VOTE FOR STACIE!!!!!
In the “MY GRAMMY MOMENT” VIDEO CONTEST
http://www.cbs.com/specials/grammys/moment/

It was another hot one today, although not as hot as yesterday.  The problem with my apartment is that it’s usually cooler OUTSIDE than it is INSIDE and when I’m busy cleaning, I’m also busy schvitzing.  Anyway, I just worked through it, figuring that I was burning a few extra calories!  I did a lot of dusting today, removing everything from a lot of the shelves in the dining and living room, dusting the items, dusting the shelves, and then putting everything back.

Sometimes I do what I call the “lazy dust” where I just move the items to one side of the shelf, dust, then move the items to the other side, dust and lightly dust each item as I move them.  This was the REAL dusting, where every item got wiped down with a damp cloth, then dried with flannel, and the shelves were vacuumed and then wiped down, too.  I used to do that with all the Betty Boop items on the 14-foot wall unit that Eric built in our house in Whitestone.  It would take me ALL DAY LONG.

I also did two loads of laundry, drove through Starbucks and then went to HOME DEPOT to get some flowers for the pots outside my front door.  There are five pots outside.  Two have had beautiful purple flowers growing in them non-stop since we planted them a year ago.  They keep flowering, even though I never even water them! The other three pots have had flowers planted in them several times, but they always die!  I figured I’d get pansies and calendula and just hope they last for another 10 weeks.  At least they’ll look good for the next week, while Robin’s here!  I really don’t care what happens after that.

I bought yellow, purple and burgundy pansies and bright orange calendula, which look like daisies.  They were all .98 cents each, so I got 9 plants for $9.50.  I put five in the big center pot and two each in the side pots.  The pansies and calendula both do well in part-sun, part-shade, which is what I get on the porch.  The sun shines all morning, and then it’s shady all afternoon.  It looks SO pretty!  I’ll have to take pictures tomorrow and post them on the blog.  Very colorful!  I figure when I leave here in April I’ll give the pots to Rosemary or Elsa.  They both have houses with backyards and they’ve both been so good to me.

When I was doing laundry I ran into the building manager and he introduced me to the owner of the building complex where I live.  I went on and on about how much I love living here and how great Bret keeps everything, and how sorry I was that I have to leave.  I talked to him about the fact that Eric was already back in NY and that I’ll be joining him in a few months.  He was very nice and told me he lived here, in two different apartments for 9 years, until he and his wife built a house.

Bret and his wife, Laura, have a new baby named Julianne.  She is such a cutie.  She is about 3 months old now and when I have my door open, and they have their door open, I can sometimes hear her crying.  I actually find the sound quite enjoyable.  It’s so nice to have a baby around.  I once offered to babysit, and they know I’m not working, but I guess they figure they really have no idea who I am and wouldn’t leave their baby with a tenant, rather than a friend or relative.

I spoke to my friends Susan and Andrew this morning.  They babysit twice a week for their great-nephew, Brandon, who is also about 3 months old.  I told them I can’t wait to meet him when I get back.  It’s so nice to have a baby in your life, don’t you think?  Just because I never wanted to be a mother doesn’t mean I don’t love babies.  Anyone who knows me knows I am a “baby magnet.”  If there’s a baby around, I always coo over it and “ooh and ah,” and want to hold it, if I can.  I just love babies!  Kids -- not so much!

And in between every single thing I did today, I voted.  I voted before I ate.  I voted after I showered.  I voted before I did laundry.  I voted before and after I washed the dishes.  I voted WHILE I talked on the phone (yes, I can do my voting with one hand!).  I voted after I dusted.  I voted before I went to Starbucks.  I voted after I planted the flowers.  I voted before I fed Conrad.  I voted after dinner.  I voted before I watched HGTV.  I voted after I went on FACEBOOK and I voted in between every email I read and sent!

Yes, folks, I am taking this VERY seriously, because this is SO important to Stacie.  She REALLY wants this and I want to do everything in my power to make it happen.  If Stacie doesn’t get into the Top 3 on Friday at least I will know I did everything I could.  I want to thank those of you who have taken the time to vote.  I DO appreciate it – especially Jimmy, whom Stacie calls “Her Night In Shining Armor!”

I was talking to Jimmy and to Stacie about the fact that this voting-driven contest made me think a lot about AMERICAN IDOL, which is also voting driven.  The judges have the first say as to whom will make it to the top 24, but then – once the real competition starts – it’s all about the votes.  I realize that it’s SO unfair, because people have sometimes stayed in the game so much longer than they deserved to, or were eliminated much earlier than they should have, simply because they did or did not have the votes.

If you are semi-talented, but come from a small town in Arkansas and the ENTIRE town knows you and they name a street after you and they all vote all night long, you may stay longer than someone from a big city like Chicago, or L.A., or N.Y., where people really couldn’t care less and your school or place of worship may be the only support you have.  Know what I mean?  Right now, Stacie is fighting for her life, but she’s 37 and a wife and mother with two young sons, and a full-time job.  What hope does she have against a bunch of kids (I don’t think ANY of the top 10 is over 21) who have nothing better to do all day than vote?

Speaking of AMERICAN IDOL, I watched “group night” tonight in Hollywood, which always provides TONS of drama.  It’s amazing to see really talented people sabotage themselves (and others).  Why does that happen?  Who knows.  Anyway, there are now 75 left and next week it will get whittled down to the finalists.

Anyway, I’m so proud of Stacie, and so happy that she has gone on this “great adventure.”  I know she will always remember it, and the love and support she received from her friends, co-workers, family, and community.

I watched the third episode of a new show I’m REALLY enjoying called “Lie To Me,” which is about a team of experts who are better able to tell lies from truth than a polygraph.  It’s a really good crime show.  I highly recommend it!

Tomorrow it’s more cleaning and more voting.  Same for Friday, until I pick Robin up at the airport on Friday evening and the WEEK OF ADVENTURE begins.  That’s what I’m calling it, “Peppy and Robin’s Week of Adventure!”  Boy, we’re going to have fun!