Bill

Bill Hennessey.... That name represents my living brother and father, along with my grandfather who recently passed this June. They are all William James Hennessey's and all different roles in my life and that of others. My "Grampa" was WJH, Jr., and it didn't take long for my slurred pronunciation of Grandpa,  to forever become Grampa.  Yesterday, however, he was referred to as Major William James Hennessey, Jr., a respected military man with many accomplishments, most of which involved being a superb helicopter pilot. Well into retirement people would still seek him out to fly and the very worn helmet on display proved just that. Lots of miles on those headphones, too.

In June of this year, my grandmother who I simply call "Suzanne" started the planning of what became a beautiful day to celebrate him,  despite the heavy rain. Allow me to digress for a moment. By blood, Suzanne is not my grandmother, but has been with my grandfather for over 30 years. My dad's mother, Ilse, sadly passed away in the 70's. Apparently Bill Hennessey, Jr. had a thing for beautiful women because Ilse was a looker, just like Suzanne. Over the past several months (and years) I have admired Suzanne for several reasons. She is always fun, she is always interested in what's happening with her grandchildren, and she is one of the strongest people I know. 

Ilse

In my grandfathers later years he struggled with dementia. His ability to tell military stories became a little more...interesting... as it started effecting his every day life. As you can imagine it also effected Suzanne's. When speaking with her, she always was able to share her days with laughter and in turn, kept a positive outlook on her relationship with my grandfather. She is truly amazing. Yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery was no different. 

Having a few months to grieve over the loss of my Grampa - a man that always had such a distinct scent of aftershave, a story about going hunting or fishing, and a laugh you would never forget - I thought the day would be somewhat easier with that extra time.

Me and Suzanne

First of all, the Hennessey side of my family includes quite the bunch. Get us together and we are loud, slightly inappropriate, have stories for days, and are incredibly funny. Yes, we think we are really funny. All of us. As a spectator you would find us amusing or obnoxious. Throw in Bill Hennessey, Jr.'s drink of choice - the martini - and you've got yourself a circus. I hadn't seen many of this side of the family in a while, so I didn't know what to expect, and honestly the ceremony hit me hard.  It was quite the day. Arlington was both peacefully beautiful and ruggedly eye opening. I miss him. I miss his stories. I am incredibly saddened by the ones I do not know. The military salute to his career was amazing. It was outstanding really - the level of precision along with the respect that was given to his name is really something. My mother had asked Suzanne if we were able to take pictures. Receiving such an honor, she decided to hire a photographer. As you know, I love pictures as memories. This time would be no different. Though quickly I realized I wanted to capture a few moments in a different way. I am so happy to have this.

Upon completion of the folding of the flag, Suzanne was presented it on behalf of the President of the United States. The words said to her in addition seemed standard and official, yet were so direct in thanks to his service, it gave me chills. I was so very thankful to be part of the service and so grateful for the armed military men who gave their day to honoring my grandfather. While traveling to the grave site, one of them even lost a shoe and continued traveling with the group in the pouring down rain. I understand that is expected, but again the amount of precision and excellence that was paid tribute was really cool to see.

We continued to celebrate his life at Bridges on the Kent Narrows, an area that I grew up in for 15+ years. I quickly found plenty of crab cakes, a glass of wine, and relatives with great stories to share. Hanging out with Carol, my mother, was icing on the cake. With my brother Billy, WJH the fourth, looking exactly like my grandfather, we found the time for several photo opps. He is such a ham.

Same with my sisters and the rest of the crowd. We are all so spread out over the east coast, the camera flashes were flying. It was a fast 24 hours in Maryland and Virginia, but truly a special day for everyone. Thank you for all the kind words and interest in my Grampa. He was a beast!

My siblings and Mom - Whitney, Billy, Carol, me, and Lindsay

Click HERE for the video link

Sugar Daddy Upgrade

I grew up in the perfect neighborhood as a kid. The entrance was down a long road you only traveled if you lived in the development, so the idea of being told as a kid, "Go outside and just be home by dark" was the norm. Flashlight tag, sharks n' minnows at the neighborhood pool, riding bikes everywhere, kickball using mailboxes for bases - it was what we did. The circular neighborhood with cul de sac streets was a dream come true for Halloween. Leave the buckets and bags at home, we were rolling with pillow cases. I don't think for one second we were the only group of kids doing big things, but man did we think we were cool.

As you can see pictured to the left, the Hennessey and Eikenberg kids were probably anything but. However, every year my best friend Whitney and I would join forces and hit up street after street looking for the best candy and the "best deals". There would be certain hot shots giving out King Size candy bars, and the couple next door always let you choose between an ice cream cone or 6 Oreo cookies. And you have to love the lone bowl with a sign, "Please only take 1 piece of candy; we are watching". Yea right. What do you think, we were born yesterday? Jackpot. If we had a "miss" we would save that candy, knowing we would put it to good use. Our siblings, their friends, and the two of us would reconvene and host a large poker tournament, playing purely with candy. All in hopes to make the best trades. My mother could never believe we would actually throw a Heath bar into "the pot". My hot trades - Sugar Daddy's for Twix. Sugar Daddy's must have been on sale year after year in my hometown because they'd always be everywhere. Drove me nuts!

My dad would always "check in" for the 3 Musketeers, "Lace, let me make sure it's not poisoned". Very clever, but I wasn't buying it - I'd throw him a bar or two.

Every Halloween I think about the glory days and just hope that wherever I am, the young trick-or-treaters are using their candy to their advantage. If nothing else, gearing up for an exciting trip to Vegas one day. Practice makes perfect.

Hopefully next week Jimmy Kimmel will ask parents to join in yet again, and continue to make their kids feel terrible....makes me laugh every year. (Bros at 2:49 are my favorite)

60 is the new 27.

Happy Birthday Hot Mama!

I enjoy ice cold cokes in a tall glass. I’d prefer not to share a sip, but I will.  I love a good list. I love to cross things off that list even more. I like to dance…and sing. Even if I don’t know all of the words. I am creative. I can paint with the best of them. I should have made it a career, but instead I chose something different. Something I knew would support my family and get the job done. Or at least hope it would. I have 3 siblings. My 2 sisters and brother make me laugh. They sometimes make me frustrated, but that’s what makes us family. Though we’re all spread out along the East Coast I sure do enjoy our summer vacation in the Outer Banks. I love a good beach day, a yellow and/or black lab, and the sound of Billy Hennessey cackling at the television.  I’d drive a Volvo till the day I die, even if it only has one working speaker. Throw a Clemson sticker on the back and I’m as happy as a clam. Clemson football. Get me to a game…and fast. One of my favorite spots on earth is Death Valley. I wish I could visit more. I laugh at my own jokes. I think I am so funny sometimes. I am very sentimental. I keep everything, though I am getting better at letting go. Relationships are important to me. People are important to me.  Saying “goodbye” is not one of my favorite things. I will talk to a stranger…find out I know one of their best friends…exchange contact information with them…and then become their new best friend. It’s what I like to do. I was born for sales. I don’t want to do sales. I do like to travel. I love to snuggle in with a bowl of chocolate ice cream. I use, what most people would call, an excessive amount of bedding for any normal night. Sheet, comforter, down comforter folded down over top, and multiple pillows. I put on the TV to fall asleep every night. Don’t worry, I set the timer. 90 minutes. Just in case. When I wake up, I make my bed immediately. Everyday. I am a creature of habit. I leave singing voicemails for people on their birthdays. I am a terrible singer. I occasionally snore. I pretend I don’t. I take way too many pictures. You can’t wait to look at all of them. I tell myself I am a great storyteller. I love giving every little detail. I am animated. I use my hands to talk. I wish I was a writer. Maybe I’ll become a professional blogger…or just start my own store….filled with all of my own creations and I’ll sew, too. I make a killer Shepherds Pie. Me and my family could and will eat it for days. I can French braid hair like nobody’s business. I eat my corn on the cob typewriter style and I enjoy a good bowl of cereal. I’m as independent as they come, but love to be surrounded by a group of good people.

I am Lacey – the daughter of Carol. If you know Carol you could read the above statement again, read it as her, and not a thing would change. We are one in the same. I am a product of my mother and I am both proud and grateful of that. Today is her 60th birthday. She keeps Hennessey Hits "in business" and she is one hot mama! With my 27th birthday right around the corner, I thought I'd reminder her that age is just a number.

Mom - from the cinnamon muffins you would bring me on my birthday at Montessori School to the up-do you would give me every prom night, you have always played the role of Mother of the Year. I can't wait to send your picture into the Today Show in 40 years and put you on the Smucker's jar for the big 100! You are one "Spring Chicken"! xoxo

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far

You know what they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 

Meet Carol. This...is my mother. A 5 foot few inches woman, creative as can be, who finds pirate jokes the most hilarious thing.  

{No lie. The first time I told her, did you hear about that new pirate movie? It's rated "R", I thought she was going to fall out of her chair. It really is the simple things.}

She is independent, clever, makes the best shepherds pie, and just always seems to have a solution. Even if that solution is calling for help. 

Being her daughter, I undoubtedly have carried over and picked up on many of these "Carol" traits. Like I said, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Whether it be a saying, the way I said it, a facial expression, or just a personal trait I've previously mentioned, I find myself to be more like my mother every day. So it didn't surprise me when I spoke with her this week to find that we both did something, slightly, embarrassing. Her's confessed on facebook. Mine now confessed on my blog.

As you may or may not know, I am a fan of ABC's the Bachelor. As is most of the country. Don't lie to yourselves. I don't go to any major viewing party, however I do go to the entertaining living room of my friends Lindsey and Jill's down the street. We do what we do best. Tear each segment apart as if we know each relationship and cast member personally and have some authority to decide who "belongs together"....for at least the next few months. As I got in my car to go over there this week I forgot/remembered that I needed to get gas. Being that they live less than a mile away, I chanced it. I pulled up and literally as I'm parking, Dora died. We all took a quick adventure to the sketchiest, yet closest gas station, and of course, no gas can. I have only ran out of gas 1 other time (knock on wood) and that was on the first week of my college internship. Luckily for me, they already knew I had a decent sense of humor, so the jokes were actually funny, but still very embarrassing sitting by the side of the road near Greenville High waiting to be picked up by my brand new boss. This time, I confessed that I knew I was embarrassed from the get-go and called a near by gentleman who I knew could and would, save the day/night. A few gallons later and I was back in business. SO thankful!

Carol's problem wasn't quite as obvious. To her credit, my guess wouldn't have been batteries either. Billy, my brother still in college and living at home, as well as my mother are both very thin people. With no 'meat on their  bones' I would go ahead and say that 53 degrees, a large house, and a small fireplace wasn't exactly ideal in Virginia during a snow warning. Apparently the noble 24 year old son tried to question her about the thermostat using batteries versus electricity, and Carol was very quick to shoot him down. I can envision poor Billy out chopping more firewood, and carrying it in in his favorite winter outfit of boots, shorts, and a t-shirt. Frat hard. Frat often. So thankfully, a nice man, not looking to take advantage of a single woman with no idea of what she's talking about clued my mother in, and helped her out. In true Hennessey fashion....the batteries were still dead. 

You've Got Mail



Single people are allowed to send holiday cards, too
I'm just sorry I don't have any cute animals to show off...
So, you're stuck with me :)


The annual holiday letter. I say holiday because our family's, if one actually makes it out, might not make it to your mailbox until the New Year. Which I think is just fine, because who arrives to a party on time anyway? The Hennessey family letter is like the fashionably late cool kid that arrives with a grocery bag full of miscellaneous beers. You never know what you're gonna get, but you know it'll do the job. My mother always writes it and after the debacle of 2007 she now sends us girls (there's 3 of us) the letter to proof and the picture to approve. I'd say I had a strong hand in that. Lets just say that year I wasn't exactly the shining star of the family, and DEFINITELY not in the family photo. My Mom decided to use a picture of the 4 of us kids fresh out of the ocean holding a surf board. Sounds great, right? Well, picture my long locks smothering my face. I couldn't tell if I had just experienced the wipe out of my life, or if I got caught in sudden hurricane winds. Terrible. But back to the letter....It's normally just a few sentences on what each of us are doing with our lives, and its never too boastful, which I appreciate. We all know those families who get a little too proud, but good for them. I'm not judging. So as I was discussing proofing this years Hennessey family letter (well before the New Year I might add....way to go Carol!), I started thinking about my own year in review.

January:
I made New Years resolutions on, you guessed it, Hennessey Hits. I did 1 and a half, well maybe half of another. Could 2013 be the year of completed resolutions? (crickets)

February:
Whitney Houston died resulting in me listening to her music entirely too much. Thus reminding a variety of people my lack of singing ability. Where I lack in musical talent, I pick up in rhythm on the dance floor. More weddings and too many pictures to 'detag or not to detag' on facebook....

March:
My bowling team "I Can't Believe It's Not Gutter" managed to come in last place by half the points. Not kidding. I'd also like to think that we had the most fun though, so that counts, right? (BTW - I hate that I even just said that. I'm not a fan of those 'everybody gets a turn' kind of things like children's rec sports these days. Call me what you want, but at some point a kids got to learn what he's good at or what he's not. At least I paid to suck at bowling....and drink an occasional beer). The Hunger Games came out - cue the screaming girls. I was not one of them. But I was/am Team Peeta, and I was shocked at how fast I read these books. Also, more weddings, and even a baby shower. It begins.

April:
I moved! For the 7th time in 3 years, and hopefully the last for a while. I now live alone and in a quaint little place close to downtown, so that was exciting. I saw my favorite homeless man get hit by a mini van. Not so great, but we weren't very close as you'd probably expect so I recovered quickly.

May:
I had notably one of the best nights of karaoke of my life....and it just continued to a great weekend. It would rival that of when my friend Ryan and I first sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at a bar called "Oysters". The bar has been shut down for a while now, but since that night the song has been a real go-to. Read Rumor Has It to get the idea of the glorious night in May. I believe there's even a video.

June:
The month of weddings and reunions. I had one every weekend and saw a million people. At one wedding a photographer actually recognized my dancing from another wedding back in February....so that could go either way I guess haha. Clearly I think its good. Also joined in on a group of friends kickball team - Pitch Slapped. Amazing and totally ready for the next season. We may not have been the most talented but our team was definitely the most attractive (if I do say so myself). A couple romances flourished from that season. Good for you guys. Lookin' good!

July:
My most favorite holiday is encased in this month, so clearly it was my favorite month of the year. Made a lot of close, new friends and definitely would do this one again. I'd say I had the most fun this month if I had to choose.

August:
Family vaca in the OBX, jumped on the "50 Shades of Grey" bandwagon, the Summer Olympics and my love of Ryan Lochte began and somewhat ended, and I treated myself to a few massages. I also was reminded of how suddenly it can all disappear, with the accident involving some dear friends. Luckily, I am reminded every day how blessed I am to have the friends I have, but you just never know. Keep up the good work Nick! And please keep your thoughts and prayers focused on our friend Jeff Fisher, too.

September:
FOOTBALL!!! My introduction to a good Arnold Palmer, and my developed fear of a Port-o-potty on gameday, as well as my fear of weirdos in malls. This was the month I had a man across from me in the food court take a picture of me with his iPhone while I was eating a breadstick shaped like, well you get the point.

October:
Another month I'd do again, and do the same. Great month. I turned 26. More football, Fall for Greenville, Halloween, I got an iPhone5 and a group of 16 of us went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for the weekend and rented out a big house. I think my Snooki costume is finally retired folks. Lets hope next year the real one is retired, as well.

November:
I can't even sugar coat it. November was the armpit of my year. Terrible. A nice summary would be to read - Hell Week. In a nutshell homegirl here found out I had carbon monoxide poisoning, needed a new heating system, my water heater exploded from the bottom, and the electrical breaker needed to be replaced. Basically I had someone in my house all month doing repairs, with the exception of Thanksgiving, which was spent 9 hours away from family. There's always next year I guess.

December:
Lessons learned and another one under the belt. Lots of Christmas parties, a pub crawl dominated, a continued tennis hobby, and looking forward to new things in 2013.



The 4 Hennessey Kids.....Whitney, Lindsay, Me, and Billy
What I believe to be the 2013 holiday photo, a better attempt at the "fresh-out-of-the-ocean" look.
We all deserve a second chance.



This Is What Jolly Looks Like



The pub crawl was a success. Naturally I got just a little carried away, and a little too into the spirit of the party, but all for a good cause - Meals on Wheels. I woke up the next morning, worked off what I could from the night before, grabbed some lunch with a friend to discuss the nights happenings, then sat my butt on the couch to be utterly disappointed by my lover from afar, John Harbaugh. Him and the boys (the Ravens) let me down in the battle of the beltway against the Redskins. Being from Maryland, this is like the USC vs Clemson discussion down here in South Carolina.....and to a field goal....in overtime (losing 31-28). One day later and Cam Cameron gets the boot.  But enough about football, back to the holiday spirit. This weekend is an off weekend for 'theme' parties, if you will, but is sure to still be a good time. Lots of people coming into town for some weddings, some college friends finishing grad school classes and returning home (to Greenville that is), and well it is after all another weekend. Still time to choose to be naughty or nice for Santa! The weekend after that, some friends are throwing a party (another annual fiesta) at our friend Davids house. Davids parties never disappoint. This year, the money raised in donations are all going to Nick Collins, so I'm sticking around and not heading back to VA until Sunday. They'll have 3 live bands, and are just asking for a $20 donation which will cover food, drinks, and entertainment for the night. Pretty sweet deal. Throw in another festive outfit, and I'll be ready to go! Speaking of which....ladies, how do we feel about these new trendy leather leggings out there, yay or nay? I'm feeling frisky.

The boys throwing the party....they love to get creative with their invites.

And speaking of Christmas, I can't wait to see this ham in just a few weeks. My niece Sawyer is such a riot. This is some of the most aggressive eating I have ever seen (esp. around the 45 second mark). I can't wait to see her in person. So funny....wait a couple seconds and enjoy!

Olive

Christmas came early this year. Our dear sweet, yet rambunctious, Olive decided that her dog food just wasn't enough and that even the smell of trash wasn't exciting at the moment. Yesterday she devoured a sewing needle, fully involved with thread and all. Luckily my mother saw her gagging, otherwise our precious Olive could have been much worse. She was rushed to the Emergency Vet Hospital who are luckily opened on Sundays and have the highly skilled vets trained to remove such items as sewing needles. I guess these things are appetizing to more than just our Olive. The needle and thread made it all the way to her stomach. Billy and my mother were able to see it in the x-ray, which is pretty neat I guess, and about $1,000 later were able to take it home. Olive, was able to come home a little later. I guess we know now nothing is safe...but as I told my mom, I'd rather have Olive alive on Christmas than what that money was going to buy in presents. Thank goodness we caught her in action! Oliveyou, well her, I love her.

Thankful to be a Level 3?

Happy Thanksgiving loyal readers, or people who accidentally stumbled upon this site. Thanks for stopping by. Today, for only the second time in my life, I am without a giant group of loud family members around for the holiday. I'm spending my day in Greenville. I am one of 4 children (me being the 3rd) and as we have gotten older my 2 older siblings have started their own families. Whitney and John rotate heading to Ohio to see his family with Thanksgiving and Christmas, as do Lindsay and Dan with going to New Jersey. This year was the "off" year for Thanksgiving. Billy's friend, Jeff, that I spoke about in my posting Hell Week had another tough week himself, so now even my brother is off traveling and isn't around for the holiday (and for great reason). The Hennessey crew is all over the place, thus my stay in G-ville. Well that, terrible gas prices, and a pretty amazing football game on Saturday that I just so happened to have scored a free pair of tickets too - - Clemson vs University of South Carolina. Go Tigers! I can't even express to you how ready I am for the day to be here. But first on to more pressing matters.

Today people will stuff their faces, fill their bellies, hopefully tell family and friends how much they mean to each other, because, after all, that's what I believe this day is really all about.  Then tomorrow - well - tomorrow, or shall I say tonight, thousands of "tradition-ers", penny-pincher's, shoppers, bargain hunters, a few regular people, and plenty of idiots will stampede the Targets, Best Buys, Wal-Marts, Old Navy's, and Malls of the world looking for the best deals they can find. We call this day Black Friday. Perhaps because of the shadow that is cast upon us with the mobs of people, or maybe its just the fact that we're shopping at 2 am for a $5 turtleneck. Who knows. I say "We" because I have been one of these "Idiots" about 3 times and might go for lucky 4 this week. But as I told my friend Melissa yesterday, I would classify myself as a Level 3 BFS - that's code for Black Friday Shopper. Here's the break down as I've seen it:

Level 1-2               
These people forgot it was Black Friday, super confused at first (and kind of pissed) that there's so much traffic and that parking is a nightmare, but really excited about the deals. However, at 11am, not excited that they don't where a size 16 and that's all that's left of everything. Amateurs. Next year, will either up their Level of BFS (like me) or just not participate.

Level 3-4
The 8-10am-ers. These are the somewhat reasonable people. They aren't camping in tents, however, may have had their eye on something and are looking to save some money. If the item is there great, but they aren't waiting in that 2 hour line to save $20 either.

Level 5-6
The "It's tradition" women. Ladies, you know who you are. I know you. I'm friends with you. It's ok. You can't wait to get up at 5 am and get that Panini press for $4.99 at Marshalls, or was it Kohls? We've talked about it so many times, I get confused. And the $2 Toaster at Walmart....girl, you can do it. In fact, I need one. Get 2 if there's no limit. These are the women that see a deal and NEED to save. But I ask, is it saving? And without a doubt they say YES! These "Tradition-ers" get alllll their Christmas shopping done in one day, so you better watch out. They are on a mission, and the mission is savings. Especially if it's a vest for $10 at Old Navy. Get one for everyone......I'd call that an inVESTment. Wouldn't you?

Level 7-8
The turds who ruin Thanksgiving for the dear souls who have to leave their families and go work their retails jobs so this Level 8 BFS can buy an updated version of the 1998 Used-to-be-Cool Battery Operated Keyboard for $19.99 just because its on sale. These people camp out in tents. Not because they want that new Samsung flat screen, but because they saw others do it on the news last year and they hope NBC makes another run around this year and they get their 5 minutes, too. These shoppers fill their carts with everything they can get their hands on and they bring friends. They are starting the Black Thursday trend and they LOVE it. The earlier the better. You can normally identify one of these shoppers by their "uniform". Just look at the sneaks.

I'm a terrible person, but I'm willing to bet during this time frame these people aren't the nicest either, so it's almost a trade off.

Level 9-10
Literally, just hours after we are discussing what we are thankful for and this....these people are up there. There are no words.

Clemson & Nick Collins...

... 2 Things I am incredibly proud of. Most of us get on Facebook every day, and for me, today was no different. The moment I got on I saw my news feed filled with pictures of people's babies, their dogs, their recent engagement, the football game this weekend, and more. Then I scrolled down a notch or two and found this - - copy and pasted by a good friend of mine from college, boasting about the extroadinary progress made by our friend Nick Collins. Being a member of the Clemson family never ends. I think this speaks for itself.

GO TIGERS!

"I need to take a moment to brag about the Clemson Football Coaching staff. Maybe brag is not the right word, but show that its more than just football. I am sure these types of things happen all the time, but i can only speak of what I know. I know Clemson people know how good of a person Coach Swinney is, but other fans may not.

I was at MUSC tonight with a friend who was visiting a sick relative. As I was walking towards the room, I heard someone call my name. When I looked, it was Nick Collins, the father of Nick Collins, the young man who almost lost his life in the awful accident.

The elder Collins and I talked briefly and then he invited me to Nick's room to visit with him. As I talked to the younger Nick, who oh by the way is looking good, I looked around his room which was covered in get well cards and banners. I also noticed that he had a Clemson jersey hanging in his room covered in autographs for this year's team. He was proud of his jersey and loves his Tigers.

So upon finding out that, I immediately called Tony Elliott, who is the running back coach at Clemson and hails from James Island. I didnt get Tony, but left him a message explaining Nick's situation and also that he was going to have major surgery on tomorrow (everyone pray for him) and that it would be neat if Coach Swinney could call him with some words of encouragement.

Not 30 mins later did I get a call from Tony saying that he would relay the message to Coach and that he would attempt to get coach to call him tonight. Well happy and proud to say that Coach Swinney did make that call, talked to Nick and absolutely made his night.

So I want to publicly say thank you to Coach Swinney and Elliot for what they did tonight for making Nick's night! Its little things like that make the difference and make coaches stand out. GO TIGERS!"

You can continue to help Nick and his recovery by visiting www.NACWins.com!

26

I turn 26 this week. So...Happy Birthday to me! I have been spoiled over the years with having a birthday land on or around a football game. Throw in some amazing friends and I normally have a great celebration. I am definitely one of those people that look forward to their birthday. It's like getting a haircut - well, if you're a girl. You walk into a room and someone says (also most likely a girl), "Did you get a hair cut? It looks good!", even if it doesn't. On your birthday, everyone wishes you a happy birthday. Even if they really don't care if you have a happy one or not. It's like the one day that's yours. Most people get excited for gifts, maybe, but in my family we don't really do birthday presents. If you get one, its a real bonus, and a sweet topping to the cake that is your birthday. My family, does however, have a tradition of calling one another and singing Happy Birthday. My mother started it, but my sister Lindsay has really taken a liking to it. Only she normally sings along to the New Kids on the Block "Happy Birthday to You" melody. Its a real gem. The Hennessey kids can't carry a tune to save our lives. I remember driving to all of our 'activities' growing up and having my siblings (there's 4 of us) all fighting over lyrics between what's right and wrong. My mother would flick the rear view mirror of the Volvo Station wagon so it would suddenly give her site to the back seat. That meant business. She'd say, "There are no right or wrong words to a song, you can sing them however you want". Of course she was wrong, and someone would call her out, thus trying to strengthen their argument. I guess that was her giving us a creative license. Anyway, here's Lindsay's Jam:

This year is a real treat! Even though its a Tuesday, one of my most favorite people from back home, Hillary, is coming to visit me. I was the Maid of Honor in Hills wedding last year and her birthday is October 6th. She got a couple days off from work and the timing worked out perfectly. In addition I think I am grabbing some happy hour beverages with some people, too. So all in all, I couldn't ask for more. Work is always so good to me - Keaira, my office mate and department head, always decorates the place. She's too sweet. I guess you can see that we work in a laid back atmosphere....and yes, that is Rob Pattinson's Twilight cardboard cutout at my desk. I swear it's for work. 25 was good to me. Nothing too much to take on and nothing too over the top to share, that - lets face it - I haven't already. I look forward to the year ahead and hope when I blow out a candle that some of my wishes come true.  Happy Birthday Libras. Cheers.

I'm baaAaack!

I went from posting every day there for a while to not posting at all. Perhaps its because I have moved and not signed up for Internet at my new place, or perhaps I have been busy, or maybe it's because I haven't gotten the urge to write anything. Or its all of the above. So I thought I could at least fill you in on what I have been doing. I last posted on the 22nd. Since then its been Memorial Day. That weekend I missed out on a bachelorette weekend for one of my favs - Taylor D. They went to the dirty Myrtle, while I stayed in Greenville attending Freedom Weekend Aloft. Our stations have a large role in the festival and this year we were visited by Gavin DeGraw, Colbie Caillat, and Eddie Money. It was a really nice night out and good thing, since I sweat like I stole something when there's warm weather. The following weekend I went to Carolyn and Randy's wedding in Clemson. It was amazing!


Also friends who sweat profusely, Carol, Randy, and I discussed how hot we were probably going to be as the wedding was outdoors, but someone called in a nice breeze and it was gorgeous weather. Lots of 'old' friends I haven't seen in a while and quite the college reunion. I caught the bouquet for the first time at any of the million weddings I have attended. I never really "go for it" but it was like Carol through it right at me, so I embraced it. My friend Andrew caught the garter and of course, in true college fashion, we had a photo shoot.
For some reason when I go back to Clemson, whether it's for a football game or an event like this, I seem to forget that I ever graduated. Whoops. Since the weather has been nice in Greenville, a handful of us have also fully embraced Downtown Alive - a downtown festival type thing every Thursday night from 5:30-8:30p at the North end of Main Street. They shut down part of the main road and have Budweiser trailers out on-site, as well as live music. A fun thing to do after work, that occasionally leads to karaoke. See what I 'may' mean here. In other news, our little Soybean, my niece Sawyer, has been growing like crazy! Her hair is out of control and her big Buddha belly is becoming a trademark special to her. Her words are forming and she is all over the place. She thinks she doesn't like the feel of sand, but what does a 1 year old know? I am determined to change her mind at Hennessey-Barham-Gunn-Tejara beach week. Counting down the the days to mayhem.

Next on the agenda for this weekend is the wedding of Meredith and Andrew. Staying in town for this one and am super excited to see it all go down. They are so great and I know it's going to be a blast. Mer and I lived together for the past year before we both moved into new places, and now her and Andrew are settled into their new home. I have never seen 2 people so efficient at DIY projects in my life. Their new house is beautiful. Proof that hard work and patience pays off. So excited for them! So I guess that's it for now, other than that driving to work this morning I passed a woman on an electric wheelchair coming towards me on an on ramp to busy HWY 85. I laughed and then questioned what I saw. Not sure where she was coming from or going, but next time I'll see if she needs a ride.

Bird Suicide

My mom was here this past weekend and a pigeon committed suicide on my windshield while we were driving down busy, hwy 85. We were heading to Home Depot and Target, just having a normal conversation, when out of my peripheral comes what appeared to be a large pigeon. This bird looked like it was in full mayday and before I knew it, it landed on my windshield directly in front of me, exploded, and the majority of its body bounced over the car landing in the middle lane of 85. Emotions hit immediately.

Let me start by saying I saw this bird coming, my mother did not. I ducked (no pun intended) when the bird hit the windshield. The impact was so loud that my mom and I both screamed, leaving me to swerve a little. I really thought at that second that when I looked back up the glass would be covered in blood, but instead it was a puff of feathers and a slightly cracked windshield. My immediate glance to the rear view mirror left me looking at a murdered pigeon in the middle lane of 85 just ready to be run over. I looked forward again, at this point balling. Why? I have been hunting, it’s a pigeon, and it happens. I guess the tragic death of this bird, added with the scare and the sound of the impact had me shaking. My mom started to rub my back and said “Do we need to pull over? Are you ok?”…. I said “It committed suicide and is now in the middle of the highway!” (whaling and crying) and she responded, “Well his body is in the road, but I’m sure his soul is in heaven”, at that point I thought what the hell are we talking about? Her response had me in tears…but tears of laughter. I instantly turned from crying to laughing hysterically. Uncontrollably really. There wasn’t even sound coming out, I was laughing so hard. I just exploded a pigeon. It was like a scene out of a movie. It went something like this…only it was a real bird, not tinfoil filled with old leftovers. Go to 1:28.

1 Hilarious Holiday

So about this time last month I told you to keep an eye out for what was soon to be one hilarious holiday with the Hennessey family. Check out my original post here. It's one thing when you can create a "good" idea for a group of people, it's another when that group of people totally embrace the idea without judgement or any type of refusal......and that group happened to be family of all people. The one group that can criticize and raise hell without you being able to get rid of them.

The Hennessey and Barham family always have a good time when put together, however this year was more comical than the rest. I can honestly say that without a doubt this year was the craziest but to our surprise had the least amount of "issues" arise....well except for Lindsay ruining an attempt at both the broccoli casserole AND the stuffing (sorry Lindz). Maybe its our age increasing and we are all maturing, leaving stupid family feuds behind, or perhaps it was so chaotic we didn't have time to argue (3 dogs - 2 of which were puppies, 1 baby who just learned to crawl, my divorced parents who thankfully are friends, 4 growing families, 1 non-related guest, and costumes galore). Either way we managed to get through the week with little to no arguments.

As you can see everyone went all out. Even more so with some of the names. We were graced with the presence of Indians Pocahiney, Chief Dungfromhorse, Chief Twig-n-berries, and Pilgrims Christopher Jones, May Flower, Francis Bradford, to name a few. To the left you will see our precious turkey - Stinkybutt McGobbleGobble. Otis, Olive, and Harper (the crazy dogs) loved all the commotion. To think that this all stemmed from my Aunt Penny asking me how we could "spice" up this years holiday blows my mind. I can't wait to see how we top it next year. Love this crazy family of mine! Anyone and everyone is welcome to join.... Check out facebook for more pictures of the 'event'.

Happy Thanksgiving!
~Pocahottie


P.S. On another note, at my hometown Christmas parade a man dressed as Frosty the Snowman recently got arrested.....read this article. Ridiculously humorous.

The Great American Thanksgiving

 I know it's not even Halloween yet, but Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday (behind 4th of July) and this year it's going to be quite the spectacle. If you havn't read previous posts about my family and how "rare" they are, check out the #Family tab and catch up on your reading.

I got a phone call from my Aunt a few weeks back asking how we could "spice up" this years holiday. Every year we try to do something new. For example, for several
years now we have been using the trick knife made by my Grandfather. It maches the nice silver and we always give it to the guest who hasn't been there before. How it works - - we say grace, and normally what we are thankful for which always ends up having people in tears, then start to laugh and all dig into our food. With Thanksgiving comes Turkey. When the 'guest' goes to cut something it "breaks". Basically swings at a a hinge where the blade meets the handle. The reactions are priceless. Some pretend like nothing happen and try to hold it together, which is hilarious because everyone around them knows that they basically just tried to hide it. Some hold it up and immediately admit to breaking our "best silver", and some, like my brother-in-law Dan, never even pick it up.....Dan is allergic to EVERYTHING and didn't even need to use it at his first Gunn/Hennessey/Barham thanksgiving. Joke was on us, I guess. Other traditions include having tasks given to you depending on where you are sitting or what is under your name card, beer pong, cook-offs for Best ____, Turkey hats, super nice Champagne, etc.

This year though, will be different, excicitng, hilarious, and definitely be caught on camera. This year my  moms side of the family has all divided into two. We drew names out of a hat and you are either labeled an Indian or a Pilgirm, and you must come that way to dinner. I picture it now, the long table of about 15-18 of us dressed as the First Thanksgiving. Sawyer, my niece, dressed as the Turkey. The sailboat out back labeled as the Mayflower, and a giant rock as the centerpiece, of course.....name Plymouth. Never a dull moment in the Hennessey family. I literally start laughing when picturing this 'hot mess' at the end of the night. The wine flowing, the beer pong games - indians v pilgrims. Should get pretty interesting. 

The inspiration, for this great idea, actually stemmed from Halloween. One year in college a group of us went as the Great Thanksgiving. Lesson learned here was if you go as Plymouth Rock, you don't want to leave your friends side at any point in time. Not always the "coolest" costume.

I'm sure I'll be posting pictures from this years holiday, stay tuned. As for halloween - this year I will be going as the ever so (un)popular Snooki. The hair is getting dyed, and the outfit will be as tacky as the original herself. I'll be slightly less tan, but a perfect little Meatball.

My Television Debut (Childhood Secret Continued)

If you didn't read my post on September 2, go back and do so before watching the videos below. If you don't, you'll most likely find them odd and be really confused. Click Here ---> My Childhood Secret


So, let me preface what you are about to see with I guess somewhat of a disclaimer. 1) The quality is kind of sad because these were from the days of VHS, which were then converted to DVD, and then to the computer. 2) I rocked some pigtails hard core in elementary school and 3) the word "fashion" didn't seem to exist in the 90's


ok, here goes nothin'


The first commercial I ever did was a regional job - a PSA for Fire Prevention. This kid, who was supposed to be my brother, was such a tool. It's funny how I can remember certain things from each job. I just remember him being extremely obnoxious.

Next was a fashion show for the Montel Williams Show. I was in and out for this one. Literally arrived walked out on a stage (you can tell I have no idea what I'm doing there) and then left. HORRIBLE 90's outfits and even worse hairdo's - especially the lady who was a guest.

After that was a preview for MTV and Cindy Crawford's "The Goods". This was kind of cool for obvious reasons, but also because I auditioned with the lady who is 'having the dream'. Cindy Crawford was really nice and personable. These were during the days when she was married to Richard Gere.

Easter came around and I was hired for a Jello Jiggler commercial to promote Jello egg molds. They play the clip where I'm wiggling jello by my ears - blink and you'll miss it. What you don't see is the 2 hours that I had to eat jello and then start spitting it out in a cup because it started to be really gross. To this day I do not eat jello. Not even jello shots #traumatized.

I did an American Plastics commercial that ran for 2 years, which was nice, and they chose to run 2 different versions so they ran in a pretty good rotation. This was cool because I was in middle school at this point and understood what was going on, and even got to see it myself when watching TV at night.

FX came out with a new morning news program called, "Breakfast Time" with its host being Tom Bergeron - former host of Hollywood Squares and today's host of Dancing with the Stars. The Hennessey Family, Michael Moore, and comedian Jeff Dunham were this weeks guests. This one was kind of long and had trouble uploading, so maybe another day. Be on the look out.

That's all I could dig up for now. Until next time....party on.

My Childhood Secret

Once upon a time, I was on the road to somewhere big. There were tabloids, red carpets, and cameras in my future. Thennnnn the real world set in and my Mom became a full time teacher, which doesn't exactly have the greatest flexibility when it comes to taking off a couple days a week. Bye bye fame. Hello normalcy. Eh, I'm not complaining but sometimes I do wonder.....especially because Hayden Panettiere and Mischa Barton were in my group at Whilemina.

I've told a handful or two about this childhood secret of mine, but when brought up at work the other day, I was told it explains a little more of my "theatrical" side.....so here goes nothin'. I'll start with a little background. In the first grade I went to a private school (Montessori) in Annapolis, MD. My mother picked me up from school one day and took me to this place to get professional pictures of  me made - like head shots. The lady there asked my mom if she had ever thought about taking me to NYC (a short, 4 hour car ride from our home). Of course she hadn't, but at the time she was a Substitute Teacher and making the trip up there occasionally for auditions wasn't a big deal. So we went and I signed with Wilhelmina Models kids division, Wee Willys, for my print work - catalogs, magazines, etc. Then signed with their sister company, 1st Global, for TV and Film. It all was very exciting. Over the next few years I was in a bunch of catalogs, magazines, and commercials. Tried out for some movies and TV series - got pretty close on a few. I have most of the commercials on tape, but not sure how to get them on the computer. I'll see if I can scrounge up those gems for you. In the mean time.....

These were some of the catalogs I was in during the '90's. That sexy cow number was purchased by my Grandmother that following Christmas for me. Guess I should have told Grammy that they MADE me wear it. It's the thought that counts right? The Dalmatian faux fur jacket was hot as balls. I may have been young but I can still remember that awful 102 degree weather while wearing a winter coat, tights, and a hideous hat that I would have for sure been beat up for should I have ever been made to wear it in public as a child. Got to do a Jello commercial with my main man, Bill Cosby for an Easter jello egg mold, then was with Cindy Crawford for an MTV/Nick @ Nite show she had coming out called "the Goods" - I believe during '94.

My family got stopped on the sidewalks of Manhattan by the producers of a new, news show called FX Breakfast Time, with Tom Bergeron as one of its hosts. Filmed in Madison Square Park its studio was a huge apartment. The show had tons of guests, and The Hennessey family was one of them. We also were with comedian, Jeff Dunham, and Michael Moore - who wasn't even that over weight at the time. I have that on tape somewhere, too.

So there's a little insight to my childhood "secret". I'll have to figure out how to upload the commercials and shows......especially the Montell Williams fashion show I was on, hahah, yes - Montell Williams and it was the early 1990's. It's a real spectacle. Tootlles.