Tony's Rockin' Friday Night Surprise

Christy bought me a great surprise just after we moved to St. Louis. I've been waiting about two months for Richard Nader's Solid Gold Doo Wop Concert. I got to hear such great hits as:

The Drifters featuring Charlie Thomas:

"This Magic Moment"

"Up On The Roof"

"There Goes My Baby"

"Save The Last Dance For Me"

"Under The Boardwalk"

Jay Siegel and the Tokens:

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

"One Fine Day"

Gene Chandler:

"Duke of Earl"

"Stand by Me"

"Rockin' Robin"

Terry Johnson's Flamingos:

"I Only Have Eyes For You"

Shirley Alston Reeves original lead singer of The Shirelles:

"Mama Said"....there'd be days like this

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow"

"Soldier Boy".....not to be confused with "Soulja Boy".....there was no Superman

The night ended with everyone on stage singing "Goodnight Sweetheart."

I found the medic station humerous. I don't think they were concerned about gunshot wounds or stabbings. Probably just making sure nobody had a heart attack or ran out of oxygen. We were by far the youngest people in attendance.....unless you count the consession stand girls. I mentioned to Christy I wanted to go b/c this was a last chance opportunity type of thing. I can now say I saw "The Drifters" live. How awesome is that?! Ok, well most of them were dead, but the lead singer was still there. It counts. That was a great Friday night. I don't even know if New Kids on the Block can top this one. Joey Joe's got his work cut out for him. - TONY

Pretty Orchid

Tony bought me the orchid during his first couple of weeks here in St. Louis so that I could enjoy flowers in my office. When he bought it, it only had a few small blooms on it, but it's full now with nine blooms and three more about to open! It's absolutely gorgeous and when the sun hits it, its petals shimmer. I love orchids!

Sugar misses his friend

Ever since Leo was returned to the pond in Lafayette Square Park, Sugar has missed his friend. Anytime the door to the second bathroom is open, he wanders in and jumps up on the side of the bathtub to search for Leo. Last night, he took it a step further and jumped into the tub to look for his buddy!

Y-U-M-M-Y!!!

This past Saturday, we had the joy of attending the annual St. Louis LSU Alumni Association Crawfish Boil! We had a great time! Tony laughed at Jean and I for also enjoying the hot dogs, but hey, they were some darn good hot dogs! In addition to crawfish and hot dogs, they also had the small potatoes and corn on the cob with a live band and lots of purple and gold! We met a few new LSU fans, made fun of those wearing Florida jerseys, and just had an amazing time. Can't wait for next year!

Dining with the puppies

I'm continually amazed by just how dog friendly the city of St. Louis is. There are multiple dog parks not to mention that dogs are welcome at most restaurants that have outdoor seating. We were able to treat Tucker and Sugar to a trip to the front patio of Chava's. Chava's is a Mexican restaurant here in Soulard that has quickly become one of our favorite places to dine. The wait staff all know us and start setting up our favorite table when they see us parking across the street. Yes, we do realize how sad that is! Anyway, we decided to forgo our favorite table in order to bring the puppies with us. They had a great time!

After Chava's, we decided to head to Lafayette Square Park for a walk around the park and to feed the ducks. We brought the extra tortilla chips from Chava's. Turns out, ducks are not such a big fan of tortilla chips! Plus they sink quickly. We did see the baby goslings again, plus there were four baby ducks as well. The baby ducks stayed out in the middle of the pond, so we weren't able to see them very well.

The pictures are of Sugar at Chava's and of the small pond in Lafayette Square Park.

Movies in Style

Last night, we went to see Angels and Demons at the Moolah Theatre here in St. Louis. The movie was fantastic, but we have definitely found a new theatre to frequent! The seating is still stadium style, but it's all leather couches, leather love seats, or leather club chairs! Plus you have little tables on each side that you can even move around if need be. There's also a full bar, lounge area with a pool table, and a bowling alley! It's located in a gorgeous old building right across the street from SLU's campus that underwent a $17 million renovation a few years ago to transform it. We're loving the result! The only downside is that the theatre only has one screen, so they only play one movie at a time.

SLU's Graduation

On Saturday, Tony and I attended our first Saint Louis University graduation. Mainly because I wanted to see Greg Mortenson speak. He is the author of one of my all-time favorite books - Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace. Three Cups of Tea is without a doubt the most inspirational book that I've ever read. If you can read it without crying at least once, you deserve a medal. Anyway, he was this year's commencement speaker and he definitely did not disappoint! He is not a natural public speaker and even after all these years of doing it, you can still tell. With that being said, his story is so special that his nervousness just makes it all that more endearing. With a little bit of money and a whole lot of determination, Mortenson can truly say that he has changed the world for the better. Because of him, 28,000 students (18,000 of those girls) have been educated in some of the poorest regions of the world. What a legacy...

The rest of graduation was great as well. There were a few cute and touching moments. When Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, and Technology was asked to stand to have their degrees conferred on them, they all threw paper airplanes. After Father Biondi (the President) conferred the medical degrees on the new doctors, those receiving nursing degrees all stood and applauded the doctors. When it was the nurses turn, the doctors reciprocated. When the College of Philosophy and Letters was asked to stand..... two lone male students stood! They got a very rousing round of applause and laughter from the full Chaifetz Arena! Father also amended his normal "Sons and Daughters of Saint Louis University" to just "Sons of Saint Louis University!"

Graduation did more than just entertain me though. It reminded me that I want to go back to school. And that it's time for me to do so. Good thing that I set up a meeting with an advisor from the business graduate school for this week!