So, I promised I would talk about Buckcherry...

On St. Patrick's day Maggie, Sarah ( my 15 year old daughter) and I headed down to Sayreville, NJ to finally see Buckcherry, the band I had flown to the other end of the country to see the week before.


So, down we go, via the Garden State Parkway, until we get to the concert venue, about an hour too late for the meet and greet with the band. Right away, I knew we were in trouble. Parking in a dirt lot, walking up to the entrance, loud music and people everywhere. Okay, no one told me that this was actually a bar, yes a bar, and it was standing room only; I knew it was general admission, but I thought that meant sit where you can. Boy, was I wrong!

We find a place to stand by the sound board, with my biggest mission making sure no one gets within touching distance of Sarah. Not an easy task. First though, comes the band "Papa Roach". Sarah tells me that this is lame and boring, until the lead singer starts to work the crowd, and next thing I know she is pumping her fist in the air and eyeing with interest the kids in the mosh pit. Oh boy, what have I started!

Papa Roach, who actually were very good, finishes and we wait patiently for Buckcherry. After a twenty minute break, finally they come on. I have flown 6000 miles round trip, then driven over and hour and half, stood on my feet for two hours and now...

Maggie turns to me after the first song and says, " Okay, you heard them, Papa Roach was better, lets go."

WHAT!!!!???!!!

Sarah says " Yeah, Mom, they suck I am tired and you know I have to wake up early for school tomorrow", so I beg for two more songs, they begrudgingly let me listen for five more minutes, and as we leave the spot I fought two hours protecting I look longingly behind me as the sound of Buckcherry fades and is replaced by " Wake me up when we get home."

Sigh....guess I'll have to listen to them on the CD that I bought on the way out instead.

I was sooo excited about the circus I just could not wait!

We attended a special pre-event at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island on Wednesday; we meaning Daryl, Sarah ( my daughter) and I. I don't need to tell anyone who knows me well what a circus freak I am. My Grandma Rose used to take me every year to Madison Square Garden to see the Ringling Brothers Circus during the spring break from school. I remember how magical it all felt to me and how I used to wish that I was one of the children brought out of the audience to ride the floats, something that they used to do but don't seem to do anymore.

Well, on Wednesday, some of my circus dreams came true. Thanks to Lauren at MomCentral.com I had the chance to be a "field activator" or someone who is handpicked to spread the word about the wonder of the Ringling Brothers Circus and Feld Entertainment. We were invited to meet the circus animals close up and personal before the actual show, which was an amazing experience. Nothing comes close to the majesty of an elephant happily eating hay and playing with tires and tree trunks! I know PETA has made it their mission to spread the word about the circus mistreatment of its animals, but from what I could see, they were clean, happy, and well taken care of.

The theme of the circus this year is " Zing, Zang, Zoom" and centers on magic and gravity. It has everything you love about Ringling like the flashy costumes, the songs, the elephants, the high wire, and the tigers plus magic tricks and great clowning around!

If you live in the NY area and decide to go see the show at Madison Square Garden, use the code " MOM" in the MC promotion box at http://www.ticketmaster.com/. You will get four tickets for $44! It doesn't get any better than that! The show runs from Thursday, March 26 to Monday April 13. Make sure you use the code as that is the only way to get the special pricing.

As they say at the circus " May all your days be circus days!"

Just a quick update about my weekend, with a promise to tell you about the Buckcherry Concert and the Ringling Brothers Circus of last week tommorow....

Went to the Home Show at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey today...now you need to know that my sister, my daughter, and I are Home Show maniacs...and my daughter is the "Queen" of conning unsuspecting window salesman out of free swag, such as pens, bag clips, and candy. Normally, we can spend at least and hour or two pretending that we are interested in refitting our tub or installing new leaf gutters in order to get a tootsie roll pop for free; today, however, the show was so tiny we were in and out in fifteen minutes, with almost nothing, save a bag full of items from one particular tree service professional. To add insult to injury, we also had to pay seven dollars each for this privelege. They should have paid us, judging by the desperate look of men in polo shirts with the name of thier company emblazoned across their chests.

Lesson learned: Stay away from shows sponsored by JMK shows ( www.jmkshows.com)