Remember when I said I had “Spring Fever” well the weather this week has been the cure! Wow! This homebody has spent the week outside. The marina yesterday, Ocean Beach the day before and I think I’m gonna walk the Embarcadero today. It’s so amazing to live in a city that’s surrounded by water. Combine that with the fact that each “waterfront” is different and I’m sitting in the middle of my own piece of heaven on earth.

I don’t have plans for this weekend except to take life as it comes. I need to do laundry and clean the apartment but times for those things aren’t set in stone. I used to be totally anal about my weekends. If I didn’t have the whole weekend planned out by Wednesday I would start to panic. I felt like you shouldn’t waste your free time doing nothing since it’s such a precious commodity.  It took awhile for maturity to kick in and for me to realize that doing nothing is a windfall not a waste. It’s a time to recharge your batteries, listen to your inner voice, to be - period. In my 20’s I spent so much time “doing” that I was too exhausted for “being”. The few times I was being were really just recovery from all the doing (washing the smoke out of my hair from Friday night’s barbecue so I could shop for Saturday afternoon’s baby shower, changing in my car from the shower so I could meet my friends for dinner and head out to a couple clubs which we shut down and headed to breakfast before I went home and washed “eau de club” off me so I could wake up in time for sunrise service before Sunday Brunch.) By the way, that’s not an exaggeration. I use to max out my weekends and go to work on Monday looking like “death on a rye cracker!”. ( To my former co-workers wherever you are I’m truly sorry you had to see that.) Anyway, the point is what’s the use of free time if you treat it like work time with a schedule packed so tight you can’t savor one good time before you’re headed off to another.  Everybody has hectic days and that’s okay as long as there aren’t so many that you’re on the fast-track to a heart attack.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to do things and see people and have fun but nowadays I pace myself.  Besides if nothing comes along this weekend, that’s okay because I will enjoy the silence. M

Happy Leap Day!!! Where it is ok for the woman to ask the guy to marry her. So far (and I know your depends on this answer..lol) no proposals for me. But the day is still young my friends. (LOL) FYI if you plan on proposing,good luck trying to find me on the golf course. In fact don’t even come looking for me because golf is my replacement for women. I just can’t figure out the female species so I’m taking a hiatus and falling for golf all over again. Come to think of it golf is very much like relationships. It brings you joy and pain all in one round. Golf and relationships are both expensive and no matter how bad it is going, they both seem to find a way to have you coming back for more!!!! Oops just found out Valerie Bertinelli just cancelled on Monday. She lost her voice? That’s a lie, Valerie is finding out that when you write a tell all book, people expect that you tell them everything in their interviews. I hope she reschedules but I’m not holding my breath. We do have a brand new Baltbuster and the host of the Discovery show Cash Cab Ben Bailey quizing us. I hope you have a great weekend. FORE!

BalTazer

Pikachu! (is that how you spell it?) Gabriel Iglesias is our best buddy and today we didn’t have any food for him! What kind of people are we? LOL He is going to be at the Improv in SJ this weekend (check podcast of Hollywood Dirt) and back tomorrow morning with us. Promise we will bring in some donuts and keep are buddy happy. He has no shame in his game when it comes to his weight issue and admitted that he would love to be on the Biggest Loser show. Hello NBC! What are you waiting for? Instant laughs! Instant ratings! Growing up “caloricaly challenged” myself I can relate to the weakness for food. My problem was the flour tortillas growing up. The smell used to wake me up and lead me to a basket of those lovely Mexican treats. I’m in much better shape now but I’m so self-conscious of my “inner fat child” Do these jeans make me look fat? LOL

Oh Gawd, speaking of food, we are delivering lunch to Sylvia Anaya and crew at Terminex in Dublin. Sign up at Movin997.com to win your very own office party!!!

Gotta run now peeps!

BalTazer

Well I overstocked on the dog treats today and Deuce was a little gentleman all morning. Phew! Another crisis averted. We had a nice “doggie vacation day” yesterday after work.  I put him in his pouch and we went shopping in the East Bay. Then we had lunch outside, came back into the city and dropped by Al’s shop with an afternoon snack. After that it was straight to the beach for a nice long walk in the sand. The surf’s a bit too strong at Ocean Beach for Deuce to do any water frolicking but he picked up on the relaxed vibe and enjoyed exploring the sand. It was his first time at the beach so now he has seen sand and snow and I think like me he likes both for different reasons. Then it was windows down for the car ride home, nothing like some fresh air to blow your ears back and bring good thoughts. When we got home, Deuce hopped up on the couch and promptly fell asleep while I cooked dinner. I had to wake him up to go to bed.  The moral of this experience: Just because your day starts out rotten doesn’t mean it has to end that way, especially if you’ve got a friend to help cheer you up. For Deuce and I, it goes both ways.

If you ever wondered why I don’t have any children, I’ll tell you, BECAUSE MY MEMORY IS SPOTTIER THAN A DALMATION!

I forgot Deuce’s dog treat’s and he has been throwing a fit! Before you call the SPCA, he had breakfast this morning and a walk before I even came into work but I usually bring a bag of treats that I feed him periodically throughout the work day so he doesn’t get too bored. (If left untreated, bored=bad!) Yikes! Boy was he testy. He kept sitting on my show notes, barking at anyone that came in the studio, he even chased somone down the hall before I could grab him! He earned his title “four pounds of fury!” today. Thank God for Baltazar’s beef jerky!

This experience made me think of Mom’s everywhere doing their best who sometimes make a tactical error (naptime- too early or late, forgot toys to amuse or ran out of diapers etc.) and their kids go beserk and everybody looks at them like they’re the worst Mom in the universe.  I only have a dog, it scares me to think what kind of mess I’d be entrusted with the care and feeding of another human being.

Don’t get me wrong, I love children. I’m a great babysitter, a beloved Godmother and a fun play Aunt but none of these jobs are full-time.  Motherhood is 24-7-365 for the rest of your life!  My Mom thinks I would be a good mother…I think she got in the cooking wine!

She says all mother’s make mistakes but with any luck they aren’t fatal or even long-lasting.  It’s a job you can practice for but you don’t really know what kind of mother you’ll be until you are one and once that happens biology and common sense kick in (plus a few helpful relatives and friends that have been down that road before) and before you know it you’re balancing a baby, a diaper bag, a purse and a car seat and makin’ it look easy and when it gets hard ask for help.  She says like any other job if you dig deep, do your best and don’t give up, you’ll be successful.  Hey, mother knows best, I’m living proof.  Meanwhile I’m gonna start packing my stuff for work the night before, and keeping dog snacks in my desk! M

Alright I’m about to give you a behind the scenes view of our show. If you were listening this morning did you catch any barking noises coming from your speakers? If so, it was Duece the wonder dog, who usually is very mild and quite sedate to be honest but today decided to bark away. Apparently Maria forgot his “doggie snacks” and like humans he got a little cranky. When I say cranky, I mean CRANKY. Memo to Maria: FEED YOUR DOG! LOL

Here is Gary Spivey’s information as promised:

Garyspivey.com 1800 827 GARY

He is scheduled to be on with us again on March 12th and every other Wednesday after that! I have been trying to find some closure with my dad since he passed away in 1981. Tomorrow would of been his 77th birthday and I never heard the words “I love you” from him. I never got to say goodbye and it has affected my life. Feliz cumpleanos (happy bday) papi, wherever you are. I love you.

Ok, I’m getting a little teary eyed. Let me regain my composure and tell you that Mr. Gabriel Iglesias will provide the comic relief tomorrow and we have Gloria from San Jose setting up the Love Trap at 7:30! Have a great day!

BalTazer

I’ve never been a picture person. Of course if you navigate through our website that would not seem to be the case. Let me explain…I don’t mind posing for pictures, I’ve just never been one to take them or hang onto them. I’ve got a few dusty albums around generally full of pictures my friends or relatives took and then gave to me so I could have a keepsake.  I appreciate pictures for their artistic value and their use to jog memories but personally I just try live my life and any recording I do of it is done in journals.  When it comes to memories, I’d rather tell you a story than show you a picture or a video.  Pretty soon the other air personalities will post baby pictures and I won’t be among them. My family lost the majority of it’s pictures when my grandparents house burned down. The few we have left are strategically displayed at my Mom’s House. My brother and I in matching Christmas outfits, one baby picture of my brother whose hair grew in a Mohawk until he was 2. I have been entrusted with my Mom’s high school graduation picture and a picture of my parents sitting together not long after they were married. It makes me sad just to write this because more than the pictures I lost my beloved Grandmother in that fire.  Don’t cry for me Argentina because I know she has all those pictures up in heaven and is telling stories to everyone about them! (I like to think I got my listening and storytelling abilities from her.) I like to think the Lord himself has had a good laugh looking at some of those pictures.  Besides, as I said I am not a picture person.  I remember many of them, pictures from birthdays and holidays, of distant cousins I never met, old family friends and times long gone but never forgotten because the stories are with me and in journals. Now and then I’ll be reminded of something that will make me tell the stories about the pictures that can no longer be seen and I usually think about my grandmother when I’m telling a story, espcially one about when I was a kid. Both the story and the memory of her usually make me laugh and to me that’s worth more than any picture. M

Well it’s all over except the dishing about the swag and the drag when it comes to the Oscars. There really were very few mishaps when it came to Oscar outfits. We interviewed Mary Hart this morning(if you missed it, catch it on the podcast) and she said it was a return to “Classic Hollywood” and I agree.  I’ll just have a shot of milk because my catty comments are few. Cameron Diaz is just beautiful even with her “I just got off a surfboard hair”.  It’s my only complaint about her and a small one at that. Hilary Swank wears the most beautiful dresses to “soften” her but I’d like to see her embrace her androgenous look just once and wear a suit with something silky underneath, I think it would make her stand out from the pack. I Love Helen Mirren she is, I think the textbook look for a “woman of a certain age.” She is lovely and classy and without the extremes of surgery. She exemplifies aging gracefully.  That’s it. I know there’s a debate about Marion Cotillard’s “mermaid” dress but I personally thought she looked smashing!

As far as the ceremonies, rather blah. There weren’t too many of those personal unguarded moments that I spoke of Friday. (By the way, George Clooney looked good enough to eat with a spoon!) I was happy to see Marion win for La Vie en Rose because of her obvious joy and surprise. I like Javier Bardem so I was happy for him, other than that it was okay. I like living on the West Coast and watching these early! You still have some evening left after they are over.

What happened to the big storm we were supposed to have over the weekend? I got out the crank flashlight and candles for no reason. Actually I’m glad. It was pretty nice so I got a chance to go out and run errands and to take the dog to the park at Bernal Heights. Wow! They weren’t kidding when they said heights. Beautiful views! Everyday I find one more thing to love about the Bay Area.

Interesting things coming up this week: Bill Bellamy will be on the show to talk about Friday’s audition in SF for Last Comic Standing. (It starts at 9am at Cobb’s Comedy Club on Columbus.) Any aspiring comics headed that way, call us and give us an update on the line and your progress. We’ll hype you up! Hopefully Gary Spivey will back on Wednesday to answer your questions about the past, present and future. That’s it for me. I’m going to to soak up some vitamin D so sun here I come! Have a great day!M

Hi!

I hope you had a nice weekend. Did you catch much of the Oscars? I was lucky enough to be invited to my buddy Amos’ party where Mary, Yvonne, Darlene, Sharin and Jennifer gave me some insight on red carpet. Best Dressed went to Katherine Heigl and Helen Mirren. Worst Dressed went to the lady (nobody knows her name) that showed to much back and wore what looked like a curtain as a dress..LOL…OMG it is so easy to bust on people and quite enjoyable I might add. LOL

I was so excited to talk to Moment of Truth host Mark L. Wahlberg. (check podcast) If you haven’t seen the show, the easy premise is the more you tell the truth, the more money you can win. Simple, right? Well maybe not when the questions are of a personal nature and could affect loved ones. On tonight’s show it happens to be the husband of a woman on the “chair” and question is would she leave her husband for her ex boyfriend. On the promo she says yes, but Mark says we should still watch. I hope they just didn’t just trick us and we end up with a big letdown! I hate when they do that!!!!! If you tease me you better please me! Anyway, Mark was very open with us and admitted that he was the first pick to host the show. He was a last minute replacement and look at him now! It has to be the karma, good things happen to good people.

Ladies, Bill Bellamy will join us tomorrow and a brand new Love Trap. I’ll give you a sneak preview of the “trap”. Jennifer in Lafayette wants to confront the woman who she believes is having an affair with her husband. This has the possibility to blow up tomorrow morning at 7:30. Will the Love Trap live up to the build up I just gave you? You will have to check it out for yourself!!

Talk to U later!

BalTazer

Most of Hollywood I would guess, but actually the least interesting part of the Academy Awards is the awards themselves. Sure we all root for our favorite people or films in the big categories: Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress, the Best Supportings and it kind of dwindles down from there. (Sorry all you behind the scenes folks who toil for lots less money to make movies great!)

I like to watch the red carpet leading up to the ceremonies, the host’s opening monologue (the very droll Jon Stewart again this year) and the surprises. Moments like Jamie Foxx tearfully thanking his late grandmother, Julia Roberts giddily delivering the Best Actor statue to Denzel Washington, the late Jack Palance’s one-armed push-ups, Adrian Brody’s “Hollywood Kiss” with Halle Berry and Cuba Gooding’s exuberant acceptance speech. Those are the moments that make me sit rooted to the TV because they are a glimpse of reality in a world of make-believe.

It’s supposed to be a doozy of a bad weather weekend so at least the Oscars should have a somewhat captive audience in this area.  Of course that depends on if the meteorologists are right. It kinda scares me when they have tips for dealing with a power outtage printed in the newspaper. Yikes! I’m lucky in that my mother is a “gadget person” and addicted to QVC and HSN (The twin towers of gadgets!). She gave me a crank flashlight for Christmas (among a number of things “to make life easier”). Now I, on the other hand am not a gadget person so I hope I can find it when I need it! Somebody needs to invent a gadget to help you keep up with your gadgets! I know my Mom will buy at least two.

Lastly, I’ve got to thank Heather over at Bella &Daisy’s on Union! I took Deuce there for a grooming on the advice of a co-worker and poof! Good-bye long-haired hippie dog, hello you handsome hound! Normally I groom Deuce because he can be a handful (literally) but he and Heather got along famously! She understands the foibles of the four-legged variety!

Okey-Dokey, I’m going to spur the economy by purchasing lunch. Y’all have a great weekend now, y’hear! M