Well hello everybody!....It's been a hectic week trying to get all that shopping and wrapping done!!...i finally finished the wrapping last night and now trying to get the house ready for a Christmas party with a few friends tonite. But it never fails....after i think i'm all done with everything, there's that one gift we always remember we have to get. I can't mention it just yet, in case my wife decides to check my blog out. Heck, she knows this blog kinda exists, but she's not one to get on the computer much. She's on one all day at work, so she doesn't care to be on one when she's home. She always has so much other stuff to do. So, maybe i could say what it is........NAH! Not yet!-lol!.....I would like to thank my good friend Darkangel for making this cute little stocking for me here. She is so talented putting these things together. Check out her site listed on my sidebar, "Darkangel's Lair".....she's got all kinds of neat stuff on there and a funny video to boot!

                                         Well, i may live in florida, but it got quite COLD last night! It dipped near freezing temps last night and we got ourselves a little frost too! Of course, that's when we found out our brand new $3,500 air conditioner decided it didn't want to give us any heat! The a/c worked beautiful this past summer, but this is the first time we needed heat and it's not working!....We nestled under thick blankets last night(a rarity in florida since most of the time you need just a sheet and a floor fan!). I even thought about wearing sweatpants,but no way.....i did wear socks which i can't stand, but the situation warranted it at this time.

                 Well, i had to stop with the blogging right here for a moment because the doorbell just rang.....it was my neighborhood a/c guys! Yay!.........we now have heat!! Man, that sounds weird for a florida resident to be wishing for heat...lol...it is supposed to be in the low 40's-high 30's most of this week! But i guess it makes it more Christmasy that way, which i really don't mind. We get to bring out those sweatshirts, jackets, etc that collect dust in our closets every year..lol..so used to just wearing shorts. I actually love the cooler weather this time of year, because it's our only real change of season, except "rainy season" which brings on "hurricane season". Pretty sad a state has so many hurricanes, it has to name a season after it! It's amazing after  being born and growing up in the Buffalo, New York area that i would feel cold in 40 degree weather! But i guess what they say is true. After living down here for 20 years, the body does get acclimated to that florida sun. As many times as i have wished to move back "home" to new york, i don't know if i could handle the winters anymore. I remember what is was like to shovel snow in -10 degree weather,but does my BODY remember???? I truly don't think so....i know i couldn't handle it  anymore.....

                 I actually got one gift early this year and i've had it for 2 weeks.... but i put it under the tree anyways and haven't touched it yet (except for reading the manual) and that was my recording system so i can play some of my own songs and put them on a disc and maybe put on the internet soon(after the holidays)....of course, it is NOTHING like the great recording system/programs that my guitar teacher has, but it'll at least let me play around with it whenever i have free time and i  won't bother bud with his increasingly busy schedule...he's got himself more students to teach, his own songs to write and practice and eventually get his new cd going....it's alot of work...but bud will put that aside to help others with anything they need....a very good man.....i think alot of that is the "teacher" inside of him...he and his wife i believe are out in california at this time enjoying some vacation time, much needed probably!

            Well, i would like to wish each and everyone a very Merry Christmas(if you celebrate it) and all others to have a joyous Holiday season and New Year's!!! May each and everyday bring you joy and happiness and positive things your way!!! ENJOY!!!!

Hello everyone!---i guess you can see by the above picture, who i enjoyed more at the concert last night--lol! The concert was very good overall, with Lee Greenwood being the headliner, and my dad loved the show. It was gift to him and that's what really mattered. But, the only thing that was disappointing was it turned out to be a Christmas show. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love Christmas shows. But it was NOT advertised as such, so most people there were expecting a regular concert of hits by the two stars. Which is why i liked the Crystal Gayle segment better. She would sing a few Christmas songs, then a few of her hits, then back and forth again. So it satisfied everyone. And the reason i put this pic on here (obviously from "younger" days), is i thought she didn't really look much different now from then....oh yes, a little older, but still absolutely stunningly gorgoeus. And I had a seat in the tenth row, so i was quite close. I know, you're going to say all the make-up comments and face lifts etc...heck maybe so, but it didn't look that way to me...she just seems like a natural beauty to me. But her voice was great....she wore a gown that Cinderella would have been jealous of, and that long. long, hair! Wow!...lol!

        Now, Lee was good, great even. But when he announced that he was doing all Christmas music, and was doing no country songs or hits, the people all had that sad sigh and did it loudly. And Lee stopped, and jokingly said, "ok, let's tear all the Christmas stuff down...." But he said, he wanted to do this to spread the holiday cheer around and express the true meaning of the season, which was fine. But he then said he heard Crystal's set backstage and heard that she mixed her hits in between, so he said he would at least do "God Bless The USA" because of the fact we still have troops overseas and he does alot of shows for them. Of course, he got a standing ovation for that. Otherwise, it was Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, etc.....but great show overall, and my dad was very pleased, which is what really counted.

          Well, i'm heading out to do some final shopping. I know what i'm getting and it won't take me long, because they are at places one wouldn't normally go shopping for Christmas presents. So it'll be easy.

         I love working with people of all ethnic backgrounds. Everyone there KNOWS i love The Beatles, and are always quick to run over and let me know when a Beatle tune is on the radio. What's funny to hear, is when they try to sing some of it to me, either in a different language or a heavy accent of some sort. You name it, we have people from everywhere. Cuba, Puerto Rico, Russia, Japan, Phillipines, Poland, Peru,,,,.. Well, one of these friends of mine comes running over and says, "Jeem(Jim), da beatohs, da beatohs...."when am see-fee-fo!"(when i'm sixty-four)...lol...i about fell out of my chair....the funny thing is, i've worked so long with these people, i actually understand them!!!

        My guitar teacher, Bud Buckley, had his video shoot wednesday night and it went very well. I was surprised to have his wife come over and grab me to do an interview on the video--lol!...i was a little nervous at first, because i thought i might just sit there and stutter and stumble all over my answers...lol....so i'm anxious to see how it all came out! I probably looked like a goofball!!

        A few entries ago, i mentioned i was finally getting into writing a few tunes, something i have totally been dried up on lately. I wrote a couple verses down here, and now after reading them again, there are going to be alot of changes! It sounds too corny to me and generic, full of cliches etc....i'm trying to almost write this song(no title yet) like it was an Irish beer drinking song...lol...there are writers out there(you know who you are) that are great with writing in metaphors and deep intellectual thoughts, or just plain have a much higher level of vocabulary than i do....so here i am thinking, "i've got to try writing that way...." but i can't picture writing an irish beer drinking song that way!....lol....maybe the song will be ok for what it is, i don't know....i just know i want to change the lyrics...oh well, we'll see what happens!...ok....gotta go...get that shopping done and other chores for the weekend....have a Christmas party to go to on saturday and visiting my wife's sister and her new born baby on sunday....oh yeah, can't forget football!!!---Have a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas everyone!!!

There's a reason i adore this woman besides, well, looking beautiful...LOL...there i said it! I think Cyndi is beautiful!!!....lol!...I recently saw Cyndi in concert and sat in the 3rd row, right in the center...and it was a great time. The things i love about her are sometimes thought as being annoying to other people. And i understand that. That combination of pixie voice, laced with the brooklyn accent....(or wherever in New York she is from)...she comes from a very Italian family, which my whole mother's side is, so i can relate to many of her stories.....her sense of humor is so cute....she has eyes that literally smile and sometimes(like the picture above) a face that looks like a porcelain doll.....soft, delicate and........OH....um....ok....uh...got carried away there...what was i saying?...oh...very talented and professional in every way....and did I say she could hit notes only a dog could hear? My Lord, i knew she could belt out a tune, but you will never appreciate it like i did sitting where i was!!! WOW!!!....is all i can say. They put on a very excellent show. Yeah, i know....i probably would say she put on an excellent show if all she did was strut around and snort like a horse...lol!!....Me biased?....NAHHHHHHHHH!!!

           My guitar teacher, Bud Buckley, is having a video shoot done tomorrow night, which my wife and i will attend. Maybe we'll get to mug for the camera...lol.... I was going to put up the fingers behind his head like rabbit ears, but i don't want to get kicked out or anything....my luck, i'll spill my coffee on his shirt or belch while eating my meal. Don't worry Bud, i'm just kidding.....what's that? We don't get to eat???? Sereiously, i've never been to a video shoot before, so this ought to be alot of fun!

           The DJ'ing i did for the Christmas party went well, except people started to get a little too wild at the end of the show. People wanted to sing,(we did a little karoake during spinning discs), but the same people wanted to sing over and over and over......one 40 year old woman(who acted like 7), didn't want to give up the microphone when she was done. We had another person coming up to sing, but this lady wouldn't give my wife back the mic! She kept yelling, NO!NO!NO!...then they started stepping on my chords and all of a sudden my sound got cut off....at first i didn't know what happened, but when i saw about ten people fighting for the mic like a frikkin' mosh pit, and my wife pushing them forward, i realized what had happened....my wife finally got the mic back and order was kind of restored.....well, only because we were lucky it was the end of the night and we were able to shut down...lol....and my wife works with these people...a little too much tipsy wouldn't we say???? But it's over, it was a good time for the most part, and we and the equipment made it home safe.

          And, on a final note, i'm taking my dad, for an early Christmas gift, to a concert this thursday. We are going to see Crystal Gayle and Lee Greenwood, definitely alot different than the concerts that i'm used to going to. But i'll watch any kind of concert(except rap)..lol). I've always liked Crystal Gayle. I never followed Lee Greenwood, but he's known for that famous song, "God Bless The USA". What's funny about seeing him though, is the guy who wrote the tune and sang my song "Less" is named Jon Conley. He has been the guitar player in Lee's band on different occasions. Wouldn't that be cool to find out he was playing thursday! We have seats in the 10th row, so we'll still be pretty close!

          Oh, and Cyndi.....PLEASE come back soon!!!!....lol!