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It is my 66th birthday.  I am speechless.  I am now on the down side of my sixties. Going straight to hell. 6 6 6.

As birthdays go (and I wish this one would) this day has been similar to many of the 60's birthdays that preceeded it.The weather sucks. It's too cold to do anything fun.  It's so cold the restaurant where we had reservations called to cancel us - because it's too cold. Wind chill is minus 40 and that's with the sun shining.  I was looking forward to calamari in as many iterations as they could possibly concoct for me.  That's not happening.  Everything around us is closing. Wimps.  Canned tuna may have to do. Canned tuna and a great imagination.

 My best birthday of the 60-decade so far was my 60th. In Las Vegas. Wearing a rhinestone "60" crown in my BROWN hair and a "This is what 60 looks like" tee shirt we casino hopped ate amazing Italian food, drank a lot, opened ridiculous gifts, and fulfilled a lifetime fantasy by participating in a skit at Second City.  (I am a frustrated performer)  Despite the fact that our friends were fighting and my husband was drop down drunk...it was a great kick-off to another decade

So - left with nothing fun to do and nothing good to eat today, I find myself ruminating on confessing something. I've decided that I will confess some of my guilty pleasures.  You know - those things that are crass,or tasteless, unsophisticated, not cool, or embarrassing to admit you like but you like anyway but don't admit to anyone.

I'm rambling so I'm just going to start listing a few things.

Velveeta: Disgusting, non-dairy, coagulated orange oil product with no redeeming food value.  And if it happens to find it's way into my refrigerator (for whatever reason) I devour it...a little bit at a time until it is gone. Yes, I do.

Red Lobster Shrimp Scampi:  Buttery, garlicky, fat-filled and wonderful.  So good in fact that I can ignore the other people who come there to eat....who may also be hoping that no one saw them come in or will see them going out.  I actually have their recipe (or one that pretends to be).  It's close.  Maybe one needs to be in the Red Lobster atmosphere in order to fully experience the intricacies of this dish. Home doesn't cut it.

Tuna casserole: Although I haven't had it in at least ten years, I still list it among my desert island foods. Could it be the velveeta or the crunchy fried onions on top?

 Dark Chocolate covered cherries. Yum. No explanation necessary.  Any brand - even the drugstore kind.

Kenny G:  What can I say.  Love the alto sax.  Not cool;don't care

Barry Manilow: In concert or not. How can you dislike a guy who wrote a song about you right around the time of the BIG break-up.

Shirley Temple movies:  I used to love Sunday afternoons when I could always count on a Shirley movie to be on one of the local channels. I know the stories (they are all the same), the cast, the songs.  If I could tap dance - I would be able to replicate the dance routines - if could dance.

All Doris Day/Rock Hudson/Cary Grant combo movies. Doris and  either of these guys is a winning combination for pure schmaltz. Love it.

All Cary Grant movies.

Charlie Chan movies: Sooooooo politically incorrect

Um Bop: That bubble gum teeney bopper song from the 80's. Makes me dance.

Superman: TV version with George Reeves.  Probably know the scripts by heart. I would have made a great Lois Lane rocking those stupid hats and bad suits.

CATS: Saw it;loved it and don't care how much people make fun of it.  I still cry when the old cat sings.

"Say Yes to the Dress":  I cannot explain the attraction. I don't like weddings and I've worked in a bridal salon (one of the worst jobs of my life). But I watch this show almost every opportunity I get. By myself. Telling no one.(I have discovered that I harbor deep dislike for mermaid dresses, followed quickly by "fit and flare"  styles. So unflattering.)

I'll stop here.  I have to re-direct my thoughts to finding a way to save the day.  If I hurry I can catch the afternoon edition of "Say yes..." while I consider where to get some take-out that will soothe the pain of not eating Pasta Calamari at Mimma's.  I still have some chocolate covered cherries hidden away from Christmas and I believe that some of the music stations way way up on the cable play broadway show tunes.  Meow.