Relaxin' in Ithaca!

Hey, Bloggy Friends!


I just wanted to stop by to say hello. We made it safely to Ithaca on Wednesday, and have been enjoying ourselves immensely. It is really beautiful here. We've mostly been hanging out in downtown Ithaca, taking hikes to see the gorges, and visiting some wineries for some tastings. It's been really nice to get away on a relaxing vacation for a change - just the three of us.

The Bed and Breakfast we are staying in is amazing. We basically have a cabin all to ourselves in the middle of the woods. There are trails winding about the entire place, deer coming to our door in the morning and even places to swim if it is warm enough. Galileo is in heaven. He loves the open land. It is so cute to watch him take off, like a bolt of lightning, through the fields. He hops over the weeds, chases butterflies and sometimes hops in a puddle or two to cool off. He's so sweet.

I don't have a lot of time to write, but I just wanted to say hello. We will be returning to Philadelphia tomorrow afternoon. It really feels like it has turned to Fall while we've been away. The leaves are changing here and it's much cooler than it was in Philly. Perhaps the weather change has to do with the fact that we are a little further North. Anyways, have a great day and I'll talk to you soon.

Love, Josh

An Impassioned Call For Unity!

Good Morning, Bloggy Friends!


Have you been keeping up with the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week? Last night, as headlining speaker, Hillary gave an electrifying speech that preached unity and provoked promise, in what may be the single most important speech of her career (and perhaps modern, political history). She dazzled as she hit the stage in a bright orange pantsuit. Then, amidst a ton of pressure from party officials, she delivered the speech everyone was hoping for. "We are on the same team. And none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future, and it's a fight we must win together," she proclaimed from her fiery pulpit, "whether you voted for me or you voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose." I was moved to tears by the overwhelming admiration from the crowd, and her unselfish expression of support in electing Barack Obama President. She was on fire. Hillary Clinton loves this country and has a clear vision of what we must do to move in the direction of progress.

Throughout the rest of her speech she praised supporters, highlighted the historic race she ran in the primaries, made humorous jokes and laid out the basic principles of what the Democratic party stands for. For the life of me, I don't see why everyone in this country isn't a democrat. Who wouldn't want equal rights for all it's citizens? Who wouldn't want equal pay for equal work? Who wouldn't support the creation of green energy sources? What is wrong with this country, that a near majority doesn't support these basic, fundamental rights for its citizens? I hope that through the election of Barack Obama, and all other democratic candidates, we can help to show the country that we should clearly strive for such heights.

I think Hillary is one of (if not THE) most capable person to help us bring about this change. She inspires me like no other political candidate I have ever known. She motivates me to get up and fight for the things I believe in. I pray that she finds herself in a good position in Obama's administration. We deserve her.

If you get a chance to check out her speech, I would highly recommend it. You will find it HERE. I was obviously touched by her words, and I believe you will be too.

Have a fantastic day. Alan, Galileo and I are about to make our way to Ithaca. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep up with my blog or not. I'll figure it out once I get there. Keep checking back for possible videos and pictures.

Let Freedom Ring!

Love, Joshary Clinton

Birthday Shout-Out: Mimi LaCasey!

Hey, Bloggy Friends!


Did you know we are all in the presence of a very special day? Today is the day our dear Casey was born! It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since we saluted him last, but time flies and here we are again. I didn't come prepared with a special video like I had last year, but I hope a little shout-out will suffice. Over the past year many wonderful changes have taken place in Casey's life. He has traveled the globe, purchased a beautiful new home with is partner, Hal, and is currently embarking on a significant career change.

Please join me in wishing him the most joyous of birthdays. I know that many of you have come to love him almost as much as I do. The abundance of wit, intelligence and beauty he brings to the world is undeniably infectious. He deserves the best day possible!

I wish I could be there to help celebrate, but I'm sure we'll have some time in the next year to get together and drop it like it's hot!! Happy Birthday, Gurl.

Love Always,

Whirley

A Full Course Meal.

Hey, Bloggy Friends. I hope you're hungry, because I'm serving up some goods today!

Appetizer:
I want to first take a minute to send many, happy birthday wishes to my dear Aunt Stacy in Lancaster, KY! Here she is with her son Brett, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday. My aunt Stacy is the current Court Clerk in Garrard County, and was the county's very first Miss Tobacco Festival! I just talked to her, and she is spending her birthday at the stockyards, with her husband, selling two cows! I hope you both have/had a great one.


Main Course:
Last night we topped off a fantastic weekend by spending some time with friends in Wilmington. As I told you before, we drove to Delaware to spend time with our friends Kelly and Ed from San Francisco. I was happy to see they had found themselves a wonderful, quaint community to live in and was surprised to see how fast they had settled in. Inside, I got the feeling they had been living there for much longer than a week. It felt homey and cozy.

They prepared a delicious meal for us of baked salmon, steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes. How did they know it was salmy Sunday!?! For dessert we made homemade vanilla ice cream and placed it on top of the most delicious, fresh, peach cobbler! The meal was divine and we had such a great time. It was so good to see them again. I look forward to showing them around Philadelphia, and perhaps taking a few side trips to other surrounding areas. Thanks Kelly and Ed!

Dessert:
Bloggy Friend Bill has made another fascinating video. I told him yesterday that I believe this is my favorite so far - mainly because of the beautiful visuals and the music he chose is right up my alley! Note the remarkable similarity between the sound of old Motown, and the new sound of Miss Amy Winehouse. I have posted it below along with pictures of our evening for you all to enjoy.

I hope you enjoyed your dinner!

Love, Joshua

P.S. Good luck to Rick on his first day back to school!

Center City Strolling

Good Sunday, Bloggy Friends!

I hope you guys are enjoying your break from the extremely difficult workouts we've been doing this week. I can only imagine Rick is just as sore as he could possibly be! Poor thing, do you need an ice pack? :)

So, we officially kicked off our new apartment search yesterday in Center City. We spent about 4.5 hours roaming the different neighborhoods around the city that we felt would be best suited for our lifestyles. We kept our search within an eight block radius of the three major rail stations downtown - 30th Street, Suburban and Market East. These are the rails that Alan wants to be in close proximity to in order to make the commute to King of Prussia, where he works, everyday.

Like I said before, our lease doesn't end until the beginning of November, so we are a little ahead of the game here. We mostly utilized the time we had by getting a feel for the areas, and scribbling down the names and numbers of several rental companies. When I say several, I mean like five pages! So far our favorite areas are Washington Square and Rittenhouse. Each area hosts a wealth of amenities that we perceive as being particularly useful to us. Living here we would have access to a plethora of shopping, eclectic coffee shops, unique eateries, groceries and not to mention the fact that we would be surrounded by people who are more artistic and open-minded than what we find in Manayunk.

Our next step will be to start calling the names we gathered, and begin browsing potential properties on the internet. We'll work to establish contacts, and hopefully place ourselves in the forefront of the agents priority list. I'm really excited to start seeing places, so we can get a feel for what we'll find in Center City. We have pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that we'll have to sacrifice a great deal of space in the transition from the burbs to downtown. With two cats and a dog, though, we can't afford to surrender too much.

I think living in Center City will prove to be a completely different experience for us as citizens of Philadelphia. It will be a major relief to have the benefits of downtown-living right at our fingertips. No more driving in to hang with friends, waiting for the bus to take me to work/school or driving 5+ miles out to Whole Foods every weekend for groceries. It will all be practically at our door step. I'll keep you posted on how the process progresses.

I've attached a few pictures of our afternoon. I didn't take as many as I had anticipated. Later that night we met up with some friends for dinner and a few drinks before we made the trek back home. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a fantastic afternoon/day/evening. We are leaving in a few hours to make a trip to Wilmington, Delaware to see my friends Kelly and Ed. Do you remember them from San Francisco? They recently moved out here so Kelly could attend law school. They're having us over for dinner and a little catch up session. I look forward to seeing them. Talk to you soon!

Love, Josh

Mr. Vice-President

Good Morning, Bloggy Friends!

Well, say hello to our new Vice-President, Senator Joe Biden. I know, from first glance he looks just like every other man that has been in this position for the past 200 years - but don't let the looks fool ya. This is actually an extremely wise choice for Mr. Obama. He brings to the ticket a wealth of foreign policy experience, and a strong tie to middle America that Obama has struggled to gain in the past (Thanks, Jude). Together, this duo makes a pretty convincing case against the Republicans.

I found out before the infamous text came through this morning at 3:05 am. Hmm, wonder if that was supposed to be a spoof on the "3 am phone call?" I guess word got out before Obama's people had a chance to send the text. Biden was the top choice for most of the news stations I frequent, so his bid came as no surprise to anyone.

I was hoping for a little Hillary action, but I guess that's just not how it is destined to be. The hurt will subside. I'm just so ready for a woman to finally grasp a powerful position like this, kick ass and completely dispel the myths that a female is not built to rule this country. Hillary did help put cracks in that "glass ceiling," but I'm ready for that bad boy to shatter into a million pieces. Can I get an amen, ya'll?

Anyways, I just thought I'd share my thoughts with you on this bright and sunny, Saturday morning. This does put a whole new twist in the election process. I'm sure we'll see the heat turned up a few notches in the coming weeks. Obama/Biden '08!

Have a fantastic Saturday. I think we are going to head downtown eventually to begin patrolling neighborhoods. In doing this, we hope to find the perfect place for us to settle when we move downtown in November. We have plenty of time, but you know the early bird gets the worm!

Talk to ya soon,

Love, Josh

P.S. Don't forget Workout C today (RICK)! This will be the final day of our routine before we start it again on Monday. Remember to take that much needed rest tomorrow. Pamper yourselves and be congratulated on all the hard work you've been doing. Smooch.

Fashion Unity.

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

We are still unsure about how the Hillary supporters will unite with the Obama supporters next week in Denver, but one thing is for sure - this is the time of year when fashion happily combines!

I love this brief period of time, between summer and fall, when you can incorporate your summer wardrobe with that of some of your winter clothes. It provides you a whole slew of new outfit combinations. You can wear jeans with t-shirts, sweaters with shorts and still get away with flip flops, slides or sandals! The options are limitless, and the outcome is sure to be pure sexiness!

I just thought I'd share that random thought with you tonight, Bloggy Friends. Alan and I are about to meet up with some friends to catch a movie. I still haven't heard from Obama about the VP choice. My guess is that he's going to wait until tomorrow before the supposed rally in Illinois, where he is scheduled to appear with the new Vice-Presidential nominee.

We'll see!

Have a great night. Don't let the bed bugs bite!

Love, Josh

With Bated Breath....

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

If you're excited that it's Friday, let me hear you say Ooooohhh! If you can't wait for the weekend, wave your hands in the air! Now somebody, everybody, Bloggy Friends - Screeeaaammmm!

I thought I'd bust a quick rhyme for ya, Bloggy Friends! I've been listening to a lot of Hip-Hop lately, and have decided I'm kind of a rapper. Go figure.

Anyways, I hope you're all having a fantastic Friday. It is a gorgeous day in Philadelphia, and I am so pumped about the weekend. It's not that I've been working my tail off or anything, but I love it when Alan is off and we can spend two consecutive days together - usually without interruption. We also have a few fun plans to look forward to over the weekend - so, that's always a good thing.

Who else has signed up for the big Obama, VP text message? I certainly have and have been waiting patiently by my phone for the big answer. I have my fingers crossed that it's no one boring like Joe Biden (even though he's a logical choice), or Tim Kaine (he kind of reminds me of Big Pussy from the Sopranos). I'm looking for a bold and innovative choice, something that's going to shock us and amp up the excitement! Come on Obama, make a good choice!!

I'm really surprised to see that the polls have narrowed significantly lately. CNN reports today that Obama only has a one-point lead over McPain. Let's hope this housing slip-up from McCain, and a possible exciting VP choice, will win him a larger advantage once again.

Well, I guess I will cut this short. I just wanted to say hello, and get a little political with you guys. Oh, cut me some slack, it's been a while since I've done that! Have you finished your Workout B in our Fitness Plan today? I had a terribly difficult time with Workout A last night, it really is hard. The worse part for me is doing certain exercises with my eyes closed and on tip-toes. I'm swaying, and falling all over the place. I'm going to have some tea in a bit and then see how well I accomplish Workout B.

I'll leave you with a big smooch. SMOOCH! I hope you guys have a great day - and a fantastic weekend. Monday will mark the official "one week before school starts." I'm really excited.

Talk to ya soon!

Love, Joshua Obama

Swimming Pool Project Space (Chicago)

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

I wanted to share a little something with you today. There is a hip, new art studio open in Chicago called Swimming Pool Project Space. It is located at 2858 W. Montrose, and is co-directed by one of my dearest friends, Josh Kozuh. The space is a tiny, commercial storefront gallery that hosts emerging artists. Their mission is to be a "hub that brings artists and people together to connect through, and in the presence of contemporary art."

I can't wait to take a trip to Chicago to check it out. The current show is:



I wish Josh and his partner, Liz, much fulfillment in their new, worthy venture. It sounds very exciting!

Have a great day, Bloggy Friends!

P.S. Don't forget to start repeating the exercise routines today - A (Today), B (Tomorrow) and C (Saturday). If you find the exercises are becoming too easy, first repeat the four exercises again and then try adding more weight. Don't let it get too easy!

Love, Josh

Reflections on a Dwindling Summer's Day

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

How's everyone doing? It's been quite a chill week for me, not much has been going on. The weather in Philadelphia has really cooled down lately, I can feel it starting to ease into fall. I love fall, it's such a nice middle-man between the sometimes brutal weather conditions of summer and winter.

I can't believe how fast this summer has flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was looking ahead at all I would be doing throughout my break - and now I'm practically on the other side of it! It has been a fantastic past few months and I feel blessed to be here.

I do still have a good two weeks left before school starts, so I'll be finding someproductive things to do before then. Alan and I are planning a trip at the end of the month to Ithaca, NY. We've been doing lots of research, thanks to the internet and a couple of friends who once lived there, and I'm really excited to check it out. It will be nice for us to go somewhere that isn't dead in the middle of a city, where we can relax and take it easy - just the two (plus Galileo) of us. Ithaca is surrounded by massive amounts of nature. We'll be able to go on hikes, see impressive waterfalls, and bask in tons of other goods that mother nature has blessed us with. I'm not typically the outdoors kinda fella, but the prospects of this trip are looking really nice to me at the moment.

As a child I did spend a lot of time outdoors. Derek and I used to roam the acres and acres of land that surrounded our home in Garrard County, Kentucky. Looking back, those explorations have become some of my fondest childhood memories. We were so adventurous, imaginative and thankful to be independent enough to leave home for hours and hours in our attempts to discover "something new." We'd wade in creeks, play in mud holes, and enjoy picnics in the "holler," under a big shade tree. We sure had a lot of fun, my brother and I.

Somewhere along the way I lost a bit of that outdoors spirit, but perhaps it is beginning to resurface itself through my desire to hike along the Finger Lakes of New York State! There really is so much to see and do, living here in Philadelphia. In every direction there awaits a new adventure, new lands that I have never trod before. I look forward to familiarizing myself with the New England area. I once had a vision that New England would be the place I would eventually settle down and consider home. We'll see!

I hope you all have a dreamy day!

Love, Joshua

Picture Credits:

1. Me @ home, 2008.
2. Derek (R) and I (L) in St. Louis, MO, 1989.
3. Me in Center City, Philadelphia, 2008.

Sugar Weekend.

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

How's your weekend been? Ours? Well, ours was just lovely. Thanks for asking. We didn't do much, just took it easy after several weeks of weekend busy-ness.

Saturday we woke up fairly early and decided to get our grocery shopping finished. I do enjoy going to the grocery, but it's nice to get it out of the way before Sunday. Around four o'clock we headed downtown to spend a nice afternoon with Alan's Aunt Jude and Uncle Lou. The day was so nice, so we sat outside in their garden under the Japanese Maple. We drank wine, had some delicious snacks and caught up on our summer happenings. I've spoken before about how much I love spending time with Jude and Lou. They are the nearest thing to family I have in Philadelphia, and I am really thankful to have them here. Good people.

Sunday (today, if you will), we decided to partake in some museum time by visiting the Mutter Museum in downtown Philadelphia. We have been wanting to check it out for some time, especially after my fraternity brother Charlie recommended it so highly. The sign we passed out front explained it all - it was "disturbingly informative." Located in the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, the Mutter museum boasts having the country's largest collection of human skulls. Inside we found cases full of skeletons, baby fetuses and human parts in formaldehyde. As we continued we saw brains, human dissections, and pictures and wax representations of humans who were born with the most bizarre abnormalities. We saw Siamese twins joined at the oddest of places, and even a wax sculpture of a woman who had a horn growing out of her forehead! It was all very disturbing and grossly interesting. I did start to feel a little weird after a while, though - so we had to scoot!

The rest of our afternoon has been filled with music, dinner and pet playtime. It has been a rainy day in Philadelphia, which I have found to be kind of comforting. Sometimes I love a good storm, especially when I don't have to be out in it.

I hope you all had an equally fantastic weekend. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and get yourself geared up for a whole new, fabulous week!

Love you all,

Josh

P.S. Below I have attached a short video done by the Travel Channel about the Mutter Museum. It's a little over five minutes, and very fascinating!

Birthday Shout-Out: Whitney!

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

Just wanted to drop by for a quick birthday shout-out to our girl, Whitney! She turns 45 years young today.

I'm attaching a video of one of her latest appearances, at the Fashion Rocks awards in London.

Happy birthday, Whitney!

Love, Whitney

Funky New York!

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

How's everything going? Good I hope. It's nice here today - a little on the hot side, but nice. I decided to turn the air off (except for in the bedroom) and open all the windows today. I feel like it's getting a little too stuffy in here, after having the windows shut up for the summer. The breeze feels nice, and the air inside is a lot fresher! I love that feeling.

Today I am attaching a video I made of our trip to NYC last week. As you know, we went with my friend Jillian, and Nicole while she was in town. I won't get into details again, because you already heard all that. Now you can see it! I've labeled a few of the places I mentioned previously. We really hit home with the restaurants/juice bars we stopped at.

Do you remember me ranting negatively about that thai restaurant, Sea? Well, there was one huge detail I forgot to mention. We saw a roach. Yep, a roach. It crawled right across the floor, and before I knew it I was practically screaming for the waiter to get it. I probably shouldn't have done that, but it just came out without me noticing it! Gross.

I hope you have a great day. Ah, a big, nice breeze just flowed in. Take care and I'll talk to you soon.

Love, Josh

Sugar's Surprise Party: The Video!

Hey, Bloggy Friends.

I hope you guys are having an un-manic Monday! It's bright and sunny in Philadelphia. It's pretty warm, but there is a nice breeze blowing about.

Here is a video of the surprise party I threw for Alan last week. It's all about the preparation and the final product. I had so much fun doing it. Unfortunately, I didn't get footage of Alan's reaction to the "surprise!" I thought I had the camera set in a prime location, but it just didn't work out that way. Oh well, that's how it goes in the world of live show business! I hope you enjoy the video and I hope you enjoy your night.

Love, Josh

The Guest Room is Empty Again.

Happy Sunday, Bloggy Friends!

I hope you are all having a glorious Sunday afternoon. We woke up bright and early this morning (5:15 am) to take Nicole to the airport. We had a great week together. I'm glad she was able to come back for another visit while Philadelphia was warm and sunny. We did so much throughout the week, that I'm pretty exhausted now that it's all over. It feels nice to have a week of relaxation ahead of me.

The rest of our day has been filled with a little down time, with a nice mixture of chores to even it out. We went to the grocery, mowed the backyard and planted some herbs in two pots in the kitchen. A little later we are going to make salmon, as we always do on Sundays. I'm looking forward to a nice dinner in. We have been eating out so much this week. It's all been good, healthy food, but nothing beats a meal at home with Sugar. Well, unless it's a meal at home with Mom, but unfortunately that's not happening today.

Yesterday marked the month-long countdown until school starts. I'm really looking forward to getting back. It will be a very busy semester, but I'm ready to get at it. I should only have four more semesters to go before I finish! I'm not sure exactly what the rest of the summer will hold for us. I think we want to try and take another little road trip, just the two of us, before September. We've been so busy this summer, that we haven't really taken a trip alone. I'm thinking something very chill. I also want to try to make it to NYC again before school starts, so I can get some school supplies and fall clothes. Bloggy Friend Bill may also be coming for an overnight visit. That should be lots of fun!! I guess we'll see how it all unfolds. I'm sure you'll be the first to know!

I guess I'll run for now. It has been fun "spending" my summer with you all. I don't say enough about how much I appreciate the fact that you stop by from time to time to see what's happening in my life. I do enjoy keeping up with my blog, and the fact that you read and take part makes it seem even that much more worthwhile. I have the best Bloggy Friends ever. I also want to thank you for keeping up with your own blogs. Making one on my own wouldn't be half as fun if I didn't have yours to read as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful evening.

Josh

"That Is So Funky New York!"

Hey, Bloggy Friends!

Well, we had a fabulous time in New York City. This was Nicole's first time being there, so I had a great time squeezing as much in for her as I could in two days. We kept ourselves situated in the East Village this time. The hotel, St. Marks Hotel, was on St. Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd Aves. It was surprisingly fantastic for the low price we paid ($42 each), and you couldn't beat the location with a switch. My friend Jillian also came along with us. She proved to be a jewel of a travel partner! Here's a quick breakdown of how we kept ourselves busy over the two days we were there.

We arrived Thursday, early afternoon and checked into our room. Immediately we headed to the lower east side for a delicious lunch at one of my favorite tea spots, Teany. It may have been my best experience there yet - and they've all been wonderful.

After that we walked a to SoHo to do some diva-style shopping on Broadway. We were weaving in and out of stores, thinning out our pockets, for hours. We all picked up some great stuff. My favorite pick of the day was a air-brushed t-shirt I purchased from a street vendor. It is blue and has Diana Ross painted fabulously all up the front! Check it out in the pictures below.

Jillian's friend, Caitlin, came by to meet us at some point in the midst of the shopping craziness. She is a load of fun. Once finished, we all went back to the room to freshen up. We were starved after a full day of shopping, so we headed down 2nd Avenue and chose a Thai restaurant called Sea. You know I don't like to complain much, Bloggy Friends, but this dining experience left a lot to be desired. The food was pretty good, but the service was seriously lacking. I won't get into details, but they just seemed unorganized, which made for a dinner that felt hectic and therefore not easily digestible. It was nearly 11 pm when we finished up, so we strolled around the Village for about an hour before turning in. We did so much walking, that we were all completely beat by midnight.

Wow, this is getting kind of lengthy. I'll speed it up!

Friday morning we woke up ready to hit the streets. We had a light breakfast at my new favorite smoothie shop in NYC, Liquiteria. They had a ton of healthy smoothies, juices and etc. It was fantastic. After breakfast we headed back to SoHo to check out the New Museum of Contemporary Art. The three story exhibit was entitled, "After Nature." The concept revolved around what would happen to humanity after certain destruction, whether it be a natural disaster, or a nuclear explosion. It was completely fascinating. If you can get around to it, please check it out! I couldn't get many pictures, though, sorry!

After museum browsing we headed over to Greenwich Village for a change of scene. We browsed around, shopped and had a delicious lunch at Peanut Butter & Co. It is a specialty shop that serves nothing but several varieties of peanut butter sandwiches! It was simple and absolutely delicious.

Then we headed home. We picked Galileo up from the kennel, dropped Jillian off, then headed home to crash on the couch, fatigued from another full day of walking. I love New York, but it is nearly always an exhausting trip!

Anyways. I'm closing this monster! I love you all. I am attaching a slideshow of pictures from our visit. Stay tuned to a video in the coming week!

I love you all. Have a fabulous weekend.

Love, Josh