Elvis 21 Can't wait to Check this Out!!!

The following article found on NPR  Upcoming Traveling Exhibit Starts in Jan 10 Can't Wait!!!

November 10, 2006 - Elvis Presley and America were both at a crossroads in 1956. The singer was popular, but not widely known. The nation was waking up from the doldrums of the post-war Eisenhower era, ready for something new.




In many ways, it was a year that would change the social landscape of a generation. A new collection of photos by Al Wertheimer, Elvis at 21: New York to Memphis, captures that moment in time when a young man from Tupelo, Miss., shot from being a regional heartthrob to an international sensation.



Wertheimer was working as a freelance photographer in New York when RCA Records hired him to follow the entertainer as he toured from New York City back to his home in Memphis, Tenn.



In January of 1956, Presley was still playing high school gymnasiums. But by December, he was the most famous entertainer in the world. Presley didn't just light up American culture, he put a torch to it.



Wertheimer took more than 3,000 photos that captured Presley in his most intimate moments. A show from the book debuts Friday at the Govinda Gallery in Washington, D.C., and will tour around the nation.

Happy Holidays~~

How come 13 yr old boys no longer want to help decorate the tree!!:)

Pre Decorations

Oh how I just so love this time of year. I was thinking today of how it's so true what they say, this time of year really brings out the best and worse in people...Let's face it things are busier than normal, finances can become stressed and sometimes ones own family can be the source of the madness that becomes the holidays. I see it moreso now in the voices of my customers when I have to break them the "bad news" that a vehicle repair will be expensive..and I feel it as I have been worn down lately feeling overwhelmed in many ways and a little fatigued as well, which is how I usually react when things get a little out of control. Like the laundry, the house, staying on top of things with my kids, finishing the Christmas shopping, finding time to take care of myself (pedicure manicure anyone whats that..haircut badly needed)...It can almost suck the holiday spirit right out of a person. Coupled with the fact that I have 2 birthday parties to plan and tentative houseguests right after Christmas I have found myself secretly wishing the holidays away on a few occasions for which I hold a bit of guilt for doing so..Afterall this is a magical time for the children and that magic is up to me to create and make sure the next few weeks are filled with happiness and fun stuff...I have been re-evaluting a lot in the last few days.. Old traditions namely and feel I am at a point in my life to create some of my own. Afterall I have my own family now (well sans husband). I no longer want to run here and there every Christmas Eve. I'd much rather be home cooking...opening early presents...going to midnight mass...watching funny Christmas movies...heck I even think Chinese food on X-Mas Eve leading up to the big dinner on Christmas Day may be kind of kitchy and fun..who knows? What I do know is that I will have to delicately break the news to other members of my family. How do you say " Nope not coming for Christmas anymore"..I spose in some ways you just can't without hurting someones feelings. Maybe it's selfish of me to think this way. But I am not very close with my family to begin with and at some point they probably expect this..I am giving it some thought and am really on the fence. My boyfriend and I are spending our second Christmas together and in a lot of ways his insistance for having a few family memebers-friends here on Christmas morning while the kids open presents feel like I am in a house full of strangers and completely uncomfortable in my own home. The mere mention of this puts my boyfriend on the defense. While we get along great and rarely have a disagreement he is very loyal to his family and to mention anything beyond what has already been said would border on him taking it personal. Sometimes in a relationship you have to make small sacrifices and I know everything willbe okay as it was last year. On a good note I have gotten quite a bit of Christmas shopping done. I have the boys birthdays...few more Christmas things...and my Dad to buy for but most of the presents  are wrapped under the tree which is decorated with mostly handmade ornaments from my children. Charlie did a fantastic job of hanging Christmas lights and I love that I can cuddle into my flannel snowman sheets and watch them change colors and blink and dance outside the window. It has been cold as well...yay! With the hot AZ sun blazing mostly all year I am welcoming the 35 degree lows and 56 degree highs....bring it on! Fountain Hills looks so prettly with a light dusting of snow on the mountain ranges around town...especially 4 Peaks..for which I have a fantastic almost 360 degree view from my upstairs patio. Getting all this off my chest is really good therapy for me right now, if I don't I will scream and spend too many more mornings not wanting to get out of bed and that just cant be. It is okay to be depressed sometimes, for me it's all about routine and getting into one that makes me feel better....so tomorrow I will try and wake up earlier take care of myself a little better and forge on...enough grey gloomy stuff I am actually pretty excited to go to Zoolights this weekend, make cookies and bake the rest of the weekend, go see the Nutcracker next week, have a whole almost 2 weeks off, throw the boys an awesome birthday party, have a bitchin work Christmas party, finish up the bowling league (only 3 games left, even if I am a cheerleader:) , spend New Years at The Camelback Inn with dinner at Christophers..and find church again in the coming weeks..Maybe there will be time for a manicure or a haircut in there somewhere who knows...but we will be making memories and that is what counts the most...Your children only get one childhood and in a lot of ways I feel like a kid myself this time of year..Not that anyones reading this but if you are ( Helllooooo)  how are you coping with the holidays??