Miss America 2009 is Crowned......

......and I picked her out right from the start!!! Here's how it went down.

This year (they also did this last year as well), the TLC network had a reality show featuring all 52 contestants living aboard the Queen Mary in the weeks prior to the actual main event. It was called The Countdown to the Crown and was on for only four episodes. But, in those four episodes, the viewer really got to know these 52 women in a way that a two hour show could never accomplish.

During these weeks, the contestants appeared in different challenges and the winner would win a gold sash. At the end of the show, America got to vote for four girls of their choosing and the four who got the most votes would automatically be in the Top 15 when the show appeared live from Planet Hollywood.

Right off the bat from the very first challenge, I set my sights on Miss Indiana, Katie Stam who is a senior at the University of Indianapolis. She's a communications major and an aspiring broadcast journalist. Some thing tells me we will be seeing a lot more of Miss Stam once her year long reign is over.

Deja Vu

It was exactly one year ago when Liz and Bryan came to tell us that they were expecting a baby in August. It was quite a year just waiting for the arrival and decorating the room and making everything perfect for our first grandchild. And our little baby Brady was well worth the wait.

Well, this week they told us that the same thing would be happening again this August.....yes, Liz is pregnant again and the baby is due on August 21st (Michael's birthday). Brady was born on August 16th. I can't believe we're going to be going through this again this year. It's like deja vu.

I grew up in an Irish/Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn and having kids this close was very common. They were always referred to as Irish Twins. So that's what I'll call my two grandchildren. We don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl but I'll post it here as soon as I know.

I remarked to Liz that at least all of her maternity clothes would still be in style. And she said, "Does that mean you're not buying me any new ones?" Some things never change!!

The "L" Word = Linda

When I moved to PA from NY twenty-two years ago, it was very hard because not only was I leaving all of my family but I was leaving all of my friends as well. When you're already in your thirties, what are the chances of finding some other really, really good friends? You might make some acquaintances, which I did in the first years of living here, but can you be lucky enough to find another friendship that will last your lifetime?

I did make some immediate friends but, except for Pat, they had all come and gone. I think I was living here at least twelve years when someone, who had been there all along, became another best friend and is in that special class I like to refer to as the BFON8.....that's right.....Best Friends of Nancy 8....that means there's eight of them.

When I regularly started posting on my blog again last year, it was January 22nd. So I had already missed one of my best friends' birthdays. Actually, at that time, I didn't even know I was going to write about my friends on their special days. Pat's birthday was in March so she was the first one I wrote about and that's how it all began.

My friend Linda has waited almost an entire year for her turn and that day is finally here as it's her birthday. Where do I begin to tell the story of how great a friend can be.....where do I start? I know, I know, you might recognize some of these words from the Love Story theme song but I'd like to think of this as a Friend Story. We actually lived on the same street about seven doors down from each other for about twenty years. Since Linda has been married FOREVER, her kids were older than Michael so I really didn't run across her in the schools or sports programs. I knew her in the neighborhood, and liked her, but we hung with different groups so our paths didn't cross that often. I'm trying to remember exactly when it was that we became friends....a friendship that would eventually lead to best friends.

It goes back to my joining (or being permitted to enter) an already existing bookgroup. I say "being permitted to enter" in jest because Linda always jokes about the fact that the existing members had a vote on it and, thanks to her, I was admitted. She likes to tease me about this.

With this bookgroup, we got involved in other social activites directly related to the group. If we read a book that was eventually turned into a movie, then we all went to see the movie. We once read a book about Vermeer and the group ended up going to the Vermeer exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So we ended up spending a lot more time together than just a three hour book group meeting once a month. That's how it all started. Then I started walking on a daily basis and Linda decided that she would do it as well. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that in order to walk with someone everyday, you had better like them. At this point, I liked her so much that I actually looked forward to our walks each day.

As I'm thinking about these walks right now, I'm actually laughing because Linda has the habit of starting to talk about something and going off on another whole tangent before I make her get back to what she was originally starting to tell me. When we're together, we don't shut up for one second. And as much of a talker Linda is, she is actually an even better listener. We've told each other things that we probably wouldn't have dared tell anyone else. And if her husband Jim is reading this, forget about it......I'm not telling you anything!!! It's girl stuff anyway.

Sometimes, we can't even finish our thoughts because we're laughing so hard. The bottom line is that I just love being with her. But, I have to share her with so many people as her husband demands so much of her time. lol She also has a beautiful daughter who just gave birth to her fourth child and Linda definitely holds the record as the best grandmother in the entire world.

Linda is that rare breed of woman who is so real.....there's nothing put on about her. She's generous to a fault....especially with her time. She goes out of her way to help people and usually ends up getting burned in the long run but she's still there always willing to lend a helping hand whenever it's needed. Sometimes I beg her to stop putting herself out there so much but it's her nature.

She's now moved out of my neighborhood but is still less than a mile away from my house. We still spend a lot of time having our nails done along with pedicures, going to the movies, going to lunch and shopping. But it never seems to be enough since we always have so much to say whenever we see each other. We talk about going away to one of those "health farms" together but we probably would spend more time gabbing than learning how to live more healthy.

We both treasure the day that we found each other so late in life. I can honestly say if she wasn't in my life, it would be such a loss for me. So Linda, on this your birthday, I honor you as one of the best friends I've ever had. And if Jim thinks he's going to cut into our time together once he retires, he's got another thing coming. That is unless, of course, he plans on getting pedicures with us. I know I've spent time joking about Jim but as lucky as he is to have Linda, Linda is just as lucky to have him. What a wonderful pair they are. That should be her best birthday present of all.

Happy birthday my dearest friend, my forever friend, my best friend forever....I love you!!! As the Jerry Vale song goes, "I count all the charms about Linda." And there are many!!

2009....It has a nice ring to it!!!

In writing this post, I'm not sure if I want to review 2008 or list some of the things I'd like to happen in 2009.

I guess a year in review seems apropos. Every year, when I send out my Christmas cards, I always include "one of those letters" telling everyone what The Martins have done during the year. I started this letter eight years ago when Michael was sixteen. I remember it specifically as this was the year that he refused to take anymore Christmas pictures to be put on the front of the card. My usual bribes no longer worked so instead of the picture, I resorted to what many refer to as "the dreaded letter." I tried to make mine more enjoyable and not the usual "we all excelled in everything this year." I soon found out from my relatives and friends that they actually looked forward to my letter each year. Once I heard this, it put even more pressure on me to make sure it was interesting and humorous. I have saved all of the letters and, the other day, I read them all in one sitting. Some made me laugh and some made me cry. But the one thing everyone waits for is to find out what my favorite book of the year was. There was one year, when I was so busy at work, that I hardly read at all so couldn't come up with a best book. I received many emails from my friends and family telling me how disappointed they were. I never let that happen again.

So I thought I'd post my letter here for all to read. These are the "Greetings of the Season" from the Martin family. I'd also like to point out that the Christmas card, in which this letter was enclosed, had a picture of a Christmas tree outside of Big Ben in London. Now that you get the picture, here's the letter....

2008 HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM "THE MARTINS"

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." For the year 2008, this beginning line from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities seems appropriate. There's no way I can write a Christmas letter without acknowledging the economic landscape of our country, knowing that, for many, this holiday season might be one of the worst of times. It is also apropos because, as you read on, you will see that part of my tale does involve one of the same cities where this famous novel took place. With that said, and knowing that we were the recipients of some of those worst times (remember…I am in real estate), our bad times were overshadowed by some very good times this past year.

It all began in January when Bryan and Liz came over to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary. I had been asking Liz to bring me some of her "proof" photos from her wedding and she promised to do that on this trip. She had one stipulation though - I was not permitted to take any of the photos that she absolutely "loved." We were all sitting around the kitchen table going through the box of photos and, as she took each one out, she said either "you can have it or you can't have it." Then she got to one and she said "This is our favorite picture and you definitely can't have this one." With that said, she pulled out a picture of a sonogram. At first, we were confused until it dawned on us that she was, in fact, trying to tell us that she was pregnant. From that point on, there was nothing in the upcoming year that could take away from this joyous moment. The baby was to arrive in August and we soon found out it would be a boy.

The next few months were spent shopping and decorating and shopping some more. August has always been a big month in our family as I was born on the 10th, Michael was born on the 21st and Bob and I were married on the 16th. Liz and Bryan also had various other friends and family whose birthdays were in August. So the race was on. It was August 15th when she went into labor and our darling grandson Brady was born the next morning. Yes, you guessed right. He was born on our 28th wedding anniversary, August 16th. What a perfect present for us!!!

The rest of the year was filled with a vacation to Mexico that I won as being one of Coldwell Banker's top agents. Bob and I enjoyed the trip immensely. We went to an all inclusive resort which I highly recommend as you never have to carry any money around - or should I say pesos in this case. This summer, we also rented our favorite house again in Avalon, New Jersey where I spent three weeks enjoying myself. I say "I" because Bob was in a new job so was only able to come on the weekend. We did have a lot of Michael's friends visiting with us and a very pregnant Liz and Bryan made one final trip there before the baby was born.

After Brady's birth, we didn't think we could have another huge highlight in our family….but we did. As many of you have deciphered from my many Christmas letters, Michael is very involved in playing tournament poker around the world. This past year, he's been in Monte Carlo, Budapest, Warsaw, Prague and Amsterdam, just to name a few of the places. He's done very well coming in fifth place in Monte Carlo and second place in Amsterdam. But it was at this year's European Poker Tour in London where he finally did what he's wanted to do in many of the other tournaments he's played in…..he won!!! The prize was 1 million pounds…you do the math. It was a tournament that lasted five days and late on the fourth day, we realized he was going to make the final table. I got a text message from Michael telling me to come and, in no time at all, I was on the last plane out that night headed for London. I wasn't alone as my BFF Pat came with me along with Michael's girlfriend Jenn. We arrived the next morning, two hours before the finale began. The final table lasted ten hours and we were on the edge of our seats the entire time. But, in the end, I was there to witness the win and the joy and excitement of it all. Unfortunately, Bob couldn't come but was able to watch the entire thing on the Internet. Now that I'm writing this, it sounds like poor Bob missed out on a lot this year but his time was yet to come. Between Brady's birth and Michael's big win, I wasn't sure if I could take any further excitement.

But the weekend after Michael's triumph, we were having a surprise 60th birthday party for Bob at the shore. I had arranged for all of his college roommates to surprise him there. It went off without a hitch…he thought we were all there to celebrate Michael's good fortune. Little did he know that we were there to celebrate his getting older. It was an exciting and fun time and I thank them all for making the trip and making his birthday an occasion to remember.

As for the rest of our family, my mother is still living at Twining Village in PA and we swear she's getting younger instead of older. Keith is now living back in New York having transferred from the Delta Fort Lauderdale hub to JFK Airport. Since my lazy brother Michael is not doing a Christmas letter this year, I'd like to report that my godson Jarek was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent the summer in Bradenton, Florida playing Rookie league ball. Since I'm not one of his parents, I can brag about him myself and tell you he did an amazing job and we might all be getting free tickets to the Pittsburgh Pirates' games in the near future.

I think I mentioned last year that Bob is no longer traveling to New York City as he's now working in Philadelphia. What a difference a drive makes! He's cut his commuting time in half.So, in essence, he can work longer hours and be less tired.

Liz and Bryan are loving their new home and fixing it up little by little. It was hard for Liz to go back to work after Brady was born but she is managing beautifully. In other news, Bryan's company merged and, just when he thought his job was safe, it wasn't. He was laid off a few days before Liz was to return to work. We had a few teary phone calls where I told her it was for the best and he would probably end up with something even better….which he did. Within two weeks, he had gotten not one but two job offers. One of them was from a medical supply company where his good friend Randy works. Randy happens to be married to one of Liz' closest friends Andrea. Her friends love getting shout-outs in my Christmas letter and I feel Randy and Andrea deserve the biggest one this year for helping Bryan land such a great job.

Since I haven't worked too hard this year, I've had plenty of time to read. My absolute favorite book was The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. This book is narrated by a dog and it really puts life in perspective. It's a "must read." I'm also hooked on Netflix and the mailman is constantly delivering those red and white envelopes to my door. Since I also love to write, I have officially become a blogger. Many of the things I've written here have also been written in my blog this year. So, if you have nothing to do, check it out at www.thereader23.blogspot.com

I just realized that I forgot to mention one of the most important things in our life - our beloved border collie Belle. She is the most calming factor in a world fraught with turbulence. One look at her and you can forget anything going on anywhere. If she was narrating this letter, she would hope that all of your dreams and wishes come true in 2009. But since I'm the narrator, I'd like to end with something they say in poker, "May all your cards be live and your pots be monsters." I don't think anyone's ever ended a Christmas letter that way. Have a wonderful holiday season!!

And, with that, I wish all of you, my faithful blog readers, a very happy and healthy 2009.