Taylor:     Bookworm and I talked about interviews and decided it might be fun to interview the founder of the interviews, Miss Lucy, herself!

I emailed her and she said, "YES!!!"

She had mentioned her Mom's place on the shore and I had some time saved up so I jumped in the car and drove to New Jersey to see Lucy and what this New Jersey Shore was all about.

Of course, I took my time, as anyone would when they are driving up the Eastern Coast. There are so many neat places to stop and fun places to shop along the way! I was just happy to be driving into cooler weather!

In spite of my deadline with Book, I took my time getting there and planned to take a few days since I was there anyway! It wasn't like I was actually getting paid! (wink)

I pulled up to the coffee shop we were supposed to meet at and called Lucy on her cell to see where she was ...

As the phone rang, I saw a pretty blonde rocking on the front porch answer her phone, look straight at me and laugh at the same time she was laughing at the phone. So much for wondering if I'd be able to find her!

We went inside and got a table near the window. We talked a little bit about my adventures on the drive up and I promised to show her my treasures when we got to her Mom's place. Hey! You can't shop without acquiring treasure!!!

We ordered (you pick) and visited about our families and all of you while we ate (you pick). We decided to get the interview out of the way first so that we'd be free to play the rest of the visit and work on rewrites, if we have to ... although with Lucy, there is not enough room on this whole blog to get in all the funny things we talked about, but I tried my best to get them all in!

Here's the interview ...

Taylor: What brought you to Blogstream, and what did you hope to get out of it?

Lucy: I am pretty sure I saw an ad on AOL for 'blogging' and

thought I would give it a whirl.

Lucy:   Who would have known I would have enjoyed it so much.

I didn't have too many expectations except to journal my everyday minutia life.

I took the name Trying Not To Come Undone from an Oprah book I read a few years ago and it was how I felt at the time, losing my best friend, Sweet Annie to cancer. Later down the road, my name was shortened to Lucy by HockeyMum since I am married to a handsome Cubano.

I have to say, blogging helped unleash some creative juices that lay dormant in me for years.

And as an added bonus, I have made some lifetime friendships.

Taylor: What was the most fun you ever had on Blogstream ?

Lucy:   Wow, the most fun....great question.

I have had so many belly laughs..sitting in front of this screen.

Probably The Amish Weekend was one of the firsts.

Lucy:   Chandabear gets all of the credit for that one. She unleashed the truly silly side of me that weekend.

I felt like it was okay to act like myself...stooopid !

I laughed for 3 straight days.

It was a marathon gigglefest!

Lucy:  Biggie-T has given me many belly laughs as well..he is so funny.

Probably the time he made me laugh the hardest was when he sang a Cher impersonation over at Six's Cowbell anniversary party.

I was crying I was laughing so hard..playing it over and over again.

Randy & Belle's Overheards are classic.....those two should bring it on the road. I have offered many times to be their tour manager. And Polar Bear can be their opening act.

Some of us use to all have a lot of fun playing poker on Friday nights too...me, Misty, Tommy and Gina. Grandma Baba would stop by with her Bud Lite pies.

Lucy:   One night we were a bit out of control though...no one wanted to play with us anymore after that on Yahoo Hold 'Em !

Taylor: Is there anything in your real life that is a direct result of your time on Blogstream?

Lucy:  Wow, that is a tough one....art imitating life or life imitating art?

I think with me it definitely blurred at times as well as it probably did with many people here. Most of us were 'Blog Virgins" when we arrived. I personally had never even gotten into that whole chat room thing, before coming here, so I really didn't know what I was getting into.

I remember one particular incident that kinda shocked me into the reality that 'all is not how it seems on Blogstream'.

Lucy: We all show ourselves as how we want to be perceived.

Some are more honest than others, but really who is 100% honest to even themselves?

But as painful as it was I view it as a good thing, since I do tend to be a bit trusting. It was the volt I needed to be careful and cautious both here and in real life. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that.

What I do love most is when I am driving in my car and hear a song and remember maybe, "Oh, Polar Bear loves this song too" for instance...or I see something in a store and think "Oh Lookin told me about this"...or I see a recipe and think, "Yeah Taylor mentioned this or Colo suggested this book or Daisy loves this artist or Six digs this tune".

Those are icing when blogging seeps into real life with a big smile.

Taylor: Name the 5 bloggers you want to meet.

Lucy:   I don't want to meet any, I think you are all nuts...lol.

Taylor: (I'm thinking ... it's too late for that ... Lucy already met Biggie and now me ... lol)

Lucy:   Just kidding...of course "My Girls"....You Taylor, Daisy, Polar Bear, Belle, Lookin' & Colo (who I felt an immediate bond with)

Lucy:   As everyone knows, I met Biggie-T last week in NYC...what a blast we had!

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Taylor: I saw the pictures! It looked like you had a BLAST! Biggie looks like I thought he would. You and CH looked like you had fun too! That reminds me, if money were no object and you could go anywhere you want with the bloggers of your choice, where would you go and what would you do ?

Lucy:  Oh boy....I think a cruise would be nice. A captive audience.

If we don't like someone we can just toss them overboard !

Lucy:   But I think a nice Caribbean climate with lots of rum punch flowing and music blaring from the speakers and tons of food.

Lucy:   Maybe a game of Truth or Dare, we know Belle would win !

Honestly if you look at my favorite blogger list you will see I have eclectic taste in people.

I think each and every blog belongs in at least one category..and meets a need for me.

For instance if I were to throw a party...there would be a list of people like Biggie-T, Chanda, Six, Trixie, Shcree and Cracker.

Lucy:   (We would have to save up bail money ahead of time though.)

Lucy:   If I wanted to visit a museum, a different set of bloggers would apply, if I wanted to pray or meditate another set of bloggers would include Mama Bear and POH.

Lucy:   Each blogger on my list I can learn from...and that list evolves & changes...I add and take away from it over and over.

Many bloggers would over lap but the one constant would be 'My Girls."

Taylor: It's nice to be one of your girls, Lucy, cause you are definitely one of our's too! You have brought so MUCH fun to the Stream. Before the movies and the Overheards and this very Interview format, you brought music to Pup and Ice's party and livened the place right up! Speaking of music, what 5 CD's are currently in YOUR player?

Lucy:   Oh, let me go check....they would be from Tequila last Friday.

(...should be interesting...)

Ok this is a burnt CD from Friday night -

Titled JACQUE NEW WAVE 9/17/06...

The playlist is:

CULTURE CLUB – TIME

Lucy:   ABC - THE LOOK OF LOVE

GREG KIHN - JEOPARDY

TALKING HEADS - AND SHE WAS

Lucy:   NICK LOWE - CRUEL TO BE KIND

LEVEL 42 - SOMETHING ABOUT YOU

ELVIS COSTELLO - WATCHING THE DETECTIVES

Lucy:   MADNESS - ONE STEP BEYOND

STEVE WINDWOOD - VALERIE

THE SMITHEREENS - A GIRL LIKE YOU

Lucy:   THE CLASH - TRAIN IN VAIN

Lucy:   BOYS DON'T CRY - I WANNA BE A COWBOY

Taylor:   Tequila? What is your favorite alcohol beverage?

Lucy:        I know this may surprise everyone but I haven't had a long neck bottle of Budwieser since May

(that is until I hooked up with Biggie-T last week...lol)

Lucy:   Since I have been dieting I have been having Margarita's and Pina Colada's to cut down on carbs..just one or two strong ones suffice.

Lucy:   Right now though I am digging Jose Cuervo shots in between with salt and lemon. That love affair will end just as it has many times throughout my life I suspect, with me praying to the porcelain throne...

Taylor: LOL ... Forget the alcohol ...

What is your favorite food and can we have the recipe?

Lucy:   I love, love, love to cook.

You would find tons of cooking books in my kitchen and cooking shows on my tivo at any time. Usually I take a basic recipe and make it my own.

Lucy:   I think I have a pretty good palate and imagination when it comes to food...I don't like to bake though, that is too scientific for me and confining, one wrong move and you are busted.

I am well known for my appetizers, especially my spinach ball recipe from Sweet Annie.

In the summer I am always asked to bring my Taco Salad to BBQ's.

Lucy:   I cook great Italian and Cuban dishes and I will try any ethnic recipes.

I can thrown together a delicious dish from anything in the cupboard and left overs in the fridge at a moment's notice.

But right now, I am trying to eat very healthy, so I am trying foods I have never had before.

This week I bought fresh figs, champagne grapes, edamame, soy milk and gouda cheese (yummy) to name a few.

Lucy:   Some new things I like, others not so much, but it is all part of my new attitude on life to try anything once...well almost anything.

Taylor: Edamame? (thinking: Why would anyone want to "eat their mommy?")

Lucy:   LOL ... It's roasted, salted soybeans.

Taylor: Beans? Like in the more you eat, the more you toot?

Lucy:   LOL ... Not if you do it right! LOLOLOL!!!

No, really ... it's good! I liked it the first time I tried it ... unlike yogurt.

I had to acquire a taste for yogurt. CH has been trying to get me to eat it for years. He swears by it's nutritional value. I eat the pro biotic kind with fresh flax seed sprinkled over it for breakfast each day...which is high in fiber and lowers your cholesterol naturally.

Taylor: Speaking of CH (cuban husband), we all know he's from Cuba but what is your nationality or ethnic background ?

Lucy:   Oh, I think everyone knows the answer to this one...I'm Irish !

Actually 3 out of four great-grandparents are off the boat Irish and the last one is from Holland...Dutch.

Lucy:   Daily..lol...does drinking count ? lololol

Every year, I try to get into NYC to see the St Patrick's Day parade.

My kids and I love it!

Since Annie has passed away, I feel like I owe it to her to go for the both of us. That time of year is very difficult for me and I miss her very much.