog and creative outlet to share my life, experiences, and recipes with anyone that wants to read it.  At this point, I've written over 300 blogs and have had over 18,000 views in less than 2 years.  My viewership has grown and I think I've gotten much better at writing and sharing my thoughts, so thanks to those who have given suggestions and constructive criticism.  You've helped make this blog a success!

I'm thankful that I live in a city that is sunny over 200 days a year and can introduce me to new food and experiences on a weekly basis.  I'm thankful that my career is here in Los Angeles and things have been going better than ever; I'm Hosting for two shows at Afterbuzz TV and my play, 'Babes In Toyland' opens this weekend!  I'm thankful for the friends I have made in the past 8 years I've been living in LA, and the fact that in those 8 years I've had 3 different roommates and all of them have been incredible ladies who are important in my life and growth here in this crazy city.  I'm lucky to have so many different opportunities and jobs, I work at 4 different bars, and all of them are so different and bring a lot of laughter and fun to my life.  Which reminds me, I'm thankful for the people that know how to treat bartenders and those in the service industry, without you, I wouldn't be able to pay my rent or bills, so thank you.

I'm thankful for a beautiful car that runs and gets me where I need to go on a daily basis, an awesome apartment that has everything I need right at my fingertips, and close friends to keep me sane and brighten my day when I'm feeling stressed or frustrated.  I'm thankful for surprises from people you love, exciting dates with the one who makes you feel special, and trying new things...I know :)  Kisses!

I'm thankful for the entertainment in my life, shows right now like 'New Girl,' 'Betrayal,' 'Dracula,' and 'How I Met Your Mother,' that show me I can reach my goals if I work hard and follow my own path, I can achieve my dreams.  I'm thankful for Football, a game I am absolutely obsessed with, and so happy that I have a fantastic example of a real team, being a Packer fan.  I'm thankful for the wonderful food that comes out of LA:  Amazing sushi, steak, white cheeses, chocolate lava cake, wineries just an hour away, and awesome wine and craft cocktails found all over.  I'm thankful for a beautiful area where I can go on my run in peace and enjoy the trees, houses, and incredible view.  I'm thankful for my health and the fact that at 30 years old, I am in the best shape of my life!

I'm thankful that there are good people in this world who enjoy helping others with a smile, spare change, food, or anything that someone may need.  I'm thankful that people want the world to be a better place, that want to see happiness around them, and everyone succeed and do what they love.

But mostly I'm thankful for my family who supports my career and life decisions all the way in Wisconsin.  I'm thankful for loving parents who I can talk to every day and can always make me laugh.  I'm thankful to see their names show up on my Caller ID, a letter from them, or package with cookies or candy.  It's those little things that make all the difference and I can't tell them often enough how much I appreciate them and am thankful that they're around and love me.

Today may be a reminder to find out what's important to you and what you're thankful for, but the soul purpose of Thanksgiving is to recognize what's important in your life today and every day and go out and live that dream and share it with others.

Fantasy Football Week 12 Recap and Projections for Week 13

I'm not quite sure how it happens but I have an incredible week with over 130 points and the next I'm scoring less than 70.  Two of my star players had one of their worst weeks with Victor Cruz scoring just 0.7 points and Wes Welker with 3.62.  I ended up playing Stevan Ridley over DeMarco Murray which was a mistake considering Ridley scored NEGATIVE 0.6 thanks to a fumble in the first quarter and was benched immediately following it.  Case Keenum was a bust only scoring 5.96 and those 4 players, had they scored a combined 31 extra points would have helped me beat Count Drunkula.  I barely hit 50% of my projected points!  Unfortunately, the rest of my team did a pretty good job with my Houston Defense bringing in 16 points, my NE Kicker bringing in 10, and Rashad Jennings and Vernon Davis bringing in 12 a piece but my other players blew it.  Thankfully, I'm still in 3rd place with a 7-5 record.

My Week 12 Match-Up

Since the Bye weeks are over I can bring back some of my players from the bench but let's talk about a few pick-ups since there were some injuries that plagued Week 12.  With Cutler out, Josh McCown has taken over and considering the match-up with the Rams, he should have a good week.  Alex Smith has been getting the ball to Dwayne Bowe more frequently and this will be the Chiefs biggest game of the year against the Bronco's.  A good WR choice would be Rod Streater since he's been Matt McGloin's go-to guy for the Raiders with Denarius Moore out.  He's scored 9 points in 3 of the 4 last games.  Wide receiver Nate Burleson came back strong after his forearm injury with 77 yards and a TD; the Lions schedule is favorable and Burleson would be a good pick-up for the play-offs.  Benny Cunningham at RB has filled in for Zac Stacy who's out with injury and made the most of his touches with 109 yards and a TD and that's no fluke!  The Buffalo Bills lead the NFL in sacks and interceptions and their upcoming games should bring major points for them; their Defense would be a smart pick.

This week I'll be playing Nick Foles who is back from his Bye in addition to Riley Cooper and I'm hoping their chemistry is back on track for some major points from both.  I'm up in the air as to play Cruz or Randle and that decision follows me around the entire weekend and taunts me considering Randle has out-scored Cruz (or gotten close) in the past few weeks and I've played Cruz.  I picked up Baltimore's Defense but will still consider playing Cincinnati as I've been able to count on them weekly.  I've got Rashad Jennings and DeMarco Murray back in my starting RB positions and look forward to that match-up tomorrow for the Thanksgiving games.

My Packers are playing tomorrow and with Matt Flynn starting I'm looking forward to a great 9:30 am game from my team!  I'm hoping to get a good start for tomorrow's games so that I can relax a little this weekend.  I'm playing The Westside Dukes and our projections will put us neck-in-neck till the end but we should know our fate at the end of Sunday night's games.  I can solidify 3rd place this week with a win, but need to gain some points to get back on track for a 2nd place finish.  Enjoy the Turkey and Football that Thanksgiving brings tomorrow :) 

I kind of want a wallet with a chain...

Ever since I wore a chain wallet for my Aaliyah Halloween Costume at Gabe's for Karaoke I've tried to figure out a way I could walk around in my daily life wearing one of my own.  I'm not sure if it's really practical for me, considering I wouldn't even put anything in the wallet, I just like the way it looks but there's just something really fun and rock & roll about it!

My Aaliyah 'Are You That Somebody'
Costume at Gabe's on Halloween

Two weeks ago at Karaoke it ended up being a pretty slow night but I had a couple friends in so there was a lot of singing happening all night long.  I wanted to sing songs I hadn't sang in a while so I started with 'One Of Us' by Joan Osborne and then did Ella Fitzgerald's version of 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore,' which is such a fun jazzy song to sing.  Next up was 'Don't' by Jewel and according a girl at Gabe's, she didn't even know who originally sang it, and she didn't want to hear it, because she loved my version of it.  It was an incredibly sweet and genuine compliment that I really appreciated :)  There were a couple duets throughout the night, mostly from "Rent."  I did 'Another Day,' then switched to "Jekyll & Hyde" and did one of my favorites, 'A Dangerous Game.'  It was Neil and I's best performance of 'Like We Never Loved At All,' and then I brought a little rock & roll back doing Pat Benatar's 'Promises In The Dark.'  My new song of the night was 'Sunny Came Home' by Shawn Colvin, a song that was popular when I was in 8th grade.  I closed out the night with 'On My Own,' from "Les Miserables."  It was a fun and crazy night!

This past week at Karaoke, on a rainy Wednesday night, the "Rain Theme" came in full effect as people started singing songs with Rain in the title.  It's amazing how the weather can change the mood at Karaoke but even though it was a deary night, everyone was enjoying the rain and having a lot of fun.  I started with 'It Must've Been Love' by Roxette and then did 'Baby Baby' by Amy Grant.  I'd heard Bruno Mars on my run earlier in the week so I decided to do 'Grenade' by him while my new song of the night was 'Rain' by Madonna.  Since I had a couple friends in that night and there was this rock and metal vibe going on I did 'Possum Kingdom' which I had a lot of fun with.  I seriously love that song!!  I closed out the night with Guns & Roses 'November Rain' since it was raining in November.  I'm always surprised that people don't know that song, because it's my favorite Guns & Roses song.

I could have easily worn a chain wallet at Karaoke the past two weeks especially when I'm singing a rock song but maybe it's best for me to save that for a costume and special occasions ;)

'Babes In Toyland'

I got it!  I auditioned for the role of Mary Contrary in 'Babes In Toyland' a week and a half ago and found out a couple days later that I booked the role!  When I first saw they were holding auditions I was super excited because I used to watch the movie with Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, and Eileen Brennan all through the Christmas season (and Summer, guilty pleasure) and now I was getting to audition for it.

The audition consisted of a cold-read and song.  When I got to the audition and saw it was a scene from 'Music Man' I got a little nostalgic remembering I had played the role of Amaryllis when I was 14, and sure enough, the cold-read scene was one I did in that exact play, except this time I would be reading as Marian Paroo.  Since the play was a musical, we all had to sing so I chose 'Baby Love.'  I felt great about the audition and knew that it was a waiting game but I was really hoping to be cast.  I sent out a thank you for having me in to audition on Monday and by Tuesday I had confirmed the role of 'Mary Contrary' and was sent the rehearsal schedule, script, and music.

 

My hardly can contain myself smirk...
and this headshot reminds me of Christmas!

'Babes In Toyland' opens in a week and a half, as they have a very quick turn-around and prep for this show especially since it's for The Twinkle Theater.  This show is recommended for children 11 months to 5 years old accompanied by their family's as an introduction to theater.  As soon as I found out the show was for babies, I was totally in!  Of course, I would love for all of my friends in LA to come and see it as well because it is a Christmas/Holiday Show; there's singing, dancing, and acting, and will just be a fun experience, plus I might nuzzle you with a Teddy Bear :)

We've had a couple rehearsals already, meeting the rest of the cast, whom are mostly from the Midwest, ran through the script a handful of times, along with the music, figured out the blocking and this weekend we will probably be running through the entire show considering the following Saturday, November 30th, will be our first performance for the public.  The show runs on Saturdays at 11 am at the Miles Playhouse in Santa Monica on Lincoln & Wilshire Blvd and goes until January 4th.  So we will be performing 6 shows (one of which I will be in Wisconsin for, so someone will be filling my role that week) put on by the Creating Arts Company who will also have other shows running in the same weeks just on different days.

I'm so excited to be a part of a theater show again as it's been 8 years since the last time I did theater.  Singing to each other in rehearsals makes my ears smile, that's how happy I am, to be doing exactly what I love!  I can't wait for our first show in just 10 days!!

You can find out more information about the show and get tickets here:
Babes In Toyland Tickets

Fantasy Football Week 11 Recap and Projections for Week 12

I won my Match-Up this week going into it a little doubtful considering our original projections were nearly 20 points apart with Green Bush Shorts winning but pulled off a win thanks to an awesome game by Nick Foles and my Cincinnati Defense who brought in 37 points!  My pick-up of Rashad Jennings was spot on considering he scored 22.8 points.  I'm a little bummed on my pick-up of Riley Cooper considering the chemistry between him and Foles in previous games but I'm sure he'll bounce back in the following weeks.  Thankfully Victor Cruz was one of Eli's favorite WR's this week and was able to out-score Randle, just barely, but got back to the double digits.  I really needed a win this week considering The Shorts and I were both 6-4.  I'm back in 3rd place this week and 80 points behind The Dawgs who are also 7-4 and tied with me.

My Week 11 Match-Up

Since Aaron Rodgers is out for another couple weeks and Foles is on a Bye I needed to pick up a QB so I went with Case Keenum, one of my suggestions from a couple weeks ago who according to Coach Kubiak will be the starting QB even though Matt Schaub took over for Keenum who was benched, and did worse in relief.  Carson Palmer would also be a good pick-up for this week if you've got your QB on a Bye and need someone for Week 12.  Bobby Rainey the RB for Tampa Bay, got 32 touches in the game against Atlanta and scored 3 TD's getting 167 total yards.  This week may not be his best week considering Tampa Bay is going up against Detroit but the next couple of games should be great match-ups.  Another RB to consider would be Montee Ball, who plays behind Knowshon Moreno but scored 2 TD's against an undefeated Kansas City.  He's a rookie so he's not completely reliable at this point but a good flex option.  As for your WR, Santonio Holmes is back in the Jets line-up after a hamstring injury.  Holmes should be targeted more each week and even though he only saw 8 targets this week he got 71 yards and should be able to produce even more for the Jets as he's back in action.  Some of my frustration this year has come from Vernon Davis at my TE position.  He's been injured, in and out of games, had monster weeks, and then done nothing the following week, so I'm always playing around with that position.  So if you're looking for a TE, Delanie Walker, from Tennessee has continued to pursue more looks and just this week against Indianapolis got 91 yards and a TD.  He'll be heading towards the number one TE position on the Titans again.

This week I'll be playing both Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle as they both seem to be scoring points and there's no way I can bench Cruz to play Randle, and I haven't seen any good WR's in our league's available players.  At least for now.  I want to play Rashad Jennings again, I'm just not sure which of my other RB's to bench.  I've got to decide between DeMarco Murray who is back from his Bye but playing against the Giants who've given up the 5th fewest Fantasy Points to RB's or Ridley, who continues to fumble but seems to find the end zone as well.  I picked up Houston's Defense this week since they're playing Jacksonville and they've given up the most points to Defense's this season so they should bring me some points.

My Match-Up this week is going to be close as there's not even a 2 point spread and I've picked up new players and need to count on them this week to hit their projections in order to win.  Onwards and upwards and good games for all my players and perhaps I can back up to the #2 spot in the next week or two!

An October 33rd Halloween!

Halloween landed on a Thursday this year and I got plenty of costume time in with the Jersey Shore Costume for the Afterbuzz TV Party, my 6 costume changes of R&B stars Aaliyah and Ciara for Karaoke at the Gabe's Halloween Costume Contest, and then on Saturday for Neil's Annual Halloween Party where I dressed up as Lilah (Megan Fox's character) from Jonah Hex.  I did a mini-version of Snooki while I worked at Irish Times on Halloween Thursday but spent the rest of the night hanging out with a girlfriend while she got ready for a Party and then I stayed in and cleaned my room.  Rockstar.

Screen Engine Family

After taking the Costume to the tailor to do some minor alterations, already having the perfect boots, and finding some lace gloves, I was ready to go!  Halloween music was playing, everyone attending was in costume, I had made some fun Halloween cupcakes, and we had plenty of goodies to eat, not to mention a liquor selection to be rivaled!  We took a few pictures before everyone else arrived, took our Purple People Eater shots, and I was even in costume before our first guest walked through the door.  Hooray!  Neil was dressed as Ash from 'Evil Dead' and and had completed his look with a full-on Chain Saw for an arm...super cool!

It was great to see Aimee and Andy from Gabe's, who brought along a couple of their friends, one of which was dressed as the famed painter on TV, Bob Ross, while they dazzled as Little Bo Peep and her Sheep.  Tom and Basia came as Marty McFly and Ariel with Legs from 'The Little Mermaid,' both of which were super thoughtful.  Jamie and Spark came a little later dressed as the Red Queen and Mad Hatter, with stunning make-up from Jamie!  Emily and Shane were dressed as Tim Tebow and his Little Emily Football :)

Halloween Party Time

There were Superheroes, Brett Michael's, Wolverine, Katy Perry, a Gatsby Girl, Masked Heroes & Ladies, and some incredible make-up'd faces!  People even requested to hear and see 'The King Of Halloween' music video.  I just wish there was more sour candy at the party.

The Ladies on Halloween!

The party was a blast and it's only 350 more days till Halloween so you better start planning next years costume soon!

Fantasy Football Week 10 Recap and Projections for Week 11

I'm on a 2 game losing streak and starting to get a little frustrated with the injuries that continue to plague my team.  Not to mention, a bad suggestion from the Cowboy Monkey's to sit Randle since I was already playing Cruz, and why would I play two WR's from the same team?  Well, that decision brought me a loss, and had I played Randle, I would have beat the Monkey's (no pun intended) by 0.7.  My advice friends, go with your gut, and trust it!  I'd be tied for 2nd place right now (only being on the bottom end of that because I have fewer points than The Dawgs).  My pick-up of Foles was right on since he out-scored his projections by over 8 points and at least I could count on DeMarco Murray to bring in over 15 points with my Cincinnati Defense rounding out my double digits with 17 Fantasy Points.  My decision to pick up Justin Tucker was good since he got 9 points but Wes Welker, Victor Cruz, Vernon Davis (who went out with an injury) and Marvin Jones brought in a total of 6.9 points against their projected point total which would have been 34.72.  Horrible.

My Week 10 Match-Up

For pick-ups this week and starting with Running Backs, I'd take a look at Dennis Johnson considering Ben Tate still isn't 100% (but if Tate is still available in your league, pick him up) because he's taken over Arian Foster's role, now that he's out due to necessary back surgery.  That's my #1 draft pick lost to an injury...fantastic!  Since I lost Mike James, who went out with what's been listed as a broken ankle, in the first quarter just before he could score a TD I picked up Rashad Jennings (who I suggested last week) since he seems to have taken over for Darren McFadden who is still doubtful to return this week and seems to enjoy sitting on my bench nursing his injury.  Yet another RB to look at would be Danny Woodhead and although he was a bust for me when he played on the Patriots he seems to have found his groove with the Chargers and is projected over 10 points this week.  After having to drop yet another player because of an injury, in place of Michael Floyd, a good WR pick-up would be Andre Roberts who caught 5 passes for 72 yards and got a TD.  The Charger's have given up the 4th most fantasy points to Wide-Outs, so Rishard Matthews from from the Dolphin's may be a good WR choice.  He scored 2 TD's with 120 yards on Monday night!  And if you're still looking for a QB, Case Keenum is proving himself for the Texans, Nick Foles is bringing the heat on the Eagles and Matt Flynn has re-joined the Packers, even though he won't be starting this week.  Flynn is a great pick-up for the Packers and he clearly has chemistry with the team and we need him around if we want to make the Play-Offs and get another Superbowl win!

I'll be starting Ridley and Jennings at the RB position this week with Riley Cooper in my flex position since he is an undeniable talent when catching passes from Nick Foles.  I think that Welker and Cruz just had off weeks and will be back on the points game this week since I'm playing The Green Bush Shorts who took my 3rd place position and I want to be back on the top!  He is projected almost 20 points more than me but I just need a monster week from my team and hopefully Vernon Davis will be healthy this weekend.  I've got Gostkowski back as my Kicker and my Cincinatti Defense against Cleveland so it is possible!

Guys, eat your Wheaties, drink your milk, and up your vitamins!  I know this is a tough game and obviously very hard on your bodies, but something needs to change so everyone isn't so injury-prone.  Having the Bye weeks has been challenging enough but then with my players out due to injuries, it's been down-right difficult to get a win.  Thankfully, the Bye weeks end after next week so we can get back to the real game and let our players decide our fate :)  Good Luck in Week 11!

The Catch Up Game

It's November and that means Pumpkin Pie, Cranberry Sauce, Green Bean Casserole and other fun Thanksgiving treats are making their way to the front of the grocery store.  It also means Christmas commercials, holiday music, and Santa will all be here very soon.  Even though the change of seasons in LA isn't as noticeable as in Wisconsin, I can still tell that it's Fall because the air gets a little crisper, it gets darker sooner, and people are walking outside with hats and scarves on the 40ish degree nights.  I'm playing the catch up game and reflecting on my resolutions and goals for this year and I'm really happy with where I've been at the last year and past couple months!  

Find me on Twitter.com/LyndseyWegner or Facebook.com/LyndseyWegner

In August, Neil and I played a live show at The Garage for a friend's Birthday Party and that was something completely new for me, singing a whole show with Neil, just us and his acoustic guitar.  Totally different than Karaoke but absolutely addicting.  We also saw an 80's Cover Band play at Canyon Club in Agoura Hills which I had never been to before and is known for it's performers and shows.  I heard Pat Benetar plays there, so the next time she's playing I hope I can go!  I saw 'Women Are Crazy, Because Men Are A**Holes' because I had friends who were in the show, and it certainly made me want to get more involved in theater after seeing such an awesome production!  And to top it all off, my brother's band, The Hussy, came out to LA while they were doing a West Coast Tour and performed at Redwood Bar!

Keeping an eye on my goals!

When September rolled around, I had already worked on a friend's music video (we just filmed some more footage this past week and have a couple final scenes before the video is completed) which will be coming out in December.  Neil and I took my first trip to Santa Barbara where we went Wine Tasting at a couple different Wineries and walked all around the city, eating Dinner at a quaint little Italian Restaurant in downtown.  Even though we missed the Sara Bareilles show we still had a blast!  At the end of the month, Neil and I saw Keith Urban perform at the Hollywood Bowl (my first show there) and he was incredible :D

By October I had decided to launch a new concept for my blog so I filmed a Fantasy Football Teaser and now currently feature a weekly blog about Fantasy Football Pick-ups, Projections, and Stats, along with my Weekly Match-Up.  I also did my first ever show for Afterbuzz TV, where we do a post-game wrap up of the show 'Supernatural.'  I filmed my 5th episode this week and love working for the company and getting to Host on a weekly basis!  Neil and I worked on a Halloween Music Video, where he rapped and I sang, (in the style of Eminem & Dido) and the music video came out just before Halloween.  We also saw 30 Seconds to Mars perform at the Hollywood Bowl as well (our second time seeing them together)!  I spent a lot of time with my girlfriends in the past month, grabbing Dinner, hitting up a party, and even seeing a Kings Game from the Luxury Box thanks to Marty.  In the midst of all the crazy I did a workshop at ACT Now for 2 weeks so that was a fun learning experience too and also uploaded my Commercial Reel to be viewed on YouTube!

Talk about a busy couple of months but I wouldn't want it any other way.  I'm paving my own path and when things start to get frustrating or I wonder what I'm doing, something makes me realize everything is happening for a reason and that's when the big things hit!  I can't wait to see what's next...

My Commercial Reel & Karaoke

I finally got my first Commercial Reel edited and finished so it's up on YouTube for your viewing pleasure!  After getting all the footage together I was able to put out a Reel with a few different commercials filmed over the past couple years I've been living in LA.  It's got a nice variety of shots and styles and hopefully can bring in some more work :)

With Halloween in full effect the past couple of weeks thanks to a Thursday Halloween, I finally have a little time to catch up on my blog and Karaoke.  So for Karaoke from a couple weeks ago I started a little theme for myself singing songs with the word 'dream' in the title.  My first song of the night was 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me' by The Mama's & The Papa's which I haven't sang in quite some time while my next song was a new song of the night, Selena's 'Dreaming Of You' which added the challenge of singing in Spanish too!  Next up was one of my favorites, 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac and then I changed it up getting into my Halloween vibe for the following week doing 'Are You That Somebody' by Aaliyah which was new for me that night and closing with Heart's 'If Looks Could Kill.'  That's one of my favorite songs off of their self-titled album.

This past week was a little bit busier for McCracken's Karaoke Birthday Party but not before we had a slow start and got a bunch of songs in before the party started.  I keep adding songs to my History Folder so I started with 'Treat Me Right' by Pat Benatar and then singing Garbage's 'Only Happy When It Rains.'  I moved back into Rock with 'Hold The Line' by Toto and then doing another Heart song this week, 'What About Love' which I haven't sang in years!  Since Jamie and Neil were there for the party, we got a couple duets in, 'Take Me Or Leave Me' from "Rent" and 'Love The Way You Lie' by Eminem and Rihanna.  Since I had so much fun singing it the last time, I did Stacy Orrico's 'Stuck' and my closing song, and also new song for the night was 'Living On A Prayer' by Bon Jovi with a little background vocal and harmony from Neil.  We normally sing the slow version with Neil taking the lead, so this was definitely new territory for me!

I always love the challenge of new songs and was so excited to see my friends trying new things like Spark doing 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' and Sean doing 'The Remedy.'  The boys all got together and did 'Blurred Lines' which was awesome!  Those Karaoke nights are always the best so bringing a theme makes the Karaoke world go round B)

Halloween Costume Contest & Party at Gabe's!

Last week Wednesday was the Eve of Halloween and when Gabe's was doing their Halloween Party and Costume Contest, right at midnight!  Slowly but sure we've built Wednesday Night Karaoke during the week of Halloween and last Wednesday was a busy night, with lots of costume changes, prizes, and tons of dedications and Karaoke songs.

Justin & Ciara

My Costumes for the night were all fashioned after Aaliyah and Ciara with their hip hop vibe and style; some costumes were certainly better than others but I sang each song, 6 total, in a different costume.  Neil and Chris also came dressed to impress as Neil had different looks for Justin Timberlake as well as Eminem, and we even did a duet together.  Chris was dressed in the 'Humpty Dance' costume and waited to perform his song till we had a full crowd and sure enough, he won our Costume Contest that evening!  Second place went to Jerry who was dressed as a Domino's Pizza Delivery Boy and 3rd went to Neil for once again, completely changing his look throughout the night.  There was a Pirate Carebear, Jessica Rabbit, Ghouls & Goblins, and dead Witches and Zombies in costume as well.

I started off the night with one of my new songs, 'Try Again' by Aaliyah, wearing my new wedged sneakers (which by the way, are super comfortable, and give me an extra 3 inches; I highly recommend them).  Next up was 'Are You That Somebody' with a costume super similar to Aaliyah's in the music video and I even pulled out some specific dance moves with each song.  Another favorite part of my first two costumes was getting to wear a chain that was connected to a wallet in my back pocket; I kind of want to wear it all the time!  From there I switched from Aaliyah to Ciara and started off with her hit, 'One Two Step' which was another new song for me.  I wore these shiny pants I had bought in college that still fit (YAY) and my outfit matched Ciara's perfectly!  I loved that it got people that were totally involved in their pool game up and dancing with me :)  After that I switched it up, putting on my fedora for 'Like A Boy' and thankfully I had gotten in some practice of the song since my last performance, and that was highly necessary with all the quick raps and melody.

'As long as I've got my suit and tie...'

Halloween Karaoke

During all this Neil had performed 'Like I Love You' and 'What Goes Around Comes Around' by Justin Timberlake and then went into Eminem mode for 'Lose Yourself.'  It was back to Justin for 'Suit & Tie' with a little help from McCracken who was dressed as a Michael Buble/Josh Groban hybrid, and thankfully was wearing his suit and tie.  It was time for Neil and I's duet of 'Love + Sex + Magic' and another perfectly matched costume like Ciara's from the video.  I had forgotten to change the key and lower it but we managed to make due and had a lot of fun with it, even though it was a new and quite difficult song for both of us!  There was more N'Sync happening from Neil and McCracken singing 'This I Promise You' and both duets with Neil were new songs for McCracken.  Everyone definitely got an A for effort in trying all the new music and putting in thought and detail to specific outfits.  I closed out the night with 'Goodies' by Ciara, another new song for me, and got some help on the rap from Chris, who surprisingly new the song pretty well.  Guilty pleasure?  The song was a blast to sing and once again had people singing along and dancing!

It was a fabulous night for Karaoke and a great Halloween Eve!  Carolyn and Matt even came in to celebrate their recent engagement and dedicate songs to each other which was super cute!  There's just 358 days till Halloween so you better get started on your costume soon...

See ya next year!

Fantasy Football Week 9 Recap and Projections for Week 10

I always say that if I have to lose my Match-Up it's totally worthwhile if the Packers win.  I'll take their win and a loss any day just because I want me Team in the Superbowl but this week I saw 2 losses.  I had an absolutely horrendous week with so many players on Bye and gambling on new players and with McFadden and Rodgers leaving their games with injuries I had no chance to even get a decent point total and fell flat at just 57 points.  I left Ridley on the bench to score over 22 points, which was practically half of my total points for this week.  My pick-up of Ted Ginn Jr was worthless considering he brought in under 2 points but I have to be happy since Bowe and Jones nearly hit their projections and Jones was a good pick-up for the week.  Even though Kyle Rudolph went out with an injury it wasn't before he scored a TD and got me 9.50 points.  In the most unfortunate of situations my Kicker out-scored everyone on my team.  Yup.

My Week 9 Match-Up

I've already made some pick-ups this week and first off is Nick Foles who had a fantastic week with 7 TD's, no Interceptions and over 400 passing yards.  I suggested him as a great Pick-Up just a few weeks ago and with Aaron Rodgers out and Foles still available in my league, he'll be starting for My Dudes until Rodgers is healthy again!  Jay Cutler is supposed to be back this week and since he's un-owned in most leagues and has a productive passing offense he may also be a good starter if you're unsure about your current QB, lost Rodgers, or have your QB on a Bye.  Speaking of Foles, his partner in crime seems to be Riley Cooper who scored 3 TD's last week against the Raiders.  Even though DeSean Jackson is their main WR, Cooper will be an honest WR2.  Rashad Jennings will be taking over once again since McFadden is out and Jennings has some good chemistry with Terrelle Pryor.

This week I've got Foles starting and most of my accountable players back in the line-up.  I'm currently keeping Jones as my Flex Player and playing Cincinnati's Defense since Foles will be playing against the Packers and we need a win this week.  With Arian Foster still questionable and Ridley on a Bye I was forced to pick up another RB so I snagged Mike James from Tampa Bay as they're playing Miami this week and they've given up the 2nd most Fantasy Points to Running Backs this season.  It feels as though lately the only person I can count on is my Kicker and since he's also on Bye I picked up Justin Tucker from Baltimore.

I'm still in 3rd place in my league, just 2 games behind our leader but now my point total would put me in 5th place so I need a really high scoring week to come back after the joke of a week I had during Week 9.  Our leader and 2nd place will be playing each other this week and I'm playing the Cowboy Monkey's who are currently in last, and have yet to hit their projections this season but with my 2 losses in the past few weeks, it might be the Monkey's time to kick some butt.  I hope not but we'll find out during this nail-biting week of games!

Afterbuzz TV Halloween Party

Last week Saturday kicked off the first of my Costumes for Halloween this year at the Afterbuzz TV Halloween Party which was at Rock & Reilly's on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood!  There was a suggested TV theme since Afterbuzz is all about After-Shows for TV shows.

With the theme in mind and an idea I've had for years it was the perfect time to bring out Snooki from 'Jersey Shore.'  To complete my look, I brought along Neil aka DJ Pauly D!  Pauly D normally spends nearly a half hour getting his hair perfect but I didn't need that much time, I got Neil's hair perfectly coiffed in 10 minutes.  There was lots of bronzing going on before we left for the party, some eye-liner and lots of black eye-shadow and mascara.  T-Shirt Time...with costumes on, the look was complete and a pretty darn awesome costume put together in about an hour!  Cabs are here!

DJ Pauly D & Snooki from 'Jersey Shore'

Head Phones & Pickles in Hollywood

We got to the party just after 9 pm and hung out for a couple of hours with some of the Hosts and Crew from Afterbuzz TV.  Most people at the bar weren't in costume but at least our peeps were in costumes from 'Breaking Bad', 'Arrested Development' and my Co-Host, Tom, dressed as Jack Bauer!  I got plenty of questions about the famous Snooki Poof but it was all hair, no bump-it's here; I even had my very own jar of pickles I carried around a'la Snooks!  Pauly D was decked out in neon and completed his look with headphones and sunglasses.  We kept our catch-phrases going all night long...oh yea!

Our friend Cory was working next door at Pearl which is a New Orleans/French style Restaurant and Bar with 2 stories, the bottom being an upscale and elegant restaurant with the upstairs being a Secret Garden theme and in the front over-looking Sunset blvd is another open-aired area to dine or dance.  Talk about gorgeous!  We got compliments on our costumes (thankfully we were recognizable...I love the Jersey Shore, B*tch) and after a quick shot with Cory we were on our way back to the Valley to make one more stop at The Snug in hopes of more costumes.

Unfortunately, there weren't many people dressed up anywhere we went so that was kind of disappointing but it was the weekend before Halloween and since it fell on a Thursday we weren't sure what to expect...wah!  Overall, for us and our love of Halloween it was a great start to the festivities and a chance to try out a new and fun costume idea :)